A Week of Standing up to Authority
January 5 - 11, 2026
Finding Ground for voice and action & cracks in our beliefs about nourishment
New Venus and Mars Archetypes & Standing Up To Authority
Rather than dissecting each major transit this week in a separate section for ‘Headline Transits’, I’m going to write about all of the standout transits together as it’s a tangled web with the Sun/Venus/Mars all hovering in the same degrees of Capricorn and all opposing Jupiter in Cancer.
In short, this is a week that new archetypal energies awaken in us just as new synodic journeys kick off—the symmetry and harmonizing of the stars in full effect right on time when the world needs it (as designed).
Let’s look at the Sun in conjunction with both Venus and Mars (cazimis). When planets blend with our solar center, it awakens things more causal in us—archetypal energies. Because we get a double dose of it this week, I wouldn’t be surprised if talk of archetypes fills the airwaves. First Venus on Tuesday and then Mars on Friday move behind the Sun from our view, infusing consciousness with new strength in who we are.
Venus in Capricorn infuses a Queen of Pentacles energy into us—the feminine command of what nourishes material life. Unapologetic and strict in her will. I think I’ve been sensing this for a few days. One example is I recently heard a clip, probably on Instagram, of someone talking about how societies have all they need to be flourishing—workforce, resources, a desire for healthier and more nourished societies. And yet, capitalism works directly against this. It consumes workforce and resources for many worthwhile endeavors, but a whole lot of nonsense. I can’t stop thinking about how this clarified my unease with this system, and how easy it would be to make tweaks that have us all sacrifice time and love toward civic duty (maybe post high school - 3 years of service whether in military, agriculture, building, childcare… followed by an education scholarship, be it academic or trade school) and stricter regulations around business licenses guaging what the contribution is and the ecological footprint. I’m sure this is a simplistic and flawed POV, but I share it to illustrate that my Queen of Pentacles archetype is starting to rear up with demands and questions.
This archetypal energy awakens exactly when we need to pull ourselves together to stand on our own feet, confronting things that have control over us that no longer should. Venus is now directly opposite the Earth and at the midpoint of its current synodic Heroine’s Journey—standing up to the stepmother: We gain archetypal strength as Venus conjuncts the Sun, exactly when we need to find our feet and use our voice to stand up to things that feel overpowering. Visit the current Venus Heroine’s Journey HERE for more about this Aries-themed journey of finding our authentic and fierce voice.
Canyou feel the awakening of your inner Queen of Pentacles? Might it help you use your fierce voice against authority with more ground and boldness?
Mars in Capricorn infuses a King of Pentacles energy into our archetypal awakening—a no-nonsense, far-seeing action taker. What order establishes timeless and stable conditions? What direction is most aligned and timeless in its durability? Our inner general isn’t interested in quick tactics anymore. It wants plans to enact that are thought through with slow and steady caution.
I love this archetype waking up with strength just when Mars is directly opposed to Earth in its synodic Hero’s Journey—exactly when we need to individuate by finding our own ground, maturing, and confronting the ‘father’ figure. The current Mars Hero’s Journey was seeded in Cancer, all about finding what we do in the world to create nourishment, care, and security. Our inner King of Pentacles (an archetype that creates material and structural order) finds its light just as we need to stand up to greater figures that no longer deserve control over us.
In my projecting, wishful heart, I do hope this applies to literal military generals facing off with the ‘Father’ dictators currently using the general’s might for their own control. Hello, Generals, please, find your ground and overthrow (or at least stand up to) the dictators. In our own lives, this may appear as individual actions that target long-term flourishing.
For more on the whole arc of the Cancer-themed Mars Hero’s Journey, visit its journey page HERE.
The Venus Mars Journey of Love and Desire
On Wednesday, Venus conjunct Mars brings a seductive rendezvous. This conjunction marks the end of their last synodic journey, seeded in Aquarius (with Pluto deeply entangled) in early 2024. For a couple of years, love and desire have been embroiled in a cooling dance, experimenting, breaking out of old ruts, and detaching from ways they’ve tangoed within us and in the world. With Pluto infused in this dance, a full renovation and upheaval of psychological damage has ensued. Love and desire, action and affection—the electromagnetic force—have been crackling and transforming, reinventing what attracts one to another.
This new journey seeds in Capricorn, turning experimentation in love and desire on its head. Stedieness, building, power-coupling. This is what Capricorn brings the new focus toward. Love will not be fickle. It will ask if this person offers long-term security. Desire will not be impulsive. It will ask if this person’s life direction is serious. What turns us on over the next two years is still cool like Aquarius, but strict and calculating, unlike Aquarius. For now, excitement and experimentation take a backseat while serious foresight takes the wheel. Infused with the Sun, a bit of ego work may creep in, but also a dose of recreation and play.
A New Jupiter Journey | from intelligence to soul
Now to my favorite of this week’s transits, the Sun-Jupiter Rx opposition on Saturday. When an outer planet is opposed to the Sun, it also means it is conjunct the Earth, which is where I mark the seeding of a new synodic journey. Jupiter has recently summited its last Pilgrim’s Journey that was Gemini-themed (read more about it HERE). Our perspectives and points of view about mind, intelligence, and connection have been through a full cycle of trial and error. We’ve come out the other side with integrated, experiential wisdom.
Being my chart ruler, I can share that I dove headfirst into this Jupiter Gemini journey, especially around AI. I resisted using AI for a long time for a lot of reasons. I finally felt compelled to have experience under my belt (right around when the Gemini journey began). I’m not someone who can read about a thing and know how I feel or what it means. I think having Jupiter as a ruler gives me a need for a journey of experience to know what something means to me. I tried visuals, video, music, writing… a lot of the AI layperson tools. I feel like I have come out the other side less afraid of it, less interested in it, and less amazed by it than when I first dove in. As a tool, I find it super helpful for research and reports, and that’s about it. I have found myself suddenly re-picking up painting by hand out of frustration that I can’t get it to paint what’s in my head. I have gone back to editing my writing without it as it constantly tries to rephrase things in its own formula, even when I ask it to only make grammatical fixes. I liked the polish at first, the way it structured my very unstructured mind, and how it added suggestions that often gave me breakthroughs (something I still like but can get through research mode).
All in, in terms of layperson use, AI feels overly polished to me. It’s made me appreciate my idiosyncrasies in writing and thinking—my ADHD non-linear way of understanding language, concepts, and transitions. I like that it’s inspired me to re-engage with painting and sketching with my own hands. Anything formulaic, I am happy to tap into its gifts. I adore creating the formulas, structures, and research for things like horoscopes, but I find it mind-numbing and soul-crushing to write 12 of them each month. I’m a free-from writer, not a formulaic one. But I want to craft horoscopes for each sign with my unique lens. I like understanding how each sign might be processing a season through the frameworks I’ve created, and I want to bring those to you guys, as I hope they shed light on the things we experience. Light AI assistance can help me do those without shattering my brain. In addition, what might have previously taken me weeks of research into astrological rabbit holes can now be done in a few days. I appreciate this, and I try to do my part to offset the ecological impact. That part is still something that concerns me, but I find myself using it less and less, and typically when I feel it will illuminate something useful for the collective (mirroring that it is a collective intelligence, which is the thing that most intrigues me).
At the summit of this journey, which seeded in my 7th house, I know my resonance with information and intellect. My concepts about astrology have harmonized into something much more elegant than a year ago at the onset of this journey. I’ve gained wisdom around and love for my conceptual relationship to language, information, and connection.
The new Jupiter journey of lived experience seeds in soulful Cancer. This will bring a year of trials, challenges, and eventually wisdom around what imagination, care, and depth mean. Perspective through living into our roots, memories, and the feminine, watery side of wisdom-creation. Dive into the overview of this new journey HERE.
Venus & Mars Oppose Jupiter | Finding Philosophical ground
Both Venus and Mars will oppose Jupiter this week, a mid-point on each of their synodic journeys with Jupiter.
Venus and Jupiter met up in August 2025 in the sign of Cancer, making this the midpoint of a Cancer-themed agenda between them. Love and meaning have been working out what care and depth are needed to believe in love. As Venus opposes from Capricorn, our sense of love and fairness wants to find ground for its voice to be heard as mature and respected. Vensu wants to say, “Give me a long-term vision that feels real.” Is there something in your heart that is asking for structure so that it can believe in a goal?
Mars and Jupiter last met in August 2024 in Gemini, making this the midpoint of a Gemini-themed agenda between them. Action and meaning have been working out what information and communication are needed to believe in life’s direction and passion. As Mars in Capricorn now opposes Jupiter in Cancer, it is asking us to confront a belief about family connectivity. Is there a legacy or long-term goal that needs more self-determination rather than dependence to feel alive? Is preachy family communication smothering your long-term desires in life? Or maybe your beliefs about care, feeling overwhelmed with information, need to be confronted with self-determined, actionable planning. How many supplements, practices, and diets does marketing persuade you to believe are needed to stay young or healthy? Do you need to stand up to an overwhelming amount of messaging to feel more on your feet and get back to long-term, time-tested basics: clean eating, regular exercise, and general self-care? Cut what is infusing your beliefs with anxiety about cultivating thriving energy. Get back to the time-tested basics.
Journey With the Moon | Remember Who You Are
While moon phases help us tap into the ebb and flow of the solar season, the Moon—outside its ties to the Sun—has its own reflective cycle about recognition. To tap more deeply into memory, feeling, and intuition—how we anchor an embodied knowing of the zodiac into us—head over to the current Lunar Journey (The Memoirist's Journey). Midway through the Sagittarius Lunar Journey, memory and mood tap into gratitude:
Headline Transits
See above for interpretations
Sun conjunct Venus, Tuesday, January 6th (9:38 am MT)
Venus conjunct Mars, Wednesday, January 7th (7:16 pm MT)
Sun conjunct Mars, Friday, January 9th (3:31 am MT)
Venus opposed Jupiter Rx, Friday, January 9th (10:36 am MT)
Sun opposed Jupiter Rx, Saturday, January 10th (1:44 am MT)
Mars opposed Jupiter Rx, Saturday, January 10th (7:29 am MT)