Summary
Venus in Aquarius December 29 - January 27
Mercury Transits Sagittarius January 3 – 24
Full Moon in Gemini/Punarvasu January 13
Sun Transits Capricorn January 13 – February 12
Retrograde Mars Enters Gemini January 21
Mercury Transits Capricorn January 24 – February 10
Venus Transits Pisces January 27 – May 31
New Moon in Capricorn/Shravana January 29
February 2025 Headlines

Summary

For an in-depth analysis of specific planetary placements, please continue with the full planetary forecast.

Venus in Aquarius December 29 - January 27

As the western calendar new year turns, we see bright Venus slip into the stars of Aquarius, joining Saturn on December 29th for about a month as we collect ourselves for the year ahead.

Venus, the second stone from the Sun and our neighbor, represents some of the things about life on Earth that we cherish the most: connection, beauty, vitality, creative expression. Venus brings us nourishment, love, and luxury, but with the price tag of occasional concessions and likely attachment.

Venus falls into the “rajas” camp when we are talking about the gunas, essential qualities that exist in our earthly classroom. The gunas are sattwa (purity, calm, cleanliness), rajas (energetic, generative), and tamas (dullness, inertia.) As we climb the ladder to peaceful action in the sattwa realm, rajas and Venus can be our friend as we find inspiration and motivation to create new connections.

During January 2025, Venus visits with her old friend Saturn, currently moving through his own sign of Aquarius for a few more months. Saturn has been transiting his own signs of Capricorn and Aquarius since January 2020, stopping us in our tracks, forcing us to slowly rebuild, and calling into question the stability of our foundations.

When we visit with Saturn, we think of our long games, our old stories, and our staying power. Saturn reminds us that the sands of time continue to shift and flow as the beings on planet Earth come and go. The demand is for absolute responsible action in the face of impermanence.

The first quarter of 2025 sees Saturn in occupation of his own signs for the last time until March 2049, for better or worse. The last time we saw Saturn treading these boards was when 1995 became 1996. What tracks were laid at that time in your life? Right now, that cycle is closing. Is is time for another round to build upon that foundation or is it time to switch those tracks? Saturn invites us to look at the long road in either direction.

With Venus joining Saturn at this time, we are poised to create new layers on our foundations. The sign of Aquarius features Saturn’s structural support with an open pattern that allows waves of thought and innovation to flow through, allowing the shifty co-lord of Aquarius, Rahu, to swirl through and around Saturn’s static presence, making life exciting and unpredictable.

Let this first month of January be a creative brainstorming session resulting in a healthy slew of ideas that are in place, just in case. Looking ahead at Spring 2025, we would do well to get plans A-Z in place, as contingencies will be the name of the game as those sands of time shift and roil.

Another push that Venus has been getting while moving through Saturn’s signs, Capricorn (in December) and Aquarius (in January) is from Mars, currently motoring through Cancer in retrograde motion and from there aspecting Libra, Capricorn, and Aquarius.

Generally we feel a push-pull energy when there are Mars-Saturn interactions, but with Mars retrograde, this could feel uncomfortable due to a myriad of resource issues, pushing us to bounce around on the fear – courage spectrum. Advice is to slow down, look at situations with practicality and be strong when it comes to what needs to be ejected in order to make new sprouts want to grow.

The Venus magic in this situation is to keep things flowing and peaceful even as we are bouncing in the saddle, navigating the ruts and rough roads. Rather than seeing difficulties as separative from your quest for harmony and creative spark, use the materials around you that you perceive as unwanted, difficult, or useless to shore up your castles in the sand. Relationships and aspirations are temporary and fragile, requiring patience and delicate care.

Mercury Transits Sagittarius January 3 – 24

Scorpio has been intense plus for awhile, receiving aspects from three outer planets, which currently looks confusing with retrograde Jupiter from Taurus, Rahu from Pisces, and to press the issue, Saturn from Aquarius. As the Sun and his entourage moved toward Scorpio in the fall, Venus led the way, followed by Mercury and then the Sun. Mercury stayed due to a retrograde cycle and has been mopping up. By January 3rd, Scorpio will be empty of visitors.

Along with Venus, Mercury is on Team Rajas, so is a great ally when it comes to picking up and dusting off. Mercury moving through Sagittarius should give us a good opportunity to find our place again, whether that is on the path or in our to-do list.

With a healthy dose of confusion present due to Jupiter’s foggy retrograde phase, we may have to find a warm, quiet space to think and plot during January. Sagittarius is a positive and growth oriented environment where we take stock of our hopes and dreams and look for avenues of growth.

March, April, and May of 2025 look extremely dynamic and unpredictable with all three outer planets changing signs, an eclipse pair, and a simultaneous Mercury and Venus retrograde period. Being aware of potential cracks in the plans or sidewalks is one thing that can help us navigate. Another is to let Mercury and Venus help us to get clear about what we are actually hoping to construct as we move through time and space in the near future.

It will be difficult to keep our focus as we navigate changes; let Mercury come up with a good daily plan to help you stay healthy, intelligent, and focused, even when the outside environment isn’t cooperating. Think health regimens, exercise commitments, meal planning, calendar items, self-care, and personal boundaries. Once this intellectual piece is in place, find the sweet key to keeping you on the program, which is self acceptance, accountability to your own well being, and loving yourself enough to shine that outward when it feels right.

Full Moon in Gemini/Punarvasu January 13

In our recent series of “Full Moons on the Border,” the January 13th full Moon occurs at 30 degrees Gemini while the Sun opposes at 30 degrees Sagittarius. Within an hour, the Moon moves into Cancer, bouncing into retrograde Mars and within six hours, the Sun moves to Capricorn, setting up to oppose retrograde Mars as he passes through the early degrees of Cancer.

We can get a lot of astrological information just by tracking the movements of the Sun and Moon, the great luminaries in our sky. For the past few months, the full Moon, in which the Sun and Moon exactly oppose, giving the Moon the full light of the Sun to reflect back to us, has occured with both of the luminaries being on the border between signs, a zone we call “sandhi” which means “join” and implies that there may be changes required as thing one meets thing two. We can also think of sandhi zones as thresholds or doorways between the signs, putting us solidly in neither one place nor the other, making it certain that things are going to change but not quite certain about how.

The Moon represents our mind, both individual and collective, that experiences the things of the world and processes them through feeling and emotion. Just as our mood or mental state can morph through one day, so does the Moon as it quickly makes its one month route around the Earth, creating a different angle and relationship with the light of the Sun each day.

Do we feel on a mental and spiritual level as if we are on a threshold? As if things are about to change, but exactly how, we don’t know? The liminal space between things is also a human experience that we navigate. We plan and plot, and moving forward we remain vigilant for information that requires course corrections. We can know something is on the horizon, but not always the details about how the encounter will be when we meet it.

With the Moon expanding in the nakshatra of Punarvasu at this time, we must reach deep to find the light, hope, and joy that Punarvasu represents. With Punarvasu’s ruling planet, Jupiter, currently in retrograde motion, external positivity may remain challenging through January. Jupiter regains direct motion on February 4th.

Sun Transits Capricorn January 13 – February 12

The Sun changes signs just after the full Moon moment on Sunday, January 12th, from Jupiter’s warm and fluffy Sagittarius into Saturn’s cold and windy Capricorn. One consolation is that the nakshatra that spans the late degrees of Sagittarius through the first third of Capricorn is Uttarashada, ruled by the Sun itself. Let this last half of January be a lesson in busting through loneliness and isolation by showing up and inviting others in.

The Sun will receive the aspect of retrograde Mars for its entire transit through Capricorn. While we may expect a fiery push from this kind of Mars aspect usually, this time it may feel a bit different due to retrograde motion; not that it feels much better, but Mars may be in more of a pulling mood these days.

Because the Sun in transit and in personal horoscopes plays the role of individual, leader, and soul-level experiencer, this could feel like a power vacuum. On a personal level, we may be facing a decision that requires walking into a power imbalance. On a collective level, it could feel as if our leaders are losing power. Normal strategic patterns may no longer make sense until Mars regains direct motion in late February.

Additionally, retrograde Jupiter will also be aspecting Capricorn through the Sun’s transit there, further confusing the input about direction. Jupiter will regain direct motion on February 4th, so the second week in February may be a small window where we gain some guidance about next steps in the big picture.

Everything is making it difficult to know what you may be wanting or where you are going at this time. Retrograde Mars and Jupiter will push and pull the Sun as it struggles to shine through the Capricorn transit. Saturn’s Earth sign isn’t the easiest zone for the Sun to do his job with the constant humbling reminders to slow down and do the work.

Retrograde Mars Enters Gemini January 21

The internal twist is getting intense as our power manager Mars continues to curl inward, moving back into Mercury’s air sign, Gemini on January 21st. Refer to Mars’ Gemini – Cancer itinerary at the end of this section.

Mars will spend about 10 weeks in Gemini, with the first four being in retrograde motion. Gemini is ruled by Mercury and is an enviroment of mental activity, transactions, ideas, learning, and play. Mercury and Mars aren’t on the same team, but do work well together, especially in the zones that require strategy and efficiency.

During this first part from January 21 – February 23, we will have retrograde Mars in Gemini which may make it very hard to analyze information into any kind of practical plan. Rather than finding frustration with lack of information or chaotic communication, allow things to get messy. This is a time for uncovering data points that may be hiding under piles, so allow the wind to come in and blow things apart.

Think tanks and brain storms could be really fun as we finish out January and ride into February. When Mars goes direct, we can use the abundant information we are encountering now in a more strategic way. Let yourself be curious and hungry for more, just make sure to slow down enough to experience the information even though we’re not sure where it may end up later on.

Mars in Gemini: August 26 – October 20
Mars direct in Cancer: October 20 – December 6
Mars retrograde in Cancer: December 6 – January 21
Mars retrograde in Gemini: January 21 – February 23
Mars direct in Gemini: February 23 – April 2
Mars in direct in Cancer, round 2: April 2 – June 6

Mercury Transits Capricorn January 24 – February 10

Mercury is Mars’ host while he transits Gemini. Mars’ retrograde motion will actually affect Mercury due to this, making us prone to frustration as we attempt to do the daily Mercury things like communication, transportation, and shopping. This could lead to possible Mercury retrograde symptoms, which can be balanced by simply falling back on the Capricorn principles of slow and steady going. Mercury will transit Capricorn from January 24 – February 10th, also receiving retrograde Mars’ aspect during that time.

While this may not be a razor sharp time when it comes to efficiency, it could be an informative time when it comes to analyzing costs for long term plans. Saturn’s guidance through Capricorn and Aquarius keeps us grounded in practical reality. When Mercury moves through these zones, we can blend realistic assessment of costs with enthusiastic motivation, coming up with projections that may help us make decisions about the bottom line.

Similar to Venus moving through Capricorn and Aquarius, Mercury has a youthful and energetic approach to projects and practices, bringing a burst of energy to any kind of situation. Saturn himself will welcome Mercury for a conjunction in February. This is a good time to get serious about long term planning, realizing that it may be better to have a flexible framework that allows for in the moment changes when the time comes. Without the structure built by looking ahead and predicting needs, opportunities may slip by as things begin to move quickly in Spring 2025.

Venus Transits Pisces January 27 – May 31

Speaking of Spring 2025, Venus entering her exaltation sign of Pisces on January 27th is the harbinger of the waves to come. Venus will be spending about four months in Jupiter’s watery final sign of the zodiac due to a retrograde cycle from March 1st through April 12th, keeping Venus in exaltation for quite a long stretch.

Venus’ good dignity could be the shining star to watch, but that will be tricky with this upcoming Pisces transit which will also see Venus shifting once again from evening star to morning star appearance. We will lose sight of Venus in March when the Sun approaches retrograde Venus, allowing the two creative planets to shift places in the the lineup. This will lead to the appearance of Venus in the early morning eastern sky before sunrise through the remainder of 2025.

We do appreciate an exalted Venus, but this upcoming voyage could prove to be exciting due to many other transits at once. One interesting feature is that Venus and Jupiter will be in exchange of signs for almost this entire transit, with Jupiter currently placed in Taurus, Venus’ earth sign, through May 14th.

While Venus is in Pisces, she will retrograde and shift to morning star phase. Mercury will also be retrograde in Pisces during late March 2025, when Saturn enters Pisces in the midst of a solar eclipse on March 29th, all happening in the early degrees of Pisces. After this wave crests, Rahu begins to slide toward Aquarius in May, when Jupiter simultaneously moves forward into Gemini.

Lots of changes ahead! The two benefic guides, Venus and Jupiter, in exchange of signs during this time will be our lifelines and lighthouses. Your relationships with others, your relationship to divinity and nature, these are your avenues of support through the first half of 2025.

New Moon in Capricorn/Shravana January 29

On January 29th the Sun and Moon join at 16 degrees Capricorn in the nakshatra of Shravana for the first new Moon of 2025. This moment sets us up to look toward the upcoming shifts of the outer planets in the Spring, with a grounded and sensitive viewpoint that urges us to move carefully and steadily, keeping ourselves focused and contained in order to remain both aware of changes ahead as well as capable of handling tasks in the moment.

The energy of both retrograde Jupiter and retrograde Mars, both slated to resume direct motion in February, will beam toward the Sun-Moon-Mercury trio located in Capricorn, which perhaps makes it difficult to engineer a way forward due to unstable and unpredictable forces at work, as indicated by retrograde motion.

We’ll all be ready for Jupiter and Mars to resume forward marching, but in the meantime, with the dark nights of the wintery new Moon at hand, find the quiet spots that allow you to feel into what is working. Once you get there, pull in that analytical and intellectual lens of Mercury to double check the numbers that coexist with the feelings. With the positive regard of Jupiter on the fritz and the strategic confidence of Mars lost at sea, we are forced to find clarity from our own hearts and minds for now.

February 2025 Headlines

Jupiter Direct at 18 degrees Taurus February 4
Full Moon in Cancer 30 deg/Ashlesha February 12
Mercury Transits Aquarius February 10 - 27
Sun Transits Aquarius February 12 – March
Mars Direct at 23 degrees Gemini February 23
Mercury Transits Pisces February 27 - May 6
New Moon in Aquarius/Shatabishak February 27