Beautiful Cosmos: NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory image of a bubble-shaped shroud of gas and dust that is 14 light-years wide and is expanding at 4 million miles per hour.

Saturday brings a lot of celestial activity. The Moon is making nice with Uranus, Venus and Saturn.  Think of some new, but practical ideas you can bring into your love relationships.  Could you spend the afternoon cooking together with some new recipes?  Then there’s some tension between Mars and Saturn.  Mars wants to get things going — Saturn wants to slow things down.  Go with your intuition there.  Remember to listen well to those around you — they have important ideas for you.

“What are you feeling that is holding you back?  Communication will lead you to your breakthrough answer.”

Sunday shows some emotional tension involving Pluto, Uranus, and Mercury.  This is a good day to practice good Communication skills. There’s a chance you can make a breakthrough if you listen well, and are open to new ideas.  The Moon is in trine with the Sun, also today, so your critical thinking and intuition should be in tune with one another.  This will bring greater understanding as you deal with family and friends.

Monday looks busy in the heavens as the week begins.  Mercury is cooperating with Pluto even as is squares off with Saturn. You will need to get beyond some restrictions in order to achieve a breakthrough.  Jupiter is working in conjunction with Chiron to bring healthy growth to your life. Meanwhile, the Moon opposes both Jupiter and Chiron throwing an emotional wrench into your plans.  What are you feeling that is holding you back?  Communication will lead you to your breakthrough answer.

Tuesday quiets down as Mercury (Communication) shows stress with Mars (Initiation), and the Moon (Emotions) squares off with both Venus (Love), and the Sun (Personality). What do you love about yourself?  What do you wish you could change?  Have a good talk about this with yourself, then consider who you need to talk with to take the next step.  A supervisor at work?  A college entrance counselor?  Someone in your family?  Prepare yourself with honest introspection… then go make the right moves.

The Moon interacts with different planets, and the affect is gauged in Astrology by the Angle and alignments between them.

Have you seen the old blue and white full Moon in the clear, crisp January nights? It went full yesterday (Tuesday), in Leo a sign that is focused on the self. Meanwhile, the Sun is now in Aquarius, which takes itself less seriously. You therefore have a lot of energy for self indulgence, balanced by an interesting Aquarian objectivity. Will your friendship progress toward romance? Part of you wants that, while another part sees the bigger picture and wonders where it might lead. On Wednesday, the Moon (emotion) “opposes” Mercury (Communication) which can put you in a bind for what to say about the dilemma you feel between what you want in the short term versus what you see for the long term. You can find a way to turn this into an opportunity, with the right dash of introspection.

“The Moon (emotion), facing off with Mars (passion) creates some emotional fire that can ignite a romance.”

On Thursday, 1/24, one of the things happening in the heavens is a conjunction of Venus (Love) with Pluto (transformation). When planets are in conjunction, their energies can act on each other in quite intense ways. And, the propostion of Astrology is that energy generated in the Cosmos has its impact on Earth. So… put Love, and Transformation together, and what do you get? A couple of possibilities: passions become stronger as the need to move forward compels intense feelings of love/friendship, and that a love/friendship relationship is headed into a new phase as it evolves. The key is to let Pluto’s metamorphing energy guide you rationally through all the new feelings.

This weekend, the good old Moon, now in a powerful but waning stage, has decided to “square” two planets — both Mars and Pluto. Squares (the relative position of two or more planets), can create some tension, and also some great opportunities. The Moon (emotion), facing off with Mars (passion) creates some emotional fire that can ignite a romance. And with the Moon and Pluto (renewal), squaring off, we can see that deep feelings again come into play with potential for a transformation. So between friends and lovers you’re likely to feel some things that move you — and your relationship — to the next level. Go with it… but don’t let your emotions get the best of you. Take what time you need to think it all through.

From a mid-17th century Icelandic manuscript showing the 12 Houses in Astrology.

Are your days becoming more interesting? It’s the time of year when everyone is busy. The planets are in some interesting configurations — Mercury coming out of Retrograde, while Mars is showing and preparing to go into Retrograde. This means it’s still good to proceed with caution on important negotiations. Remember during this busy season to look at things with logic and take the time to get at deeper meanings in your communication.

“…we look in your “Fourth House,” to learn about your home and family influences, we look in your “Tenth House,” to see where your ambition might lead…”

How are your relationships going? One revealing area of Astrology lies in the interpretation of your “houses”, and those of your loved ones. If you’ve ever looked at an actual horoscope chart, you may have noticed it is divided up into 12 sections of a large circle. These section are your “houses”, and each one relates to a different part of your life. And what planets fall in a particular house determines how you are influenced in that area. For example, a planet, or planets, in your 7th House will have a major influence on your relationships, marriage, and business partnerships.

Most folks seem to know about their Sun Sign, since it’s pretty easy to determine based on the date you were born. But there are some things that are even more important than Sun Signs, and those aspects depend on your time and place of birth. For example, we look in your “Fourth House,” to learn about your home and family influences, we look in your “Tenth House,” to see where your ambition might lead, and we look in your “Third House” to get an idea of how you communicate with those around you. This can be helpful for introspection, and also to learn more about what makes loved ones “tick.” There are 12 houses each pertaining to a different aspect of the personality. These can be helpful in understanding your own questions about yourself, and questions you have about others.

The houses are determined by dividing the path the Sun takes at your time and place of birth, across the sky, into 12 segments. They are numbered counter-clockwise from the eastern horizon. There are actually different systems to determine “Houses” used by Astrologers around the world. In the West, most use that which was brought out by the Babylonians.

Below is a simple list of the 12 houses of Western Astrology with their Latin name, Ruling Sign, and a brief statement of their influence.

1. 1st House- Vita (Aries) : The self, ego, beginnings.
2. 2nd House – Lucrum (Taurus) : Money, values, priorities.
3. 3rd House – Fratres (Gemini): Communications, siblings, neighbors.
4. 4th House – Genitor (Cancer): Family, caring, imagination.
5. 5th House – Nati (Leo): Leisure, holidays, creativity.
6. 6th House – Valentudo (Virgo): Employer, work, duties.
7. 7th House – Uxor (Libra): Marriage, partnerships. negotiations.
8. 8th House Mors – (Scorpio): Birth, death, relationships, self-transformation.
9. 9th House – Iter (Sagittarus): Religion, education, freedom.
10. 10th House – Regnum (Capricorn): Status, ambition, celebrity.
11. 11th House – Benefacta (Aquarius): Friendships, clubs and societies.
12. 12th House – Carcer (Pisces): Retreat, reflection, sacrifice.

NOTE: Remember, that in your horoscope, the planet(s) falling in each house also impact the meaning — making your horoscope as unique as your own individuality.