December 29 – January 18: Mercury Retrograde
January 6: Full Moon
January 18: Mars Retrograde Ends
January 21: New Moon in Aquarius … Helpful People Gua
January 22: Chinese New Year of the Rabbit Begins
The beginning of January is a good time to lay low and do some long-term planning, while also resetting yourself after the holidays. The Christmas season officially ends with the Friday, January 6th full moon, shining its light globally. It’s a time to release what’s not working for you and set your sights and goals on the future.
We continue to be in an excellent long term planning cycle (Mars Retrograde) through January 12th. This is the time to consider and write down your plans for the next two years. Capture your ideas now and add details during the next few months as more clarity comes to the surface. The clarity is not there right now, so just go with the flow. Dream, speculate about, and consider your various options.
This planning cycle runs parallel to Mercury Retrograde through January 12. This makes it a particularly beneficial time to slow down, reduce your commitments, put more space between appointments, retreat for a bit, and plan for the future. Wait to sign contracts and purchase electronics until after January 18th, when Mercury is direct again.
If you enjoy using Susannah Conway’s annual planning guide, here’s a link. This wonderful guide will help you to reflect on the past year and to consider the year ahead. It is designed to complete over five days, a little bit each day. It’s well worth your time and effort.
Whatever method you choose, take time for reflection and renewal early in the month. Wait until the end of the month before starting new initiatives. The end of January and the entire month of February are better suited for moving forward. Until then, be OK and enjoy a slower pace and a gentle start to the new year.
Check-in at the January 6TH Full Moon
The full moon check-in that is aligned with your December Fame gua adjustments is January 6th (the 12th day of Christmas!). What a nice way to close the holiday season. This is the time to revisit the objectives you set during the December 23rd new moon and notice how things have shifted for you. The Fame gua is the Center-back of your space. It’s associated with being visible, having high integrity, and allowing your light to shine. How do you want to be known? This a good time to bring focus to you, your intentions, and your efforts.
January 21st New Moon and Chinese New Year
The new moon on January 21st aligns with the Helpful People and Travel gua (HP&T). This is the front right corner of your space: your home, every room in your home, your workspace, and your yard. The Helpful People and Travel gua is also aligned with male energy. It’s associated with your father, husband, or adult males in the space. The January 21st new moon is a great time to set intentions for the right people to come into your life at the appropriate time. This could be help for personal or business matters. Also, if you’d liked to travel, this is the area to energize to bring those travel intentions to fruition.
The front right area is determined from the main architectural entrance to your home or business. If you enter through a garage, side door or back door regularly, set the bagua map from your front door. The back left of your space is the Prosperity area, the back-right relates to Partnerships (or marriage) and the front-right is about Helpful People and Travel. Learn more about the feng shui bagua here. Scroll down to the bagua map.
The HP&T gua is energized by the Metal element in the Five Element system. Metal is strengthened by Earth and weakened by Water. Thus, Earth and Metal are supportive elements and Water, Wood, and Fire are used to balance Metal and Earth in this gua. Every area needs all five elements, in varying degrees. Balance is about how a space looks and feels and how the energy supports you and your life.
Prior to January 21st, put away all of your holiday décor, clean your space and give extra attention to the front right corner of your house (in relation to the front door) and every room in your house (based on how you enter each room).
The Mercury Retrograde period is a good time to evaluate your space and to clear out clutter. Set aside holiday décor that no longer interests you. Donate it or prepare to pass it along next year or at an appropriate time. If you have extra winter clothes, outer jackets, hats, scarves and gloves, many organizations are collecting these for people in need. It’s a great way to lighten up while also helping someone else. It’s a great way to be a helpful person to others.
The energy of the HP&T gua relates to the right people coming into your life at the right time. These could be family or friends, various professionals or business associates, teachers, guides, mentors, and/or spiritual assistants (seen or unseen). This area also relates to the male of the house. It could be a spouse, father, grandfather, stepdads, etc. Healthwise, it relates to your head and brain. It is also about having clarity in your life. Thus, there’s quite a bit to explore and consider.
If you’d like to strengthen a relationship with a male in your life, remove any blockages and energize this area. If you experience migraine headaches or a foggy brain, remove clutter and hang a crystal or shine a light for clarity. Do the same if you feel that your thinking is muddled. If you’d like to travel to a particular place, place a picture, a book, or some linkage to the area in your HP&T gua. These are just a few suggestions. You have many more options depending on your wishes.
Nine Feng Shui Tips for the HP&T gua:
- Travel books
- A map or globe
- Pictures of places for travel
- A happy picture of your husband, dad, or grand-dad, or step-father
- Metal objects: gold, silver, brass, copper, etc. … lamps, art, sculpture
- Round or oval objects: frames, art, furniture
- Gray, silver, white, or pastel colors
- Pictures or symbols of special helpers, leaders, mentors, guides, teachers, spiritual beings, angels
- A crystal or lamp to bring more clarity and light.
As you evaluate your space, consider how the mix of the Five Elements of Earth, Metal, Water, Wood and Fire is represented in your space. Color weighs heavily. Thus, if the walls of your room are white or gray, the area already has a good amount of metal energy. Next evaluate your furniture. Wood furniture is categorized as the Earth element since the wood has been harvested. Plants and trees that are fresh, such as a Christmas tree, represents the Wood element.
After you evaluate the primary attributes of your space, look at your additional décor. Decorative pillows and blankets, artistic objects, pictures and paintings, lamps, etc. Generally, these provide ample opportunities for making shifts in various rooms and throughout your house. Often, a few well thought out adjustments can make a big difference in a space.
What might some of these be?
Evaluate color. If the predominant color is in the black, green, or red family, tone it down with colors in a yellow, white or gray palette. Slip covers, pillows, and blankets are easy ways to make a big color change without changing wall color.
Evaluate photographs. Remove pictures that were not take during happy times, where people have been unhappy, of people with whom you have a troubled relationship, etc. Add a nice photo of a male in your life with whom you’d like to have a better relationship.
Check your artwork. What messages are being conveyed? Replace fighting or aggressive art with something that conveys leadership or kind-hearted authority.
If the space is dark, add a light. A metal lamp with a white or light-colored shade is supportive.
Hang a beautiful crystal for clarity or place a bowl of beautiful crystals.
Earthenware items work well in the Helpful People and Travel gua.
Here’s a review of the Five Elements. Have more Earth and Metal. Tone down (but don’t completely omit) objects that are predominantly Water, Wood, or Fire elements.
Have or introduce objects with Metal and Earth energy in your HP&T gua:
Metal energy helps bring clarity to a space. Metal items include:
· Shiny ornaments
· All metal: gold, silver, brass, aluminum and more (pots, pans, lamps, picture frames …)
· Marble, granite, flagstone
· Natural crystals and rocks dug from deep in the earth.
· Circles, oval and arch shapes
· White, gray, and pastel colors.
Earth energy grounds and anchors your space. Earth items include:
· Natural items such as pinecone wreaths
· Pottery, earthenware, bricks, and clay
· Square shapes
· Oversized or heavy furniture that hugs the floor
· Yellow, brown and earth tones
Minimize or reduce Water, Wood, and Fire elements if/when they are overwhelming:
Water energy helps to create flow. It also brings reflective and philosophical qualities. Water is represented by:
· Water features and water itself
· Mirrors, windows, glass, reflective and shiny surfaces
· Black and very dark colors
· Free form, wavy and symmetrical shapes
· Pictures of lakes, rivers, harbors, ocean views
Wood energy is about growth and expansion. Wood is represented by:
· Christmas trees, fresh flowers, evergreens, garlands, and plants
· Floral fabrics and patterns
· Vertical stripes and tall columns
· Vertical rectangles
· Green and blue
Fire brings dazzling, sparkling energy to a space. It is represented by:
· Fire, flames, lights, sunlight, candles
· Stars, triangles, pyramids, diamond, and cone shapes (Christmas Trees!)
· People and animals
· Electronics and electrical items
· Red, burgundy and the red palette
Do a New Moon Meditation on January 21st
Clean and adjust your space prior to the January 21st new moon. Then, on January 21st, write down your intentions related to Helpful People and Travel and do a new moon meditation. New moons are the best times to set your intentions. You plant the seeds or your ideas, and then allow them to take root for the next few weeks as the moon grows in intensity and brings in more light each night. Visualize your wishes taking root underground. Seeds take time to develop and grow. Honor the gestation time and trust the process. Check back at the full moon two weeks later, on February 5th. At that time, looks for small signs that what you’ve asked for is underway. When you’re open to it, synchronicity is amazing. You’ll receive signs and confirmations on a regular basis without effort or struggle.