People who expect a refund are usually quicker to file their tax return than those who owe. That much is a no-brainer. Perhaps if you have a lot of work to do before you arrive at your bottom line, you might not file until deadline time even if you’d get money back. But there a good astrological reason to file this year earlier rather than later.

You may be familiar with the phenomenon of retrograde motion of planets. This is an optical illusion where a planet appears to travel in the opposite direction of its normal motion for a period of time, from weeks to months. It’s due to the fact that we on earth are in motion along with our fellow orbiters of the sun, and our relative positions makes planets look like they’re going in reverse as they pass closest to earth.

The interpretation is that activities and items associated with a planet tend to present more difficulties when that planet is retrograde and seem to be easier to handle when the planet is proceeding forward through the zodiac (called direct motion). Some type of revision or correction is often necessitated when an action is undertaken during a retrograde and possibly even when it’s preparing to turn retrograde.

This April, not one but two relevant planets will be in retrograde motion. Venus, related to monetary matters, will backtrack from March 4 to April 15. Since taxes are a reporting of money earned and spent, Venus is rather important in tax filing.

Mercury, the planet related to all forms of communication (including filing of forms), as well as commerce, is retrograde from April 9 to May 3. Many people have experienced errors of commission or omission during a Mercury retrograde period. Sometimes trying to take care of communications ahead of a retrograde will still result in a need for corrections, particularly if the work is done shortly before the backtracking commences as Mercury moves forward through the range of degrees where it is about to back up. Mercury enters this range on March 27. (Venus entered its backup range on January 30, before the deadline for 1099 forms to be sent to you for your taxes.)

Thus there are a few days, April 9 to 15, with a double retrograde of the two planets most related to filing a tax return. (You can see this overlap on the bar chart on my 2017 On a Page, a free download on my website.) Knowing this, don’t you want to avoid waiting until the deadline? In fact, you probably want to finish your accounting before March 27, if not before March 4.

Some astrologers believe that you have less of a chance of being audited if you file your return when the Moon is in a condition called “void of course.” This means it is making no more connections to other planets from the sign through which it is traveling. When it makes its last contact from that sign, it begins the void, which lasts until the Moon enters the next sign. You might think of the links it makes as providing motivation or direction and that when those have expired, the Moon is without a mission, hence “void of course.” I’m not sure if there are statistical studies to verify this belief, but I know many astrologers who file their taxes during a void Moon!

In my Janet’s Plan-its astrology calendars (both the print version and the ebook), I indicate when the Moon is void and I recommend certain days for particular activities. However, the days I show as best for tax-related matters are not when the Moon is void; a void Moon isn’t usually a best time for doing anything the first time (although it’s fine for continuing ongoing activities). I also rate the days 1-5 as to their ease or difficulty according to how nicely the planets are interacting (1 is toughest; 5 is smoothest). A decent day for filing your return is Friday, Feb. 17, rated 3, with the Moon in Scorpio (the sign related to taxes) becoming void at 11:38 am (P), 2:38 pm (E) and remaining void the rest of the day. The last connection the Moon makes as it becomes void is a positive link with the “ruling planet” of Scorpio, Pluto. If you want to try the void approach and file before Venus turns retrograde, this is your best bet. You can also just barely skirt the edge of Venus turning retrograde by filing on March 3 with the Moon in Taurus, the sign of money, becoming void for the rest of the day at 7:20 am (P), 10:20 am (E). It is only rated 2 but that last connection the Moon makes is a positive one to Pluto. Venus is basically motionless then, so it wouldn’t be my preference.

If Mercury retrograde is more of a concern to you for filing your taxes (and in my opinion, it’s a more relevant factor than Venus retrograde), you can file on Friday, March 10, which is rated 4 with the Moon void from 9:05 am to 2:07 pm Pacific time, 12:05 pm to 5:07 pm Eastern time. The Moon’s last contact is not with Pluto but at least it is a positive one, in this case to Saturn, which is related to governmental matters. If you don’t care about filing when the Moon is void, days I list in Janet’s Plan-its that are best for tax-related matters are the morning of 2/16 (a 3 day with the Moon in Scorpio) and the evening of 3/21, also a 3 day with the Moon in Capricorn (ruled by Saturn).

Whatever you do, try to avoid those last few days before the deadline – they’re deadly!

After a rough and tumble 2016, what’s there to look forward to in 2017? More changes, some of them quite sweeping!

There will be major developments in America, that’s for sure, with a new administration and a single party in charge of the executive and legislative branches of government, on a mission to take the country in a different direction. Both parties were shook to their core in the 2016 elections and will go through twists and turns to reinvent themselves. The old guard is challenged by a rising tide of populism. Disagreements over policy and how to proceed will continue, between the parties and within them.

The forces for rapid evolution that intensified in this decade have not completed their work. The stress and abrasion are actually magnified in the first quarter of 2017, with short February being particularly volatile. Watch out for “nasty women” proudly on the rampage in March. Beginning in the third quarter in a tumultuous end to September, what we’ve believed to be true comes under new scrutiny or hidden conditions come to light explosively, with reverberations that last into 2019. Religious differences take on a stronger role and the science-versus-religion debate intensifies.

What’s rare in 2017? A solar eclipse stretching across the country (see this interactive map from NASA), which we haven’t experienced since 1979 and won’t again until 2024. Although the totality is concentrated in a small swath and will be very brief, its impact could be huge. Its zodiacal degree is at the important rising degree (“Ascendant “) of our new President. Since the Sun represents the leader and the Moon signifies the people, as the Moon blocks the Sun in this eclipse, it points to a time for the people to wield power over their leader. Two weeks later (less than 24 hours before the full moon peak of the lunar cycle begun at the eclipse), Mercury ends a retrograde backtrack at the same degree as the eclipse. Mercury represents news and information, and the terminus of a retrograde is a stoppage. Will the President try to clamp down on the press or limit the internet in some way?

What’s not so different? The trend toward a hotter and hotter world. Each year sets a new record for global temperature. And this may be symbolic of hot heads, making it harder and harder for everyone to get along.

What can you do? Surprise yourself, take a risk, try something new. Know your true self and bring out your highest potentials, for your own advantage and for the benefit of the greater whole. CHANGE YOUR THINKING – CHANGE YOUR LIFE – CHANGE YOUR WORLD.

For an in-depth analysis and explanation IN ENGLISH of 2017’s astrological influences – with tips for making the most of what the planets offer – consult Janet’s Plan-its Celestial Planner 2017 Astrology Calendar (paperback) or Janet’s Plan-its 2017 Quick & Easy Astrology Calendar (ebook). The December episode of LOOKING UP also discusses 2017’s highlights.

Here’s wishing you a year of wonderful changes!

America had a birthday. It was a New Moon. As an American astrologer, I was excited about that. A new start, a fresh perspective, I thought. In Cancer, the sign of Mom, home and apple pie. A woman is running for President. Maybe she’ll win. That would be something new. Probably a better something new than a man who’s never engaged in the process of enacting laws by any means other than contributing to politicians.

This week in America, the news was the “same old, same old” – or worse. The woman, who isn’t known for being tremendously trustworthy and who’s been under attack for decades, was cleared of intentional wrong-doing in a situation still riddled with question marks. Even though no known harm has apparently resulted directly (as yet, at least) from her actions, there are outraged citizens and the witch hunt continues, now focused on skewering those who didn’t skewer her

We had just recently been having a national conversation – heated of course – about guns, the Second Amendment, reasonable background checks, and maybe even re-instituting the lapsed ban on assault weapons. (The Governor of California signed just such a law in that progressive state.) I don’t oppose the right to have a gun. Like the Founding Fathers, I’m all for anyone who wants a musket to have one. Go ahead and carry it openly. Load little ball bullets one at a time with a ramrod. Keep your powder dry. Note: they did not say an individual should own a cannon.

Meanwhile, death haunted the headlines nearly daily, well, three days in a row. White cops kill a black man in Baton Rouge. White cops kill an Hispanic man in St. Paul. Their violations in no way warranted the over-reactions that resulted in their violent demise. The capper was an over-the-top over-reactive counter-attack on white cops by a black sniper during a peaceful Black Lives Matter protest. All the killing was done with guns.

Americans love their guns! The Wild West, cowboys and Indians, all our “heroic” wars fought with guns. Crime shows on TV, action adventures in the movies all featuring guns. Kids don’t want to learn how to throw a knife or shoot a bow and arrow. They play violent video games about killing with guns. Maybe soon that will be superseded with virtual drone attack video games. Better preparation for future wars.

It occurs to me that we speak incessantly about fighting. Even in sports. Fight, fight, fight. Fighting for our political beliefs, fighting for our rights, fighting for freedom, fighting for a better life. That strikes me as oxymoronic. Or perhaps just plain moronic. But that term is politically insensitive to morons. People are even fighting against being “politically correct,” a stance which really just means being mature and respectful of others’ rights. But, oh, if that steps on your sense of entitlement, well, then, that’s a bad thing.

When the USA was “born” (July 4, 1776) Mars, the fighting and war planet, was bumping heads with (as yet undiscovered but already operative) Neptune, the planet of symbolism, idealization, worship and delusion. We glorify fighting, we believe in fighting. Might makes right. We’re the police force for the world. The greatest military (industrial complex) ever known to man. Plenty enough nuclear warheads to destroy our planet many times over. Oh, don’t forgot how testosterone-laden and phallic Mars, weapons and war are, how deeply embedded in our animal primitive brainstem killing is. The fight or flight instinct. For survival. The USA was born of war. Live by fighting; die by fighting.

Fighting is no longer conducive to survival. The new paradigm for the New Age is cooperation rather than competition. Two Great Ages earlier (2,000-4,000+ years ago) was the Age of Aries and the Peloponnesian Wars, with the development of metallurgy and better means of fighting (swords and shields). Then 2,000 years ago came the Age of Pisces, which could have – and probably should have – delivered a more feminine energy, with empathy and understanding, abiding by the Golden Rule and the Christian tenet to love your enemy, love your neighbor as yourself. But we continued to war, especially relishing religious wars. “My god’s better than your god.” Perhaps in the Age of Aquarius, we’ll only have wars of words. Air signs are all about thought and communication. Aquarius is the sign of the masses, the people, friendship and the community. It’s much more androgynous than Aries. We’re all trans-gendering in a way.

At our birthday in 2016, we’re 240 years old, still in battle mode. Perhaps we’ll hit a turning point. Planets at one’s birthday show the promise for the coming year. Mars is traveling through Scorpio, the sign of extremes, death, resurrection, and transformation. It sits at the apex of a strange triangle called a Finger of God that brings a divine detour of odd twists and turns en route to an ultimate destination different from that intended but more in tune with destiny. The base of the triangle is formed by the country’s natal Mars in Gemini (the sign of ideas and conversations, learning, neighbors, siblings, brotherhood) being stimulated by a volatile combination in Aries (the sign ruled by Mars and related to survival, aggression, action, speed). Throughout this year, Uranus (planet of shocks and surprises, rebellion and revolution) travels hand-in-hand with the mighty little dwarf planet Eris, the bitchy sister of Mars. She loves a good fight. She kicks butt and stands up for independence like nobody’s business. Perhaps Eris will call forth her sisters to fight to end fighting. Oh, let me re-state that. ADVOCATE to end fighting. You can’t fight to end fighting. That’s oxymoronic.

I’ve called 2016 the “year of strong women” because of the Uranus-Eris pairing. We could have a woman President. And lots of men (and women) could fight against her; no doubt they will. But she’ll likely advocate for less fighting overall and more cooperation. Or we could choose a guy whose Sun (leadership, ego, pride, self-promotion) is in Gemini just one degree from the USA’s Mars. We can police the planet, and fight one another, and fight fight fight all around the world, with tough talk (one of Mars in Gemini’s favorite (lower) expressions) and lots of guns. And many more weeks like this one in America.

Maybe we’ll surprise ourselves and change the pattern. That’s where the Finger of God points, to Scorpio’s options. Transform or die.

The beautiful full moon never fails to enchant us, its round face as inscrutable as the Mona Lisa’s. It beams down on our planet far and wide. At a lunar eclipse, it’s ensconced in earth’s shadow (even though not from everyone’s viewpoint). What an incredible miracle that the size of our star and our satellite and their distances from us are such that one can obscure another, resulting in a momentary disappearing act. It’s hard to image if there is another life-supporting planet in a distant solar system that it experiences a similar eclipse phenomenon. How lucky we are to be on this spaceship earth and how careful we should be not to destroy its delicate balance.

Thinking of our planet as a spaceship reminds me of the Whole Earth Catalog, which was popular in 1968-1972, around the time of the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970. Earth Day is a chance to honor our Mother Earth and focus on her health and well-being. The first Earth Day came a day before a Full Moon, similar to this year when the Full Moon is on Earth Day. Both Mercury and Ceres are nearly exactly where they were 46 years ago at the first Earth Day. Mercury is getting ready to turn Retrograde on April 28 at 23-1/2 degrees of Taurus. In 1970, it turned Retrograde on April 28 at 22-12 degrees of Taurus. Ceres enters Aries April 11, 2016; in 1970, it entered Aries on April 14. A Mercury Retrograde turning point asks us to stop in our tracks and re-think and reflect on something; in Taurus, the focus is the material realm. Ceres is a dwarf planet named for the goddess fertility and harvest. In Aries, there’s excitement and enthusiasm to try something new or to make a change, planting new seeds. The original intent of Earth Day was to promote awareness of our environment and resources and to begin a new tradition of caring for our planet, both of which are in keeping with the pivoting Mercury in Taurus and Ceres newly in Aries. This year’s echo of those celestial influences signals an excellent time to re-commit to that noble goal.

Earth Day comes right around the beginning of the Sun’s passage through Taurus, a sign in the Earth element ruled by Venus, the planet named for the goddess of beauty and love. This is the time each year for appreciating all that we value and for reveling in our senses, enjoying the beautiful sights, sounds, smells and tastes of spring, a time for expressing affection through embraces. Taurus time always coincides with Mothers Day, too, when we honor the ones who gave us our lives.

One might hope that reverence for Earth, our Mother, would breed reverence for our brothers and sisters and fellow creatures and inhabitants, too. If only we could all care for one another the way a mother nurtures her children. But with the ISIS attack in Brussels on March 22, we’re reminded again of divisiveness and hatred, with the temptation to succumb to fear. The cure, of course, is inclusion and love. And for that, it helps to remember Spaceship Earth. We’re all in this boat together.

The 23rd of January is a cool date; in numerals, it’s 1, 2, 3 (1/23). This year, it brings us a Full Moon, which is in the fun sign of Leo. Maybe the kids of the eastern states will enjoy the snow. Full Moons frequently usher in a storm, and this one is a doozey! With power outages, coastal and street flooding, flight cancellations and closed roads, most people are “sheltering in place,” the modern term for hunkering down at home.

The area of the country that’s affected has Saturn, a planet of cold and challenges, at the foot of the Full Moon chart, a place that indicates “here” and where weather astrologers look for an indication of the conditions. It’s interesting to note that an asteroid named “Jonasz” (and there is no “Jonas” asteroid) is in a 90-degree position of friction relative to Saturn and not far from Chiron (a planetoid that highlights injury and difficulties) in the wet and wintery sign of Pisces. The named asteroids often present uncanny synchronicity. For example, the asteroids “Booth” and “Janhoet” (there is no asteroid “Janet”) were together on my birthday and rising at my exact time and place of birth.

CRAZY START TO THE YEAR

The stock market got off to the rockiest start for a year ever. Those astrologically in the know might have guessed there would be a big emphasis on economics at the new year. In its current Retrograde zigzag, Mercury hangs around a long time with Pluto, the planet associated with stocks and commodities, emphasizing Pluto’s long-term friction with volatile Uranus. The first Mercury-Pluto meet-up was 12/19/15, close enough to the winter solstice to portend extremes for the entire season. The second and third pairings on 1/22 and 1/30 bookend the final day of Mercury’s back-up on 1/25, coming near the Full Moon on 1/23. Full Moons often signal something having run its course. We can hope that’s the case with this market slide. At the end of the week on 1/22, the markets showed a net increase for the week for the first time in 2016, having gained ground the final two days of the shortened trading week. December was an up-and-down month and the serious tumble began around 12/29. That date provides a hint for more bouncing around to come.

Not only is Mercury joining Pluto’s present position three times, it also makes three passes over the degree where Pluto was at the “birth” of the USA (27-1/2 Capricorn). These occur 12/29/15, 1/11/16 and 2/11/16. Mercury is a key predictor for Plutonian matters in the USA because on 7/4/1776, Mercury in Cancer was across from Pluto, and Mercury was Retrograde. It’s in our “DNA” to keep our minds on our money AND to be dumb about it on occasion. The current Mercury Retrograde opposes the country’s birth Mercury position three times, too: 12/26, 1/13, 2/9. A little more stability may set in once we’re in the cycle that begins at the New Moon on 2/8, when Venus (a beneficial planet related to money) joins Pluto.

That said, the year as a whole holds big challenges for investors. Markets respond to people’s emotions, a primary one being fear. The USA’s birth Neptune (the planet associated with fear) is being visited now by Jupiter, the expander. At the 1/23 Full Moon, Jupiter is back at the exact degree it occupied at the winter solstice, having inched forward and then turned tail on 1/7. This combination inclines people to react, or should we say over-react, to worries and the unknown. Neptune is also the planet related to oil and a lot of the concerns stem from the depression of oil prices. In astrology, we see the correlation from pressure put on Neptune by a 90-degree tension relationship with Saturn, the planet of contraction. These two are in this difficult link for most of 2016 (with two spikes on 6/17 and 9/10).

Most of this Mercury Retrograde (1/5 – 1/25) takes place in Capricorn, the sign of the Establishment, but it began in Aquarius, the sign of the rebel. We see a lot of anti-establishment sentiment in the electorate as we prepare for primary season, with fringe candidates getting the lion’s share of attention. Capricorn is also the sign of organization and order, which many have witnessed erode during this backtrack of the planet of communication, information, paperwork and commerce.

Have you had a Mercury Retrograde experience? I sure have!! This one makes a “T” pattern (tension, turning point) with my natal Mercury, which is 90-ish degrees from my Uranus. Lots of challenges with technology-related circumstances. But great insights about the power of acupuncture and mediation, both related to Uranus.

I hope you enjoy this Full Moon!