New Moons are times of new beginnings, planting seeds, and setting intentions. This month the Sun, Moon, Chiron, and Neptune all conjunct Neptune’s discovery degree. The planet Neptune was discovered on September 23, 1846 at 25 degrees of Aquarius. The call for compassionate service, understanding, and unity becomes even more important. Mythologist Joseph Campbell said “Survival is the second law of life, the first is we are all one”. Let us invite the healing dance between Chiron and Neptune into our medicine bundle.

This New Moon, along with Chiron and Neptune, all activate the U.S. Moon in the Sibly chart. For many, the ideal of the American dream seems to be eroding or more elusive than ever. With the alarming rise in home foreclosures, inaccessibility to health care and the current credit crisis, the once held ideal and value of the American dream has turned into a nightmare. The New Moon is in opposition to Obama’s natal Uranus at 25 degrees of Leo! This clearly suggests that President Obama needs to make a radical shift with many of his current policies. The progressive wing of the Democratic party feels abandoned and betrayed by his promise to bring real change to Washington. His aloofness and detachment (Aquarius) in the health care debate left many in a
state of shock and disillusionment.

The degree for this New Moon from Zodiacal Symbology reads: Three fires blazing above three triangular hills, a cross sword floating above. Denotes one of mystic and reformative leanings who may be impressed by invisible forces for certain work on earth, but who may not be conscious of the part he is called to play. Venus conjuncts Jupiter in Pisces from the 14-16th (Valentine’s Day) offering blessings from the love goddess. A most favorable time for expanding social circles, spiritual pursuits, and financial generosity. Faith and trust brings fulfilling relationships. It’s a good time to make amends with someone you love.

Mars retrograde since December 20, 2009, goes direct (forward) on March 10, 2010. Mars turns retrograde only once about every two years. The Mars retrograde cycle is symbolic of the warrior laying down his sword in order to re-group before the next battle. In Mars retrograde we tend to think about ways of acting rather than pushing forward. Personal concerns and issues are always on a slow-burn during Mars retrograde periods. As Mars moves direct the warrior picks up his sword with a renewed sense of confidence and courage. Facing things direct and head on rather than through deflection becomes his new battle strategy. With Obama’s Sun in Leo and Mars moving direct, we hope he will regain a new sense of courage and act like a lion not a lamb!

Transiting Saturn in Libra conjuncts the Midheaven and squares Venus in the Sibly chart for the U.S.A. The major corporate banks continue to withhold lending to the public and with small businesses. There has been a movement to move money out of the giant corporate banks into community banks. The issues of fairness and equality (Saturn in Libra) begin to re-emerge toward the government’s policy of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ which is code for not letting gays, lesbians, or bisexuals from serving in the military. On January 21 the Supreme Court announces a landmark decision, establishing for the first time that corporations (Saturn) enjoy the same First Amendment free-speech rights (Libra) as individuals.

With the square between Saturn and Pluto on January 31, the CIA issues a warning that Al-Qaeda will attempt an attack on U.S. Soil in the next 3-6 months. This comes as no real surprise to most astrologers as the last Saturn/Pluto Square was back in 1993 which coincided with the first World Trade Center bombing. The opposition between Saturn/Pluto was back on that fateful day of September 11, 2001~ the second bombing and final death knell of the World Trade Center. Indeed, to be forewarned is to be forearmed!

“In a time of lies, truth becomes a revolutionary act”.
~ Paulo Coelhon

Courtesy of Larry Williamson and Skybear Astrology. The political views expressed here, do not always reflect that of this website.

By Kerry Fezza 2010

Astro Activities:
Mars continues retrograde in Leo, sextiling Saturn retrograde in Libra, which continues to square Pluto in Capricorn.
Mercury is completely out of retrograde and moves into Aquarius on the 10th.
Venus enters Pisces on the 11th and the Sun goes into Pisces on the 18th.

AQUARIUS
Happy Solar Return to the open, strong, and higher minded Water Bearer!
Intense mental reconstruction combines with fate to challenge old Spiritual beliefs. Mysticism continues to be a driving force. Conscious expansion carries over into financial prosperity and expanded values in 2010.
Work and health issues persist as do relationship struggles. Partners continue to rework their ambition remaining headstrong, independent, and stubborn! Mid-March could see a breakthrough for them.
Focus on the self this month while communication is constructive. Finances get a boost after the 11th.
Intuition combined with intellect makes you SHINE!! Your Tarot card is the STAR.

ARIES
February highlights the Ram’s friendships and group endeavors. Communication is favorable.
Following the 11th, look for the mind to reach new elevations! Pay special attention to dreams and intuition!
Career transformation continues challenging others trying to establish themselves.
Domestic issues include lovers and children remaining obstinate. Stay strong. Your Tarot card is the Emperor.

TAURUS
The Bull is ambitious this February! Charismatic communication opens big doors. Charm enthralls fickle co-workers, especially after the 11th.
Health and work issues are further tested by major ongoing legal, educational, publishing, and travel adjustments. Expect opposition from family too as old problems resurface.
Have faith. Your Tarot card is the Hierophant.

GEMINI
The Twins welcome Spiritual, educational, publishing, legal, and travel ventures this month. Growth extends to the career, also, as new horizons open up. Things are especially favorable after the 11th!
Finances continue to undergo big changes creating conflict with creative, romantic, and entertainment endeavors. Family and community affairs experience reoccurring problems.
Stay focused! Your Tarot card is the Magician.

CANCER
February has the Crab focused on shared resources. Communication is excellent. Magnetize desires!
Conscious development extends to Spiritual, educational, official, and long distance affairs.
Transformational relationships challenge ongoing family and domestic issues. Self destructive inclination prolongs financial problems.
Expand the mind. Your Tarot Card is the Moon.

LEO
The Lion shares February with their partner, savoring abundance in mutual endeavors!
Lingering work and health problems continue to test communication and transportation affairs.
Ward off tendency to self destruction. Remain assured. Your Tarot card is Strength.

VIRGO The Virgin enjoys favorable employment and health connections this month. Partnerships benefit greatly!
Continuing changes with lovers and children confront reevaluating personal ethics.
Disregard friend’s advice. Take time alone to reflect. Your Tarot card is the Hermit.

LIBRA The Scales find harmony in romance and entertainment this month. Charisma is endless!
Occupational and fitness endeavors are rewarding.
Ongoing domestic upheavals conflict with personal endurance. Co-workers persistent problems can undermine career. Mind your own business. Your Tarot card is Justice.

SCORPIO February has the Scorpion/Eagle savoring domestic bliss and connecting with family. Children, romance, and creativity are inspired!
Lingering communication and transportation drama recreates challenges behind the scenes. Legal, travel, publishing, educational, and Spiritual issues prolong professional problems.
Master your destiny. Your Tarot card is Judgement.

SAGITTARIUS The Archer zips through February communicating Spiritual Enlightenment while rejoicing in their unconventional family!
Continuing financial adjustments and joint expenditures challenge ongoing official, foreign and associate affairs. Stay on course. Your Tarot Card is Temperance.

CAPRICORN The Goat enjoys financial prosperity and planning this month provided spending is kept in check. Networking endeavors thrive!
Ongoing personal makeover conflicts with professional restructuring.
Partner’s issues continue to create problems with shared resources.
Focus on achievement. Your Tarot card is the World.

PISCES Enlightenment ignites the Fishes imagination this month. Secret endeavors create personal praise and unexpected admiration!
Ongoing friendship drama threatens shared resources still under construction.
Romantic karma continues to aggravate job and health concerns. Remain detached. Luck is with you! Your Tarot card is the Wheel of Fortune.

New Moons are times of new beginnings, planting new seeds, and setting intentions. This is one of the more powerful lunations for the New Year as a partial Solar Eclipse. In general, eclipses are a New Moon or Full Moon on steroids and always carry an extra punch! Eclipses are like “Wild Cards” in the deck of life often signaling endings and new beginnings. More importantly they are harbingers of illumination and new revelations.

With the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Pluto, and the north node in Capricorn, this is a most favorable time to solidify new opportunities with our career and business plans. Capricorn is a sign of ascension, as it wants to scale mountains and reach the summit of life. This New Moon conjuncts Venus, helping us take responsibility and value commitment within our important relationships. Venus in Capricorn always demands respect! The last solar eclipse at this degree was back in January of 1991! What was going on in your life then? What’s happening in your life now?

One of the mythic archetypes for Capricorn is the myth of Hephaestus. He was the unloved and unwanted son of Zeus and Hera. Because he was born disfigured with a clubfoot they threw him off Olympus to die. He was adopted and raised by two sea nymphs, Thetis and Eurynome who nurtured him for nine years but still felt his rejection and woundedness keenly. Hephaestus learned to be a craftsman making beautiful jewelry for his adoptive parents. He also built the palaces for the Olympians, created Zeus’s thunderbolts, and built the winged chariot for Apollo, God of the sun. Hephaestus became the great artisan of the Olympians. The myth of Hephaestus is symbolic of the wounded artist archetype.

The Sabian Symbol for this New Moon at 26 Capricorn reads: A nature spirit dancing in the iridescent mist of a waterfall. Keynote: The ability to perceive the hidden and creative spirit of natural phenomena. Mercury begins to move forward on the 15th and conjuncts Pluto. It’s time to move ahead with new ideas and plans that were on the back burner. Never underestimate the power of words! Crystallized thinking brings results. Mercury crosses its shadow point on February 3-4 at 21 degrees of Capricorn.

Fiery Mars is retrograde until March 10 when he moves forward in motion and stays in Leo until June 6. Mars retrograde is not the best time to initiate new projects or take definitive action. This is a good time to re-ignite our creative fires through confident resolve. Find the courage within to allow you to become immersed in a slow burn of creative incubation. Mars retrograde conjuncts President Obama’s descendant as he meets with stiff opposition from many sources. When Mars moves into Virgo on June 7th, he can gain strength and get his Mojo back!

On December 30th the nephew of Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi was assassinated. Ali Mousavi was one of at least eight people killed during clashes when tens of thousands of supporters protested against their government. Mars was crossing the ascendant, and transiting Uranus (freedom, revolution) was conjunct Mars (violence) in the Iranian chart. Much has been written about Mars retrograde cycles coinciding with major conflicts and wars.

Saturn turns retrograde in Libra on Jan. 13th and will move back to square Pluto in Capricorn. Issues with career, relationships, and health will be in high focus. It’s a good time to let go of old attachments that no longer serve our quest for wholeness. Power and control issues need to be transformed through compromise and equality in relationships. Transiting Pluto and Saturn aspecting Venus (money, possessions) in the USA chart, form a powerful T square pattern indicating the financial meltdown crisis (Pluto) will endure for at least another 12-? months. This is a call for strategic financial planning for everyone. No one plans to fail, they just fail to plan! Saturn/Pluto cycles historically are times of conservative, reactionary empowerment. The reverent work of beauty is the antidote to fear!

Jupiter makes its ingress into Pisces on Jan. 17th ~ Time to dream big! One of the first signs of soul loss is the loss of imagination. Jupiter, the planet of growth, abundance, and wisdom, indicates the yearning for greater spiritual and religious understanding. The best Jupiter in Pisces has to offer is to improve religious tolerance. The worst is the rise of religious intolerance through fundamentalism and fanaticism. Generally speaking this should be a better year for charitable groups and organizations that have been decimated by the economic downturn. On a mundane level look for the rise of fish oil to explode! Jupiter works on a twelve-year cycle. The last time Jupiter was in Pisces was back in 1998. Some of the major news stories from back then: the US announced the first budget surplus (Jupiter) in 30 years. The Belfast agreement was signed between the Irish and British governments. President Bill Clinton was impeached for perjury. Exxon and Mobil merged to become the largest petroleum corporation in the world. Windows98 and Google made their splash on the world market. Jupiter in Pisces asks us to honor the sacred and divine in our life not with blind faith, but through devotion and setting of sacred intention. Only then do the Gods and Goddesses know that we’re asking for help through prayer, ceremony, ritual and intention!

Neptune conjuncts the U.S. Moon on Jan. 27th, its final hit in this cycle. The Moon rules the Public and Neptune represents disillusionment. Many promises made by the politicians during the presidential campaign such as universal health care and ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan turned out to be nothing but a pipe dream. Public and political scandals continue to dominate the news media. The plight of the homeless continues to escalate at alarming rates. On any given night in America, anywhere from 700,000 to 2 million people are homeless, according to estimates of the National Law Center on Homelessness. The gap between income and housing costs needs to be lessened so people can keep their homes. We need more quality jobs with benefits that offer a living wage, rather than a lot of dead-end jobs that pay minimum wage. Let us all hope and pray for the end of predatory capitalism and awaken to a new humanitarian, compassionate social democracy.

Let the dance of spirit and divine whispers always flow through you.

By Larry Williams ~ SKYBEAR ASTROLOGY

By Kerry Fezza 2010

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Wow! What better way to start a new decade than with a Full Moon Lunar Eclipse in Cancer? Expect Real Estate, the Economy, Immigration, Homeland Security, Agriculture, Family Values and the Military to be hot topics! Our country has entered a 19 year cycle of karmic self growth. We’ll be learning a lot from History with our destiny linked to our allies.
How we feel entering into 2010 might change by January’s end due to lots of energy shifts mid-month.
Astro Activities:
Venus and the Sun enter Aquarius on the 18th and 19th respectively.
Jupiter moves into Pisces this year on January 17th where it’s at home.
Mercury goes direct on the 15th in Capricorn but consider its shadow until February 1st.
Saturn turns retrograde on the 13th in Libra continuing to square Pluto in Capricorn.
Mars remains retrograde in Leo.

If you know your Moon and Ascendant/Rising sign read those forecasts too. Especially refer to your Rising sign for relationship issues.

CAPRICORN
Happy Solar Return to the cautious, economical, yet ambitious Mountain/Sea-Goat!
Destiny shines on your sign this year. Fated contacts could be linked to the past.
Intense personal transformation still persists. Deep desires can conflict with old career challenges. This month may feel like 1 step forward and 2 steps back although the 1st half favors personal accolades! The latter half benefits finances ~ saving trumps spending! Income may be less this year.
2010 supports networking, communication, and transportation endeavors. It’s an excellent year to buy a car or computer (minus Mercury Retrogrades!) Local travel, community college, and neighborhood affairs are also highlighted. Continue to expect the unexpected with plans subject to change.
Relationships are delicate as partners deal with their own set of issues and financial struggles. Passion may be subdued or misdirected until mid-March when things start to move forward.
As you rise to adversity and manifest your goals, you’ll strengthen the resolve of those around you. Focus on self empowerment!!

ARIES
The New Year highlights the Ram’s career, especially the 1st half of January. Destiny guides big changes and old contacts weigh in. The last half favors friendships and Spiritual/artistic connections as the Ram enters a sacred and intuitive phase. Personal enlightenment unfolds even more!
Partners may seem challenging as they revamp their ambitions. Lovers and children can get testy as old problems resurface. Issues continue around the home. Focus on socializing!

TAURUS
The Bull charges into the New Year centering on legal, foreign, publishing, educational and Spiritual affairs. Fate guides adjustments and luck is with you the 1st half of January.
The latter half smiles on a career geared towards arts and entertainment. Work and health require special attention as previous issues recur.
Aggravation continues around home and family. Communication is delicate.
Abundance surrounds friendships and groups this year. Focus on enlightenment!

GEMINI
The New Year spotlights fated changes around the Twins shared resources. Review joint finances, fortunate the 1st half of January. The last half benefits Spiritual, educational, publishing, legal, and distant travel endeavors. The career gets a boost too! Continue to expect changes with newfound independence.
Financial constraints challenge children and lovers. Exercise caution around communication, transportation, extended family, and romance. Old issues may arise. Focus on Spirituality.

CANCER
The Crab welcomes the New Year with significant others. Relationships are fated, nostalgic, and transformational ~ warm and fuzzy the 1st half, hot ‘n heavy the 2nd half! Intimacy is boundless. However, old household, family, and real estate concerns can interfere. Personal issues and financial struggles are challenging too.
Unexpected good luck shines on Spiritual, legal, educational, foreign, and publishing affairs.
Focus on sharing.

LEO
The Lion embraces the New Year with health and work affirmations. Old problems still persist but destiny shines on the right path. Family and community may pose challenges. Words can conflict with desires.
Vitality is high the 1st half of January. The last half spotlights relationships and unbridled passion! Excitement is curtailed by personal struggles. Focus on determination!

VIRGO
The New Year highlights the Virgin’s romance, children and creativity sector! Desire is strong for a past love. Fate will decide for you. The 1st half of January is dynamic and loving.
The latter half centers on work, health, and relationship improvement. Some issues are still hard to identify. Old financial restraints can conflict with entertainment activities creating increased anxiety.
Be alert for hidden enemies. Some friends aren’t what they seem. Focus on having fun!

LIBRA
The Scales seek balance in the New Year between rehashing old family drama and following their destiny. The 1st half of January is favorable for all domestic activities, the 2nd half benefits children, romance, and creativity. Be inspired ~ especially in the work place.
Health may remain fickle but vitality is high.
Personal and career challenges from the past facilitate self-growth. Friends can be argumentative. Focus on exercise!

SCORPIO
The Scorpion/Eagle greets the New Year in flurry of passionate communication. Contacts will be from the past and fated, testing the psyche. Communication and transportation are favored the 1st half of January, with family being the heart, the last half. Romance and children get an inspirational boost while still remaining unpredictable.
Previous opposition continues around career. Exercise caution around official, spiritual, and distant (travel) affairs. Focus on creativity!

SAGITTARIUS
The Archer reviews personal finances this New Year, knowing fate trumps ongoing adjustments. Friends can challenge your bottom line. Don’t lend money. Income is positive the 1st half of January, communication, transportation, and domestic matters the last half. Still beware of ‘sweet talkers’.
Fortune smiles on home and real estate matters although things remain in flux. Old problems resurface around legal, foreign, educational, and publishing affairs. Exercise caution with investors! Focus on Family!

AQUARIUS
The Water Bearer pours energy into mental considerations this New Year. Shades of yesterday color ongoing transformation. Destiny favors deep introspection challenging old Spiritual, foreign, educational, or legal customs.
Enjoy sweet dreams the 1st half of January and personal accolades the last half. Charisma knows no bounds!
Expect more income this year from random sources.
Partners are tackling previous problems. Work and health are delicate. Focus on YOU!

PISCES
The Fish bathes in friendship this New Year, with fated connections appearing from the past. Ongoing drama conflicts with shared investing. Review the stakes at hand. The 1st half of January is advantageous for socializing, the last half for down time and dream time.
This year is about personal expansion and spreading your wings even wider!
Romance and children come with issues. Old work and health problems can reappear too.
Focus on self love!