2017: a look at the year ahead
An Astrological Look at 2017 & Sign by Sign Horoscopes for the Year:
Mars:
In 2016, especially this past summer, we saw Mars retrograde back and forth with Saturn in Sagittarius, making us try to reorganize our own energies so that we can proceed in a more direct motion. Mars only moved a third of the zodiac last year, from Scorpio to Pisces, so it was difficult to get much done.
In 2017, we’ll see Mars move the rest of the zodiac wheel and then some as it does not retrograde this next year at all. 2017 will be about going places and getting some work done - if you’ve used the last retrograde season to figure out what it is you actually want to do.
Advice: think back to this last summer and figure out what was working and was didn’t. Use what Saturn taught your action drive to make some constructive decisions this year.
Saturn:
Saturn has been moving slowly and will continue to do so. In fact, it will be stuck mostly in a retrograde cycle this year, only emerging in the beginning of December 2017 and slipping into Capricorn at the end of the year.
2017 will be about continuing to learn our limits, definitions, and boundaries. With Mars in so much motion, only actual experience will give us the lessons we so desperately need. However, this lessons will likely to be frustrating, especially for those who are born in the later periods of the mutable signs - Gemini, Sagittarius, Virgo, and Pisces.
With Saturn making a trine to Uranus, it’s likely that these lessons will be about breaking the rules more than learning to live within defined histories. Remember that Saturn is also the planet of historic consequence and Uranus the planet of group struggle. Our very rules and regulations for the way we describe our lives and legacies will likely receive a complete facelift - Uranus will not try to take history apart or destroy anything but offer a way forward that feels more progressive.
Uranus and Neptune:
Neither Uranus not Neptune will leave their retrograde zones in 2017 so our feelings of disillusionment and rebellion will be more severe and eccentric in 2017. Because it will be hard to realize change or collective empathy, these energies become more personal and frustrated in the body. Because these planets are in adjacent signs, it will be hard for our wills for change and our emotional dissatisfaction to acknowledge one another or work as one.
Uranus has been squaring Pluto for quite some time. We may feel collectively manipulated (Breitbart and other fake news sources), social groups may manifest which work at destroying something (anti establishment groups that are both radically right and left wing), and we feel electrified or woken up to collective traumas or history (new research in the ways trauma is inherited). In 2017, we will see these trends continue to redescribed both our relationship to community and history. The only thing that is certain with this transit is that anything seeking to have power (Pluto) will be eccentric, viral, and have an outsider status (Uranus).
Jupiter:
We start 2017 with a Jupiter in Libra retrograde that lasts until September 6. Most of our learning experiences will come from within us in this period rather than from the outside world. In fact, we may choose this time to go back in time to revisit a part of our past or hole up with a curated book list rather than engaging in conversation, in which differences of opinion will lead to more frustration than stimulation.
Jupiter enters Scorpio on October 10 where it will teach us more about the previously mentioned collective trauma/history. Because Jupiter is retrograding so close to the Scorpio cusp in Libra, what we want to expand our horizons on and learn more about this year will be topics pertaining to personal intimacy. What drives us to desire what we desire? Do we sometimes gaslight ourselves? How is intimacy formulated before it is given to us? When Jupiter is in Scorpio, we will continue psychoanalyzing ourselves and others.
2017 in a nutshell:
Donald Trump will be president, there was already an oil spill close to Standing Rock, and people will still keeping dying in Aleppo. Saturn is almost at a standstill and Uranus and Neptune are not going anywhere. It’s unlikely that anything too surprising will happen this year. 2017 is likely to be frustrating in situations where we just want things to be different in some way.
Don’t forget, however, that Mars is going to be literally speeding through it all. It will form aspects with all these slow moving planets, like a little internet troll telling people off and wrecking havoc. We will be doing a lot, no matter what, and, when things fall apart, we will do them again. We will experience mental blocks but will keep in constant motion. We will get angry and get motivation from our anger. Things will happen.
With that, here is a closer look at some of what everyone can expect, sign by sign:
(Note: these are written for the rising sign or ascendant and will be more accurate if used in this way! However, feel free to read for your sun or moon sign if you don’t know your time of birth.)
Aries: Things will remain crazy for you. Nothing will seem within your control at times. You tell yourself that you do not create as much personal security for yourself because you don’t need it at times. What works for you is that you’re always open to change. This year is about developing confidence in your ability to navigate an always changing world.
Taurus: You might feel like you don’t understand why everyone had such a crazy 2016 and will likely keep your routine for 2017. It is working for you and you’re on a path of slow growth. You’ll find that you want to look backward this year to find any lessons that you may have missed in the moment. You will have more romantic luck in 2017 than you’ve had for a long time.
Gemini: You’re less likely to have time for romance this year than last year but are still seriously considering what you need in a relationship. It is just easier to consider this when alone than in an actual thing with another person this year. You probably don’t really know what it is you want for yourself in the long term right now. Stay dreaming - this year is about developing your ideas more than cementing anything down.
Cancer: This is going to be a fun year for you. You’ll be especially creative this year, party a lot, and fall in love with another person or yourself. Changing your long-term goals may affect your career - something to consider as this year is about developing security and self-sufficiency. If you change your job, you might want to pick one that makes you more money.
Leo: You’re super focused on yourself this year and who can blame you? You are your own most fascinating subject, Leo, and if you’ve been rebranding your creative ventures or picking up new ideas, all these things are ultimately about creating and loving the best yourself you can be. This year will be about creating a place for yourself to stand. What defines a home for you? Are you comfortable living the way that you do?
Virgo: If you’re single, stay single. This is just not a good year to get involved with anyone new for you. Not only do you need a lot of personal freedom, you are not good at judging potential romantic partners for yourself right now. This is actually great news because this year is going to involve a long journey into your own subconscious. You might want to keep a journal during this period.
Libra: If you experience a break up this year, use the energy to find who your real pals are or to inspire yourself to reach higher in your dreams. You’re going to learn how to respect yourself and to validate your own venture this year. Build your castles in the sky first and the foundation to reach them later.
Scorpio: Your work takes precedent this year. You’re trying to save money, create self-value, change your work habits, and figure out what the best goals for yourself are all at once this year. You’re going to have a lot more energy than you had in 2016 and start to put a lot of things out there. Work hard and you will get rewarded more than you expect.
Sagittarius: You might feel strange or ill at ease this year. You’re trying to define yourself while not entirely in control of your ideas. Not only that, you really don’t understand what is going on with your family and may not really want to. Remember this - 2017 is about new experiences. Even if you feel strange, branch out and go somewhere where you are a stranger.
Capricorn: Yes, things are erratic right now and, yes, that’s not likely to change anytime soon. In 2016, you learned to navigate change and found ways to keep yourself flexible. In 2017, you’ll use these skills to reach deep within yourself and your relationships. You’ll want to spend time healing from your traumas to create a better intimacy. Don’t be afraid of this.
Aquarius: You’re finding some success this year in terms of your goals because you’re expanding them, letting them be things very different than what you expected you wanted. This year you will restructure your dreams and your thinking. You will change the people you want to know and the people you do know. At the end of the day, 2017 is about learning to work with other people.
Pisces: You’ve been rethinking what your goals are for a long time and are finally doing something about it. This year will be about learning not just by thinking but by doing. Because you are feeling delusional about yourself and constantly change your self worth every day at this time, you need to focus on learning a new skill or creating a new set of rituals that you can work with this year. 2017 will be about figuring out what is the best way, for you, to spend your time.
alice sparkly kat is a queer POC Brooklyn-based astrologer. she has written and lectured extensively on astrological research at Bruce High Quality Foundation University, Dixon Place, and Ars Nova.