Illustration by Ishita Dharap

Have you ever put some rice, oil, and spices into a CrockPot and watched it cook from beginning to end? Standing in front of the stove, observing every whistle, listening to every spit of steam while the ingredients transform inside? No? I thought so. Well, get ready for a restless month of slow cooking that inaugurates 2019.

Let’s welcome thirty days of steaming, boiling and precipitating inside a metaphoric cooker. Prepare for some passionate explosions around the 22nd and a delicious, warm, tangible result on the 31st — if you prepared your metaphoric rice well! In my astro-studies, each January seems to be a particularly strange month. Nothing starts in full swing, yet nothing has come completely to an end. This can lead to a bit of trouble when trying to shift yourself into gear and getting things rolling.

Each January, as an Aquarius Sun, I find myself going into hibernation. Perhaps it is because my own birthday seems to be around the corner (shout out to my Aquarius readers!), or because campus life is bubbling up again, or because the Chicago winter is starting to feel like an embodied experience. For me, February is when things truly begin.

January 1-7, Week 1:

This is a week of a solar eclipse and a new moon blooms in the hardworking sign of Capricorn. The south node —our universal subconscious —is in the sign of Capricorn. Meanwhile, the north node —our collective higher purpose —is pushing us to feel our feelings to the very core. Perhaps you’re asking, “What do I really want?” Maybe  you’re saying, “I don’t think I want what I thought I wanted.” You might be ready to build something long-term, in a more responsible manner than before. If you started a winter class at Ox-Bow, perhaps you’ll gain insight into a module of artistic practice that truly works for you. You’ll allow questions into your practice concerning, perhaps, economic, aesthetic, or social aspects of your work, where something is shaky, you’ll implement new plans right away. If you’re someone who chose to take a winter class at SAIC, you’re likely feeling inklings of the winter blues or Seasonal Affective Disorder setting in (Visit the SAIC Wellness Centre for further help). Campus feels like a ghost town, the Loop looks grayer than ever, and the museum isn’t enticing enough to go pay a visit (or, does it?). I suggest intentionality seeking within the self when the outer energetic/physical body/world feels low!

January 8-15, Week 2:

On the 13th, Jupiter, the teacher planet, is sitting restlessly with Neptune, the dreamer planet, in the sky forming the first of the three squares for 2019 (astrology and geometry are interlinked). One square now, one in June, and another in September — which signifies stress between faith and dreams. Squares in the stars are moments that create space for conflict between two opposing thoughts, emotions, or beliefs. This is a time when one can be swept away by unrealistic promises made by people of authority in our lives or become more disorganized in our daily routines than usual. Grounding is key, but will be harder to achieve than anticipated. In the earlier astro-articles, I’ve spoken about journaling and ritual creation as ways to stay grounded. However, sometimes doing these things alone is unhelpful. Community can be an alternative to seeking solitude — groups of people speaking or thinking a similar truth and having similar world-views have the potential to inspire, challenge, and nurture us simultaneously. I suggest tapping back into whatever you may call your “higher philosophy” of life through these times — be it through nature, religion, a moral code, or interconnectedness to universal love, or perhaps visiting some spiritual sites..

Here are some of Chicago’s spiritual centers that are free and open to the public:

1. Soka Gakkai Buddhist Centre
2. The ISKON temple: their Sunday feast is free and delicious.
3. The Bodhi Spiritual Centre: an inclusive, non-religious centre for talks, lectures and free workshops.

January 16-23, Week 3:

All the prep-work on the self done during Week Two will be crucial when we enter Aquarius season during the third week of January!! On the 21st, there is a Leo Full Moon Lunar Eclipse. Expect a crisis of sorts in areas concerning the individual versus the collective. This is the explosion I was referring to. It may be critical, jolting, and intense. There may be a magnification of pre-existing problems in relationships and there will be a “black and white” edge to our problems — we will want resolution or to kiss the crisis goodbye.

January 24-31, Week 4:

This is an opportune time to take a peek at the Art of Connection show  (Jan 25 to Feb 8) at the Sullivan Galleries — where the graduating cohort of the Masters of Art Therapy and Counseling 2019  presents its work on what connection means through art and mental health. Themes surrounding the balance between the personal and the political will be showcased, in true alignment with what the skies are asking of us at this point of the month.

As we start getting into the rhythm of the second month of 2019: a new spring semester l and coping with the residual impact of the beautiful full moon, we are blessed on the 31st with a wonderful link between Saturn, the taskmaster planet, and Neptune, the dreamer planet. This energy is marvelous, a gift. It may bring us an answer to the vague search of this month, and for some, the unresolved mess leftover from the turbulent winds of 2018. Our materialism and spirituality tend to become further aligned now, we are way more focused than we have been and are ready to take on this exciting new chapter of 2019.