Your January Horoscopes Are Here

Welcome to a new year, readers! For those of us who have made it through, we now know the stretch of our limits, and our boundless capacity to heal. For those who did not survive, who rest without justice, who have yet to find rest at all, there is grief, and it's a national one—a colossal one. There is no way around that, there is no way through a corrupt empire. If you're alive, if you're thriving, if you are untouched, then no matter your personal circumstance, you are one of the lucky ones.

As is always the case, so far as we are concerned, our years begin and end with Capricorn, our industrious companion into the otherworld. Capricorn hustles hard and buys those last-minute holiday gifts. Capricorn finds four ingredients in her fridge and makes enough food to feed a village. Capricorn readies herself for the new year because she's not the kind to arrive without her wits about her. This January is heavy with Capricorn vibes, since so many planets are dropping by Capricorn in January and, if you don't know, now you know: Capricorn is influential. Not only has Saturn finally returned to her sea goat domain, but Mercury (god of communication) and Venus (goddess of love and sweetness) are all coming through. Venus in Capricorn opposite a super moon in Cancer is bound to cause some tension, but if that opposition isn't here to teach you once and for all what relationships are not worth dragging into 2018, I don't know what will. While Mercury in Capricorn inspires us to ask for what we want with directness and assertion, Saturn in Capricorn is sure to give us all the boost we need toward our productive best because goddess knows we need it.

ARIES

From early December into late January, Mars (the planet that rules your sign and Scorpio) will be hanging out in Scorpio. When Mars is in Scorpio, it feels at home and boundless. And, December has definitely shown you the places where you ache to expand, grow, and play. Perhaps in understanding where you feel limited, and in what instances those limitations are self-imposed, you’ve been driven to acting in secret.

Perhaps this January might have you feeling like any world you want to build will have to be a world no one else can know about and inadvertently threaten. It’s good to protect what you hold sacred, Aries, it’s good to take special care of what you love. Taking care and protecting are not the same as obfuscation, it’s not the same as concealment. If the choices you make, the people you commit time to, and the projects you agree to are not the kind you would choose when the light of the world is on you, ask yourself if the only thing you’re protecting is your pride. Draw a line, Aries, so that you can recognize when the cost of pride is too high for you to bear.

You don’t have to keep your transformation a secret, and it’s no secret anyway. Anybody that’s ready to see you—wholly—will see that you’re shifting stages. Uranus, the planet of revolution, is finally going direct in your sign and Mars in Scorpio wants to empower you and give your spark a current to zoom through. Mars wants to light up rooms completely new to the house of you. Let it. And, let people show up for you, Aries. If you need a loved one to bear witness, all you’ve got to do is ask.

TAURUS

Winter makes everybody feel run down. It’s only natural. Do you know some studies show that just 15 minutes out in the cold can burn as many calories as an hour of exercise? God. Exhausting. Plus, it makes you feel like you’re fighting for survival just getting from one building to the next. All this natural melodrama is great for your ego, Taurus, since your solitude revels in any challenge presented by an opposing force, but this January proving your strength might begin to get a little taxing.

Taxing is probably the right word to use, too, even if a tad early because you know as well as I that this is the year you get your house in order. And, when I say house, I mean all your houses: the literal one that you live in, the body which houses you, and the heart which houses your desires. Because you’ve been preparing yourself, because you’ve already done so much of the repairs, you have quite a good sense of what’s ahead of you. But, you don’t know everything.

When Venus (your ruling planet) is in Capricorn, you might find yourself getting distracted with the bits and pieces while missing the bigger picture. You might start to get the feeling that you’ve explored every possible outcome and every possible route and there’s nothing that can surprise you now. But, you’d be wrong. The changes you are making might feel material and worldly, but they have a deep impact on the magic that moves around you. Take this month to key into the ways your understanding of this life is changing, and your heart, and your mind.

GEMINI

You’re the queen of talking it out, you know this Gemini. But, sometimes, talking it out just won’t get you anywhere you were hoping to get. With Mercury stationed in Capricorn, your decisions and actions will get you a great deal further than your ideas. Now that Mercury Rx is behind us and the shadow of it has shrugged off, it’s time to recognize that where you are in life is ultimately the result of choices you’ve made.

January offers you the chance to act like you deserve what you have and make solid recognizable steps toward accomplishing what you want. Mercury in Capricorn is not here to dillydally and play the fool. If you’ve tuned in, you should have noticed by now that you have the information you need (like a great big arrow in your perfect hands) to move forward.

Pay close attention to places in your life where communication breaks down. Have you been having the same conversation/fights over and over and expecting different results? Have you been feeling like words are coming out of your mouth but you’re on mute? Try not to take it so personally and remember to keep your anger in check. If you can be mindful, you will find that within these interactions are clues, not only about the kinds of connections you’d like to foster in the future but, also, about who in your life has the capacity to listen to you and hear you as well.

CANCER

It’s full moon time, and you know it, Cancer, all those big feelings like a small snowball rolled across a giant field now 500x its size sitting in your gut and making you rethink all your approaches. Is it even worth it? All this self-protective analysis, this thinking that if you can just get to the bottom of it in your mind, then you don’t need to actually face it outside yourself? Why be radically honest when you’re already crying, right? What’s the point of being as vulnerable as you look? What defenses will you have left then?

Well, Cancer, consider that even though your symbolic body is drawn with a shell made for hiding, hiding doesn’t always keep you safe. A crab that stays hiding in her shell sorting out her inner world is safe from predators, sure, but how will she feed herself and how will she be fed?

Eventually, fear for survival will have to shift toward the act of living. Eventually, living must mean more than just getting by on reserve energy and stolen moments. What if I tell you the worst that can happen is changing all the time? It’s not one set disaster waiting to gobble your life up. The braver you get, the more informed risks you take, the smaller the monster of the future becomes. Come on and come back into the peopled world, Cancer, extend your delicate claw. If snow falls on you, it’s just snow. Have faith in your tenacity in the public world. If someone is waiting for you on the bridge, won’t you go meet them?

LEO

Did this holiday season wear you out, Leo? Were you stretched thin over in impossible distances trying your best to be the magnanimous self that people expect you to be while feeling perpetually more and more run-down? Did you make more plans than hours? Did you let yourself down? Ah, the multitudinous pressures of this season are not lost on anyone, but it’s often Leo that feels them the hardest. That’s because Leo so desperately wants to show up for the people they love and express their love with great exuberance.

Unfortunately, what most of us come to find is, when you want to make time for everyone, you often don’t have time for anyone, least of all yourself. And, you guessed it, when you feel overextended and worn out, you’re not going to be having any fun, and neither is anyone else, so you might as well just stay home, light a candle, and take a bath.

This January, Leo, consider what showing up for yourself really means. I don’t want you to be hard on yourself, I want you to be firm. I encourage you to take a closer look at the places where communication between yourself and loved ones has broken down. Consider the ways in which the disconnect you experience with those around you might reflect the disconnect you’re feeling with your core sense of self. What are the rituals that ground you? Make an intentional commitment to practicing them. What literal and metaphorical muscles have you left to weaken? If you want to feel strong again in those ways, you’ve got to take yourself into your own hands and work it out.

VIRGO

It’s true that 2017 was a hard year for most everyone. It’s true that our political landscape has been a downright trash fire and there’s no getting around the ways in which many of us have seen this energy absorbed into our personal lives. It’s hard to push through and be optimistic about the future when the future is beginning to look more and more like a scene out of Mad Max. That is, of course, unless a Mad Max scene is exactly the kind of future that excites you.

It might be tempting to push the boundaries of disaster, Virgo, it might be tempting to throw it all away when so much of what’s left feels unsalvageable, but don’t play into that. If there’s something left worth holding onto and fighting for, you better learn how to fight better! If there’s a fire still left in the hearth, tend to it and keep it burning.

Besides, we both know that Mercury in Capricorn isn’t having any of your bullshit this month. Your ruling planet wants what’s best for you, and if you check in with your own self, you might find that you want what’s best for you too. That’s why you’ve been drawn to books that teach you more about yourself, that’s why you’ve been watching movies that push you to the limits of your empathy, that’s why—despite what might be perceived as your fear of intimacy—you’ve been leaving the door open wider than ever before. Listen to the part of you that persists because it’s bound to get you through this moment and onward to something bigger, brighter, possible. 

LIBRA

It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new year, Libra, and don’t you feel a little new too? Sure, the same old problems keep coming up, and I know there’s much left to be resolved, but you’re not the person you were when 2017 began—not even close. And, perhaps you’re the kind of evolved Libra that knows all this, the kind of next-level star child who has really upped her game. If so, then I applaud you. I worry, however, that you’re not quite there, Libra. I worry that despite the leaps and bounds you’ve made in the direction of your better and wiser self, you’re still leaning into patterns that need to be left behind in 2017.

This January you’ve been given a seat at the table, and what’s being served is self-actualization. There are, however, no seats left for your friends, passive-aggressive self-sabotage, and fear of abandonment.

I know it’s hard to look your coping mechanisms right in the face. I know it’s hard to admit when you’re not having fun and leave the party early. There’s no reason to sit around rationalizing your way into a good time when the reason you’re not having any fun is because it’s not the party for you. Similarly, some contracts, connections, and commitments aren’t made to last. What I’m saying is: honor the wisdom of your body and give yourself grace. To feel like you’re the one at the wheel of your life, you’ve got to move from a place of desire and determination, not from a place of fear. So, figure out what you’re afraid of and give yourself grace. What you fear has a lot to do with where you’ve been, but it doesn’t have to come with you where you’re going.

SCORPIO

Just because 2017 is over doesn’t mean the feelings it brought up in you are gone when the number changes from 7 to 8. You understand this more than most, Scorpio. I can see you now, walking steadfast into January with your defiant chin up and your soul so heavy. Oh, I know that you’re not all doom and gloom, that there have been so many blessings and kindnesses coming your way (thanks, Jupiter!), still, you can’t help but carry pain in your heart.

Scorpio, I see you weary, and I promise you that although this ride called life has no plans on pulling over anytime soon, you’re no longer anyone’s passenger. There’s this great old Leonard Cohen song called “Teachers” where he sings, “Oh teachers are my lessons done? I cannot do another one. They laughed and laughed and said, ‘Well child, are your lessons done?’” I offer this question to you, Scorpio, when the school of life gets heavy-handed with its tests. 

I offer this question to you because you’ve always been wise enough to understand that your lessons are never done—not until you’re done anyway. And here’s the thing, Scorpio, we both know you’re not done. You’ve got a lot of life in you yet and a lot of world left to leave a mark on. Sure, you might have gotten here the hard way and sure you might feel like you’ve lost a lot of time beating your heart against a stone, but now there’s no questioning what you want. You know, and knowing is halfway there.

SAGITTARIUS

Welcome to 2018, little centaur, and rejoice for Saturn is no longer your planetary cross to bear. Jupiter might have left your side, but it’s sending you great powerful vibes from your trusty neighbor, Scorpio. What I’m saying is, you’re off the service road and officially on the highway, cruising the wide open and belting all the songs you know best. You’re going places, anywhere you want, and all you’ve got to do is map the coordinates and step on the gas.

Does it all sound too easy, Sagittarius? Do you distrust your own claim to freedom, or does it sound a little outside the realms of reality coming from me? Alright, I respect your healthy skepticism, but tell me this: Haven’t you worked your ass off to get where you are? Haven’t you put your shoulder to the wheel time and time again just to reach stable ground?

Alright, then take this moment to look around and realize the stable ground you’ve reached isn’t your limit, it’s not even your destination. It was just a step toward understanding what you were capable of when you had to put your ego aside and grease the gears. Now that you’re here, you can see that you’ve got way more ground to cover and more resources than ever before to get on with it. This January, don’t go finding random excuses to limit yourself, Sagittarius. It’s a wild world out there, and your wild heart wants nothing more than to be in its natural element.

CAPRICORN

Belated and happy birthday to you, sweet sea goat, I hope your solar return is a gentle one full of generous offerings, because you deserve it. Last year was definitely out to get ya, but, if you’re reading this, then you got through and good news: This is your year, Capricorn, if you want it.

January isn’t really keeping it light and flirty with you. This month is coming on amped and ready to part with the Sun, Venus, Mercury, Saturn, and eventually the new moon transiting your sign.

Saturn might have ground Sagittarius damn near into the ground, but the planet feels right at home with you. And, Saturn’s homecoming should be an event for you, as well. You like a reason for all your labor, you like seeing results and making ends. You got it, Capricorn. 

Whatever grind you get on from here on in will honor you with a ratio of equal parts passion and rewards. Does it sound too good to be true? Ah, have you gotten too used to dreaming big and settling for less? Never fear, my love, and never settle. With so many planets charging you up and a whole year of drudgery behind you, you’ve more than paid your dues and earned your chance. You better demand what you deserve. 

AQUARIUS

It’s almost your season, little dreamer, what are you planning on doing with all the light the sun has in store for you? If this past year has taught you anything, it’s that taking chances on yourself pays off, even if results tend to vary by level of commitment. No one can have it all, we know, not even intergalactic girls like you. Still, it’s plain to see that anything you put your mind to thrives under your care.

How about this January you really put a mind to yourself? I know you’re no stranger to procrastination and I’m sure you fill that bathtub full of bubbles every once in a while. I’m not talking about the kind of self-care one dips their toe and leaves behind as the week rolls on. No. I’m talking about a sustainable shift in the way you show up for yourself on a physical level.

I’m talking regimen, the kind that gives meaning and direction to your days. I’m talking ritual, the kind that teaches you to be mindful and helps you keep cool under pressure. I’m taking meal plans, because you only get one of these flesh sacks so you should fill it consciously. I’m talking financial planning, cuz all those whims are gonna catch up with you. And, finally, I’m talking wholesome friend dates, because love is a net. You can reward all your work with cocoa with those itty-bitty marshmallows and movies where everyone’s in love and only cruel people die. 

PISCES

You might not know it at this very moment, Pisces, but your lucky stars are lining up to shine on you this year. In fact, there’s not a planet in the sky that doesn’t know that you’ve been dealt some difficult hands, there’s not one celestial body who hasn’t borne witness to the many hours you’ve spent in your room this year, rummaging around in the dark for some part of you that knew the way out of this. And how you kept coming up crying and empty-handed.

Just because your life has, over and over, forced a mirror into your hands and demanded your personal reckoning doesn’t mean the universe wants bad things for you. Quite the opposite, in fact. You know very well you can’t get what you want until you get out of your own way, and you can’t get out of your own way until you figure out how and why you get in your own way, to begin with.

Ah, to sabotage your own desire to self-sabotage, that is a mission worth your time and definitely worthy of your expertise. Who knows better than you, Pisces, knows what direct action can achieve in the face of injustice? You know how to take to the streets, you know how to write the manifesto, curate the journal, and organize the community meeting. These efforts are a good use of your time, generally, but you’ve got to turn your ardent heart back toward yourself. Pisces, this month, give yourself permission to let go. Imagine that you’re afraid of nothing. Imagine the hurt you’ve been holding is a library book. Imagine that it’s past due.