StarWatch
by James Jarvis, M.A. 
The universal year 1998 resonates with the frequency of the number nine (1+9+9+8 = 27, 2+7 = 9). The main themes for this year are completion and unity. We have the opportunity in a "nine" universal year to complete, literally "to fill up," all areas of life experience that we initiated in 1990. Use this year to review the last eight years of your life to see what is coming to completion for you.
Since the "nine" year resonates with the archetype of the Hermit or Crone, it is a time to free up some of the energy we have invested in the outer world so that we can focus on our inner world. One of the ways to do this is to see if your energy is being drained by any "incompletions" in your life. For example, say you borrowed a book that needs to be returned to its owner. On some level, that incomplete action is commanding a certain amount of your energy. By completing "unfinished business" this year, in your relationships, job, or projects around the house, you will free up energy that can then be devoted to your inner world. By doing so, you will have more energy available to tune in to what wants to happen, or be initiated next year, as we move into a whole new nine-year cycle.
As we complete this nine-year cycle on the level of the physical plane, our energy is freed up to concentrate on the second theme of the year, which is Unity. On a spiritual level, the "nine" year offers us the opportunity to experience oneness, the quality or state of being in union. With the sub-influences of the two and seven, this year is about discovering how we are truly one with, and not separate from, others. The spirit of harmony, cooperation, and justice of the two combines with the wisdom, insight, and spiritual direction of the seven to provide us with new opportunities to move into selfless service to the planet. Use the energy of the "nine" universal year to tune in to your calling as a world server.
January 3-5 Mars sextile Saturn. With Mars in Aquarius in positive relationship with Saturn in Aries, this is a great time to get some of that unfinished business done. Mars/Saturn helps us concentrate our will so that we can be focused and disciplined. Mars in Aquarius is about using the will to break free from restriction or devoting one’s personal power to humanitarian causes. Is there a cause that you’ve wanted to stand up for? If so, you can use this sextile to mobilize your will into action!
January 9-12 Venus conjunct Neptune. Venus/Neptune heightens our idealism to the maximum, but since both planets are in Capricorn we have the ability to blend our idealism with our practicality. Review your dreams for yourself and your desire to serve others at this time. What can you do now to begin bringing down your ideals so they can become realized? Quiet your mind and allow your feelings of compassion for others to flow through your heart. You may find yourself inspired to express what you are experiencing and feeling at this time through art, dance, gentle flowing movement, or any activity in which you bypass the rational mind and move into subtler levels of communication.
January 9 Venus retrograde in Capricorn. Venus in Aquarius, which has been retrograde since December 26, goes back into the sign of Capricorn on January 9 and then goes direct again on February 5 at 18 degrees Capricorn. Since Venus represents what we value, including finances, this retrograde may be affecting your cash flow. Perhaps you’re feeling a little tighter financially than usual. Now is a time to be more conscious about money matters such as budgeting, saving, and all that good stuff that is so easy to forget to do. Try tracking your spending for a month as an experiment. At the end of the month, look to see if your spending is aligned with your true values. You might find that you could free up some cash to channel into what you truly value.
January 12 Mercury in Capricorn. Mercury will be in the sign of Capricorn until March 5, so use this time to get linear, logical and organized! Mercury in Capricorn helps us focus our minds in a systematic way. If attention to details is a problem for you, usually this transit can help. If making lists of things to do is difficult, get out some large paper and crayons and just brainstorm all the things you’ve wanted to do. Just getting it out of your brain and onto paper will help you be more objective about what to do next.
Most of us are better at nurturing other people than ourselves, so this month is about "nurturing the nurturer."
January 12 Full moon in Cancer.
The moon is full at 22 degrees Cancer at 8:20 a.m. this morning. The focus this month is on discovering what we need for nurturing and comfort. Most of us are better at nurturing other people than ourselves, so this month is about "nurturing the nurturer." Spend some time by or in the water (preferably hot) this month. Examine your needs for being dependent on others. Is it hard for you to ask for help? Do you go out of your way to look independent so you don’t have to acknowledge your dependence needs? Open yourself to the nurturing influence of "the Mother" this month; you might be surprised at how she is always close to you through a myriad of helpful friends and loved ones! January 19 Sun enters Aquarius. The sun moves into Aquarius today at 10:46 p.m. The challenge of Aquarian energy is to blend the personal with the impersonal. The ruling planet of Aquarius is Uranus, and with that rulership comes visionary, forward-thinking qualities. Aquarians want to be on the cutting edge of what is next for the planet. Unfortunately, though, they are often misunderstood as they are usually far ahead of their times and often seen as quite eccentric. With the sun in Aquarius, we have the opportunity to heal our wounds around alienation or not fitting in. We also have the opportunity to serve the collective through sharing our original insights and visions of how the world can be transformed through positive and progressive change.
January 25 Mars enters Pisces. Mars will be in the sign of Pisces from January 25 - March 4. With Mars in Pisces there is a focus on surrendering our personal will, and with it the illusion of being in control. Mars in Pisces asks us to open ourselves up to be guided by spirit. Someone gave me a pad of Post-Its recently that sums this theme up perfectly: "If you want to make God laugh...make plans." With Mars in Pisces, the challenge is to "let go and let God." In other words, by surrendering our need to be in control of the outcome of our efforts, we open the possibility of Spirit co-creating with us. By doing so, we are acknowledging that we are not alone or separate from divine will. This shift of awareness will help us tune in to this year’s theme of unity consciousness.
January 27 Moon conjunct Neptune & new moon in Aquarius. The moon is at the same degree of Capricorn as Neptune is this morning at 8:22 a.m. and then moves into Aquarius and conjuncts the sun at six degrees Aquarius this evening at 10:01 p.m. Moon/Neptune heightens our feelings of devotion and increases our "urge to merge" with others. With the new moon in Aquarius, however, the focus is on the need for independence and autonomy. Use these transits to check out where you are on the spectrum of merging/autonomy needs. We all have needs for merging and autonomy, and we often bring in others that emphasize one side or the other of this spectrum to help us come into balance within ourselves. Let your relationships teach you what you need to learn this month about your "urge to merge" and your desire for independence and freedom.
January 28 Neptune enters Aquarius. Neptune enters the sign of Aquarius at 6:49 p.m. this evening and will be there for approximately 13 years! This is a major transit and represents quite a shift in collective consciousness. Neptune’s transit through Capricorn has challenged us to dissolve the mind’s artificial separation between the spiritual realm (Neptune) and the physical realm (Capricorn). We have witnessed the miraculous dissolution of totalitarian regimes that have prevented the free flow of spirituality to the masses. We have witnessed a massive shift toward what I call "embodied spirituality," which is a spirituality that is not separate from our daily lives, that honors the path of the householder and person in the world as no less spiritual than that of renunciation.
Now with Neptune’s transit into Aquarius, we have an unprecedented opportunity for collective awakening. With Neptune in Aquarius, we are working with the archetypal combining or joining of the sixth chakra (the third eye, ruled by Neptune) with the seventh chakra (the crown, ruled by Uranus). Neptune is associated with the third eye because of its relationship to the development of the intuitive, visionary, or clairvoyant senses and our ability to transcend our own boundaries and merge with higher consciousness. Uranus is associated with the crown chakra because it speaks of how we open to universal life force energy and connect with spirit in order to give meaning and purpose to our lives.
Over this next year we will have incredible opportunities to look at what blocks us from opening to higher consciousness energies. Neptune will go retrograde on May 5 and will go back into the sign of Capricorn from August 22 until November 28, when it will move forward once again into the sign of Aquarius for twelve more years.
With Neptune in Aquarius, we have an incredible opportunity to integrate higher consciousness energies into our being if we are willing to open up, surrender, and ground these new energies. Use the retrograde periods and the time before November 28, 1998 to really ground your spiritual practice, whether that is through meditation, concentration and visualization, breathing practices, internal martial arts, yoga, tantric sexuality, earth-based ritual, or movement. We are moving into a new era wherein the focus is on embodied spirituality. To fully embody these higher energies, we must create a strong, grounded vehicle that is capable of running increased energy, light, and consciousness.
James Jarvis, M.A. is a master astrologer and psychospiritual counselor. He is available for astrological and numerological LifePath readings and psychospiritual counseling for individuals and couples Mondays and Fridays at Bayside Center for Healing in Kirkland ([425] 821-3394) and Tuesdays and Thursdays at East West Bookshop in Seattle ([206] 523-3726). For a brochure on his services, Transpersonal Training classes including Awakening the Energetic Body and Opening to Intuitive Guidance starting January 12, or to schedule appointments please call (425) 774-4975 or e-mail <lifquest@gte.net>.
