A bright start to 2011: the Jupiter/Uranus conjunction

On 4th January 2011, Jupiter will be in close and exact conjunction with Uranus. The chart is set for 12 noon in London. Jupiter and Uranus appear side by side, both at 27 degrees and 2 seconds of Pisces. They are part of a Small Learning triangle, which also involves Venus and Neptune. The rest of the planets stand apart, either bunched together at the top of the chart or - in the case of Saturn - ploughing its own lonely furrow in Libra.

Does this herald a bright beginning to 2011? It does if we let it. In amongst all the gloom and apprehension, financial fears and the need to tighten our belts in order to make ends meet, opportunities do exist to be creative, inventive and to step outside the box in the way we live our lives.

Jupiter opens things up, offers new experiences and urges a spot of risk taking. We may find that we're doing something completely new, that we've never done before, in order to adjust to living in more straitened circumstances (and no, I'm not urging anyone to go out and rob a bank or turn to crime!). Uranus spurs us on to find new ways of maintaining stability and security. You may find that strange, because generally Uranus is associated with upheaval and unexpected events. At its heart are the principles of maintenance and change. Change is needed when the old, tired and outworn is no longer working. Because we seek to return to and maintain a stable state of being, we have to be inventive and creative and help bring in something new which will give us the security we're trying to replace, but in a different and often more innovative way.

Together with Jupiter, Uranus could work in beneficial ways - of course, their conjunction is symbolic but it reflects the opportunities which abound in times of need. For example, making things instead of buying them, like clothes, knitting, DIY, gardening, home cooking rather than fast and restaurant food, just to mention a few. Yesterday I was reading in the New Year editions of the weekend newspapers that this is a current trend in the face of belt-tightening, with baking bread being high on the list in terms of being satisfying as well as saving money.

Note also that this conjunction is in Pisces, the sign associated with caring for and helping others, being more altruistic, less materialistic. This could be a nod in the direction of us all being in it together, but only if we let it be so. There are vast inequalities in western society: the Jupiter/Uranus conjunction in Pisces gives us a chance to even these out a little, take a few risks, be a bit creative and do something new in 2011.