Your Horoscope This Week: January 2nd To January 8th, 2022

The first week of January starts out in earnest with a new moon in Capricorn on January 2. The energy is ambitious if not a little bit overzealous, what with Mars still transiting Sagittarius and applying a square to Neptune in Pisces. If ever there was a moon that urged her guests to read the room, this one is it. And, if the room in question is the court of Capricorn, then the room is crowded and deeply uncomfortable – despite Mercury’s departure toward the stars of Aquarius. Perhaps because the planets know that the shadow of Mercury retrograde promises that the departure will be a short one. Perhaps the heat of whatever Venus retrograde has set into motion has some of us wondering if it’s even possible to get out of the kitchen. Or, metaphors aside, perhaps the heartbreak of beginning yet another year subject to a surging virus and a government that offers no true recourse feels spiritually untenable and morally deflating — even for those of us who have always lacked faith in government leaders, even for those of us who strive to be ungovernable. If the cosmos offers us moments of hope, or at least ingenuity, it comes in the form of a trine between inquisitive Mercury in Aquarius and a well-connected true node in Gemini. Although, with a square between Jupiter in Pisces and true node in Gemini hours later, we’re reminded that the distance between what we hope for and what’s possible isn’t always easy to ascertain, and falling is always a possibility. It might be true that there’s no reward without risk, but it’s also true that not all rewards are worth the risk, and not all risks result in a reward. So, it’s important to evaluate the stakes, to recognize the difference between moral strength and stubbornness, between creativity and arrogance. There’s an echo of these sentiments throughout the week that begins with a sextile between Venus Rx in Capricorn and Neptune in Pisces on the 5th,  followed by a conjunction between the Sun and Venus Rx in Capricorn on the 8th.