In the midst of Venus retrograde (till January 29th), Mercury, on Friday, also turns retrograde (at 10 degrees Aquarius) until February 3rd. Aquarius is the sign of the new era, the new age of humanity, the future of humanity’s new endeavors.

When Mercury retrogrades it will enter the atmosphere of the Venus retro/Pluto conjunction, creating deep pools of reflection and transformational aspirations as we step way back into the past. With two retrogrades occurring simultaneously, all things personal will be doubly reviewed, doubly reassessed, our minds flooded with multiple revelations. Make note of them. Retrograde times are like Virgo times….detailed thoughts, ideas, plans for action flow through our minds at the speed of light. No judgments are allowed – just silent observation, reflection and revelation. We will reflect upon values and resources, relationship and relatedness, communication and planning, while standing between past and future.

The quality of our relationships will be on our minds.

With Aquarius, friends, groups, hopes, wishes, dreams, the future and everything technological is involved. During retrogrades we research and gather information. We also review all that we think we know & believe and eliminate what is not useful. Retrogrades are very useful in keeping us up to date. We are called to remain poised, rational, logical. When we do so, a great clarity along with a visionary perspective about the future appears. Mercury in Aquarius prepares us to step more easily into the new air age, new era, Age of humanity, of freedom, liberation, and creative innovation.

As we ponder the past while looking into the future here are guidelines from Buckminster Fuller, “We are called to be architects of the future, not its victims. We never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, we build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” These words are especially important for the United States, as this week and through February’s end, epochal transits (and thus changes) will be in effect on the U.S. natal chart. (Note from Risa – so much more is occurring astrologically each day. To keep up, follow my Daily Postings on Night Light News – www.nightlightnews.org)

ARIES: It’s best to refrain from being out and about to much in the world. You will for a year experience the energies of Pisces, a noble sign, but ruled by Neptune which can make one feel at first a bit confused when in the midst of crowds for any length of time. It’s best to be more reflective, solitary, and around only a few people at a time who understand (astrology) and support your states of mind. Dreams and visions are important now. Do you have visions for the future and how/where do you see yourself in the coming year?

TAURUS: Each day you seem to enter a dream state, a place where a new sense of creativity emerges and with it you fashion a future world of care, new values, safety and survival. You attempt to share this with others but sometimes, unable to see into the future, they can become impatient. So you stand solitary in your knowledge, knowing it’s your responsibility to bring forth the resources (land) needed to safeguard family and friends. You recognize the many others who also have gifts to share. In the meantime, care of your health is a main priority .

GEMINI: Have you been anxious? Do you feel you have lost your way? What are you doing each day and who do relate to and what are you reading? What are your plans, what is your timing, what are you hoping for and what do you need? These are deep retrograde questions. Your answers are like a preliminary resume to what will come of your future. All answers are correct. We’d just like to get to know you more. What meadows are you in these days? What is blooming around you?

CANCER: You are hungering for new experiences, new realities, new ideas. Are you considering a journey far away even in these strange times of limitation? What are you thinking and what do you perceive of our present world? Are you sorting out relationship dynamics and are there feelings of guilt? It seems essential that your home be ordered and organized. Great things can be accomplished in retrograde times. Tackle one organizing task each day. A boat (for you or a child) is a good idea to invest in.

LEO: A new sense of reorientation concerning relationships, past present and future is creating a state of transformation in your life and in your heart. Are you having a need to create a greater sense of well-being? Do you seek a need for rebalancing and a reharmonization with others? People and place from far away call to you. You remember times past. Your present responses will change your life forever. Enter the deeper mysteries. That door has opened.

VIRGO: Signs in opposition, like Virgo & Pisces, create an interplay of dark and light, up and down, here and there, until the two, frightened of each other, finally make peace, integrate and synthesize. All the sign must integrate. With so many planets in Capricorn, and Mercury and Venus retrograde, the possibility of following your heart’s desires is real. Virgo is the sign of service preparing for the saving quality in Pisces. You are to synthesize both now.

LIBRA: You may feel exhausted when confronted with your usual work. And then you may feel a wounding difficult to express. There’s a purpose to that wounding, providing you with the ability to have compassion for and to heal others. However, you must come to a state of courage where you can clearly articulate your wound without judgment, blame and with dispassion. Wounds become life tools. They balance us. They love you. In the meantime, a giant purging and clearing out at home is good to put on the agenda.

SCORPIO: If you surrender completely to your deep internal level of creativity, you will be rewarded with an expansion of gifts you didn’t know existed. Creativity for you works under the inspiration of aspiration and vision, which then expresses the beauty which all forms veil. You veil so many things hidden within. You are to bring forth this revelation of beauty underlying your life’s purposes. You are to communicate things no one else can communicate. Do only what you love.

SAGITTARIUS: Know that your well-being is intact no matter how you feel or sense things to be. No matter what you think your financial situation is, there are realistic new resources and avenues available and seeking you. So you can rest easily and not enter into states of discomfort, fear, unease, unreality or feelings of lack. Nothing needs doing. You are supported by all the energies in the cosmos, the stars too. Turn to others and offer them this support. Your supply is limitless. The heart bridges. g

CAPRICORN: You may be called to express yourself in ways that could change people’s belief systems. Unusually, you don’t like to shift people’s reality, always attempting a state of harmony, not causing chaos or conflict. You always express new ideas with compassion, clarity, sensitivity and kindness. This creates a heart to heart, mind to mind, Soul to Soul connection. It’s creates the “waters of life for thirsty humanity,” one person at a time. A new creative cycle begins for you late February.

AQUARIUS: You’ve returned to a place where you again ask the questions, “Who am I, what am I doing here, why am I here, what is here that supports me and where do I go from here?” Vital questions that means the Soul is nearby hovering over you. At times you wonder if there are enough resources to support your visions. You dream of home, family, art, community, seeking to do only what you love. Simultaneously, you serve others, supporting their well-being, security, and self-esteem. All that you offer is returned one-hundred-fold. And the questions are answered.

PISCES: Jupiter is in your sign of the two fishes. All Pisces will enter deep within themselves, swimming around a bit in your own inner waters of life. This happens naturally with Neptune in Pisces, but with Jupiter there dreams and visions will multiply exponentially. Notice deeper introspections, thoughts on life and death and a refinement that takes place preparing you for greater accomplishments in the future. Your visions come into manifestation. It’s like a miracle actually!

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