Kathy’s 2010 astro-overview talk is available for $15 in mp3 format. To order, visit EmpowermentUnlimited.net or email kbiehl@fortunaworks.com.

The Sun and Venus enter Aquarius at the beginning of this week, while Saturn and Pluto move ever closer to their second of three confrontations. Both our general experience of life and our attachment to interpersonal dealings are lightening up, while matters that can’t continue any longer in their present form are shuddering toward collapsing or showdowns. We’re much better equipped to navigate this seismic activity than before, and don’t be surprised if you actively participate in it rather than just let it happen to you.

With the sign changes of the Sun and Venus, the planetary balance of power is shifting away (slightly) from the ponderous, goal-focused orientation of Capricorn and briefly weighting us toward an intellectual, innovative Aquarian approach. The signature detachment of this air sign will be accessible by all of us, which is a nicely timed cosmic counterweight to the intensity that’s going down. It will be easier now to observe events with less attachment, with less of an impulse to push them in a desired direction and with a lower volume of reactive emotions roaring out from our cells and psyches. It will also be easier to come up with new perspectives and solutions. Like its ruler Uranus, which has a tilted axis, Aquarius looks at matters from angles that no one else does, or often ever thinks of using. Remember that in the next month. Change how you look at something (stand on your head, metaphorically or not) and you may spy a key aspect that you’ve been missing.

All of these characteristics will be especially apparent in our interpersonal and financial dealings. Now that the Capricorn solar eclipse has charged up our long-term goals, we’d like to get up and move about freely for a bit. In Aquarius, Venus drops the eye for the value and security that are so dear to her in Capricorn. Independence is her goal, and she’s more comfortable with friendship than with passion, commitment or hearts-and-flowers outpourings of emotions. Happy traveling as a loner or with a pack of pals, she’s open to and often behind progressive ideas, causes and approaches and is willing to put time and money into technology, whether to improve life or just because.

The difference this time around is that Venus and the Sun are both making their firest entrance into Aquarius since last year’s triple conjunction of Jupiter, Neptune and Chiron, and right on the heels of Jupiter’s departure at that. Our experience of reality and each other has changed since the last time the Sun and Venus visited this sign. The triple conjunction permanently linked our spiritual and physical beings into one connected existence, rather than segmented experiences that we bounce between. The triple conjunction brought healing to inner wounds and helped each of us embrace and accept ourselves. The triple conjunction also opened us to compassion, higher love and an awareness of the interconnectedness of all life. This time, as the Sun and Venus move through the sign of the brotherhood of man, we have a new respect and regard for our fellow inhabitants of this planet. The Sun and Venus have been changed, too, by their purifying and empowering meetings with Pluto around Christmas Day. They’re going into Aquarius with a lot of clutter and debris stripped from our egos, our relationships and our attitudes about money and possessions, and with our personal shortlist of what’s most important to us more streamlined and focused than ever before.

As the Sun and Venus move through Aquarius, they will be crossing over the degrees where the triple conjunction took place. The Sun and Venus have had contacts aplenty with this territory, but this is the first time that they are crossing them directly. We will be taking the expansive, healing, enlightening energies of the triple conjunction and assimilating them into ourselves and into our relationships — the very territory that is getting worked over by the Saturn/Pluto square. As we experience an upsurge in contacts with friends (especially via texting and online), pay attention to the quality of your connections. They are more mutually accepting, encouraging and supportive, aren’t they? The friendships that are building and deepening now are based on you being and revealing yourself, all of yourself. They’re not only based on that; they revel and applaud and take delight in that. No matter how weird or different or alienated you felt at earlier points in your life, you are finding kindred spirits now. It’s not a fleeting enjoyment. We’re building communities. Some members are face-to-face, some miles apart; some are friends of friends, while others met or reconnected with us online and are developing into actual, viable, reliable friends over the ether. In a myriad of forms, we are building the support networks that will travel with us into the future.

While we’re working on the new, the old continues clearing out. The Saturn/Pluto square moves into place by degree mid-week and prolongs the tension for 10 days, until the aspect becomes exact on January 30. Situations, agreements, arrangements, relationships, assumptions and attitudes are all evolving in response to the decisions and inner growth that each of us has undergone. Subsurface forces are erupting and rearranging reality, and any type of structure, symbolic or physical, is prey to the pressure. As the square continues to build, remember that the point of the tension is not to torture us; it’s to push us into doing something about it. If you’re in an out-of-balance situation, the skies are pressuring you this week and next to address it and clear it up. If you’ve been meaning to deal with a matter that no longer works or fits or falls within your newly streamlined priorities, this is an efficient and effective window for following through on intentions. The more proactive, the better. Since this is the second Saturn/Pluto square (the first peaked November 15), we’re not in altogether new territory here; we have some idea of the issues coming up for action now. Some of them have been lying around the peripheries of our lives since the first square dug them up. Choose to take action now, or you may find circumstances doing you the favor of setting off a clearing for you.

The Saturn/Pluto square is a foundational step in implementing the energies of the Capricorn New Moon solar eclipse, which took place on January 15. We are restructuring, remodeling, refurbishing and replacing key structures in our lives. The first phase will unroll over the next six months, until the Capricorn Full Moon lunar eclipse at the end of June. There are no quick fixes; all the work is deep, penetrating and for the long haul. Besides, with Mars, the planet of action, and Saturn, the planet that rules structures and the sign of Capricorn, both retrograde, nothing can happen quickly. The pace is slow and steady. We’re placing each stepping stone down with care and precision, and in many instances we’re pouring concrete for new stones and waiting for it to set before moving forward. While you’re waiting for the concrete to dry, cultivate your garden of friends. As the old advertisement said, reach out and touch someone.

Monday: Venus moves into Aquarius and the air takes on an increased vibe of sociability. For those of us who are susceptible, it will be hard not to live most of life online. Venus is still close to the focus she received meeting Pluto after Christmas. Since our priorities and values are heightened and refined, this transit may well have less of the openness to multiple partners that Venus in Aquarius often entertains. Take note of the quality of your interactions and who pops up, who enters and who you feel nudged to reconnect with. Your relationships are lining up with your values and with the future you are building.

Tuesday: The Sun begins his annual visit to Aquarius, and Venus contacts Mercury and Mars by declination. Mercury is in alignment with Venus, heightening agreeability, ease of communication, like minds, hearts and minds on the same page. Mars is oppositional, sending off sparks that can lead to flirtation and sexual excitement. In relationships where those avenues aren’t open or appropriate, less enjoyable responses are possible of frustration, anger, opposition. If you hit that, could it be that your heart and drive are out of alignment? Give the controls back to your heart and see what happens.

Wednesday: We awaken into a void Moon. She joins Uranus an hour after midnight EST; bolts of awareness and new paradigms strike our dreams and subconscious and reverberate throughout the morning and the void until she enters Aries just after 1:30 PM. Light bulbs go off all morning. The time for action is afternoon, when the boldness of Aries will have the genius and major of Uranus in Pisces. Your notion of yourself and what you can do and achieve swells. However far you pursue the urge, don’t be surprised if you’re reigned back in late in the day by power struggles (highlighting something that warrants an overhaul, perhaps?) and the demands of obligations or authority (ditto)?

Thursday: Venus checks in with Pluto and shows how growth is coming along in your self-worth and values. Relationships and money are likely venues to showcase this evidence, though it could involve anything that reflects what you have decided is most important to you. Desires may run strong and deep, but they’re not scattershot. They’re becoming streamlined and efficient. Watch how the circumstances in your life line up to meet them. This information plays into the growing Saturn/Pluto square. Focus on positive attributes of what you want to build and support; drop arguing about what you don’t want.

Friday: Venus checks in with Saturn just after midnight EST. Dreams explore scenarios of committing to what you desire and value. Note how you’re feeling when you awaken. Ambivalence is gone about a key foundational matter. Relationships, or one in particular, feel noticeably firmer. You’re more comfortable with the responsibilities and obligations that will flow out from this development. The work week flows out on a void Moon, which starts after she smiles at Neptune midafternoon and lasts until nearly midnight. Spend the final hours of the work day brainstorming, trading stories, heading out early, sharing a glass of wine with pals — anything that opens you to inspiration and reverie and gentle escape from the mundane.

Saturday: Sweet dreams give way to heart/mind conflicts overnight. They could spill over into the day if you give your heart over to fear. Keep your heart focused on your true desires, however, and bumps will be moments rather than events that dominate the day. Your guiding question: How important is it?

Sunday: The Sun checks in with Pluto and Saturn. Your personal evolution is continuing at a noticeable, noticeable pace. You are already so clearer and and less cluttered than you were even just a few weeks ago, before the holidays. Watch for evidence today of how firm and unshakeable your awareness is of your own power (a reflection of your link to spirit and your true self, not to the size of your arsenal) and of how naturally you are taking responsibility for yourself.

Visit Kathy’s site EmpowermentUnlimited.net for podcasts, mp3s, a discussion forum and more on the eclipses, the Aquarius/Pisces traveling party and the Saturn/Uranus opposition. To join her mailing list, send e-mail to kbiehl@fortunaworks.com.