Astrologcial Forecast for January 2026

January feels noticeably calmer than the intense year we’ve just lived
through in 2025. That calm, however, is temporary. Beginning in February,
major changes return. These shifts aren’t random or destructive for their
own sake—they’re necessary. Old institutions, beliefs, and systems need to
collapse so we can make an evolutionary leap and clear space for
something new to be born. As this happens, we’ll likely see leaders trying to
cling to power while the collective consciousness of the public continues to
shift in profound ways.

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At the beginning of the month, the Sun, Venus, and Mars are all clustered
together in Capricorn. They move as a group throughout January and
eventually enter Aquarius together. This creates a strong window for
practical action. Capricorn energy supports discipline, planning, and
building solid structures in your life. Productivity can be enhanced now if
you focus and use this time wisely. Look at the house in your natal chart
ruled by Capricorn—this area of life is asking for serious attention, effort,
and long-term commitment.

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The most significant astrological news this month is Neptune entering Aries on January 26. Neptune takes about 165 years to orbit the Sun, and the last time it moved through Aries was between 1861 and 1875. Saturn will join
Neptune in Aries on Feb 13. Astrologers often point out that this
conjunction in Aries coincided with the U.S. Civil War. While I don’t believe
we’re headed for another civil war in the United States, the upcoming
Neptune–Saturn influence won’t be limited to America. It’s more likely that
we’ll see a deep “war of beliefs,” particularly playing out in Europe,
especially around tensions between Islam and Christianity.

Neptune has been in Pisces since April 2011, a sign it rules, making its
influence especially strong. During these years, many of us experienced
confusion, deception, and gaslighting—often amplified through media and
institutions we once trusted. Faith in leaders, systems, and even shared
reality itself began to erode, leaving many feeling betrayed or disillusioned.
As Neptune moves into Aries, something shifts. We begin to wake up.
Looking back at the years since 2011, we may wonder how we accepted so
much without question. Aries brings courage and independence. Instead of
looking outward for answers or approval, we turn inward. We begin forging
our own path, guided by inner clarity rather than external authority.

Highlights for this month:

Note to my Astrology Clients. Use your Planetary Placement and Ascendant sheet to find if you have a personal planet (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, or Mars) or the ascendant within 2 degrees of the degree of the transits listed below. If so, the transit will have a significant impact on you.

The lunation this month:

Jan 3 – Full Moon at 13 Cancer. A Full Moon in Cancer brings emotional
truths to the surface, illuminating the deep need for safety, belonging, and
genuine nurturance, often through family dynamics, memories, or the
rhythms of home and body. This lunation heightens sensitivity and intuition, making it difficult to ignore what feels comforting versus what quietly drains or destabilizes, and it can expose where emotional labor has been uneven or unacknowledged. Ask yourself, what nourishes you?

Jan - 18 – New Moon at 28 Capricorn. A New Moon at 28° Capricorn
emphasizes maturity and discernment—clarifying which commitments,
structures, and ambitions truly support long-term integrity and which persist only out of habit or external expectation. It is a quietly powerful time for pruning, redefining authority, and setting intentions rooted in realism and self-respect, preparing the way for future change that is stable, conscious, and earned rather than forced. This New Moon enhances our energy flow for practical action.

Let’s track MERCURY through its travels through Capricorn and half of
Aquarius. Mercury in your natal chart defines your communication style and how you process information.

Jan 1 – Mercury enters Capricorn until Jan 20. This creates ultra-logical
thinking. We now have the ability to concentrate and get down to basics. It’s
a very realistic and serious placement for Mercury. The downside can make
you humorless, pessimistic and narrow-minded. It all depends on your natal chart. Do you have a lot of Capricorn already? I hope no one tries to tell you a joke. Mercury will square Neptune today, Jan 1. This can bring creative imagination plus good sense to your thinking. You can write poetry and read fairy tales. Downside? You are delusional and can ‘believe six impossible things before breakfast’ especially if you have a lot of Pisces inyour natal chart. Mercury in Capricorn will oppose Jupiter in Cancer on Jan 14. Mercury who thinks of himself as an intellectual in Capricorn can get mighty arrogant when he battles with Jupiter. You can get really puffed up if you have a lot of Sagittarius in your chart.

Mercury in Capricorn is traveling up to confront Mars on Jan 18. Not a good idea. This could lead to a sharp tongue and irrational acts. You could become nervous and edgy. There is a downside if you have a lot of Aries in your chart. You could keep disrupting others when they try to give their opinions. You could get really mean or meaner than you usually are.

Mercury in Capricorn forms a beautiful trine to Uranus in Taurus on Jan 19. I can’t think of any downside to this one. You will become witty, original,
inventive and flexible. You could develop some eccentric far- out ideas and
everyone will be fascinated by you.

Mercury enters Aquarius on Jan 20. Creative thinking. This brings a thirst
for knowledge. You will be curious about the future and have excellent
spontaneous thoughts and flashes of brilliance. There is a downside if you
have a lot of Aquarius in your chart-- you could become an obnoxious know-it-all.

Mercury is in a confrontation with Pluto on Jan 22. This leads to sharp
observations that don’t miss a thing. The downside if you have Scorpio in
your chart--you could become suspicious, dogmatic, obsessive, intolerant,
underhanded and paranoid.

Mercury enters Aquarius on Jan 20 until Feb 6. This gives a thirst for
knowledge and an progressive, tolerant mind set.

Mercury in Aquarius is in a conjunction with Venus on Jan 29. You could be
charming, graceful and diplomatic on this one. If you have too much Libra in your chart you could bend over backwards for someone and tip over. Venus also rules Taurus; with Taurus she rules the beauty in nature. You could enjoy flowers and paint pictures of landscapes.

VENUS is the planet of love, beauty, desire and attraction. This month she is
in Capricorn until the 17th when she enters Aquarius. In Capricorn Venus
wants old established money and possessions. In Aquarius, she wants
freedom and distance in her relationships.

Venus conjunct Mars on Jan 7. These two are lovers; expect sparks to fly in
romance or battles of the sexes. If you have Aries in your chart, your sparks
are always flying. Nothing new here.

Venus in Capricorn opposite Jupiter on Jan 9. Capricorn likes to diet, Venus
loves to eat. What to do? Gorge yourself and then fast for a few days. If
you have Sagittarius in your chart, you may have too many friendships that
overwhelm you.

Venus in Capricorn Trine Uranus on the Jan 15. Give yourself a break, don’t
work so hard. Have a party. If you have Aquarius in your chart, start one of
your famous, don’t touch me, give me space relationships.

Venus now in Aquarius is conjunct Pluto on Jan 19. So you wanted a
friendly, hand-off relationship? Well, no, Pluto has come up to abduct you
and drag you to the underworld of jealousy, revenge, possessiveness, and
obsession. If you have Scorpio in your chart, you know the drill.

MARS is in Capricorn until the 23rd when he moves into Aquarius. Mars rules assertion, anger, war, and how we go after what we want. In Capricorn, we slowly grind away doing incredibly dull work until we are recognized and succeed. In Aquarius, we run around shocking people until they acknowledge us as maybe a little too crazy to deal with and promote us to an obscure position where we can’t cause too much trouble.

Mars in Capricorn is opposite Jupiter in Cancer on Jan 10. The Sagittarians
out there are getting feisty on this one. She doesn’t like Capricorn who is the strict bossy boss. Sagittarius wants to be free here. She may go on a
crusade against the 9 to 5 structure that bores her to tears.

Mars in Capricorn is trine Uranus in Taurus on Jan 20. This is a nice
grounded earth trine with enough Uranus involved to make it interesting.
You may make some innovative decisions such as starting your own
business. This is very positive energy for Aquarians’.

Mars enters Aquarius on Jan 23 until Mar 2. Mars was very controlled in
Capricorn and that led him to accomplish a lot. But in Aquarius, he
becomes more of a loose cannon. We should all duck when he starts
wheeling around with ‘no direction home’.

Mars in Aquarius is conjunct Pluto on Jan 27. This aspect scares the
bejesus out of astrologers. It’s the two tough guys trying to prove who is
the stronger. Mars may be Superman, but Pluto is the Hulk. There could be a conflict in the outer world today. Stay calm. Scorpio will be able to handle
this.

The SUN - The Sun brings self-confidence, healthy self-reliance, creativity and independence This month the Sun is in Capricorn until Jan 19 when she enters Aquarius. The Sun in Capricorn brings resilience and persistence to duty. The Sun in Aquarius brings far reaching prospects and ingenious ideas.

Sun in Capricorn conjunct Venus on Jan 6. This shines a light on our
business relationships. Our ambitions get a kick-start. If you have a lot of
Capricorn in your chart, this could lead to you deciding not to slowly creep
up the ladder of success as usual but to scamper up the ladder and pass
everyone on your way.

Sun in Capricorn Conjunct Mars on Jan 9. This brings courage to stand up
for yourself. You can become very goal oriented. Aries people get a lift.

Sun in Capricorn Opposite Jupiter on Jan 10. You can become very self-
satisfied on this one. And you can start to get hugely obese. You have
exaggerated expectations toward life. This could lead to major
disappointments for Sagittarius types.

Sun in Capricorn Trine Uranus on Jan 17. Today you want to experiment with new inventions or new imaginative techniques in your work. This is great if you have a lot of planets in Aquarius.

The Sun enters Aquarius on Jan 19 until Feb 18. The Sun here likes to
topple old values in order to replace them with new ones. It represents the
jester in the medieval court. This is a fun time for Aquarius.

Sun in Aquarius conjunct Mercury on Jan 21. Mercury’s power of thought
can develop here. The King communicates with his herald. Are you the King
or the Herald? The Hammer or the nail? Do you do your own independent
thinking or follow the rules? Ask that question today--Gemini and Virgo.

Sun Conjunct Pluto on Jan 23. I’m sure you have a Scorpio in your life
pushing people around today. Well today they have more chutzpah than
usual. All of us could feel more empowered today.

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Jan 26 - Neptune is in Aries until March 2039. Neptune is leaving Pisces
where he has been in the sign of dreams and fantasies for 15 years and is
now entering Aries, the sign of action. Neptune in Aries will create a slow
motion collapse of illusion. Lies will no longer work. We are in an in
between period between belief in what is being presented in the media and
what is real. Things could get messy before they get clearer. The areas
where we looked for meaning in the past are collapsing, clearing the space
for what is actually true. Narratives no long match reality.

This split between fantasy and reality will become quite obvious starting on Feb 13 when Saturn, the reality principle joins Neptune.

Saturn will be in Aries until April 2028. That gives us a long time to act on our beliefs.

OUTER PLANET TRANSITS FOR JANUARY 2026

JUPITER is in Cancer until June 20, 2026. Jupiter is retrograde all month and travels from 21 to 17 degrees of Cancer. Jupiter is the big, fat, happy guy
who is expansive in everything. In Cancer, he wants to expand your home
and family. Watch out for intrusive visitors, family members moving in or
unexpected pregnancies. This transit can bring luck and blessings to our
home and family, but sometimes it could be too much of a good thing--
especially if you have natal planets from 15 and 23 degrees of Cancer or
Capricorn.

SATURN will be in Pisces until Feb 2026 and he is now moving direct. This
month he will travel from 26 to 28 degrees of Pisces. Saturn rules your
material world. If your ascendant or any personal planets are between 24
degrees of Pisces to 1 degree of Aries, you may be in store for some hard
lessons about the issues in the house containing Pisces. Pisces wants to
dream, listen to music and paint pictures, but Saturn says, sorry, you have
work to do.

URANUS is retrograde in Taurus traveling and stays at 27 degrees all
month. This is the time to break loose and radically change your life. I
believe in “cooperating with the inevitable.” If Uranus is in a challenging
aspect to your ascendant or personal planets (25 to 29 degrees of Taurus or
Scorpio, take off on an extended vacation to somewhere new—or make
major changes.

NEPTUNE is in Pisces at 29 degrees until the 26th when he enters Aries. If
your ascendant or personal planets are between 25 degrees of Pisces to 2
degrees of Aries, you may lack focus, drift or feel betrayal. Neptune can also
bring artistic and spiritual gifts. With Neptune in Pisces since April 2011,
many have felt like victims.

When Neptune enters Aries on the 26th, you will decide to take charge, push back and move forward. PLUTO is in Aquarius until 2043 moving direct this month from 2 to 3 degrees. Pluto grinds away at your psyche, bringing up complex psychological issues. You should run to your nearest therapist, especially if you have the ascendant or personal planets anywhere from 0 to 5 degrees of Aquarius. Pluto asks what needs to die to be reborn.