Many people assume that astrology is difficult to learn. In part, it has something to do with the lingo: sextiles, midheavens, quincunxes, ascendants and ecliptics all sound like a foreign language. But just like other areas of study, once you understand some of the terminology, things fall into place…..and quickly at that.
In January I’m going to write a weekly blog post about some of the terms that astrologers use. To be truthful, I avoid using many of them when I write the horoscopes on My Stars! I know that people will get their heads in a twist, so instead I often use simple English to describe what’s going on in the heavens.
When I was looking at the planetary lineup for January all I could see was one conjunction after another. It occurred to me that I should devote a blog post to this aspect, because it will really help you understand why January is such a decisive time. There are seven of them, and they follow the Great Conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter that just occurred on December 21st.
OK class, get ready for some basic astronomy, not astrology! 
In the graphic to the left you can see the planets orbiting the Sun. They’re all in different locations.
The inner planets, like Mercury and Venus, have a shorter path to travel than the outer ones, which makes sense. And it just so happens that they are traveling at higher velocities than the outer orbs.
However, from time to time two or more planets will line up perfectly, one behind the other. This is called a conjunction and in astrology it has a special meaning. The recent conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter made big news. Here’s what it looked like if you were in an imaginary spaceship flying over our solar system. 
As you can see, Saturn was directly behind Jupiter. If you went outside at night around December 21st you could have actually seen both planets, looking like two stars that were very close to one another. They lined up precisely on that date, and as I write this, they are still not that far apart from each other. If you have clear skies go outside about 45 minutes after sunset and look low in the sky, to the southwest.
The constellation Aquarius is directly behind them, which is why astrologers say that Saturn and Jupiter “met up in Aquarius”.
OK, so why is this such a big deal? In astrology, the planets have “personalities”. They affect our lives in different ways. Whereas Mars is all about motivation, Uranus is the crazy scientist/artist/genius. Venus loves beauty and love (and money too), and Saturn is all about hard work and discipline. Mercury loves to chat and think, while Pluto likes to dig deep and play detective.
When planets conjunct, it has the effect of “fusing” their energy together. This can be a good thing or not, depending on the planets involved and where they are in the heavens.
Let’s take the Great Conjunction of December. The reason that this got so much attention is that Jupiter and Saturn hadn’t met up in Aquarius since 1623.
These two are strange bedfellows! Jupiter is optimistic, whereas Saturn is pragmatic to the point of being a bit dour. Jupiter likes to think outside the box and Saturn wants to stick to traditional methods.
So you might think that this is not a good arrangement, but actually it is! Remember, in astrology the energy, or personalities, of the planets is mixed together. The downside to Jupiter is that it can be so happy-go-lucky that it fails to see the hard facts. No problem—-Saturn is there to point them out.
Jupiter sees the big picture, whereas Saturn can really drill down to the nitty gritty. The ringed planet demands maturity and logical thinking, reining in Jupiter’s impulses.
To provide a real-life example, let’s say you’re single and meet someone new. Jupiter may be screaming, “This is THE ONE!!!” (after the first date, mind you). But Saturn quietly brings you a hot cup of coffee and says, “Wake up and smell the java. Take your time. You need to get to know this person better.” After all, Saturn wants to bring you long-term happiness and success; that’s its job.
The meme to the left pretty much sums up how Saturn and Jupiter can work together (LOL). Spock is very much a Saturnian energy (even though he comes from Vulcan), and Captain Jim is your basic red-blooded American male who thinks that space chicks are fair game (Jupiter).
This month there are seven conjunctions, starting on Monday 1/4 with Pluto and Mercury lining up in Capricorn. The other dates are the 8th, 14th, 20th, 23rd and two on the 28th…..the same day as a Leo full moon.
All of them occur in two signs: Capricorn and Aquarius. This is huge for anyone whose livelihood has been negatively affected by Covid. Capricorn is the sign that brings career success your way, and Aquarius favors networking.
Capricorn isn’t just about your career, though—it also governs other big life plans you’re cooking up. And Aquarius governs your values, making sure that you’re living authentically.
So January is looking like a major month, as planetary energy becomes focused as a laser beam. Pay close attention to the conjunction of the Sun and Jupiter on January 28th: this is considered to be the luckiest day of the year in astrology.
That’s because the Sun represents you, the individual, and your will. Jupiter wants to bring you joy and abundance. This takes place as a full moon occurs in Leo, the sign of romance, fun and creativity!
I hope you’ve enjoyed this lesson about conjunctions. See how simple this is? Next week I’ll teach a new lesson on the blog. If you’d like to learn more about astrology, sign up for my free 4-part mini-course here: https://my-stars-horoscopes.mykajabi.com/pl/233830
Have a great week everyone!