Happy 2023! We start the Year with Venus conjunct Pluto in Capricorn before she moves into Aquarius for the rest of the month. With the Moon opposite Mercury Retrograde that loops in Mars still retracing his steps in Gemini, we have some old to clear out before the New can really begin. For those of you with good memories, last year had some of this flavor, too. The real traction/action kicks in more in March. So I am going to cover both the major themes for this coming year and the Cancer Full Moon. Hang in there and I’ll work on being succinct for you.
2023 major themes
Venus – what we desire defines us
Venus most definitely has a strong on stage presence the first month of this year. We began 2023 with our desire nature hanging out with the Lord of Deep Transformation. Hmmmm…. what might that mean, right? You can count on ending the year in a very different place than you begin it, for starters. There is a lot of ‘shadow’ that needs to be unpacked when Pluto knocks on the door. Because Pluto wants to help ensure the right use of power. Of course, it also highlights the hellishness of the wrong use of power, especially when it comes to our desires.
Venus in Pluto land is the dark underground of wanting something and taking it at any cost. It’s where power plays happen, particularly of a sexual theme. But it isn’t restricted to just that arena. Think money, food, fame or material gain to name a few. So we benefit when we get to know our shadow side. This is in service of a world where your desires make up the bright constellation that is you, quirks and all. Venus in Pluto isn’t glamorous so much as a closer look at the real spectrum from the bad to the beautiful. Will you own those deep desires or do they own you? When you embrace them, it helps burn off the internal power struggle that leads to so much wounding in the world around us.
Venus Retrograde happens in Leo this year, squaring Uranus in Taurus. It’s as if the individual spotlight is going to settle on your desires, so it’s time to get to know yourself. Because the first Full Moon of this year squares off with both Chiron and Eris, we are meant to own who we are. Not from a child’s space where we had to disown or distort our nature in order to belong. You’re the adult in your world now. Take the youthful side of you in hand. Own your best and worst so you can enjoy a right relationship to your longings. Let them enrich you and the world rather than stay stuck deep in the power struggle of shadow. Pull them into the light, love them and reshape them as you are now.
One key to this Venusian Year is the difference between a desire and an impulse. Desires help you bond with the object of your longing when you discover what is worth overcoming obstacles to obtain. Impulse is usually quickly fulfilled. You want a particular food, you eat it. Whereas the things that really matter to you are where you will discover more of yourself as you work to fulfill the longing. Those desires can call out the best in you when you work towards making them a reality. And in this effort, it is wise to serve them up in ways that others can meet you. Less of a power over and more of a power with situation. Play in this arena this year and Pluto promises rich rewards. The world needs you to be more YOU.
saturn in pisces – the limits of suffering
Saturn is actually in a good place in Pisces, although it takes time to arrive at the ‘good’. The planet itself has visible rings around it and as such symbolizes the ability to contain suffering. The downside is you absolutely have to release attachment to ‘success’ by ordinary standards. Pisces is the great cosmic soup that connects us all. It holds both our human and divine potential. At its best it can view the misery of the world without drowning in sorrow. At its worst it represents the cold indifference of those who don’t understand how to deal with another’s pain. The shadow side is where you blame the victim for being in difficulties. It’s our human dark side.
Fortunately, Saturn helps us acknowledge that drawback and work with it. This is why I said it takes time to arrive at the ‘good’. First we have to accept that we all have that disconnect within us that is simply a survival mechanism. But we are not limited to animal survival. The same collaborative genius that travels outer space and harnesses resources to make light and heat can now be turned to our emotional and soul growth. We make the world a better place by the simple every day choices we make. It’s the collective kindness, compassion and patience that builds a harmonious environment where we can thrive.
This trip through Pisces for Saturn comes at the end of a long 5,000 year reign of domination and greed. We are wrapping it up over the next couple years to move into a 300 year transition period. You are living at one of those pivotal moments in history. What is required is your unique contribution. What benefits everyone is if you can lovingly admit to the places where you don’t know how to hold your own pain, let alone someone else’s. Pain needs a witness. Something as simple as putting ten minutes on the clock and letting yourself hurt without judgement is a wonderful exercise. It offers you both mother and father role as you are now. Let yourself feel what you feel, within structure to hold it. Time is a great structure. It offers you presence and witness.
Don’t worry if you start out with judgement or criticism. Honor all of you. Just see yourself and the dialogue without any agenda other than knowing you. Once you can do that, no matter how imperfectly, you can offer it to another more easily. Know this. When you judge and blame others for their behavior you are trying to separate yourself. Saturn in Pisces can pull back the curtain and show you that you have your version of it too. This next couple years gives you a chance to be kinder to yourself first, then bring that compassion out into the world. Now that is definitely arriving at the ‘good’.
Pluto in aquarius – power to the people
We have a short preview of Pluto in Aquarius from March 23-June11th this year. Where Leo is our individuality, Aquarius is our collectivity. The world as it is cannot be fixed from the top down by any government that we have in existence. This transit is the era of switching from top down to bottom up. It takes over forty years to complete it’s cycle, but you get a glimpse this year. Revolutionary feelings can make themselves known. Good reminder – the revolution inside of you matters more than anything you fear in the world.
This is the placement that highlights individual choices, situations and challenges that can hold both long term consequences in mind and still call on resources at hand for immediate solutions. It’s also a time of big picture themes that emerge from small groups. It feels very much like one of my favorite quotes by Margaret Meade. “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful citizens can change the world. Indeed it’s the only thing that ever has.” The challenge, especially this year, is embracing the conflict of Aquarius. This is the habit of loving mankind as an ideal while loathing individual people. How can you accept and work with the world as it is even as you strive to make it one you can live in feeling safer and happier?
It helps to know that Aquarius is an air sign, which means the mind rules. Since Pluto is about the right use of power, expect to see the curtain pulled back on mind manipulation and the folly of being right. You don’t even have to be great player of mind games to get caught in the power struggle of who’s right and who’s wrong. That is the opposite of connection. Yet we get so invested in being ‘right’. Yikes, I can already see where I resemble that remark.
The ego death comes when you realize that being right serves nothing in the end when it costs you love, understanding and connection. This is not a call to give up your point of view. Rather it is an expansion into curiosity and exploration of what another thinks and feels. You don’t have to see it the same way to connect. It’s not an easy concept to grok, which is why we have another 20 plus years of Pluto in Aquarius to work it out. As for me, the Cards and the Stars help. So on to the Moon Cycle Report. Thank you for sharing this with me. Happy 2023!
If you would like to enjoy your Year Ahead Reading for 2023 get your live session with Lisa Here
where we walk through major themes for the year and your resources and challenges. Love to discover that with you!
Get your discounted reading – good until Sunday night 1/8: Year Ahead Special 2023
1/6/23 Cancer full moon nine of cups
We start this Moon cycle with the wish fulfillment card and the cycle with the Lovers card. Hmmm, wonder what the topic will be, right? We began 2023 with Venus, the Goddess of Desire/Love sitting in the Dark Lord Pluto’s lap. This Full Moon is in sextile to Uranus, to help free up our desires. Yet we aren’t out of the proverbial woods just yet. There is responsibility that comes with those hidden longings. Pluto is the realm of dark power that brings great benefit when it is brought into the light. In other words, we are stronger together than we are alone.
Power over another individual to attain desires inevitably hits a breaking point. We have centuries of revolutionary overthrows to prove that point. We are at another one of those turning points in history. You are part of it. Unchecked impulse control leads to destruction of both self and the environment. Yet desires and longings can inspire us to go beyond our current limits. We are motivated by a pull deep inside of us. These desires motivate us to challenge ourselves, overcome obstacles and bring a stronger, better version of us to the world to meet those desires. Or you can stay on the sinking ship where misuse of power sinks it. You choose.
The impulses and desires are not wrong, yet they may need a fresh container. Give them a new shape. I know a friend who loves to watch serial killer movies and play videos games with calculated violence. What a loving way to redirect her shadow by owning it and shaping it in constructive ways. Cancer has to do with both where we begin our lives and end our lives. This Full Moon is in harmony with the Great Awakener, Uranus. But it is also square both Chiron and Eris and Chiron represent the wounded, disowned or uninvited parts of us. That is a call to love those bits that wound up shamed, blamed and left out of the party. They are part of you and you cannot be whole without them. And the whole you is necessary and vital.
Towards that whole, as we unspool a Moon Cycle that is mind and body focused, this Cancer Moon stands as a reminder to be compassionately present with yourself as you view the big picture. When you can do that for you, it gets easier to do it for another. This Moon Cycle has elements that help you go well beyond the limits of loving acceptance you learned in childhood. Find your version of that. Start there this Moon Cycle and you are well on your way to a year where desires are not only met, they enhance your live beautifully.
1/7 five of swords
Ah, the fly in the ointment. Or maybe the mosquito in the bedroom you can hear but can’t see. Mercury is Cazimi and retrograde, which simply means the Suns light makes it impossible to see Mercury. But you know it’s there. Five is the number of creativity, innovation, individuality. The Swords are the mind. So be a good observer to what your mind chatter is. If you can’t locate it exactly, you can still hear the buzz. Your body will give you good information as to its location. Fear and doubt create a story you don’t want. This Five is a perfect symbol for that. Notice the fear talk. Then doubt your doubts and don’t worry, the Universe is going to help you – even if it may not feel like help at first.
1/8 king of swords
Mercury Retrograde hits a trine to Uranus today. It’s the second of three touches that help us break out of the old limits. Mercury is how we take in information around us and then put together a story and share that perspective with their world. In contact with Uranus, the Great Awakener, you can quite possibly get the big ‘Aha’ moment you need. This Moon cycle offers layer after layer of support these first couple days that build up to liberation. This King is represents wise counsel, the good advisor. It also is the big picture, detached and observant.
It allows you to go beyond your known boundaries and at least see what else is possible, even if you don’t act on it yet. Why not add in there, that the way you care for your thoughts, feelings and desires are part of what makes your world the richest possible place for you to live. Rich in a way that is never dependent on outside circumstances for abundance. Rich in a way that can recycle the garbage of your mind and turn it into compost to help new thoughts grow and flourish.
Everything you feel has a purpose. It is your work to sculpt and shape the material into the person you delight in being. The Sun is creeping into conjunction with Pluto. So the old you is start to be revealed so you can peel off the skin that you’ve outgrown. Spend time here and you’ll reap the rewards.
1/9 nine of pentacles
This card is the personal version of the Empress. Venus is trine (harmonious) aspect to Mars which means both our longing (Venus) and our ability to act on our behalf (Mars) work together. Nine is the number of mastery so today has a feeling of being empowered. What do you truly want and what is the best next step to take in service of the desire? Be brave, dig deep and find that something special. This is a good day to air out that secret longing and give it a new pair of shoes. Make them a good pair, whatever really looks and feels good.
Try a vulnerable ask, ease into the right time to make it and choose well who you share it with so you have tangible success to savor. Then be sure to give yourself that High Five in the mirror. You’ve earned it! There’s a playful energy available that helps you redesign things with joy and fun as a foundational part of expansion. From there, see what happens and let the tangible results make that an important ingredient as you move into the year.
The North Node moves into Aries giving a youthful enthusiasm to life. As the second Nine of the Moon Cycle it stands for contentment and co-operative endings. Aries North Node is a fresh start and two nines means clean endings first. You’ve got this. How you finish helps you begin something new. So work on how you wrap up and move into this North Node cycle. Where were you and what was your life like in 2005/6. See how far you’ve come and see what is ready to morph into the next version of itself in your life. Feel what comes up and ground it. I like to dance to ground. Find your version. That’s mastery…
1/10 ten of cups
Ah, we began this Moon Cycle with the Nine of Cups – or the make that heart’s wish card. Now we’ve arrived at evidence that what you wish for can be yours. The Sun is close to Pluto so we have to be willing to let go of the life we have lived in order to make space for the life you wish to live. This is back to the Venus Pluto conjunction of the New Year theme. What we love comes with the both plus and minus. So what we have to include in our expansion is the end of things that no longer work or fit.
In order to truly thrive we need to learn to hold both the best and the worst co-present. A child going off to college is a whole new life opening up. Yet is the end of the nuclear family container. Not everyone will be comfortable as you expand and grow. They may wish you to keep things the same. You may want it from those around you. Yet grow you must. Nothing can stay exactly as it is, so in order to enjoy the ‘Happily Ever After’ this card brings with it, you must may room for the change that this requires. Give yourself time. This is not a one day thing. We have season by season of change to adjust for growth this year. Breathe and savor the wish come true before you count the cost. It will help you balance.
1/11 two of swords
Mars is stationing to go direct after a long almost three months without forward movement. Whew, right? This two of swords is very much the shadow side of Gemini where you can’t decide between all the options. We are invited to see where that shadow plays in our lives. Look back over the months and see where or how your desires play a role in what you choose to do. The reason for that is simple. Research shows that facts don’t make our decisions. Rather decide based on how we feel about the facts. Then use them to justify our choice.
Which is why it is rarely ever productive to argue facts with anyone. Unless you connect with what matters to them, what they want and how they feel, those facts will be interpreted to fit their view of things. This two often represents that dilemma. But what is outside of you in the world is only a reflection of what exists inside of you. Where do you try to talk yourself out of what you feel based on logic? Hint, it won’t work. Bring it out and work on tailoring it to enhance your world. Yes it may be a task, but what a worthy task indeed. Honor the part of you that wants to be notices, recognized, accepted for what it is. I doesn’t have to run the show. Just give it a place at the table.
1/12 Three of cups
Mars stations direct today after almost three months of backwards motion and even longer in Gemini. What I love about this Three of Cups is we’ve moved from the shadow of the mental tug of war to the joy of creative communication in the last 24 hours. This three is almost always good news. However it does have a shadow side. This is where you use something called an intimacy buffer to keep you from too much vulnerability. This is where you may be happily partnered but your job is the third person in the relationship. It keeps you from spending too much time with your loved one.
We all have a built in thermostat to regulate how much closeness feels safe. It was set in childhood. If you don’t go in and consciously acknowledge where it is and work with it, that thermostat can keep your relationships at a temperature that isn’t comfortable. So this three reminds you to take command and reset it for what is right for you at present. Where can you nudge it up or down. If you have a history of flying off the handle when triggered, it may need to be turned down so you don’t have to lash out to create distance.
Or maybe you have a habit of keeping something else in a triangle position so you never have too much risk of intimacy with the one you love. Find out what yours is and then put your wise self in charge of spotting opportunities to adjust the thermostat. Best to go slowly and give yourself time to feel comfortable with change. No need to shock your system and collapse back into old habits. Slowly but surely you can get that Goldilocks temperature going!
1/13 the emperor
Ah, taking charge of you life is in store when this card pops up. It is the stark reminder that you are always the Captain of your own ship and internal weather. It’s kind of that Henry Ford motto, “whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right. So get your thinking (Mercury) to show itself so you can edit the storyline. It is your story, after all. Ask your brain to find evidence that whatever the worst interpretation of an event, situation or person may be, what else is there that you haven’t paid attention to yet. The Moon is in easy relationship with Pluto. As easy as a dance with the Lord of the Underworld can be, right?
Which means you can light a bonfire and throw those old fear stories into the flames and let the Phoenix rise out of the ashes. This card reminds us that we are the author, editor, audience and critic to our lives. If you don’t like the narrative, rewrite it. You may not be able to change facts but you can absolutely change how you rearrange those facts to fill in a better storyline. Play with that today. Own the power you have to change your present simply by how you view your current situation and any past that feeds into that story. You are master of your own ship and the weather you sail through.
1/14 prince of cups
The Moon squares the Sun and Pluto, so a change is required. Since the Moon is what we love and fear losing, it always overestimates threats and underestimates you. Adjust that view please. This Prince of Cups is an offer of help and welcome offered. Whether you take it or not is up to you. Don’t worry if you start from a young point of view of all this. Begin where you do and you can catch up to present time faster than the years it took to physically age. Venus squares Uranus today, so you can take a quick right turn. With Uranus in a Venus ruled sign, it can feel so very good to make that turn, too.
There are change aspects involving Mars today. Something called a Yod, which is the Finger of God shows up. It’s a triangle with the South Node and Mercury involved. It helps us dial down (South Node) the places where we are blind and suffer because we don’t see correctly. Our actions (Mars) are based on a lie that our interpretation tells us. That lie overestimates the danger and underestimates your resources and ability to respond. See the bigger picture with a little help from a planetary pointer. Then you can more creatively act to better serve you. Cups are heartfelt and creative. Which may be why your inner critic tries to limit what you see and how you think you can respond.
So pay attention to where your internal bully disowns or shames you for what you want or do. This is a great place to take charge of a fresh approach. There is a compelling need to break free of what has been a pattern. As you sort through the newly emerging data, let your heart show you how you truly feel. It can reshuffle your priorities. Let it. Feel your way and the mind comes third. It doesn’t set the story, it helps you retell it. Then and only then do you act on it. Intuitive guidance comes first. Your heart has to agree you want it (especially if it challenges you), your mind figures out the next step and then you take it.
If you need to hit pause, remember the tides come in one wave at a time. And even they roll back before they move ahead. Let these deep changes take root with time. Even if you break out today, it may be a process to integrate that into your life. You may meet objections to the shift. Use any push back like wind resistance to help you soar. Work with it rather than judge or curse those who aren’t quite ready for you to be more authentically you. The Prince of Cups offers an invitation for them to soar too, once you show them how you can fly.
1/15 six of wands
The Moon trines Saturn today to extend help to consolidate any gains you’ve made so far. There’s an airy big picture feel that lends itself to seeing success along this path you walk. This Six of Wands is the symbol for small victories. Take a moment to give yourself credit for even small changes that add up. Like fuel to the fire (wands are fiery) be in gratitude for each win. The more you can see what goes right , the more it expands your resilience to handle places that require adjustment and editing as you go. Take a moment to go look yourself in the eyes and acknowledge what you’ve done well.
The Sun squares the Moon so there may be a bit of a clash between ego that doesn’t want to fail and the Moon who has help from Saturn. It’s like the quote from Seneca, “Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.” Acknowledge what you learn even when the results aren’t quite clear yet. You take risks, you stretch, grow and that includes learning what doesn’t work. That isn’t a failure, it’s an education. Remember that.
1/16 temperance
We have both expansion and contraction energy today, nicely represented by Temperance. I always think of this card as breathe in, breathe out. Learn a new rhythm. Jupiter is square Mercury so you can see with fresh eyes what your path may be. Have fun playing with different interpretations of whatever is unfolding. The key here is don’t push, don’t shove. Things are unfolding in perfect timing. Any need to rush is most likely a way to take a smaller bite out of life now than a bigger one later. The important thing is to take one deliberate bite, savor it or decide you want a different flavor. Then do that. Good, now do more of that deliberate selection and inventory on how well your choice works for you.
1/17 Magician
Mercury is getting ready to turn direct today. The Magician is the most powerful card in the Tarot Deck. It reminds us that no matter the circumstances, we can turn lead into gold with a little magic. And the magic is us. When we apply what we sense, feel, know and do to any situation we can snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. We can reframe anything that happens and let it give us new insight as if by magic.
Logic looks just at a narrow set of facts. Magic reassembles the same facts without changing them and the restructure itself tells a different story. It’s like grammar. One of my favorite books talks about the two ways to write this sentence that takes the same exact words but with punctuation, reverses the meaning entirely. Example: A woman without her man, is nothing. Okay now add another comma and watch what happens. Woman, without her, man is nothing. Take this as your invitation to play with the structure of your data. You have untapped power waiting for you to discover it.
1/18 the hermit
Today is a great day to spend quality time alone. The Sagittarius Moon is separating from it’s opposition to Mars who still hasn’t quite recovered from its backwards mind spin of the last few months. Which means do less, contemplate more is a good theme today. Whatever you can push to tomorrow safely, do it. Rest. The Sun is in exact conjunction with Pluto. This is the illumination of what has been hidden underground in the hell realms. You can and must own your shadow in order to create something more than what you have in the past. Let everything you discover become part of what moves you forward, along with Mercury which is finally going direct.
The Hermit is a card for inner contemplation that turns on the light that then leads you forward. Get still or at least in muscle memory so you can let all the change settle into new avenues in your body. Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter which is in Aries. So the Moon today helps you get a renewed understanding of yourself, your beliefs and what makes sense. It is a bigger frame that can hold the difficult shadows you face in yourself. You can and will bring light to whatever the darkness is. You are lovable, as you are. And your best self wants you to be more than your worst moment. Find your way forward to do the best version of you. Which is so worth a little time, don’t you think? Happy Hermitting.
1/19 two of cups
Whew, this is the second two in the series which means you have taken a fork in the road that moves things on the other path farther and farther away. Life has changed. It often comes as opportunities dressed up in loss. We have to let go of things outgrown so we have room for the new. Some of those things released are shadows you faced recently. Or if you prefer, you need to empty your coffee cup instead of wasting good coffee pouring more into a cup already overflowing.
Mercury is now direct and yet it is not moving very quickly. It’s in an Earth sign and they are the slowest to shift gears. This is a card for gentleness. So go easy. Gather up all you’ve witnessed, experienced, felt and thought. Let them weave together deliberately in a structural container to house you going forward. You live within the limits of how you interpret the world around you. Really invest in setting those boundaries from desire rather than fear.
Know that a good perspective on what works for you and what doesn’t is called a boundary. That helps you navigate the unknown without needing to armor up. Again, this two highlights gentleness. Water doesn’t need to be violent to wear down a rock. It just needs consistent, persistent application. What is your version of that for the boulders in your path?
1/20 lovers
The Sun moves into Aquarius today. The energy of this sign is a definite shift from the heavier earth energy of Capricorn. While Capricorn can impel us to take personal responsibility, Aquarius is more about the collective responsibility. Often when we don’t choose to behave according to group bylaws or norms, there can be unpleasant consequences. The Lovers highlights a choice. It is not just the card for the physical connection but can also illuminate all the ways you can connect.
With Pluto dipping into Aquarius and Saturn just finishing up it’s season there, how we do our groups and communities is the focus of change. Where and how can we incorporate the individuality that makes us unique into a group where that contribution can be a disruptor. So instead of power over the individual to restrict their individuality, it is about power with each person to find a way to contribute that adds more than it disrupts.
There will be a learning curve. But we start in our own small way with our personal circles. As you contribute more of your authentic self in expanding ways, you can grow through the exchange. Observe, where it lands well, where doesn’t. Can you discuss or even prepare people for the changes you may be experiencing? Are you open and flexible with people changing up their interactions with you? Okay, enough questions. You get the point. You get to choose. Hint: Rigid hard line responses leave people brittle and not able to flex with the changes that are here. The Lovers invites us to do what we love in a way that loves us love what we do sustainably. What a wonderful intention to bring to this epic change year ahead!
