January Horoscope for Aquarius:

The year begins with a Mercury retrograde in Saturn-ruled Capricorn through the 15th. Saturn is one of your rulers (along with Uranus), and the one that affirms your love of order. Your paradoxical nature can become fixed in matrices of thought, only to bust out of them suddenly under the influence of Uranus. This retrograde gets you thinking about practical realities, and the tangible steps to manifesting your goals.

You may be dealing with outstanding financial obligations, or be caught in a snare from the past. You may, for example, be coming to terms with a mortgage or other major contract that is sucking you dry. It's a time to review your obligations, and see them from new angles. Watch who crosses your path now, since they may have fateful solutions to any quagmires.

New Moon in Capricorn

You can commune with heavy Saturnian realities in the dark of the Moon on the 15th. Mercury goes direct that day, but don't expect answers to be flung from the void. These are long term, foundational concerns that are on their own time table. You can revisit your convictions and consider what your authentic goals are now.

This is not necessarily an unhappy time, but perhaps a serious one. Venus is aligned with the luminaries to add well being, and bring substantial connections your way. The ties your making now are based on shared purpose and values.

Good Vibrations

There's a noticeable elevation in mood with planets shift signs soon after the New Moon. Jupiter goes into Pisces on the 18th, enhancing your ability to tune into others at the heart level. Your creative ideas take on a mystical bent.

You get to dance with the love planet Venus when she lifts off in Aquarius on the 19th. This brings much-needed levity and encounters with those that feel like kindred spirits. You can go further with the right collaborators now. Happy Birthday! It's your solar return when the Sun goes into Aquarius on the 20th. It's a time to reflect on the last year, and take notes on what you'd like to see happen in 2010.

Be gentle with yourself, since you are being pulled in two directions. It's the same tug of war going on in society, and astrologically it involves your two rulers Saturn and Uranus. A major theme that continues from 2009, is the extremes of responsibility and freedom, barriers and breakthroughs. Just when you think you've put things in order, the bottom falls out. That continues to take you ever deeper into your psychic depths, and eventually will have you living with greater authenticity.

Pressure to Transform

The month ends with another Pluto-Saturn square, which asks you to let go of what's dead in your life. That also includes paradigms. It's a process of stripping that continues into 2010. You often have the gift of emotional detachment, but your sign can doggedly resist changing your mind once it's set. This aspect is an invitation to not know who you are, and the ways you might change.

This highlights another key theme for 2010, which is soul-level metamorphosis. External events may happen that force you to let go of the familiar, and to "die" to who you've been. What's happening to you, is also happening in the collective. You can be a guide for others -- as a teacher, artist, friend -- with insights that help people deal with the paradoxical energies of 2010.