Soho horoscopes: Prepare for the unexpected this Aquarius season

Welcome to Aquarius season, whose symbol is the Waterbearer, whose element is air, whose modality is fixed, and whose energy is intellectual. Aquarius is a complex, cerebral, and independent sign. It needs its space, but, at the same time, it’s humane, empathetic, and social. Perhaps some of these complexities relate to the fact that it is ruled by two very different planets. Grim Saturn (the strict dad of the zodiac) governs Aquarius, but then so does Uranus (our quirky, artsy aunt or uncle who teaches anthropology). 

Saturn lends Aquarius a somewhat detached and distant air, while Uranus contributes an unconventional and innovative energy. The result is a season during which we should celebrate and welcome the strange and unexpected into our lives, if not our hearts. 

Aquarius
The sun passes through your selfhood zone this season. Usually, solar transits in this part of the chart indicate periods of heightened self-interest, individualism, perhaps even selfishness. In essence, the Sun here activates me-first questions: how do I look? What do I want? Who am I? Your sign, however, is known for having an impersonal nature: you’re more focused on big picture themes, rather than the minutiae of ‘my’ and ‘mine’. How do we square your impersonal nature with what is seen as a very personal part of the chart? Find meaning this month by connecting small self (ego) to big self (humanity, the people). Volunteer. Donate. They say the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Do your part to better the whole. 

Pisces 
You’re mutable water – you don’t really get on with the arid intellectualism of Aquarius season. But this year, you’ve got lovely Venus in your sign until 20 February. Venus is like a warm blanket for snuggling over and against the Aquarius chill. Please make use of this romantic transit by finding someone special with whom to share this cosmic ‘blankie’, because you’ve got a bitter cold front moving in on 7 March, when malefic Saturn enters your sign for two years. But don’t worry – Saturn can be constructive (more on that next month), but for now, keep Venus in mind at all times. It stands for money, love, desire and beauty, so spend a little and love a lot. 

Aries
The intellectual Aquarius sun lights up your friendship zone. What’s more, your ruling planet, Mars, powers up the communication sector of your chart (after a long retrograde). Suffice to say, the stars are aligned to get you off the couch and out with friends to chat the night away. Keep in mind, though, that this isn’t a transit for basic conversation (i.e. tawdry gossip about who said what about whom), but rather for nerdy explorations on stuff like the phenomenology of perception. Aquarius is about high-tier concepts. A full moon in your romance zone on 6 February betokens a great night to wine and dine with a special someone. Think of this as your real Valentine’s night out (regardless of what the calendar says). 

Taurus
As a fixed earth sign, you can get set in your ways (it happens). With the unconventional Aquarius sun energising your career zone this season, however, be more flexible with the way you approach work and projects over the next couple of weeks. Shift up your routine. Try some life hack to increase productivity (micro-dosing?). Validate the ideas of others (no matter how new-fangled) – and build on them. While you can be set in your ways, you also tend to outlast and outwork those who may start a project strong, but then lose interest. Stay true to your nature (steady, enduring, loyal), but tweak it a bit (Aquarian innovation) for growth at work. 

Gemini
The Waterbearer is the nerd of the zodiac, while you’re the flirt. If this were a teen rom-com, you’d help your lab partner, Aquarius, learn to be ‘hip’, and they would show you how to ace biology. Something like this scenario isn’t far from your astrology this month. The intellectual Aquarius sun lights up your zone of higher learning. Make Aquarius (and the cosmos) proud by cracking a book about the rise of the internet (and its surveillance technologies), rather than data-glutting yourself online, while being surveilled by its various modes of capture. A new moon in your higher learning sector on 21 January suggests a particularly good day to improve yourself through the written word or signing up for a class at the local college. 

Cancer
The cerebral Aquarius sun sidles up to your sex sector this season. As such, you may find yourself drawn to the sapiosexual thrills of watching lectures on human behavioural biology or having Sade’s Justine read aloud in the bedroom. By no means, never resist these kinds of cosmic tugs. A new moon on 21 January in your sex zone betokens a powerful date to explore some kind of erotic nerd-play, while a full moon in your money sector on 6 February points to a nice night to celebrate and spend some cash. 

Leo
Relationship alert. The Aquarius sun lights up the partnership sector of your chart. Unlike diplomatic Libra, your nature (ruled by the majestic sun) wants to govern by fiat rather than through parliamentary forms of consensus-building. But with the unconventional energy of Aquarius at play this season, it’s time for you to break free of custom. Show love rather than merely showing off your majesty. That said, a full moon in Leo on 6 February betokens a night for some good old fashioned self-indulgence fit for a king or queen. In contrast, a new moon on 21 January portends your best night to take a partner out and listen to all their stories, no matter how much you want to override the conversation with yours. 

Virgo
Your sign is the master of the to-do list. Virgo loves the efficiency that comes from little life hacks procured online that teach you how to fold those always cumbersome fitted sheets in record time. The fact that the innovative Aquarius sun will be lighting up your zone of routine, health and diet is like catnip for the maiden. Aquarius season brings with it new ideas, even to the humdrum world of routine and diet. Align with this energy and generate at least four new ways to fold sheets and cut calories this month. On 21 January, the new moon portends your best day to make a long to-do list that will occupy you for the rest of the season. 
 
Libra
Your fun and romance zone gets lit up by the Aquarius sun this season, but fun and romance can, of course, come in different forms. Under the auspices of intellectual and unconventional Aquarius, expect romantic interludes to be a bit different. Do not be surprised if you find yourself on a date with someone you never expected (a wily surfer type to your buttoned-up professionalism, say). Ultimately, now is not the time to resist these kinds of unexpected encounters, for they can lead to deeper self-understanding, which is, in the end, the name of the cosmic game. 

Scorpio
The innovative Aquarius sun transits your home zone. It could be time to look at your space and make some clever changes to it. Check out some stuff on Japanese interiors to get ideas on how to rearrange the living room or kitchen. Then, move over to some Danish material on the same topic. The point is to start seeing the angles of your home from different perspectives. Aquarius energy is about the unexpected solution or insight. Here’s to figuring out what to finally do with that lamp that isn’t feeling right by the desk. 

Sagittarius
The quirky Aquarius sun camps out in your communication zone this month. This part of the chart deals with editing, writing, and speaking. While Aquarius energy isn’t great for digging into the p’s and q’s of a manuscript or contract, it should prove helpful instead with generating big ideas, which could take the form of unexpected plot twists in your stalled out mystery novel. Approach your laptop with an open mind this month, and think about making big changes in your communications rather than small ones. 

Capricorn
It’s crazy how many pop songs are about cash. The best, no doubt is ‘Money For Nothing’ by Dire Straits. What’s great about the track, at least lyrically, is that it taps into one of our fundamental fantasies – sitting around and gaining tons of cash for it. Outside our quests for the fountain of youth, is there any desire more bedrock than the one articulated by Dire Straits? This is all to say that the innovative Aquarius sun lights up your cash zone this month. At the very least, this placement could help you come up with an idea to make some money for something, which is not to be sniffed at.