So a little note as we dive in
here, I just wanna let you know

that I recorded this podcast
in two parts, so unfortunately.

We have a lot of construction noise
where I live, so every time I sat down

to record, I kept getting interrupted.

So bear with me.

The first half of the podcast was
recorded before the New Moon, so

the tone is a little more somber.

Second half of the podcast recorded
after the new Moon, and the tone

should be a little bit more uplifting.

Okay, so here we go.

Welcome back to The Essential Astro Cast.

I am your host, Veronica Perretti,
and this is the podcast you listen

to when you want to know what's going
on up in the heavens, so that you can

dictate your fate down here on Earth.

Okay.

It's been a week.

It's been a few weeks.

It's been a year.

We are, 16 days into 2026.

And it is off to a roaring start.

It's been really challenging.

I have not been on the mic with you
since last year, since 2025 in December.

I was really busy at
the start of this year.

just researching and getting
ready for my year ahead workshop

called Dictate Your Feet.

Welcoming 2026.

That was awesome.

So much fun.

And we really got a lot.

I dug in deep with that research
and there's a lot to chew on there.

So if you haven't, you
can go to my website.

And purchase the recording,
the replay of that workshop.

It's called Dictate Your Feet
2026, and it's on the events page.

So you can go there and, purchase that
for $35 and get the replay and the slides

and dig into all of that information.

And it gives you a really nice.

Overarching view of the
astrology for this year.

So I am recording this on the 16th
of January, 2026, and it's Friday,

I don't normally record on Fridays,
although I've been off recording.

Schedule for a while now.

Mostly I have not been with
you because I was so busy

getting that workshop together.

I couldn't really focus on
anything else that week.

And then last week was our first
week in our new schedule over here

in my family and in my business.

So we're now doing Cosmic Yoga
Club once a week on Fridays.

10:00 AM Eastern time and one Sunday a
month for Sunday Sanctuary, which is a

gentle, inspiring moment to start your
Sunday, start your week, end your week,

depending on how you think about it.

And that will be next weekend.

So January 25th will be
our first Sunday sanctuary.

You can drop into those classes.

So if you have not practiced yoga
with me, you're not sure how you.

You'll like it, what you feel
about yoga on Zoom, all that stuff

you can drop into those classes.

Now.

Again, go to my website,
veronica preti.com

and go to the yoga page and you
can find out all about that.

But last week I was feeling like I
got shot out of a cannon, not only

because of the astrology, not only
because it was the first week that

my son was doing five days of school.

So he's in school from nine
15 to 12, so it's super short.

But he was doing Monday to Wednesday.

Now he's doing Monday to
Friday, which is wonderful.

And it was my first week with my
new schedule teaching yoga on Friday

mornings, which is delightful because
I don't have him screaming for me and I

can just really drop in and it feels, I
feel more inspired, I feel more aligned.

I feel more in tune.

I feel more grounded.

It's just a much.

Better experience for me teaching
and also for my students.

Okay.

So with everything going on in
the world, we are, for all intents

and purposes, seeing our federal
government go to war with the city of

Minneapolis for not following the news.

That's my take on it.

We are reaching a fever pitch, a tipping
point, whatever you wanna call it, with.

What's going on in this
country, my country, where I

reside, and most of you reside.

I know some of you are in other parts
of the world, but from my perspective,

you know, this is, we're reaching this.

This moment.

that makes sense, right?

Because we are reaching the
Saturn Neptune conjunction

that's coming in February 20th.

So February 20th.

We'll have Saturn and Neptune join at zero
Degrees Aries for the first time in not

only our lifetimes, but recorded history.

They've met in Aries, but not.

at zero Degrees, which is the Aries
point, which is the first start.

That's the starting point of the Zodiac.

So this is pretty powerful.

We know that we're living
in unprecedented times.

That word unprecedented really
has almost lost meaning at this

point because everything is
unprecedented at this moment.

But what I think is really
interesting is that.

We are.

Seeing this response that
has a lot of courage.

So I feel like the astrology of this week,
and I did not come up with this on my own.

I took this from Anne Ortelee,
who's my favorite astrologer.

I love following her.

You should definitely follow her
if you're an astrology enthusiast.

Although her work can be like
drinking from the fire hose,

that's what I always say.

She talked this week about how
we're going from fear to courage.

And that makes perfect sense
because this week, is really,

about these squares to Chiron.

So Chiron has been in Aries for a long
time, many years now, and it's coming

to the end of its time in Chiron.

We will experience Chiron in
Taurus this year, later this

year, story for another podcast.

But we had the Sun
Square Chiron on Monday.

And then we had Mars Square Chiron
on Tuesday, and we will have

Mercury Square Chiron on Friday.

As these planets, they're moving
very closely together through

the late degrees of Capricorn
and Venus already had it square.

We are feeling this intensely
because Chiron is the wounded healer.

It shows us where we are wounded, but
that's also where our greatest gifts lie.

Chiron, is going to bring up fears.

It's going to bring up trauma, things
that trigger us, things that hurt us.

And we have all these planets at the
late degrees of Capricorn, notably

Mars, which is exalted in Capricorn,
meaning he's feeling very powerful.

Mars is a planet of war in ancient times.

Astrologers also looked at Venus
as a planet of war because Venus is

associated with our social order.

So we're seeing the square between our
trauma, our emotional self, our wounds,

and the hierarchy, the patriarchy,
those in power, the authority,

which is represented by Capricorn.

Now, I shared this in my Cosmic
Conversation Group on Monday,

which is my free offering.

So once a month you can come
join Cosmic Conversation and

we talk astrology totally free.

The next one is coming up in February.

I will include that in
the show notes below.

And of course, if you're on my email list,
you'll always know when that's coming.

So make sure you join my email list.

You can go to my website,
veronica perretti.com,

and it's right there on the homepage.

So we had last week when this woman,
Renee, Nicole Good, was assassinated.

she was like the embodiment of Venus.

Venus is in Capricorn and
last week on that day, Venus

was between the sun and Mars.

Mars is of course exalted, so Mars
is overpowering Venus and then they

were in an opposition to Jupiter.

Jupiter in cancer is, you know,
Jupiter and cancer is also exalted

and Jupiter and cancer is excess.

And cancer is very protective, so
it's an excess of feeling protective,

whether that is protective of someone
else or protective of yourself.

And then all of this is happening
with a square to Chiron.

Chiron is the wound, and I will say
my opinion about this is that we're

seeing the resurgence of wounds.

That are collective and generational and
deep in our tissues, and at least for

those of us that live in this country,
go back to not only World War II and

what we witnessed across the ocean,
but also, what goes back to slavery.

And I saw a woman on Instagram
do a video about how ICE is more

similar to the slave patrol.

Which was part of the origination
of the police in this country

than it is the Gestapo.

And I'm not an expert in history, but
I think that's really interesting from

the perspective of being an astrology.

We're looking at these squares to Chiron.

And Chiron is the wound and the gaping
festering wound in this country is

slavery, and it's never fully been.

Addressed.

And I would say the even more,
recent gaping wound is Jim Crow.

And when I saw that video,
I thought, oh, there it is.

That is the wound.

That is what's being triggered.

That is what's being activated.

Not to say that it's not also rhyming
with what happened in World War

II in Germany and the Holocaust,
but it certainly is of course.

But in terms of this activation of
Chiron, that really resonated for me.

So I hope that I'm not rambling too much.

All of it feels very emotional and
really raw, and I've been really

struggling with staying informed,
watching videos, and then stepping back.

I'm protecting my own mental
health, being able to take care of

my son and show up in my life, and
I know that we're all doing that.

And then I also have a friend
who is possibly listening to

this who lives in Minneapolis and
is experiencing this firsthand.

So this is not a video she's watching.

This is real life.

I just send so much compassion
and love out to all of you, and

my hope is if you're listening
to this podcast that you are.

Hoping to become more aware aware of
what's going on in the world, and a

source of light, for those around you.

And that is all we can do right now.

We can show up and do our best.

And so today I called my congressman
who happens to be a Republican.

'cause I live in one of the
only real swing districts

in this country that's left.

The phone is like not going through.

It's busy.

I got a busy signal the first time and the
second time it said all circuits are busy.

That says to me that Americans are
really angry and everybody's calling,

and while I am irate about what's
going on in this country and how people

are being violated, abused, murdered.

Kidnapped.

I am really trying to focus on the light
and the places where people are helping.

And Mr.

Rogers says, look for the helpers.

And there's a lot of helpers, and I
would say there's more of us than them.

There's more people that want to
help one another than there are

people that wanna hurt one another.

So with that, I just want to
say that the Chiron is getting

activated and we're all feeling it.

And I don't know if this is even clear.

But.

We are working through those Chiron,
squares this week with all the personal

planets moving to stabilize a bit because
those planets all moving together so

closely through Capricorn, they are
now sex tiling, Saturn and Neptune.

So one of the big notable things
of this year is the Saturn

Neptune conjunction in February.

Richard Tarnas, who is a very
famous astrologer, wrote a

book called, cosmos and Psyche.

He talks about how Saturn, Neptune
conjunctions, which happen every 35

years, are a moment in time when people
feel disillusioned, where people are

responding to a tragedy of some sort.

And we're certainly feeling that, and
we're certainly experiencing that.

And so the fact that these
things are coming to a real.

Tipping point.

A real fever pitch makes sense
because we're approaching that

perfection of that conjunction.

The conjunction really has
been with us all of 2025, so

we've been gearing up for this.

2026 is going to continue to be crazy.

February is going to be,
when it really amplifies.

And we really experience it.

July is then going to be a very
intense time, so I hate saying

buckle up, but it is buckle up,
but it's not really buckle up.

It's more like lock in because we
have to lock in to feel grounded.

'cause we can only be advocates
for our neighbors and.

Advocates for ourself when we're
feeling grounded and clear.

So do the things that help you feel
grounded and clear, whether that's

yoga or meditation, or going to the gym
and making sure that you feel embodied

and making sure that you feel strong,
making sure that you're going to sleep

early and you're not doom scrolling.

You know that you're really
keeping your mind and your spirit.

And your physical being as grounded and
clear as possible is going to be very,

very helpful for all of us this year.

Again, I apologize about the pile driving.

I really hope that you
can't hear it too much.

So moving on, we will have, these planets
move through that sex tile with Saturn

and Neptune and things will feel like
we'll start to be able to make some plans.

We'll start to hopefully find a little
bit of the ground under our feet again.

As I was saying, we have this cluster
of planets moving through the sky.

So we've had all of these planets in
Capricorn, all the personal planets, and

they've been talking to the outer planets.

And a lot of what I talked about on
the first half of the podcast was

how those personal planets had been
squaring Chiron, bringing up a lot of

wounding, bringing up a lot of pain.

Now we have the new Moon.

So we had the New Moon in Capricorn,
which was creating this harmonious

connections with the outer planets that
are really giving us a preview of the

magic triangle that we're gonna be working
with for the remainder of this year.

Which is Uranus and Pluto Rinding
one another, and they're both

making a sex tile to Neptune.

The planets are kind of in
that configuration right now.

It's not exactly set, but we're getting
close to it, and all the personal

planet energy is giving us a, a peak
at what that's gonna be about now.

Harmonious flow is not always
good if you're in a flow of

things that you're not happy with.

So being in the flow that you don't
like or you don't want, or it's

not productive is not really good.

So you're gonna have
work with this new moon.

To get into a new flow, to create some new
structures so that those planets can carry

you into flow with that new structure.

So Capricorn energy is very good for
helping us get down to brass tacks,

making the plan, putting the plan to work.

So for me personally, I know that if I
get up before my son, I know that I'm

gonna have a better start to my day.

So today I did that and it was great, and
now I really have to keep that momentum

going and get up before him tomorrow.

And the next day.

And the next day.

'cause I know that my mood throughout
the day when I do my practice in the

morning, it's gonna be so much better.

So what are the things that
you want to be in flow with?

Put those things into practice.

Now as we move into February and we
move into that Saturn and Neptune

conjunction, I've been talking
about things are gonna be even more

intense than they are right now.

And I know that feels a little crazy.

But put those practices in place now
because Capricorn helps you do that.

So as I'm talking, we now have the
personal planets mostly in Aquarius.

Mars is still in those last degrees
of Capricorn working on helping you

pound out those plans, taking action,
because Mars is exalted in Capricorn,

as I mentioned, and he's gonna help
you take action on whatever you set

your intention on with that new Moon.

That we just had, then after the New
Moon, which we had on Sunday, the 18th

of January, which helped us start like
a clear action plan, a new path we had

the sun enter Aquarius on Monday the
19th, which was Martin Luther King Day.

That came with a very challenging
aspect, which was venous try and

plu venous conjunct Pluto rather.

So we have this really interesting.

Train of planets coming through.

They're chugging through Capricorn and
all the personal planets, and now they're

starting to chug their way through.

Aquarius.

Capricorn loves to build the structure.

Aquarius likes to say.

Why did you build it that way?

Is that working?

Aquarius likes to take
the view from way up high.

They get in the helicopter or the
airplane so that they can see the

whole thing from that long view.

So we're now getting
out of being mired in.

This, the building, the details, the
whatever, and we're getting into that more

intellectual space of is this working?

Do I want this, like this?

Can we do something differently?

Can we change it up?

Do we need to break down the norms here,
because that is what Aquarius likes to do.

It's the rebel.

It's also the social activist.

It's also the humanitarian.

Um, the Aquarian energy is associated
with technology and science

and things that are generally.

Viewed as progressive, um, doesn't
mean that all people with Aquarius

placements are progressive people.

But it means that they're
interested in the future.

It means that they're interested in
building something for the future,

and they might be really, really
caught up in the ideas of it.

And they need the help of the earth
signs like the Capricorns and the

Virgos and the Tauruses to take
those ideas and make them reality.

So all of the Zodiac signs are needed for
us to really bring things into fruition.

So luckily we're moving out
of this very emotional time.

So Capricorn is, you know, common, cool
and collective because it is an earth

sign, but it's a cardinal sign, so it
likes to initiate and start things.

Mars being there, has everyone feeling
a little overly confident perhaps.

And then we move into Aquarius
where we get to step back, take our

emotions out of it, and really start
to think intellectually, as I said.

So my hope is that this helps bring
that coolers, cooler heads prevail

energy, but Venus conjunct, Pluto.

Is intense.

And she has joined Pluto twice the past
two years in Aquarius when he was doing

his little preparatory visits before
he settled in for Good in Aquarius.

And when we had Venus join with Pluto,
it was giving us a little taste.

What's that gonna be
like going forward Now?

I was thinking about this a lot.

In regards to what we're seeing in the
collective, and I know I'm talking a lot

about politics in this episode, but it's
kind of impossible with what's going on in

the world, although I don't think of it.

What's going on is politics.

I think of it as abuses of human
rights, but neither here nor there.

Um, this woman, obviously, Renee Goode has
become, a real flashpoint for all of us.

And now there's this talk of the.

The gangs of wine moms.

This is a new thing that's going
on on the, in the right wing

propaganda machine that it's gangs
of wine moms that are protesting.

Anyway, I was just thinking about this
idea of Venus, and Aquarius to me is like.

She is not messing around.

She's ready for a fight.

She is really interested in protecting
the collective and protecting the group

in protecting the rights of everyone.

And remember, Venus is our social norms.

Venus is our values.

So yes, she's money.

And we might have seen some money
stuff come up this week with Venus,

Pluto, conjoins, but we're also,
stepping into our power when we

are steeped in our values and we're
steeped in what is important to us

for the collective for humanity.

So with that, I was thinking
about how it's so interesting.

We have all these outer planets
that are really engaged with

the personal planets right now.

And Venus is Aphrodite, and the story of
Aphrodite was that she was born out of

the sea foam that was churned up when.

Saturn, Kronos overthrew his father,
Uranus castrated him and threw

his genital genitals into the sea.

Saturn we generally think of as this force
of karma, and he, through the genitals

into the sea, it churned everything up.

All of the sea foam was created
and out of it, Aphrodite was born.

So in this same way, it feels like
I often think about this and it's a

metaphor that I'm sure you've heard this
idea that we're all part of one ocean.

Each of us is a little wave, and every
once in a while we pop up and we.

We say hi and we say hi to the other
waves or the rest of the ocean, and

we feel like we are an individual.

We're born into this body, and we
feel like we are an individual, but.

Ultimately we will release this form,
release this body, and we will go back

down into the ocean and be part of that
one giant connected body of consciousness.

So in this way, it felt like there is
a deep churning up that is going on.

There is a fight being had.

One could say metaphorically, there are.

Masculine energies out there that
feel like they're being castrated and

that is churning up something and out
of that something new is being born.

And that is my hope with all this
Aquarian energy, which is a very

different vibe than you probably felt
the first half of this podcast when

I was recording before the New Moon.

Anyhow, with that, we will be.

We have this train of planets or these
planets marching through, and they're

all going together one after another.

Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.

And Venus is the first one.

She's leading the charge.

That's why I'm talking about her.

She's leading the charge into Aquarius.

She's sextile Saturn.

We asked, what is my work?

What am I here to do?

How am I going to show up?

How can I engage?

Then she tries out Uranus,
what needs to change?

What changes can I be a part of?

What change can I engage in?

Then she sextile is Neptune.

How does align with my ideals?

Can I have faith in the dream of what
could be, and let that help keep me going?

And now she conjoins Pluto.

This is an opportunity
to garner your resources.

Pluto really rules
what's deep in the earth.

You know, the gems come out of the earth.

They're ruled by Pluto, the oil.

Comes out of the earth, one could say
that's ruled by Pluto, the minerals that

so many governments are fighting over
the, the lithium and all of these things

that we need to power our modern economy.

It comes from deep in the earth.

Those are the resources.

Pluto is how you dig in, find
your power and resource yourself.

So we're strategizing.

We're resourcing ourselves.

We're allowing ourselves to be
transformed by what is happening.

And allowing it to be a source of
impetus to step into our power.

So that's my feeling about Venus's
story moving through those planets.

But all the other planets
are doing that same march.

We have.

Mercury and the Sun and
Mars doing that same thing.

They're going to Saturn
and saying, what's my work?

How can I engage?

They're trying to yanus, they're
saying, how can I be part of the change?

What do I need to change?

They're going to Neptune and saying,
how does this align with my ideals?

Do I still have faith that I can
keep going and work toward that?

And then they're coming and meeting up
with Pluto and Aquarius, and for the rest

of these planets, it's the first time that
they're meeting up with Pluto and Aquarius

like this, or at least for the sun.

I'm not sure about Mercury.

And they're saying.

How can I be transformed by this?

How can I this be an impetus
for stepping into my power?

What can I do?

Especially when Mars comes through
and Mars joins Pluto, that is gonna be

an intense one because Mars and Pluto
together, those are the two planets

of war that we generally look at and.

And they will join together
on Tuesday the 27th.

So mark that in your calendar.

That is going to be a day
that might be really sticky.

But as I tell my astrology
clients all the time.

The tough stuff is the
catalyst for change.

Without the friction, we wouldn't
actually grow, and so we are in

a super major growing pain right
now, so we're doing the work.

We gotta show up for it
at the end of the day.

There is a decision you could,
it's easier to be passive.

It's easier to not engage these transits.

These are a lot of sex towels and rines.

You could stay in the flow of
doing what you're doing right now

and that might feel safe, but.

The stuff that's coming, Saturn
and Neptune and Aries, it's

going to demand that you wake up.

So better to wake up now and become
attentive to what you need to do to

lock in, taking care of yourself,
honoring your nervous system,

making plans with your community.

For if the worst happens, these are
things that you can do now, they're

easier to do now than they will be.

Once we get into the height of 2026, which
is really coming in February through July.

There'll be like moments of pauses,
but overall, that is my recommendation.

The Pluto Conjunctions, as all of these
planets move through Pluto, they will

bring up our survi survival instincts
because Pluto is about the lifecycle, you

know, life birth life, death, and rebirth.

So

it brings to the forefront the idea of.

Being part of that cycle.

What do you do when your survival
instincts are triggered and can

you let the challenges, the trauma,

the painful moments, be a
catalyst for transformation,

for rebirth, for empowerment?

And I think we're all getting a mini
masterclass in that the, these, this

week pretty much with these Pluto
conjunctions that we're having from

this whole week through Tuesday.

So really the 19th to the 27th.

So that is mainly what I wanted to say.

All of this Aquarian energy, I do
think brings a little clarity because

we will have the sun join with
Mercury on January 21st, which is

Wednesday, and that's a Mercury Kami.

When that occurs, mercury enters the
heart of the sun and is purified.

So if you feel like your mind is
a little overwhelmed, that is a

moment where you might be able
to finally get that long view.

Get that view from high up in
the helicopter and see something

from a bigger perspective, not
just your individual perspective.

We also have Mercury joining with
Pluto on Thursday, which could be

an unearthing of a new strategy,
a new way to see the problem.

It also might be an opportunity to
speak some of the things that you

were feeling earlier in the week,
but maybe didn't have the words for,

because, you know, mercury being in.

And Aquarius is gonna help us find
some words for the things that we've

been thinking about or feeling.

So hopefully we will have some
ways of making things make sense.

I know it's so hard to make
sense of a time that makes no

sense, if that makes sense.

So with that, I am.

A little bit renewed in my hope.

I also have been trying to stay
away from taking in too much social

media, but the main thing I want
you to know is that we're in an

energetic bottleneck right now.

We have all these planets that are moving
together from Capricorn into Aquarius.

And when the cap, when the planets
are clustered like this, when they're

creating this energetic bottleneck,
it is asking you to focus your

attention on one or two things.

And what's helpful about that
is that we can be really focused

and really locked in and that.

Makes it possible for us to make
the changes so that we can, as I

like to say, dictate our own fate.

There's something about all of
these planets being clustered

together and conversing with these
outer planets, which are really

generational shifts that are happening.

Something about that feels faded.

So the decisions that you're making right
now are going to have long-term impacts.

We're feeling the energetic occurrence.

As we are each a wave in the mighty ocean.

So each of us, everyone, all human
beings, the ones that you like, the ones

that you don't like, we are all part
of that vast collective consciousness.

And some of us have woken up and said,
oh, I am just a wave connected to this

collective consciousness of humanity.

And some people have not woken up.

They think that their little
wave is the whole lotion.

So we have to, as human
beings or spiritual beings

having a human experience,

we have to hold the space and
hold compassion that other people.

We'll wake up and see that there
are just one little wave in this

vast collective ocean of humanity.

So with that I am.

Going to wrap it up.

'cause now this has been like kind of
two podcasts in one, which I didn't

anticipate, but we really lucked out
because we've been having all of these

pile driving and they stopped right before
I started recording the second half.

And I'm so happy about that.

So I think I should really count
my blessings and shut it down.

Now, um, I will be teaching
on Sunday the 25th, 10:00 AM.

A brand new class called Sunday Sanctuary.

This is a yoga, gentle yoga practice.

I'll read something inspirational.

We'll do some meditation.

It'll be a really nice
way to start your Sunday.

End your week, start your week,
however you wanna think about it.

But, um, I hope to see you there.

You can drop in, so you can join Cosmic
Yoga Club and come to class every Friday.

Or you can also just drop in for $26.

You can just drop into a class.

So if you can't come on
Fridays, but you want to.

For one Sunday a month.

When I do Sunday sanctuary, you can
of course go to my website under yoga,

do the drop-in and select Sunday.

So I'll be teaching Sunday, January
25th at 10:00 AM and I'm sure

we'll talk about more of this then.

Have a wonderful rest of your week.

Happy New Moon.

If you haven't done an intention setting
ritual yet, just sit down with your

journal and write a few things and
what do you need to put into practice?

What needs to be.

In your lived experience right now.

And for me it was getting down to,
all right, I need to get back to my

practice and I need to keep a boundary
that nothing interrupts my practice.

'cause I need my practice
so that I can show up.

So what is that for you?

All right, I'm gonna sign off
with that and take care of

yourself and keep showing up.

Okay.