Horoscopes by Kerstin Hern from The Mirrored Lantern / Original art for J. Southern Studio by Spirited Animals
January greetings, and happy solar return wishes to all Capricorn and early Aquarius folks! This month is the freshest of fresh starts laced with invigorating goal energy in the Wheel of The Year. We have more astrological ease, flow, and harmony in 2022, and the majority of cards I pulled for this month reflect the themes of passion and power with Wands being prevalent, as well as The Magician, excellent signs and guidance regarding building/re-building your sense of Self, foundation, and purpose.
Shuffling for the collective, 8 of wands jumped out, so a message for everyone: Apply your personal tarot card in conjunction with the themes of movement, travel, forward action/taking action, aligning with your personal power and passions, soul purpose, and getting out of stagnant states by making and committing to choices this month. I also cut the deck landing on The Magician several times, so again, personal power is a theme this month—calling it back or employing it and taking action with the resources you have.
Stay tuned for the Celestial Insights blog for this month’s notable transits and the two major lunations with their symbols, ritual + altar inspiration, mantras, and more.
Here are your tarot + astro messages:
ARIES
Tarot Card: The Magician
This card points to uncovering power that was hidden during transitional or difficult experiences in 2021. You can now clearly see/integrate the insight you gained from the recent past which can set you up for new progress and abundance in 2022. You wield personal power and have access to manifesting what you desire through an alignment with your will and the cosmos. “As above, so below”: therefore, create the environment you want to live in. Such mundane things as cleaning out old, unused things from your room, deep cleaning your house, burning old pics and letters from painful past relationships is you signaling to the universe that you are clean and clear and claiming your rightful abundance.
Astro Snapshot:
Mars enters your 10th house of career and personal honors on the 24th through the first week of March. This is a peak window of opportunity and growth for career and professional life matters that won’t come around for another couple of years, so put yourself out there, embrace being busy, and get ambitious, because this is an auspicious time for those looking for work, looking to switch careers, or those waiting for the recognition they’ve been working toward for so long. Wear red, eat red fruit, light red candles—activate sacred Mars energy this month!
TAURUS
Tarot Card: 7 of Wands (jumper: 8 of Pentacles)
This card highlights where you may be or need to defend your position at work, home, or in any realm where you make money, are creative, or are part of community. For some, it feels like you may have stepped into more power/leadership recently and oversee a team that you are trying to rally to get on the same page and motivated. The message for those folks is to act in a practical, step-by-step, formulaic way with clear terms. This helps you master your role and improve your skills as a leader (or as an important part of a team). Don’t wait for change; make it happen. For others, if there is some sort of money/work conflict, take the high road but stick to your guns. Communication and movement of energy is thematic this month for everyone, so send the email, make the call. Ground with Capricorn energy and take charge.
Astro Snapshot:
Uranus entered your sign in 2018 and is there until 2026, so personal transformation/claiming your authenticity is HUGE during this period, and 2021 was pretty brutal with the Saturn squares… On January 18, Uranus stations direct, an opportunity to use all the tough love and difficult lessons from the past couple of years, culled with the North Node entering your sign mid-January, to speed up life goals and destiny moves. This can feel like ramped-up energy, which is exciting, just prepare for inevitable bumps by breaking out of rigid thinking and classic stubbornness so you can keep moving forward (8 of Wands). The North Node is part of the eclipse axis that has shifted from Gemini/Sagittarius to your sign and Scorpio, so it is a big, bountiful year with meaningful changes for Taurus folks!
GEMINI
Tarot Card: 2 of Pentacles (jumper: The Hanged Man)
Your monthly card is shedding light on the need to, or how you are, juggling several important matters, from financial health to actual health, your work/life balance, your social self with your intimate relationships. Get into an infinity flow by surrendering to the universe what you cannot control while applying ambition and fortitude to your goals. The surrender part will free up energy wasted on worry, allowing you to get practical and organized so you can be more efficient and successful. You will be busy this month, so The Hanged Man is offering advice to change your perspective so you can get away from stubborn thinking that may be holding you back from accomplishing goals. This juggling of inner and outer worlds, public and personal life, may be aligned with both Venus and Mercury Rx energy this month, asking you to reevaluate your relationships to money, values, love, your partner(s), and long-held beliefs. If you feel bogged down, Hanged Man also calls on sacrificing something to get into balance, and with Cap/Cancer lunations this month, this is absolutely highlighting work and personal life. Make a list of your work and personal priorities for this month and 2022, be flexible, realistic, and adaptable, then persevere by remembering that all energy ebbs and flows, so any overwhelm won’t last forever.
Astro Snapshot:
The eclipses activated your sign throughout 2021 which centralized transformation of your core identity, and on January 18th, the North Node moves out of your sign into Taurus, highlighting your 12th house of the unconscious, spiritual healing, inner dialogue, and all things hidden. Throughout January up til the 18th, there is also a Capricorn stellium in your 8th house, so other people’s money, attachment with others, deep emotional relationships, and all taboo/occult themes in relation to your identity, how you come off to the world, your personal power and values will also be highlighted and wanting some attention (and revision). January looks intense and transformative with potential re-dos in matters of love and money laced with lots of Scorpio vibes for Gems! Your January mantra is “go with the flow."
CANCER
Tarot Card: 6 of Wands
This feels like a win at work, either completing a project and getting recognition, or, you will have an opportunity this month to show off and use your skills and talents at work, within a family/close friend dynamic, or in another intimate community space similar to family or work. If there have been some disagreements or stagnancy in one of these intimate spaces, January is the month that the air will clear, energy will move, and collaboration will ensue. You will get the props you deserve in a new or existing space by putting yourself out there. Whatever showed up as your personal Tower moment last month is now in the past and you are coming out on top. Stick to your passions and listen to your heart and intuition more than your head this month if you start doubting yourself!
Astro Snapshot:
The Venus retrograde that started late December and lasts through the 28th of this month is in your 7th house of intimate relationships and partnerships, asking you to revisit, reevaluate, and possibly re-do some of your closest relationships, from lovers to friends to business partners—anyone with whom you’re intimately connected. Who is not meeting you halfway? Who have you not met halfway? What have you learned about yourself through the eyes of those closest to you? Reciprocity and integrity are important, and the planet of love and values highlighting your “zone closest people” is really wanting you to backtrack and see where you can get in balance through the veil of Capricorn energy (grounded realism). Venus Rx will square Chiron on the 28th right before she stations direct, so facing difficult realities can open a portal for healing matters of the heart and help you move out old energy that is not swerving you anymore.
LEO
Tarot Card: 9 of Cups
This is always a lovely card to get, calling attention to wish fulfillment but also embracing satisfaction in your present circumstances. If you’ve been struggling emotionally or within the context of a particular relationship, your wishes for healing and understanding are being heard and met this month. If you are feeling complacent in a relationship, this card is calling on you to focus on the present moment and all the abundance you have in your life while simultaneously releasing grudges. Your guides are reminding you that you ARE in a good place, don’t project! Let yourself be happy, splurge a little and enjoy yourself, celebrate love! By giving this gratitude, you will amplify what you have and make room for even more abundance…
Astro Snapshot:
Mercury stations retrograde on the 14th in your 7th house of intimate relationships, asking you to revisit and revise your love language, how you communicate with your closest partnerships, and even activating any unfinished emotional wounding to or from a close partner. Mercury Rx can tend to bring old flames and old friends from the past back around, so it may be with someone you have not communicated with for some time. This is good though… It’s an opportunity to get closure for good, and your 9 of Cups tarot card is showing you satisfaction and contentment are waiting. With your tarot card, this could look like a dream come true kinda romance (coupled with the 8 of Wands = travel, sending communication, taking deliberate action). If you have been asking for a sign whether to reach out to someone, here it is: DO IT!
VIRGO
Tarot Card: 10 of Cups
Leos got 9 of Cups, so you both are having relational/emotional abundance solidified in the beginning of 2022! This looks like a commitment, such as marriage or long-term devotion, being made in a close relationships, the culmination of an intimate relationship getting much needed healing (rainbow bridge = Chiron), or for some, even starting a family or getting reunited with family. Whatever it looks like for you, your January theme is emotional abundance, agreement/validation, and lots of joy with the one or those who light you up the most and live in your heart as family. With the 3 of Cups last month, this could be a strong friend-family feeling or actual gathering that is brimming your heart with joy.
Astro Snapshot:
With your December and January tarot cards, it seems appropriate that Jupiter, the planet of abundance, luck, expansion, and joy will be in your 7th house of intimate relationships and partnerships from last month through mid-May… Get in the mindset that you are magnet for joy, abundance, and love, because that is exactly the cosmic energy boost entering your personal/relationships orbit in January. Jupiter rules Virgos’ 4th houses, so connecting your intimate partnerships in your 7th to your home and with whom you feel secure is also relevant (moving in together, luck with moving house, expanded security and intimacy). On a side note, I know work themes were rough last year, and you’ll have this Mercury Rx on the 14th stationing in your 10th house of career, offering you a pause and fresh perspective to reevaluate what your work goals are/where you want to be, revisit unfinished business, and re-doing conversations to get clear. Prep for this time by double and triple checking all work documents, revising plans/goals, and accepting challenges as opportunities for deeper understanding and personal growth.
LIBRA
Tarot Card: 8 of Cups (jumper: The Chariot)
If you have had lingering grief or a repetitive relationship or emotional pattern flare up for some time now, your guides are calling on you to really, really walk away and move forward this month. 8 of Cups is asking you to stop avoiding these patterns and/or rationalizing your behavior/someone else’s behavior. It’s like you know what you need to do but are being stubborn or just succumbing to what’s easier, and it is not serving you. It feels like festering moldy energy to me (I smell damp towels in a dark bathroom). You had the Hanged Man last month asking you to take a new perspective to see someone else’s side and even sacrifice your ego to get in balance.This is a repeated issue, because the 5 of Cups is the initial situation, and the 8 is this situation showing up again, but now you can see the pattern and acknowledge how it is maladaptive. The Chariot is divine guidance leading you forward, physically galloping away from the problem (as is the 8 of Wands—also a travel/movement card). Even if it feels uncertain, trust your gut, cull your willpower and strength, and move (The Chariot) away from this person, pattern, situation, because it’s just keeping you stuck. You may be dealing with a Cancer, The Chariot’s zodiac sign, as well. Use the Capricorn energy available this month to find that grounded ambition the Chariot and 8 of Wands are guiding you toward and get movin’.
Astro Snapshot:
In relation to your tarot card, it is of note that Venus is retrograding through your 4th house of security, home, family, and belonging. It is calling attention to reassessing your relationships with the people you call family/you live with/with whom you feel secure (or not). In this reassessment, try to stave off people-pleasing and fawning (shadow Libra traits) and stand in your power to take care of your emotional needs and security. Speaking of security (and value a la Venus Rx), when the South Node axis shifts into Scorpio on the 18th, your 2nd house of personal worth, value, and money will get activated. South Node (Ketu) is about release, so meditate on comfortable patterns and habits that are not serving you regarding finances and personal value. This conjunction with Venus Rx energy could help you really confront some long-held patterns that are ready to get broken, as tough as it may be to do so. Get out of your comfort zone this month to get clear on your personal security and value needs.
SCORPIO
Tarot Card: 9 of Wands
This could be an encouraging message for some to persevere and push through whatever task or project you are working on that is almost done, which also speaks to the Capricorn energy we are in this month… The strong-willed mountain goat trudging up the hill with grit and determination. For others, this feels like calling attention to personal boundaries, or lack thereof. Last month was a “taking stock” sort of month where you were asked to reassess work and health matters, and now this month is about picking up speed and moving forward with decisions and actions, but with healthier boundaries to preserve your mental well-being (or vice versa if you are moving through someone else’s nebulous boundaries). Use the Venus Rx cycle throughout the month to check in with how you love, how hard you love, and who is deserving of that devotion.
Astro Snapshot:
You and Taurus folks will have a transformative year as the nodal axis points shift from Gemini/Sagittarius to Taurus/Scorpio this month. The South Node enters your sign January 18 and is stationed there through the year, coloring the eclipses throughout 2022… This looks like major reckoning and release of long-held, integrated ways of being, both internally and relationally with partners, friends, and family. Starting this month, self-improvement by confronting ways your ego is out of balance and what personal patterns are weighing you down are the goals and the work for Scorpios. This self-assessment, introspection, and emotional work will lead to stronger, healthier relationships (the 7th house area of your chart where the North Node will be moving). Do the South Node work to level up to your North Node destiny of sacred partnerships held in very high vibrations.
SAGITTARIUS
Astro Snapshot:
Mars is still in your sign until the 24th, so you are energized with fire in your personal fire sign, coupled with the suit of fire (Wands). Using this energy flow to accomplish goals and get things done in these first few weeks is auspicious, but on the 10th, Mars squares Neptune, a low energy day to rest and avoid confrontation. This can sometime be associated with deceit because the square produces conflict, so can bring out the shadow side of Mars (anger/aggression) and Neptune (deceit, addiction, victimhood). Just remember not all is what it seems with Neptune in the mix, so take this day to retreat.
CAPRICORN
Tarot Card: The Lovers
Like Sag, you did not have a jumper but several times when I split the deck, a certain card kept appearing. In this case, the 3 of Swords was sitting there, so I’m mentioning the potential for some folks being involved in some triangulation, potential heartbreak or disappointment, or harsh words said within an intimate relationship (either this month or revisiting these themes from the recent past). Your primary card is the Lovers, the higher vibration of partnership embedded with reciprocity and where vulnerability leads to intimacy. It may also, in its shadow zone, be calling attention to temptations outside of the commitment where a choice needs to or will be made. This is not scary and predictive in any way; it’s just saying that this is energy available to you/around you or highlighting this so you do not brush past any “Lovers” matters this month that may come up. Attune to your most intimate partnerships, be sure communication is honest and clear, and do not let harsh words disrupt something good you have going.
Astro Snapshot:
Mars moves into your sign on 24th, where it is exalted (making it extra strong with heightened awareness), thus shifting the collective into a productive gear, taking deliberate action with persistence. For Caps especially, you will have extra gusto available, but when out of balance or in a low frequency, it may show up as heightened anger and aggression. Be wary of this regarding your tarot card which highlights your close partnerships and the possibility of angry words… You also have a stellium of planets in your first house (sun, moon, Venus Rx, Mercury, Pluto, Ceres) carrying over from December through January 20th (except Mercury, who is there until the 3rd), really having you turn inward this month. Be a third person viewing you from the outside to get a more expansive, realistic perspective. Be conscious of how you are critical with yourself and of others, and how that criticism affects your personal power, the way you communicate, the way you love, and your ego.
AQUARIUS
Tarot Card: Queen of Pentacles (jumper: The Magician)
You are significantly able to manifest wealth of all kinds this month, and you have garnered the skills and experience to accumulate success. These 2 cards are a great omen for any business folks, new business or investment endeavors, and for overall financial and physical health. The Queen of Pentacles can take care of herself, her home and loved ones, and her business with ease and grace. The only caveat with this card can be a gentle reminder to not let money and the material realm disconnect you from your emotions/emotional relationships, your heart and passions, and not being too fixed in your personal ideas. The Magician is adding a splash of serendipity and power, helping you get what you need, when you need it by applying your will and efforts to your biggest dreams. You can find magic around you in nature (Q of P) and within you (Magician) if you seek it and ask for it. January is all about abundance for Aquarius folks!
Astro Snapshot:
Mercury and the Sun move into your sign this month, igniting your season—happy birthday! Mercury ingresses your sign on the 2nd, the same day as the Super New Moon, bringing in new insights, fresh ideas and inspiration, and some inner and relational clarity you may have been trying to get in recent months. Mercury will also be trining the North Node, which expands this clarity, inspiration, and ideation even farther to see your soul path more clearly with less fog. Mercury does go Rx on the 14th, so accumulate clarity, have conversations, action business deals before the 14th. Then, pause and use this Rx time to doublecheck your work and communications, let the dust settle, and pick up speed again in early February.
PISCES
Tarot Card: 10 of Wands
You had Wands last month, as well, focusing on plans and opportunities, and the collective card is the 8 of Wands, now more Wands! So, the theme of heart-centered matters/passions within your family or work space are carrying over from last year but are reaching a completion point, where the burden will be released this month by setting the intention and applying the effort to do so. Really use the full moon in Cancer this month to pause and assess what is just too much for you right now and release those tasks, people, situations, agreements that separate you from your personal power, confidence, and positive energy. This may look like severing or spacing a relationship or releasing some responsibility that is keeping you overwhelmed and unhappy. Whatever it is, it seems like it’s been going on for some time, so this month, in the beginning of a brand new year, let it all go and start fresh in the seat of your personal power. Claim your power back, Pisces. It’s yours and belongs to no one else.
Astro Snapshot:
Jupiter ingressed back into your sign late last month and will be stationed here until mid-May. This brings expansion of confidence, connection to higher power/spirituality, and luck in achieving your dreams and long-term goals. Jupiter takes a while to move around the zodiac, about 12 years, so this is a very auspicious time for Pisces natives to really engage with spirituality and their dreams (especially career-related goals), as this planet of abundance dips in and out of your sign for the last time on December 20th of this year. Your soul purpose, existential meaning of Self, higher learning, and achievement/rewards are all available, but let me tell you from personal experience, Jupiter transiting your 1st house can also make weight gain/general excess and lack of self-discipline available, as well. Just know opportunity is very, very available to you, but stay in a high frequency and energetic balance by keeping humility and self-awareness in check. Otherwise, blast-off, Fish friends! The world is your oyster.
Check out my weekly elemental tarot readings on Mondays @themirrroredlantern on Instagram for weekly insights to supplement this big monthly energy reading!
