We start out 2024 with Mars out of bounds just as Mercury is going direct.
While this could normally be a great time for new starts, and certainly people will be thinking along those lines, my advice is to wait just a bit until mid month to make any big changes. I’ll say more about that shortly.
The Moon Out of Bounds – Amplified Emotional Response
The Moon is out of bounds twice in January: Jan. 8 through the 12, with the Moon in Sagittarius and Capricorn, and Jan. 21 to 25 with the Moon in Gemini and Cancer. Being out of bounds can amplify our experience of that planet.
While the Moon is out of bounds in Cancer, you’ll want to remember that subjective experience is at a peak. If you’re normally a more objective person, this might throw you off a bit. You may find yourself taken by emotion in a way that feels uncharacteristic. Or with the opposition to Mars and Mercury around this time, you might be facing off with someone expressing anger in YOUR direction, and you feel hurt in response, or especially sensitive.
The flip side is true as well. Either way, there’s a message here. Resist the temptation to react instantly, whether defensively or offensively. Reach out to others for clarification and feedback. If you’re angry, step back and then communicate when you can do so kindly, while aware of the other person’s feelings.
If someone is lashing out at YOU, check in, and defend your own boundaries if necessary. It’s totally OK to say to someone, “Wait a minute, I’m not feeling comfortable right now, and I’d like some time before I respond. Let’s table this for now and I’ll let you know when I’m ready to talk more.”
The Moon out of bounds in Sagittarius and Capricorn at the start of the month has both a more upbeat and downbeat feeling. There’s a major shift here from the typically optimistic Sag Moon to the sometimes more pessimistic Capricorn Moon. While out of bounds, these swings could feel dramatic.
A lot of us might prefer the often resilient Moon in Sag, but the Moon in Capricorn can help us become aware of any dependency issues and to cultivate responsibility for our own feelings and our habitual responses to life.
Mars Out of Bounds in Capricorn
Turning to Mars out of bounds, while things may have been a little murky at the end of December as Mars out of bounds was also square Neptune, Mars is now in Capricorn, and moving out of that square, increasing the opportunity to get more clear and calculated with our actions. This will just increase and possibly combine with some optimism and opportunity as Mars makes a trine with Jupiter around January 8 to 11. Notice how your body feels. Pay attention to desire and want around this time. What do you want to strive for?
I love doing vision boards for the new year, and if I were going to do one this year, I’d aim for these dates, between Jan. 8 and 11.
Now for some cautionary advice, there’s always some risk of taking things too far or going off in a wacky direction while Mars is out of bounds. This isn’t a given, but it’s important to be aware of. If you’re making new plans that are out of left field, this could be a great thing.
Maybe you’re breaking out of an old pattern, or you’ve finally stumbled upon some action that will take you in a positive direction after a period of spinning your wheels. In birth charts, Mars out of bounds often shows up as a talent for innovation. As a transit, this can be true, but it can also signal a time when we go off the rails a bit, or take a turn that seems pretty out of character and hard to reconcile once Mars is in a more normal range.
Since there are some good energies for taking action this month, I’ll temper my normal advice to wait out the out of bounds period, and instead suggest that if you’re ready to go, and you need to make a bold move, just talk about it first with people close to you, and see if there are any blind spots you have or things you’re just not thinking of because you’re chomping at the bit to move ahead. Trust your intuition and instinct. If your plans aren’t out of left field and relate to something you’ve been working on for a while, I’d say you have a green light to move ahead, especially in the last half of the month.
Mercury-Mars-Pluto Parallel
The last bit of declination news is an echo of last month’s connection between Mercury, Mars and Pluto as the three form parallels with each other around January 30 and 31. This grouping isn’t as strong as last month’s. But if you have been working on boundary issues, and that came up for you in late December, this issue might come up again at the end of January with yet another opportunity to get more clear about where you have an energy leak and how to communicate that to others.
Opportunity Knocks – Good Electional Dates
Before I wrap up today, I want to talk about some electional astrology, which has to do with picking dates for specific actions, especially those we want to go well. Financial astrologers have noticed strong growth potential in charts that have a tight Sun-Jupiter-Pluto aspect pattern which some have called the “magic formula”. This can include any combo of Ptolemaic aspects (conjunction, sextile, square, trine, opposition).
On January 22-23, we have the Sun conjunct Pluto in orb of a square with Jupiter. In terms of electional astrology, this aspect isn’t perfect because although the Sun applies to Jupiter, Jupiter is separating from Pluto. Still, there could be some powerful growth potential to tap into there. So it could be worth paying attention to if you’ve got something ready to push out this month.
My favorite electional date is probably January 18, when we have the Moon in Taurus with Jupiter, along with Mercury trine Jupiter and Saturn sextile Jupiter. This aspect pattern formed by planets in two sextiles plus a trine is called a talent triangle, and could be especially great for publishing or writing endeavors. The Moon is waxing at this time which aligns with intentions for growth or building.
Another good option is January 22 with the Moon in Cancer sextile Jupiter, while Venus is applying to trine Jupiter, and Mars is trine Uranus. This date could be used for important relationship actions, or bold new moves. There’s also a talent triangle between the Moon, Saturn and Jupiter.
The Moon opposes Mars and Mercury on this date too, so you’ll want to take stock of that dynamic, and possibly move those planets into houses that make sense for your actions. Also remember that the Moon will be out of bounds, which will amplify the Moon, so make sure to pay special attention to the Moon’s placement in that electional chart.
Venus is more closely trine Jupiter from January 25 to 28. So all in all, there is more opportunity for flow and a little smooth sailing this month, and especially in the second half of the month.
At the start of the month, there’s another talent triangle, this time between Mars, Saturn and Jupiter, and it’s in range between Jan 5 and 11. This could be a great time to take actions that are aligned with your sense of meaning or purpose, or your long term goals.
This aspect pattern aligns nicely with New Year intentions. And once we’re clear of the Mercury-Square Neptune aspect by January 10, we’ll have a little more clarity to talk about it. While Mercury is square Neptune from about January 4 to 10, it might feel like Mercury is still retrograde. There’s an opportunity for creative thinking, but we could also fall into magical thinking. A bit of that is just part of the process of thinking about how things COULD BE in an ideal world, but we need to pass any ideas from this time through our reality filters before implementing them.
OK that takes us to the end of this month’s declination report. To learn more about declination, check out my course Intro to Declination.
I hope you’re able to make good use of the planetary energies this month, and until next time, take good care.
If you’re brand new to declination, check out my blog post “What is Declination.”
- December 22 to January 23 – Mars out of bounds (SG)
- Jan 8 – 12 – Moon out of bounds (SG, CP)
- Jan 21-25 – Moon out of bounds (GE, CN)
- Jan 21-27 – Mercury parallel Pluto
- Jan 30 – Mercury parallel Mars parallel Pluto
- Jan 31 Mercury parallel Venus
Additional Highlights
- Jan. 1-8 – Mercury square Neptune
- Jan. 4-10 – Mars oob conjunct Ixion
- Jan 5- 11 – Mars-Saturn-Jupiter talent triangle
- Jan. 10-15 – Mars oob conjunct Pholus
- Jan. 18 – Moon in Taurus conjunct Jupiter; Moon-Mars-Saturn talent triangle
- Jan. 22-23 – Sun-Jupiter-Pluto (Sun conjunct pluto square Jupiter); Moon in Cancer sextile Jupiter and trine Saturn (talent triangle)
Photo by Dylan McLeod on Unsplash
