The New Year is yet another chance for us to get things right. According to an old saying about the first month of the year,
"January is the quietest month, a pause between what has been and what may yet come."
'Makar Sankranti' is a significant astrological event that occurs every January. It is the transition of the Sun through the sign of Capricorn or 'Makar'. It signifies the end of the winter solstice month and the beginning of longer daylight hours. The Sun's placement in this zodiac emphasises specific qualities associated with Capricorn's energy, such as ambition, determination and hard work. This is a time of new beginnings, fresh starts and is often considered an auspicious period for spiritual practices, rituals and setting intentions for the coming months.
This year, 'Makar Sankranti' starts from January 14 and continues into February.
Other noteworthy, although not entirely astrologically relevant dates this month include:
Motivation and Inspiration Day, January 2.
Earth's Rotation Day, January 8.
Thank You Day, January 9.
Lohri, January 13. A Hindu festival symbolising gratitude for a bountiful harvest and hope for prosperity in the coming year, centred around a sacred bonfire.
Make Your Dream Come True Day, January 13.
'Makar Sankranti', January 14.
'Mauni Amavasya', January 18. The water of the river Ganges is said to be akin to nectar on this day.
'Vasant Panchami', January 23. A day is dedicated to 'Saraswati', the goddess of knowledge and learning.
International Day of Education, January 24.
International Day of Peaceful Coexistence, January 28.
January is, Rising Star Month.
January is, Celebration of Life Month.
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News Updates for January 2026
A round-up of breaking news and the most interesting stories from the world of astrology and esotericism.
Our very own astrologers at PowerFortunes.com have published their New Year's resolutions for each of the zodiac signs, for 2026. These suggestions are based on the horoscope chart cast on January 1, 2026 and inlcude a summary of short-term predictions. Some of the resolutions are:
Capricorn: Delays are nothing but the building blocks for future successes.
Aquarius: I possess the ability to ground big ideas into persistent, purposeful action.
Pisces: I will use delays as a time for reassessment, consolidation and quiet inner growth.
Yes, according to Maressa Brown, astrology writer for Parade magazine. According to Brown, "Rare, game-changing celestial shifts will make this a year like no other." She cites the key points for the year as:
Neptune entering Aries after January 26.
Saturn entering Aries after February 13.
Uranus entering Gemini April 25.
Jupiter entering Leo June 30.
The South Node entering Leo and the North Node entering Aquarius after July 26.
Mercury retrogrades through all three water signs after February 25.
Venus retrogrades through Scorpio and Libra between October 3 and November 13.
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Writing in Cosmopolitan, Astrology Editor Erika W. Smith lists out the dates for some astrological events for 2026, and a brief description of their possible impact. The events covered are:
Christmas may be gone, but the puns live on. In this humorous piece, the traditional Christmas song, ‘The 12 Days of Christmas’ is correlated to the 12 zodiac signs. According to the writer Valerie Mesa, “It's simple: there are 12 signs, all of which are guaranteed to misbehave during the holidays. From the instigator to the crybaby, everyone gets to partake in the seasonal chaos.” This is how it plays out:
On the first day of Christmas,
Aries gave to me: A nonsensical interrogation just because they’re suddenly in the mood to bicker.
Taurus gave to me: A full-on lecture on why comfort matters more than literally anything on the holiday agenda.
Gemini gave to me: A harmless lie about how they “totally didn’t peek” in their stocking, or your shopping cart with their Christmas gift.
Cancer gave to me: An emotional check-in you didn’t ask for.
Leo gave to me: An unsolicited photoshoot because “The lighting is good and you look cute, trust me.”
Virgo gave to me: A brutally honest critique of your gift-wrapping technique… followed by a full demonstration.
Libra gave to me: A mini identity crisis over which outfit to wear and a plea for you to “just pick one.”
Scorpio gave to me: Dramatic silence after someone makes a comment that rubs them the wrong way.
Sagittarius gave to me: A spontaneous plan that absolutely derails your plans.
Capricorn gave to me: A passive-aggressive reminder that someone still has to work and keep things on track on Christmas.
Aquarius gave to me: A controversial conspiracy theory in the middle of dinner that has absolutely nothing to do with the holidays.
Pisces gave to me: A homemade, secret vlog of the entire year that they single-handedly put together.
It must be a sign of the times, because far from being burnt at the stake, the witches of Manchester, New Jersey have been treating themselves to 'Witches Day', an event featuring Tarot card readings, book signings and a fundraiser for black cats, no less. According to local news outlet Jersey Shore Online, the event's chief organiser was Princess Katey, also known as the Witch of Whiting. In case you're wondering, Katey is not believed to have any association with the witches of Eastwick.
It's not known if visitors were left spellbound when Princess Katey took the stage to sing several songs, including “Witchcraft”, “Witchy Woman” and “Season of the Witch”. However, it does appear that 'Ding-dong the witch is dead...", was not requested.
Astrologer Lisa Stardust reviews what she refers to as, "This year’s most Googled astrology questions, answered to the best of my ability." The questions mostly relate to generic sun sign characteristics such as, 'Why are Aquariuses so stubborn?' Although this is not stated as such, these queries were presumably retrieved from Google Trends. Stardust provides her answers to these questions in this article.
Giuseppe Consani from Queens, New York was sentenced to 23 years in prison for the murder of Tarot card reader Anna Torres. Consani pleaded guilty to shooting Torres in 2022, because he thought she put a curse on him.
Fakhr, an AI expert and ‘X’ user with the handle @iamfakhrealam, shared a post on Friday that quickly gained traction online. In the post, he declared “GOODBYE ASTROLOGERS”, suggesting that generative AI tools like ChatGPT can deliver deep, personalised life insights for free.
Despite this new suggestion, many astrologers have in the past clarified that AI cannot be relied upon for making astrological predictions, without human oversight. A news item related to this was covered in the December 2025 edition of Astrology News.
Colorado news channel FOX31 hosted local astrologist Richard James and discussed astrology and Tarot card readings. James revealed that he was not immediately drawn to astrology. Events in his life led him to astrology and to find the answers he was seeking.
On Thursday, November 20, Dr. Matthew Kosuta, an associate professor in the Philosophy and Religious Studies department at the University of Tennessee, USA, hosted an open lecture to inform students about what astrology is, and to answer questions such as: Is astrology real, or what’s the big idea?
Though UTC students generally regard astrology as something interesting, they are sceptical about acknowledging it as factual. Among the students at the lecture, there seemed to be a baseline knowledge of astrology and ideas associated with it, but no devout belief in the system itself. Dr. Kosuta noted the phenomenon of claiming not to believe in astrology, but still acting as if it is real. He said, “Some people believe in another religion, and they believe astrology with less depth of belief”, Kosuta said, adding, “They feel like they’re not supposed to believe it, but they kind of do.”
A case in point was Hannah Byrd, a sophomore English and history student, knows enough about astrology to understand what personality traits go along with each sign, even if she does not believe it to be credible. “I generally don’t think it’s true”, Byrd said, adding, “But whenever it comes up in conversation and someone says something about their sun sign, I end up having thoughts about their personality or who they might be, so I might believe it more than I think.”
A new theory argues that persecuted Jews in medieval Europe concealed Judaica in Tarot cards. According to Stav Appel, an amateur Tarot historian and author of ‘The Torah in the Tarot’, the present day Tarot deck may have been a medieval Jewish invention to preserve Jewish knowledge in the face of overwhelming antisemitic oppression. Each card is replete with hidden Jewish knowledge, Appel says, and the deck as a whole functioned as a crypto-Jewish educational tool.
Appel is not a historian by training. He lives in upstate New York and has an MBA from Yale. Some of his formative years were spent in Israel, where he studied at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. When Appel and his kids started playing with the cards, he claims that he noticed that they were filled with Bible references, such as one card depicting four divine animals. This was analogous to a vision of the prophet Ezekiel. Similarly another card bears a collapsing grand building that looked like a depiction of the destruction of the Second Temple.
Appel learned that the Rider-Waite Tarot deck had been copied from a much, much older deck called the Tarot de Marseille, which dates back to at least the late 15th century. When Appel saw a replica of a 1650 Tarot deck, he recalled thinking, “These are Torah stories. This is Judaica.” Torah being the Hebrew instructions or teachings compiled in five books of the Hebrew Bible, the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.
Famous Birthdays this Month
Some famous personalities with birthdays in January are:
Mel Gibson, January 3, 1956
Isaac Newton, January 4, 1643
Bradley Cooper, January 5, 1975
Rowan Atkinson, January 6, 1955
Nigella Lawson, January 6, 1960
Jeremy Renner, January 7, 1971
Elvis Presley, January 8, 1935
Stephen Hawking, January 8, 1942
Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, January 9, 1982
Nina Dobrev, January 9, 1989
Virginia Woolf, January 10, 1882
Jeff Bezos, January 11, 1964
Amanda Peet, January 11, 1972
Orlando Bloom, January 13, 1977
Jason Bateman, January 14, 1969
Martin Luther King Jr., January 15, 1929
Muhammad Ali, January 17, 1942
Michelle Obama, January 17, 1964
Zooey Deschanel, January 17, 1980
Kevin Costner, January 18, 1955
Janis Joplin, January 19, 1943
Dolly Parton, January 19, 1946
Geena Davis, January 21, 1956
Diane Lane, January 22, 1965
John Belushi, January 24, 1949
Eddie Van Halen, January 26, 1955
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, January 27, 1791
Rosamund Pike, January 27, 1979
Oprah Winfrey, January 29, 1954
Heather Graham, January 29, 1970
Christian Bale, January 30, 1974
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Important Dates
These are the most favourable and unfavourable dates this month, according to the prevailing celestial alignments. The good dates are the best of those mentioned for our 'Monthly Lucky Dates' section. This selection is suitable for commencing or undertaking any type of important task, be this of a personal, professional or even spiritual nature. Doing so will multiply your returns and increases the chances of success. The opposite is true of the inauspicious dates.
The Most Auspicious Dates in January
January 4:
Indian Standard Time (IST) From: January 4, 12:31 to 15:12 (4) IST.
Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) From: January 4, 02:01 to 04:42 (4) EDT*.
This is a 'Tripushkar Yog' that occurs on the 1st and 2nd days of the waning moon, during the 'Nakshatra' of 'Punarvasu'.
The 'Punarvasu Nakshatra' or constellation is considered to be favourable for most auspicious events.
January 20 to 21:
Indian Standard Time (IST) From: January 20, 13:07 to 02:43 (21) IST.
Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) From: January 20, 02:37 to 16:13 (20) EDT*.
This is a 'Dwipushkar Yog' that occurs on the 2nd day of the waxing moon, during the 'Nakshatra' of 'Shravan'.
The 'Shravan Nakshatra' or constellation is considered to be favourable for most auspicious events.
The Most Inauspicious Dates in January
January 16 to 17:
Indian Standard Time (IST) From: January 16, 22:41 to 07:15 (17) IST.
Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) From: January 16, 12:11 to 20:45 (16) EDT*.
Two unfavourable periods of 'Gand Mool' and 'Bhadra' will run concurrently during the 14th day of the waning moon.
January 22 to 25:
Indian Standard Time (IST) From: January 22, 14:40 to 07:13 (25) IST.
Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) From: January 22, 04:10 to 20:43 (24) EDT*.
The unfavourable periods of 'Panchak', 'Bhadra' and 'Gand Mool' will run concurrently between the 4th and 7th days of the waxing moon.
* The times shown are in IST (Indian Standard Time). You may use an online time converter to get your local time.
Lunar Phases for January
The moon will follow the following alignments this month:
At the beginning of the month, the moon will be at day '13' of its waxing phase, in Taurus.☽ ♉
The new moon will be on Sunday, January 19 and the moon will occupy the sign of Capricorn.☽ ♑
The first full Supermoon of 2026 will be on, Saturday, January 3 and the moon will be in the sign of Gemini. The January full moon is sometimes referred to as a 'Wolf Moon' and 'Paush Purnima' according to the Hindu calendar.☽ ♊
Planetary Trends for January
The horoscope charts will progress as follows during the course of the month. For an explanation of some of the terminology used, see our 'Astrology Glossary'.
At the beginning of January, Saturn will rule the ascendant and Rahu will occupy the first house.
Taurus will be the Moon sign at the beginning of the month.
A weak and retrograde Jupiter will rule the ascendant at the beginning of the month.
Jupiter will be the only retrograde planet at the beginning of the month.
Venus, Mercury and Mars will be combust at the beginning of January.
A combust Mars will rule the ascendant at the end of the month.
Gemini will be the Moon sign at the end of the month.
At the end of the month, Jupiter will be in-retrograde and Mercury, Venus and Mars will all be combust.
At the beginning of January, a combust Mars will be at 18.42°, conjunct with the Sun, Venus and Mercury in the friendly sign of Sagittarius. ♂ ♐
By around mid-January a combust and weak Mars will be at 29.25°, conjunct with Mercury in the friendly sign of Sagittarius. ♂ ♐
By the end of January, a combust but exalted Mars will occupy the sign of Capricorn, at around 11.57° in conjunction with the Sun, Mercury and Venus. ♂ ♑
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