Transcribed using AI, please forgive mistakes.

[00:00:00] Hello, and welcome back to the essential astrocast. I am your host, Veronica Perretti. And this is the podcast to listen to when you want to know what's going on in the heavens so that you can dictate your fate down here on earth. And let's start with a deep breath because it has been a week and a half.

Am I right? Take a deep breath in. Feel your feet and exhale it out. Just one more. And if you're in the car listening to this, keep your eyes open, but if it feels good to close your eyes and you're in a safe place, take a deep breath and allow your belly, your ribs and your chest to inflate

and feel your feet and your legs as you exhale it out.

I'm just grounding our bodies in [00:01:00] this moment. The most important thing you can do for yourself when things feel chaotic is to come back to the things that help you feel your body. And when you feel your body, you come back to the present moment. And they say that anxiety exists when you're thinking about the future.

And depression exists when you're thinking about the past. So the only place that we can experience contentment is when we are in the present. So take the time throughout your day to breathe, to feel your body, even if that is as simple as just literally doing what we just did, which took less than a minute.

So I hope I find you well. Full disclosure, I was not on the mic last week because I was so overwhelmed. So emotional. Not really having anything [00:02:00] inspiring or Helpful to say, and I really like to show up when I have something inspiring and helpful to say, and I like to be a source of optimism. I like to be a source of inspiration.

I like to be a source of, of course, teaching, but also helping you feel grounded. And so when I am not feeling grounded, it's really hard for me to show up here. So I have not been feeling grounded. I've been feeling really anxious and it can be really really hard to Show up and hold space when you are feeling that way and because of everything going on in the world It particularly reached a fever pitch yesterday And I was like, I gotta get on I gotta tell you what's going on So this is the deal.

We have mars out of bounds Mars out of bounds has been causing a ruckus. Mars is the planet of drive and [00:03:00] motivation, getting things done, moving forward. Mars is retrograde, as you know. So I've been telling you the past couple of months. Mars retrograde, you want to rest, you want to rest, you want to rest.

It's going to be a slow start to the year. And while that is true for many of us, and January did feel slow, mostly, the past week has been a little bit wild. Now, it's wild because of events going on in the world, and as I always tell you, planets don't do things, people do things. You make choices. Those choices have consequences.

You indeed dictate your fate. So, the planets are not going to make things happen, but they do give us a mirror to understand the patterns. So when I look at what's going on, the thing that really strikes me is that Mars is out of bounds and, and he's been out of bounds and will be out of bounds [00:04:00] for quite some time.

So Mars is retrograde in a. Sign that he doesn't really know how to, he doesn't have his best tools with him. He's in cancer. So he is passive aggressive. Now I am not saying all people who are cancers are passive aggressive. We are looking at the archetypes and we're looking at the collective energy and when we look at the collective energy, cancer is also an incredibly nationalistic sign.

So when we look at cancer from the viewpoint of world events. So we are experiencing that, Mars being out of bounds, meaning that he is unruly, hard to control, and we're seeing these very protective, and one might say, Passive aggressive or should we just say aggressive aggressive protective tendencies and these nationalistic tendencies.

So, I don't want to make the whole episode about politics, but I just [00:05:00] want to address the elephant in the room at the top. That this is a crazy time. We are all feeling Waves of fear. Waves of exhaustion. I came to the conclusion yesterday that my waves of exhaustion are actually waves of grief. As I mourn the country that I thought I belonged to.

Meaning that I thought or feel that we're better than this. So All of that is to say that I'm here. I am in it with you. I am looking for The help from the astrology and so I am going to share what the astrology can help us see today so Manage your energy. That is the main thing if you take nothing away from this podcast today take away that manage your energy I spiraled yesterday.

I really, my anxiety has been really high, but it really reached a peak [00:06:00] yesterday. I gotta manage my energy today. I gotta get off social media. I gotta not look at the news, I gotta manage my energy. I will get the clips and the updates and the tidbits tonight when I talk to my husband. I will then go on the news apps and just check in.

But we really have to do what we can to manage our energy so that we can show up for one another and show up for ourselves. Because if you don't take care of yourself, if you're not well rested, if you don't feed yourself, if you don't hydrate yourself, if you don't move your body and breathe, you can't be present to support those that need your help and need your support.

Okay. So make sure you're scheduling down time, you're connecting with your community. We're going to talk more about community today. So we've got Mars retrograde. Mars is out of bounds. I think he's a [00:07:00] big part of this energy that we're feeling and seeing. But we also, on the bright side, have a New Moon in Aquarius today.

So I'm recording this on January 29th, 2025. And today we have a new moon in Aquarius. It just occurred this morning. It perfected at 7. 36 a. m. Eastern Time. Earlier in the morning Mercury joined with Pluto and earlier this week, Mercury entered Aquarius, which is how he joined with Pluto because Pluto is an Aquarius.

So we have this lovely new moon, which is really in a wide conjunction to Pluto. So it is. The new moon is at nine degrees and Pluto is at one degree. So they're eight degrees apart. But I [00:08:00] would say because this is the first new moon that we're experiencing with Pluto and Aquarius in our lifetimes.

Because Pluto, as you may recall, went back and forth from early Aquarius back to Capricorn and back again, etc. Over the last two years, he came in in November and parked in Aquarius and he's staying in Aquarius for 20 years. So we're moving from a generation that was working with the ideas of resources, money, hierarchies, because that's Capricorn.

And now we are moving into a generation being born under this air element, which is going to be about connection of ideas, thought leadership, how do we create global connections, more technology, more science, more futuristic thinking. Those are the things that have to do with [00:09:00] Aquarius. Aquarius is also associated with groups and communities.

So while cardinal signs are generally more individualistic, as Capricorn is Aquarius is the quintessential sign of the community, of the group, of friendship. So this is an incredibly important time for you to be cultivating your communities, cultivating your friendships, cultivating your support networks.

There is more than ample research out there that spending time on your phone looking at social media is going to increase your anxiety and depression. Trust me, I experienced it yesterday. There's great information out there. I'm not saying to ban all social media. I'm not saying to not use it. I'm just saying to use it mindfully when you are grounded and able to take it in.

So with that said, we know [00:10:00] that the pocket computers are making us more isolated. So, do what you can to use your pocket computer to help you feel more connected. Maybe that is your group text. Maybe that is your you know, you can join Cosmic Yoga Club and come do yoga with us and we connect on Zoom, but that is community.

We're talking to one another. There are different ways that you can utilize connecting with community via Zoom. The phone via the internet, but also really important to connect with the people in your community that you live in your local community, your friends, seeing people in person. I think it's more important than ever to have that in person energetic exchange.

So, the new moon in Aquarius, I think, is going to be a launch point and a seed planting for many of us to fortify our communities [00:11:00] and it will be a new era. This is a 20 year project that we're working on. If we start today in fortifying our in person connections. What will our dinner tables and our holidays look like 10 years from now, 20 years from now?

So, we're doing that in my area. We have a mom's group and me and one of the other moms decided we're going to start a Mahjong club. Cause we both, she knows how to play, I don't know how to play, but I've always wanted to learn. So this is a way for the moms to get together weekly and do something and have a set date and have something fun we're doing together.

And that doesn't sound revolutionary, right? We're not going out and marching. We're not, you know, going to the state capitol and protesting. But just having those in person connections and supporting one another is going to be so important over these next few years. I was listening to a TED Talk with this woman.[00:12:00]

Sarah Delaney, and the TED Talk is called It Takes a Village, and I will link it in the show notes if you want to watch it. And she talks about how in Rwanda she spent time in Rwanda and how there's been so much trauma in Rwanda, but people are happier there than we are in many ways. And she attributes that to community.

And she says that community is the antidote to despair. Community is the antidote to despair. So, that's my primary message to you today. The way she closes the TED Talk is, Build the well before your thirst day. Your life depends on it. Build the well before your thirst day. Your life depends on it. And so I was thinking about that.

We are in a moment of chaos. We feel like, like this is on our [00:13:00] doorstep. What is happening in the news is now on our doorstep. So, whether we're talking about the fires in LA, whether we're talking about what's going on in our communities with people being deported, this is now on our doorstep. So you must fortify your community.

You must fortify your connections with the people that you care for and that care for you. So I'm getting really preachy today, but I told you my anxiety is like major and I really hope that this is helpful and not super annoying. But I have to, one of the reasons I record this podcast. In real time is because I want to feel the energy and be in the energy with you.

If I batched this podcast a month ahead of time, which I really should do, then it would be much more consistent in terms of being rolled out. [00:14:00] I would be guessing about how things were feeling. But because I'm doing it in real time, I'm in it with you. I know how you're feeling. I'm feeling it too.

So if I'm, you know, a little, if I sound a little bit wacky today, I apologize, but that's how I'm feeling. I'm feeling a little bit wacky. Okay. So this new moon is the first new moon that we're experiencing with Pluto in Aquarius. And it is a fresh start for many of us in this part of our chart. And so, depending on where this is happening in your chart, you might have some new things that you're planting seeds around.

But certainly this idea of connections, communities, groups, and friendship are all part of what Aquarius embodies. It is the start of a lunar new year, so this is the year of the wood snake. So we are coming out of the year of the wood dragon, and we are going into the year of the wood snake. My hope is that the wood snake helps [00:15:00] us have some sustainable and reliable change in a positive direction.

Snakes are about shedding. Releasing the old, making space for growing the new. They are a symbol of transformation. Wood is associated with growth. So, we can expect this year to be a lot of growth. 2025 numerologically adds up to 9. 9 is a number that's associated with completion. It is also can be considered a number associated with spiritual transcendence or Ascension.

The wood snake or the snake is associated with the sign Taurus in Western astrology, the astrology that I practice. And so there is a feeling of steadiness and groundedness. So transformation that is slow and sustainable is how I'm thinking about that. [00:16:00] So, muse on that in terms of your new moon intentions and in terms of your intentions for the year.

If you've yet to set an intention for 2025, this is a great time to do it. You can do it with this Lunar New Year. You can re energize your 2025 intentions. And you can also just set an entirely new intention if that is what you feel drawn to do. The new moon is also in a trine to Jupiter and Jupiter is in Gemini.

Jupiter is, you know, he's also part of the problem in terms of what we're seeing, what we've been seeing the past year. So Jupiter's been in Gemini. He's actually going to station to go to rock next week. Jupiter and Gemini has been creating, has been amplifying these siloed ways that we're receiving information and [00:17:00] expanding and creating more confusion around lots of misinformation and disinformation.

So Jupiter has been expanding those things in Gemini. He will, luckily, later this year, move into Cancer where he is exalted. And that will be, that's one of the bright points of this year. That'll be happening in June. If you have not If you have not yet gone on my website and purchased the Year Ahead Workshop, you can go ahead and purchase the replay of the 2025 Year Ahead Workshop, which is on my website at veronicaPerretti.

com slash events. And while I'm telling you about events, you can also go to that page on my website to sign up for the next Cosmic Conversation, which is my free gathering for for the Every every two weeks we gather and we talk on zoom and we talk astrology and we Talk about [00:18:00] what's going on and hopefully in the next few weeks.

We're going to do some more chart synthesis So I'll pull up some charts and we can look at them And then we ground our energy and do a little Journal prompt just to ground ourselves as we move into the week. So that's every other week on Monday at 5 p. m. Eastern Time. You can sign up for cosmic conversation for free At my website veronicapretty.

com slash events and now that I think about it that 2025 workshop Might not be on the events page. I think that's on the astrology page So you're gonna want to go to the astrology page for that Okay, so moving on from the new moon a couple other things happening this week. I hope that the sound is okay I'm recording during the day And I live basically in a live construction site because I live in a new community speaking of communities So there's a little more noise today than I would like to be recording with.

Uranus will station direct on Thursday. So if you're [00:19:00] feeling super duper anxious, this could be part of it because Uranus creates an unsettled feeling. One planet station, particularly outer planets, that's when we really feel them most acutely. So there's a feeling of the ground underneath us is shifting.

That Uranus is being sextiles by Mars, Mars, who is retrograde and out of bounds. We mentioned that earlier and we have a sextile. From Venus to Uranus. So we're really feeling the things that are most important to us are being shaken up. Now generally we think about sextiles as positive and harmonious and normally I would say this is great for having insights and electrifying your thinking and having these bursts of aha moments and creativity and you very well might be [00:20:00] experiencing that.

But we also might see that this is helping people who want to create chaos really create a sense of chaos and unsettling. With that said, you know, we've got Venus conjunct Neptune as well. So while Venus is not conjoining Neptune until Saturday, the first in exactitude, we're feeling it all week and Venus conjunct Neptune again on one side, it can be romantic.

It can be. Feeling like you're in the flow. If you're working on a creative project, it might be a great day to meditate or take a restorative yoga class or go on a spiritual retreat, but in your relationships, it might feel like you're getting taken advantage of. It might [00:21:00] feel demoralizing. It might feel like you're really unclear of what's coming next.

Not a great weekend for doing your taxes because Venus rules money. So Neptune with Venus, we don't want to be working on our taxes and trying to Comb the spreadsheets when we got Venus and Neptune hanging out together. Great for meditating. Great for creative self expression. If you are in a really healthy partnership, great for a date night.

All those things. Wonderful for meeting up with friends that make you feel good. But definitely staying away from the people that make you second guess yourself or feel not so good about yourself. But remember that sort of demoralizing energy could also be in the soup of how we're feeling because that Venus Neptune, it's trine Mars, you know, Uranus is in a sextile to [00:22:00] Uranus, Mars in a sextile to Uranus.

This creates what we call a talent trine. So it's like a mini trine, mini grand trine, if you will, it's two sextiles and a trine. So. If you are a person that likes to create chaos and confusion this is really working for you. You're doing a good job of it and you're utilizing that energy. And that's the thing about harmonious astrology.

We usually have to lean into it and use it. So use this for good. Use this on your creative projects. Use this for cultivating that sense of community that I mentioned earlier. Right now we're putting, we're using this energy right now in my mom's group to put together our Mahjong club. So utilize the energy in a way that feels good to you.

Put it to work for yourself. Again. Anxiety high, Uranus is stationing direct, do what you need to do to ground your energy. Come back to the simple things. Make sure you're eating, [00:23:00] make sure you're sleeping, make sure you're hydrating, make sure that you're moving your body. Moving your body does not mean doing a really hard Peloton workout.

Moving your body can be taking a walk, it can be stretching. Feeling that you are in this body is going to be so helpful in coming back to the present moment. And as I said earlier, you can only feel content in the present moment. The good news, while everything feels like chaos and confusion is reigning, next week as the planets move Venus will move into Aries and she'll be taking on her fighter stance.

Mars will be in a trine to Saturn. So hopefully Saturn, not the most fun guy in the Zodiac, but he's great when you want to put the brakes on. So hopefully Saturn in a trine to Mars next week will help pump the brakes on the [00:24:00] situation. We'll see. Mars is out of bounds, so he's a little unruly, but we'll see.

Also, we have Imbolc, a. k. a. Groundhog's Day, on Sunday the 2nd, so we are officially going to be halfway to spring. Congratulations. And I think those are all my notes. The one little thing I wanted to mention is that Venus is in her pre shadow. So meaning Venus will be retrograding. So if you took my 2025 year ahead workshop, if you haven't, you can go grab it.

Again, on the astrology page of my website, I will link it in the show notes. I said that the beginning of this year will move slow because we've got Mars retrograde and then we've got Venus retrograde, along with a Mercury retrograde mixed in there. But you know, Mercury retrograde, not a big deal.

Happens three times a year, sometimes four, don't stress out about that. So Venus and Mars retrogrades [00:25:00] are the hardest retrogrades. They bring up a lot of stuff for us, and we've been working with that. We've got a lot of stuff coming up. We also have Mars Square Chiron right now, so a lot of your core wounds might be coming up.

You might be feeling like a lot of things that are triggering you from your early childhood are coming up. Makes sense. Mars is in cancer. Cancer is associated with family. Squaring Chiron. Chiron is the wounded healer. He points to our core wounds. Where we have experienced trauma, where we feel like we're not enough.

So Venus is in her pre shadow, meaning that she has entered the degrees where she will later retrograde to. So just pay attention to what's coming up for you around issues of your values, what's important to you, your family, your relationships and your money. All those things are just going to be, you know.

Some flags might be popping up as Venus has entered her [00:26:00] shadow. She will be retrograding in March, in Aries, and then making her way back into Pisces. So, I feel like I fire hosed you a little bit today with all of the information, and if I was scatterbrained, I apologize. Full disclosure, as I said, my anxiety is high.

I am feeling a little overwhelmed, but I wanted to clue you in as to what was going on, and the main takeaway is take care of yourself. And that can be the basics, but just make sure that you're hitting the basics. Eat some food, get some sleep, turn off social media, make sure you're hydrated. Basics. And if you have the ability and the wherewithal, Cultivate your friendships.

Cultivate your local connections. See where you can cultivate community. And that's it. That's what I got for [00:27:00] you. I hope that you're hanging in there. You know where to find me. Oh, before I forget, come find me on Blue Sky. So I am Posting some astrology musings and tidbits here and there on Blue Sky. I'm trying to do it every day, but it has not been happening.

So, come on over, find me on Blue Sky. I will add that link in the show notes as well. Make sure you sign up for Cosmic Conversation. The next one will be on February, Monday, February 3rd. That's free. It's at 5pm Eastern Time. And if you haven't gotten the 2025 Year ahead workshop. You can buy the replay on my site under astrology.

And one last thing, I do have some one on one spots open for readings. Those are open to members of my email community. So make sure that you're in the email community, meaning that you're on my email list. You can join on the homepage of my website, VeronicaPerretti. com. And if you do [00:28:00] want to meet with me for a chart consultation.

You got to be on the email list to get the link. Okay, so that's what I got. I hope you have a wonderful day and I hope this was helpful in some way, shape or form. Sending you lots of love and grounded energy for the rest of the week and to next week. Thanks for listening. Bye.