Hello my friends!

I am hoping you all enjoyed your holiday season. Jupiter going Direct on December 25th helped a lot as it was the last retrograde planet - that means we are going into the new year with all planets direct and all energy flowing and moving forward. Yay!

New Year's Even has the Moon entering Aries, which gives people a feeling of empowerment as the new year begins and Mercury is moving very quickly, so projects are moving forward nicely, in many cases. We need to resist the urge to crash and vegitate after the holidays, because there is still a lot of work to be done and our energy will be highest before Mars goes retrograde on the 23rd. The 13th is a lovely Circle Day and would be a great day for a project or plan launch, but anything we do now is likely to be revised as Mars goes retrograde until April - great, we do a launch on the 13th (if we are in a hurry to move forward) then do the tweaks and re-launch (with all the details tightened) when Mars goes Direct again on April 13th (or maybe wait until April 21st when the New Moon in Taurus conjuncts expansive Jupiter!).

So what's in store for us in the new year? This year starts much the way last year did - Uranus at the first degrees of Aries, Neptune poised to enter rulership in Pisces (though this time he will stay there until 2025), lunations in the early degrees giving a feeling of anticipation and an urge to move forward and Saturn, very strong in Libra, insisting upon responsibility in relationships and the courts are helping people work out the rules as fairly as possible.

What is different this year? Well... we've been here before. Last year many of us determined to make major changes, only to find that a lot of smaller details needed to be taken care of before we could make that change. Many of us spent this last year dealing with those details and are again ready to try that change again. Mars in health and detail oriented Virgo will help us finish up the last of these details through July and he will also remind us that we will get no where without focusing upon our health.

Mars in Virgo will be a big deal this year, also. Virgo is the sign of health and details and Mars is the planet of action. When Mars goes retrograde on January 23rd, health issues might become more prominent, particularly if you have been putting of health details. We need to remember that Universe is often responding to our own thoughts - and many of us have been lamenting that we need to make health changes, yet not really applying the energy to making the changes we say we want. When Mars goes retrograde and our energy is muted and focused inward, we might get a push from the Universe to address our health issues - it could be as small as a cold that makes us get more rest or a negative report from a doctor that scares us into directing our energy toward the health issues we need to address. Those of us who start a new health program for New Years, might have to redouble their efforts as Mars goes retrograde, but if we can continue, even as the energy shifts, we will surely strengthen our long term resolve.

Overall, this will be a great year for Internet business and social media, once again, as the Age of Aquarius begins in earnest. There are no strong indicators for earthquakes or natural disasters this year, particularly in America. There is a chance for some earthquake action in Asia again and possibly a slight tremor on our east coast, but we don't see anything major in the charts for 2012. The Chinese New Year will be very early this year - January 22nd, the day before Mars goes retrograde. We will likely see another building year for many of us, though this year will be the year of the Water Dragon, which bodes well for creativity. The Dragon is an Aries energy, focused strongly on self directed creativity. Water is akin to the Moon which represents emotions - so creating things and a life that are emotionally satisfying will be the focus for many of us. On the West coast we will focus on home, family, children and on the east coast compassion and unity will be more the focus this year.

So it's an exciting time and an important time. There is much work to be done as we end the old Age and begin the new one. The more joyfully we can undertake these tasks the better off we are - and remember that December 2012 is an exciting time of evolution, not a tragic time of destruction. As far as I can see it's a time for us to be most in contact with the divine energy that powers our existence. The galactic center, astrologically speaking, is a great source for spiritual energy and the aligning of our winter solstice with the galactic center in December will sort of help us get instructions for the next phase we are heading into, with the new age - and the message is "we are ALL profoundly connected". We need to remember that we are an important part of the process and we need to remember that our thoughts and emotions create - particularly in the year of the Water Dragon. So let's see what we can do, my friends. Let's create lives we love and a world worth coming back to in our next incarnation - and a world we can be proud to leave to our children.

Wishing you all the very best in 2012. I am looking forward to sharing the journey with you. xo!

Carole

PS - Don't miss out on the Quadrantids Meteor Shower, peaking on January 3 & 4
The Quadrantids are an above average shower, with up to 40 meteors per hour at their peak. The shower usually peaks on January 3 & 4, but some meteors can be visible from January 1 - 5. The near first quarter moon will set shortly after midnight, leaving dark skies for what should be a good show. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Look for meteors radiating from the constellation Bootes. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constellation_Bootes)