The last month of 2023 has been a whirlwind.
With an intense Mercury Retrograde and a handful of challenging Saturn aspects, our holiday season might have felt like we had to hold our tongue just to get through.
Thankfully, 2024 invites fresh energy as Mercury stations direct on January 1st.
By the end of January, all planets will be direct.
There are no retrogrades, no eclipses (yet), and all of the inner planets will be in signs where they feel comfortable!!
With a New Moon in Capricorn on the 11th of January to truly create new momentum and Mercury entering Capricorn, where it is exalted, on January 13th, the middle of January feels like a powerhouse for our motivation and forward movement.
Don’t expect all of your ducks to be in a row as soon as the clock strikes midnight.
Allow the slower energy to help you map out your intentions for the New Year or First Quarter.
Pluto: Society’s Catalyst
The beginning of 2024 has been on the rise for years because of one main event: Pluto entering Aquarius on January 20th.
The planet’s transits range anywhere from 11 to 30 years and are typically the mark of different generations and societal time periods.
When Pluto enters a new sign, it brings forth a new time period of intense transformation through the process of death and rebirth.
And it doesn’t hesitate to burn an outdated structure to the ground to build a more healthy foundation on its ruins.
Pluto has been in Capricorn since 2008.
The first year of movement into this sign coincided with the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.
The last transition from Pluto in Capricorn to Aquarius saw the rise of the American and French Revolution, along with the discovery of Uranus.
Pluto doesn’t tend to be subtle.
Capricorn energy has dominated our society that has come to emphasize hard work, ambition, and practicality.
We’ve seen the result of burnout and hustle culture going too far, and overvaluing status and material success.
To make things even more interesting, the United States’ birth chart has Capricorn sitting in its area of monetary exchanges, material wealth and concept of value.
We’ve been flirting with the energy of Pluto in Aquarius since March 23rd of 2023, when it dipped into the sign for a 2 and a half month preview.
During that time we already saw headlines about improved cybersecurity and the sudden rise of ChatGTP.
Aquarian energy also shifts away from the focus of the individual to focus on the collective.
Instead of hustling and grinding to the top of the food chain, it wants to focus on unity, equality, and efforts that benefit the entire group.
It also shines a spotlight on innovation, technology, and advancement, which will most likely bring even more collective awareness to the progress of AI and space travel.
It’s impossible to predict what Pluto transits will bring, but we are able to understand the patterns that have come before and the type of energy that will be radiating throughout society.
Pluto also has an enormous impact on your personal birth chart, you just might not notice the effects until years down the line.
Pluto transits last anywhere from 11-30 years, meaning that unlike Mars or Saturn that will do multiple laps in every area of your chart, Pluto only touches nearly half, sometimes less than, in your lifetime.
Meaning, these areas will be heavily transformed and a place of significant importance in your life.
So observe but remember, it's an extremely long transit that you most likely won’t see from day to day.
For example, Pluto transiting your 1st house will bring 19 years of intense personal development, so buckle up and try not to pay too close attention to the small details.
Jupiter Leaves Taurus and enters Gemini
The planet of abundance, wisdom, and expansion changes signs once a year.
For a majority of 2023, it was in the sign of Taurus, bringing expansion to material and artistic endeavors collectively and in the Taurus ruled house of our birth chart.
On May 25th, 2024, it transitions into Gemini.
Gemini is Jupiter's place of detriment, which means that it’s not as comfortable in this position.
The ruler of Sagittarius loves expansion, long-term quests and ambiguous understandings, while Gemini prefers day-to-day communication and getting to the bottom of every question.
Jupiter is here for a good, abundant time but Gemini wants more control over the “fun.”
This transit is going to shed light on what is holding you back in your everyday communication efforts and intellectual pursuits.
As it makes a few challenging aspects with Saturn throughout the year, remember that difficult placements always yields wisdom and a better understanding of how to move forward.
Use the first half of 2024 to relish in the abundant blessings Jupiter has left to spread in the sign of Taurus and prepare to narrow in on how to use your communication skills to invite in better manifestation and expansion.
Your words create your reality.
First Eclipse in Pisces
We will continue with our Aries-Libra eclipse storyline throughout 2024, but on September 17th we will experience our first eclipse in Pisces.
This is the first of the Virgo-Pisces story we will fully dive into in 2025.
During most of 2024, we are moving towards evolved Aries and Libra energy by embracing our independence and releasing anything that is keeping us in a people-pleasing mindset.
It's a time where we take a hard look at the ways in which conforming to others ideals and listening to the opinions of others has held us back from being who we are truly meant to be.
In September, we get the beginning of a new storyline.
We will be growing towards a more imaginative, dreamy, romantic view of the world and focusing less on the practical meaning and purpose of things.
This is a story about trusting yourself, your own intuition, and not searching for concrete answers.
It invites us to release our grip on perfection and embrace the messy ebbs and flows of life with childlike wonder.
Ending 2024 With A Bang: Mars Retrograde
We had a Mars Retrograde in Gemini as we entered 2023, and now we will experience Mars’s backspin in Leo in to close out 2024.
On December 6th, Mars stations retrograde.
If you remember this time in 2023, it was a little rough.
A little explosive at times. People were on edge.
Mars Retrograde is a time period where we are shown ways in which our anger and aggression are being repressed, and we are normally confronted with a harsh reality about how our inner child lashes out.
Anger is a block.
It’s a feeling resulting from frustration about the lack of something.
Lack of love, acceptance, security, money, happiness, etc.
But it can also secretly show us what we desire and allows us the opportunity to move more towards what we want.
During this time, listen to your anger.
Don’t repress it.
But remember that it is still your responsibility to make sure that your outlets are healthy.
