We greet Monday with a New Moon in Aquarius on January 23rd. Aquarius is the sign of the friend making the next four weeks good for socializing with your best friends or networking with your civic organizations. To increase your circle of friends, spend some time with someone you’d like to know better before the Full Moon on February 7 or invite them to join your group. If there’s a friendship you’d like to end, wait until after the Full Moon to end it gracefully.

January 23rd is also Chinese New Year. Instead of January 1, the Chinese New Year is based on a lunar calendar with the new year starting on the second new moon after the winter solstice. Before the new year begins, it’s a custom to thoroughly clean the house, especially the kitchen, so that good fortune can enter.

On the eve of the Chinese New Year, families gather for a reunion style supper. Are you up for a night off from cooking? I know I am! A dish called Dragon and Phoenix consisting of shrimp and chicken is eaten for good luck, similar to the southern custom of having black eyed peas on New Year’s Day.

Are You a Dragon?

Dragons have strong, independent personalities and would prefer to lead instead of follow. I was born in the year of the Dragon and I’ve been described as headstrong on more than one occasion, especially by my hubby who just happens to be…what else…a dragon. According to the Chinese Zodiac, you’re a Dragon if you were born within these range of dates:

16 February 1904 – 3 February 1905
3 February 1916 – 22 January 1917
23 January 1928 – 9 February 1929
8 February 1940 – 26 January 1941
27 January 1952 – 13 February 1953
13 February 1964 – 1 February 1965
31 January 1976 – 17 February 1977
17 February 1988 – 5 February 1989
5 February 2000 – 23 January 2001
23 January 2012 – 9 February 2013

Household and Gardening Tips

Moon in Aquarius ~ January 23-24
Moon in Pisces ~ January 25-27
Moon in Aries ~ January 28-29

Are your computers, cell phones or television screens dirty? How about your remote control or keyboard? Clean them up or replace them while the Moon in in Aquarius. Be sure to check your owner’s manuals for instructions on the best way to clean your equipment. High tech gadgets are sensitive and you want to use the proper cleansers. You’ll also want to keep your phones clean during cold season, which has officially arrived. Phones are notorious for spreading germs, with office phones being major offenders. Lots of folks are complaining about colds recently and we don’t want to spread or catch those germs. 

Since Aquarius is the sign of high technology, the 22nd~24th is an auspicious time for acquiring new gadgets.

Stick to clean-up jobs in the garden through Tuesday, the 24th, with the Moon in Aquarius.

Are you late getting your pansies, snapdragons and other winter flowers planted? The moon is in the fertile sign of Pisces Wednesday through Friday. The fertile signs are the best days to plant flowering plants, especially when the moon is in the first or second quarter. Pisces is one of the best times to fertilize. How about using some fish emulsion? 😉

With the Moon in Aries, the weekend of the 28-29th is best spent on trimming new, unwanted growth on established plants. Our warm weather has fooled many of our plants into thinking that it’s spring already. Snip those little growths before another freeze rolls in which could do more harm than good. We can take advantage of this winter’s warmer temps to get a jump on cleaning up our gardens for spring. Saturday and Sunday are perfect for fast and easy garden chores.