Heads Up!
Look out 2026, here we come!
Heads Up!
An Almanac of Astrology and Astronomy for the Creative and Curious in All of Us
by Kathy Watts
January 2026
All times PST (Pacific Standard Time)
Happy New Year! The big hitters Jupiter and Uranus are retrograde but the rest of the planets are direct. Even better, the month (and the year) opens with the Moon in Gemini. We have celestial permission to be frisky, clever, and curious about everything. Venus and Mars are more rowdy than usual. Look out world, here we come!
Thu Jan 01 the Moon is in Gemini all day. And with the day of the week being Jupiter’s day, we can make this a big scale creative and communicative year. Remember that, every day. At 5:33 am Mercury squares Neptune. If something looks or feels too good to be true, look through it and maybe past it. At 1:11 pm Mercury changes signs, leaves big-hearted Sagittarius and enters more constrained Capricorn. Heads Up. An extra dose of mental responsibility can carry us through the whole year, if we don’t forget!
Fri Jan 02 At 5:09 am the Moon leaves Gemini and enters Cancer. Enjoy a fine breakfast, whenever you get up.
Sat Jan 03 the Moon is in Cancer all day long. At 12:40 am the Moon opposes Venus. Satisfaction may have been hard to come by. At 2:03 am we have the Full Moon at 13 Can. Heads Up. It’s a lunar month rich in devotion. Share it. At 4:37 am the Moon opposes Mars. Some challenges are fleeting if not imaginary. At 2:54 pm the Moon conjoins Jupiter retro. Sometimes a spurt of good luck can be overlooked. Keep working and see what happens.
Tue Jan 06 the Moon is in Leo when the Sun conjoins Venus at 8:36 am. Aesthetics are subjected to the brightest of spotlights. See what still shines. Twenty-one minutes later the Moon moves out of spunky Leo and moves into more serious Virgo. This can provide more if not better perspective.
Wed Jan 07 the Moon is in Virgo all day long. At 6:43 pm Venus conjoins Mars in Capricorn. Heads Up. Venus-Mars conjunctions are touchy things. It can turn into a passion overload. Work on that romance story now. Love, and all relationships, require work.
Fri Jan 09 the Moon is in Libra all day. At 3:41 am the Sun conjoins Mars. That’s a lot of Fire to dump into a congenial, diplomatic Air sign. Heads Up. At 9:35 am Venus opposes Jupiter retro. This can temper any over-zealous tenderness without removing all kindness. How is that romance story going?
Sat Jan 10 the Moon is still in Libra all day long. At 12:42 am the Sun opposes Jupiter retro. Heads Up. Be more honest about what you can do and what you can do for others. At 6:25 am Mars opposes Jupiter retro. Your work can do more service than you might think. Perseverance furthers. Yes, another Heads Up.
Wed Jan 14 the Moon is in Sagittarius all day. At 12:17 am Mercury opposes Jupiter retro. Heads Up. Are you presenting yourself and expressing yourself as you intend?
Sat Jan 17 the Moon is in Capricorn all day. At 4:43 am Venus changes signs, leaves Capricorn and enters Aquarius. Aesthetics and social interactions may become more gregarious although perhaps not much warmer. At 8:59 am the Sun trines Uranus retro. The strange and innovative can be your friend. Feel free to experiment. At 11:40 pm Mercury conjoins Mars in Capricorn. Heads Up. Know what you want and then act fast. Think of it as ‘move fast and don’t break things.’ It’s also the day before the New Moon in Capricorn. Heads Up. It’s always good to be careful but now it’s good to be extra careful and protective of all that matters most.
Sun Jan 18 the Moon is in Capricorn for the first half of the day. The very dark Moon conjoins Mars at 7:11 am. Be extra energized (and maybe self-centered) as the day begins. At 7:48 am the even darker Moon conjoins Mercury. Ideas may come and go so fast that they fail to fully enter the world. At 11:52 am we have the New Moon at 18 Cap. Heads Up. Use this time to begin a more practical and disciplined approach to your work and your daily life in general. The Moon sextiles Neptune at 1:57 pm then goes void of course until the Moon changes signs and enters Aquarius at 2:18 pm. At 6:03 pm the Moon conjoins Venus in Aquarius. You and your work are noticed by more people than you know. At 8:35 pm the Moon conjoins Pluto. It’s okay to be intense if you don’t let it get out of control. At 9:38 pm Mercury trines Uranus retro. You could engineer a modest surprise that works for you. It’s also the last day that the Sun spends in constrained Capricorn. Tomorrow things may feel much much bigger although maybe not much more warm-hearted.
Mon Jan 19 the Moon is in Aquarius all day long. At 5:45 pm the Sun changes signs, leaves Capricorn and joins the Moon in Aquarius. Heads Up. When the Sun changes signs with a New Moon, it gives the new sign an extra boost. With Aquarius being Fixed and Air, discussions may deepen and get more complicated but so will personal convictions and ideas. Heads Up. At 8:04 pm Venus conjoins Pluto. Social connections and notions of beauty can have very deep roots. At 9:56 pm Mars trines Uranus retro. Heads Up. Use caution and don’t let this get out of hand (because it wants to get out of hand).
Tue Jan 20 the Moon is in Aquarius almost all day. At 6:34 am Mercury sextiles Neptune. Think aspirations and watch for inspirations. At 8:41 am Mercury changes signs, leaves Capricorn and enters Aquarius. This Capricorn/Aquarius cusp is unique in that both signs are ruled by Saturn. Mercury can react by shifting his focus from tightly defined concerns to wider interest in the same subjects or projects. At 10:50 pm the Moon finally moves out of Aquarius and enters Pisces. Now the world can get more moody.
Wed Jan 21 the Moon is in Pisces all day. At 7:49 am the Sun conjoins Mercury. This may be the most intuitive day of the month. Pay attention to where your mind wanders and see if your heart is already there.
Thu Jan 22 the Moon is still in Pisces all day. At 9:15 am Mercury conjoins Pluto. Some thoughts hang on so tightly, you could trip over them. They may be anchored in great wealth, though. Pay attention.
Fri Jan 23 the Moon is in Pisces most of the early morning. At 1:17 am Mars changes signs, leaves Capricorn and enters more free-wheeling Aquarius. Mars is much happier here. Do as much as you please, then some. Your audience and admirers are waiting. At 1:33 am the Moon conjoins Saturn. If the day starts out slowly, it may be a good thing. At 2:28 am the Sun conjoins Pluto. Heads Up. This is often the most intense day of the year. Look deep down to the bottom of the well and find something that drives you forward in the best of ways. At 5:17 am the Moon conjoins Neptune and then goes void of course. Emotions and dreams are powerful things. The Moon changes signs and enters Aries nine minutes later at 5:26 am.
Mon Jan 26 the Moon is in Taurus when Neptune escapes the depths of Pisces and enters Aries again at 9:37 am. Heads Up. Dreams can come to life. Handle with care.
Tue Jan 27 the Moon conjoins Uranus retro at 8:43 am. Crazy ideas may look less crazy. Stay smart. The Moon sextiles Saturn at 9:58 am and then goes void of course. Be grateful for any mild taps on the brakes. At 12:55 pm the Moon leaves Taurus and enters Gemini. Heads Up! Go be your best mercurial mischievous curious self. That’s my plan. We only have from now until Thursday afternoon. Splurge. At 3:02 pm Mars conjoins Pluto. Heads Up. Wait, let’s make that HEADS UP. Write that battle scene, heck, write the start of the war. Just keep it fictional, okay? Let’s hope the rest of the world keeps it fictional, too.
Wed Jan 28 the Moon is in Gemini all day. Go for it. Also, the Moon trines the Sun at 3:06 am, the Moon trines Mercury at 12:01 pm, and the Moon trines Venus at 12:32 pm. It’s a trine-happy day. If you can’t lay low, at least resist the temptation to run with what is too easy to be true.
Thu Jan 29 the Moon is still in Gemini when Mercury conjoins Venus at 2:17 am. Think kind thoughts about friends and families and favorite characters, no matter who they feel about you. The Moon leaves Gemini and enters Cancer at 2:32 pm. I’m ready for another cup of tea, and maybe a nap.
Fri Jan 30 the Moon is in Cancer all day long. At 7:18 pm the Moon conjoins Jupiter retro. Share whatever good luck comes your way. It will return to you in a bigger way.
What a crazy month to kick off a year at least as crazy as the year we just left behind. Mars and Pluto have some high-gear aspects. The days before and after the New Moon on January 18 look to be especially dicey. The shift of the Sun from Capricorn into Aquarius looks to be especially dicey. Saturn rules both of those signs, and Saturn being retrograde in Pisces makes for a bit more mushy and less strict Saturn. Heads Up for that period.
The conjunctions of Venus and Mars and then Mercury and Venus provide plenty of opportunities for personal buttons to be pushed. Keep calm and let such waters flow over you so you can keep your head down and work away as pleases you best. If you need a longer snorkel, you can get one.
No matter what the outside world tosses at us, we have more control over our inside world. And we can make this coming year better than last year. That part is up to us. Us.
Hang on and make January do what we want and need.
Heads Up!