Happy New Year Everyone!!!

I hope you are all enjoying the holiday and I wish you all the very best in 2012. The first day of the new year is a good time to contemplate on what you would like to accomplish in the year to come. Meditate on the future as you would like to create it. I find this approach a bit more useful than the usual resolutions but those are good too. Let's see what January has in store for us from the Cosmos.

The outer planets ( Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto) all are in direct motion this month and we are experiencing a Jupiter, Pluto aspect that puts a very powerful vibration out for bringing in the new year. Hopefully it will see leaders emerge globally with the vision to move society in new more productive agenda centered around actually moving toward the common good. I doubt we will have peace on earth but it's a worthy aspiration and we may be surprised at new leadership coming forth to steer the ship in the right direction. It should make an interesting political process in the USA and will be interesting to see who emerges in this presidential election. Jupiter with Pluto often brings prosperity and hopefully the economy will start the long climb back.

I want to let you all know that to be for warned is to be forearmed. We have an ill health transit that is running in about the same degree now through to the middle of March which will reappear again late September, early October. The midpoint is running at 28, 29 Sag and 0 Capricorn. If this is transiting something significant in your chart, take extra precautions through the winter season and take care to keep your stress level down. If you have a health issue, this is probably a good time to address it and get it under control.

Our retrograde challenge this month is Mars. It will retrograde at 23 Virgo on January 24th and does not turn direct until April 14th at 3 Virgo. This will create a situation for many of us where we will find the need to back track on our plan of action which could result in a fair amount of frustration but will undoubtedly end up giving us a better plan in the long run. If you find yourself running into road blocks, stop and take an honest look at where you are headed and re-evaluate your course of action. Mars retrograde also gives us the opportunity to go back and take care of things that got lost in the shuffle.

The Full Moon occurs on the 9th at 18 Cancer. Those who have had family for the holidays will feel the conclusion but hopefully with fond memories. Issues of our personal sense of security will come into the front of our consciousness. It would be wise to remember that security comes from within. We need to nurture it in ourselves while remembering to connect emotionally with those who are important to us.

The New Moon occurs on the 23rd at 3 Aquarius. This is a very good time to get that New Year resolution list out. Jupiter lends a positive assist in it's early degree of Taurus. No doubt there will be an emphasis on our finances and what is valuable to us. We will be called to balance our budget and find balance in those areas of life that are non-material values. If you have a favorite charity commit to supporting it this year. Personally, every time I see the ad from the Humane Society with all of those poor abandoned animals, I just want to cry so I think it's time to start sending them a check to help. What tugs at your heart? If not money, how about time? Go hug a dog or cat, run some errands for someone disabled. There's a lot to do out there.

That's it for now everyone. Enjoy the holiday and have a great 2012!
Robin Manteris