Thursday

January 12

Waxing moon in Cancer. An awkward Moon/Venus angle today and tomorrow brings out a defensive edge, particularly for the women in your circle. But this is an excellent day for baking and other domestic arts. Cancer gets to have a closer look at other people’s lives — whether they want to or not. Capricorn may feel like others are expecting more of them than they have to give. Pisces is in the middle of things, in the best possible way.

The days just before the full moon are often more intense than the actual full moon itself, mostly because anticipation can bring its own mania. So if it feels like the pace this week is accelerating towards the weekend, you’re not imagining things. Also, Mars and Jupiter continue their opposition, putting a strain on Leo and Aquarius (to be forceful? to expect others to be kind?). If you’re one of those signs, Scorpio, or Taurus, and unexpected opportunities are bouncing in your lap, that’s no accident.

When market business was bad in the East End the trader would exclaim: "Ah! I expect I forgot to bow to the new moon!"

– London, Peter Ackroyd

Happy New Year, everyone! This month, waxing moon synchs up nicely with the calendar days, as we had our new moon on December 31. But not everything goes nicely, as Mars and Jupiter oppose one another in Taurus and Scorpio. This opposition comes sharply into focus from around January 9 to 23, so if you know any bulls, scorpions, lions or water-carriers, you may notice they’re more-than-usually agitated. If this is your sign, pay attention to the people and projects emerging in this zone, particularly those that are vexing, thwarting, or otherwise "not what you’d planned." (This gets even more interesting from January 19 to 23, when Neptune in Aquarius gets into the action – increasing one’s willingness to dupe or be duped.) The universe has a way of throwing curve balls when they want to get you onto another course of action. Since the aforementioned four signs are the "fixed" signs (i.e., those not really open to change, although Aquarius does their darndest), change may be the last thing you’ve got planned.

This is how this page works: I answer reader queries on this page at "Letters to Symboline," the Internet’s most helpful astrological advice column (it’s to the left of this column on this page). This changes every week, and it’s also the space where I write about other things going on astrologically. If your situation is too complex for "Letters," consider a personal forecast. And, if you click on your sun sign, you’ll find a monthly forecast, with specific days highlighted. Also, the 2006 Moon Signs Calendar, your lunar year at a glance is done! Info at www.moonsigns.net

Ad astra,

Symboline

(Sally Cragin)

Happy birthday to: Milo Miles, Mary Trainor, Larry Millman, Eli Trainor, Jennifer Trainor, Elinor Silverman, Ella Francesca, Victor Dupuis, Frank Grillo, Beth D, and Lisa G.

PS: My brother Hal will appear on NBC’s The Office on January 5. He’s the bass player on the boat.

PPS: And I’ll be teaching two seminars on astrology at the Cambridge (Mass.) Center for Adult Education. On April 30, from 3 to 5 p.m., it’s "The Moon and You." I’ll talk about lunar phases and general astrology. It’s a fun class, and makes astrology very easy and logical (which, on some levels, it is!). And on Sundays, free parking is easy to find in Harvard Square. Call (617) 547-6789, or visit www.ccae.org. The course "code" which you have to tell them is MOON. I’ll also be doing another class focused on understanding your personal horoscope on Sunday, May 21 (yes, a long time away) from 3 to 5 p.m. Students will provide me with birth data ahead of time, and we’ll have a seminar on some astrological basics.