There is a creative group of magic-makers out of Seattle called Risk of Change. That would be a perfect title for 2025, when we must all cultivate courage to step into the Unknown. We can begin with this Full Moon in Cancer on 1/13, calling up old insecurities.

2025 is likely the most impactful year of our lives so far, bringing change that is rapid, unprecedented, intense, karmic and global.

Endings and beginnings are two faces of a single event, and a major theme of the coming week and year. Monday’s New Moon in Capricorn begins a new lunar cycle, yet comes at the end of 2024 with a seriousness prompting both retrospection and intention setting.

Saturday is Winter Solstice, longest night of the year. “Solstice” means Sun stands still, and we are meant to do the same, especially with Mars retrograde.

Multiple planets in mutable signs call for flexibility, adaptability and completion. Such flux generates many opportunities, but also feels unstable, so grounding practices are helpful.

We feel the shift when Warrior Mars trades his sword for a flashlight and goes down into our underworld. The big questions addressed by Mars retrograde are: How and where do we use our energy? Is that really what is important?

Saturday's New Moon in Sagittarius invites us to see our journey as an exciting adventure. Yes, life has felt stressful and uncertain, but the Sag Archer assures us that we are ready, and the Unknown is the gateway to discovery.

It’s time to exhale that breath you did not realize you were holding. The tense polarity between Mars and Pluto subsides as both planets move into lighter signs and start to separate.

This week carries shake-up energy from the 11/15 Full Moon in Taurus with change-maker Uranus. Outer planet influences may bring subtle or even radical shifts in our sense of self that can feel like rebirth. Mental Mercury is in rare “mutual reception” with benevolent Jupiter, each occupying the other’s home sign, strengthening both with welcome optimism and an expanded Big Picture.

As we approach a pivotal, contentious election, the Cosmos is offering us some high level assistance if we can rise to it. The two most edgy, challenging planets are at the heart of both the political upheaval and our best response to it.