January begins in Capricorn season when we turn to face the new year and deal with whatever reality brings. As the Sun slowly climbs back up from its lowest point at the solstice in December (in the northern hemisphere), life can be renewed and we can work to build structures that last and develop self-mastery and wisdom through discipline and the acceptance of limits.

At the start of the month Saturn and Neptune are still spinning illusions and confusion in Pisces but the energy is about to shift. The emphasis on Capricorn helps you to focus on what works and encourages you to take responsibility for your ambitions and what you want to build in this world. More on the meaning of Capricorn here: Capricorn Myths

There are plenty of opportunities to get to grips with the Capricorn area of your chart due to the massive pile up of planets in that sign. The month starts with the Sun, Venus and Mars in Capricorn, while Mercury joins them on the first day. Each of these planets will conjunct the Sun and start a new cycle in January making this a good time to check in and see how that part of your life is doing.

This clustering of planets is similar to the bundle formations we had in 2024 and 2025, although it’s not as densely packed as in those years because Jupiter is further ahead now. When the planets all pile into one area of your chart it can be stressful because it concentrates the energy in one sign and/or house. But you can use this to get something done in that area if you choose to work with it.

As the Sun, Mercury, Venus and Mars shuffle through Capricorn they all oppose Jupiter and form a T-square with Chiron. This provides the potential for healing but you may need to watch for overdoing things or overreaching yourself, although the Capricorn vibe may be too sensible to let that happen in a big way.

The Full Moon on 3rd January is in Cancer conjunct Jupiter opposite the stellium of planets in Capricorn. This is great for getting stuff done, bringing projects to completion, or getting organised and deciding how you want to spend the rest of the year. Just make sure your feelings don’t get carried away with themselves.

The lunation is followed by a bunch of conjunctions between the Sun and Venus on 6th, Venus and Mars on 8th, and the Sun and Mars on 9th. Lots of potential new beginnings and fresh starts. Pay special attention to the Sun Mars conjunction as it’s a good time to check your goals to see if they’re realistic and see how your energy is working and whether you need to change your approach. This can help you to prepare for when Mars goes retrograde in January 2027.

By the middle of the month there are 6 planets in Capricorn when the Moon enters the sign on 16th. The stellium now starts to conjunct Pluto in Aquarius, adding intensity to everything you do. Venus is the first to reach Aquarius on 17th January, just before the New Moon in Capricorn on 18th which is conjunct Pluto, sextile Saturn Neptune, and trine Uranus.

This lunation provides a strong new beginning in the Capricorn area of your chart, as well as in relation to any area influenced by the stellium. It may feel intense with the added energy coming from Pluto but you can channel that into achieving whatever you need to do, especially if it involves letting go of old structures and reforming or transforming your approach.

Aquarius season arrives when the Sun enters the sign on 20th January while conjunct Pluto and Venus in Aquarius, and Mercury and Mars in Capricorn. Mercury enters Aquarius later the same day, followed by Mars on 23rd January. This is an incredibly tense period with 5 planets in Aquarius and the Sun, Mercury, Venus and Mars all conjunct Pluto simultaneously. If this hits your chart, you’ll certainly know about it!

The one to watch is the Mars Pluto conjunction which becomes exact on 27th January. This boosts your energy and ambition and could trigger power struggles and fights, but you can also channel it into making constructive changes to your life and renewing any area that it touches.

The day before Mars conjuncts Pluto, Neptune enters Aries to stay until 2039. This could be a powerful new beginning and you could receive an inspiring new vision for your life. But remember: this new dream could turn out to be illusory or only partial so you’ll need to take things slow and test potential new paths against reality before diving in too deep. You may want to wait until Saturn enters Aries next month before making firm commitments. More on Neptune in Aries here.

Here’s a breakdown of the astrological events of January by date:

• 1 Jan – Sun sextile true North Node
• 1 Jan – Mercury square Neptune
• 1 Jan – Mercury enters Capricorn
• 2 Jan – Venus sextile true North Node
• 2 Jan – Chiron stations direct at 22° Aries
• 3 Jan – Full Moon at 13° Cancer
• 6 Jan – Sun conjunct Venus at 16° Capricorn – superior conjunction
• 8 Jan – Venus conjunct Mars at 18° Capricorn
• 8 Jan – Mercury sextile true North Node
• 9 Jan – Sun conjunct Mars at 19° Capricorn
• 9 Jan – Venus opposite Jupiter
• 10 Jan – Sun opposite Jupiter
• 10 Jan – Mars opposite Jupiter
• 11 Jan – Venus square Chiron
• 12 Jan – Sun square Chiron
• 13 Jan – Mars square Chiron
• 14 Jan – Mercury opposite Jupiter
• 15 Jan – Venus sextile Saturn
• 15 Jan – Venus trine Uranus
• 16 Jan – Mercury square Chiron
• 17 Jan – Venus sextile Neptune
• 17 Jan – Sun sextile Saturn
• 17 Jan – Venus enters Aquarius
• 17 Jan – Sun trine Uranus
• 18 Jan – Mercury conjunct Mars at 26° Capricorn
• 18 Jan – New Moon at 28° Capricorn
• 19 Jan – Mercury sextile Saturn
• 19 Jan – Mercury trine Uranus
• 19 Jan – Sun sextile Neptune
• 20 Jan – Sun enters Aquarius
• 20 Jan – Venus conjunct Pluto at 3° Aquarius
• 20 Jan – Saturn sextile Uranus
• 20 Jan – Mars trine Uranus
• 20 Jan – Mars sextile Saturn
• 20 Jan – Mercury sextile Neptune
• 20 Jan – Mercury enters Aquarius
• 21 Jan – Sun conjunct Mercury at 1° Aquarius – superior conjunction
• 22 Jan – Mercury conjunct Pluto at 3° Aquarius
• 23 Jan – Mars sextile Neptune
• 23 Jan – Mars enters Aquarius
• 23 Jan – Sun conjunct Pluto at 3° Aquarius
• 26 Jan – Neptune enters Aries
• 27 Jan – Mars conjunct Pluto at 3° Aquarius
• 29 Jan – Mercury conjunct Venus at 14° Aquarius

Note: these dates are for GMT/UT. Check the details for your time zone at Astro-Seek where you can also look at the charts for all the alignments. Remember that all these aspects have orbs of influence so these dates represent when the energies peak.

For more details check out Astro Journal 2026, a workbook for astrologers available in paperback, Kindle, EPUB and PDF. Only the PDF has printable worksheets but the other editions include the same text so you can recreate them for yourself. Here are the links:

Astro Journal 2026 – Amazon (Paperback and Kindle)

Astro Journal 2026 – Payhip (EPUB and PDF)

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