DR. G’s FLUTE HOROSCOPES January 2021

by Rachel Taylor Geier

Happy New Year! 2021 starts off on the right foot with Mars changing signs. We will all be super motivated to start working on those New Year’s Resolutions right away. The sludge of 2020 is beginning to melt away and we may now start looking forward to lighter and brighter days ahead. Mercury and Venus are moving houses on the same day. This brings a wonderful opportunity to share inspirational ideas and important goals with the others in your life. Be careful at the end of the month as a Mercury Retrograde soon approaches. As with any Mercury Retrograde, take some time prior to January 30^th to back up all electronic devices, sign any contracts, and finalize any important documents. Mercury retrogrades often create miscommunications and drama out of thin air. Be patient and keep your emails and text messages clear and concise. Save the drama for Obama!

 

Capricorn (December 22-January 19) HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

January 6^th – Mars moves into your 5^th house of creativity and joy. Do you have a really good idea for a recording or video project? Mars will help you get to work! What do you need to get this project off the ground running?

January 8^th – Mercury moves into your 2^nd house of income while Venus moves into your 1^st house of identity. This combo will ask you to search your heart when it comes to your job. What type of musician are you? What type of musician would you like to be in the future? What is the most important thing to you about playing the flute? Armed with this knowledge, have an honest chat with your boss regarding any opportunities to bring more of what you value into your daily work.

January 13^th – A New Moon appears in your 1^st house of identity. This New Moon will require you to take stock of what truly matters to you. Are you living your best flute life? What responsibilities can you let go of to make more space for additional flute performances, teaching, and practicing? Start 2021 with a new set of priorities.

January 19^th – The Sun moves into your 2^nd house of income. You will likely be super busy at work when the Sun moves signs. This may be in part related to the conversation had earlier in the month with your boss about new responsibilities. Keep at it! You are learning new, valuable transferable skills to help get you to the next step.

January 28^th – A Full Moon appears in your 8^th house of banking and finance. Making the final payment on a loan? Congrats! Your diligent savings has helped you purchase the flute of your dreams. Nice work! Make sure to cross all of the t’s and dot the i’s on any final close out paperwork.

January 30^th – Mercury goes retrograde in your 2^nd house of income. Be careful with any email communications sent at work when Mercury goes retrograde. Proofread everything at least three times before sending and keep your messages short and clear. Mercury creates conflict through miscommunications whenever it goes retrograde.

Aquarius (January 20-February 18)

January 6^th – Mars moves into your 4^th house of home and family. Are you planning a home studio renovation? Want to move the furniture around? Add a plant or an inspirational paining to your practice space? Go for it! Mars will help you repair what needs to be repaired, move what needs to be moved, and upgrade what needs to be upgraded.

January 8^th – Mercury moves into your 1^st house of identity while Venus moves into your 12^th house of behind-the-scenes activities. Start thinking about your next performance when these two planets move houses. Practice all of those pieces that you’ve always loved but may have been too intimidated to perform in the past. Start programing your ideal recital. How much time will you need to prepare?

January 13^th – A New Moon appears in your 12^th house of behind-the-scenes activities. You will be spending a lot of time in the practice room learning a particularly difficult new piece. It will be challenging but once mastered, this piece will be your showstopper!

January 19^th – The Sun moves into your 1^st house of identity. This is a really great time to host a performance or masterclass. You are in the spotlight when the Sun moves signs. Take advantage of your soaring popularity as you will no doubt be number one flute star in all the land during this time.

January 28^th – A Full Moon appears in your 7^th house of relationships. There may be a toxic relationship in your environment that needs to undergo significant changes or even end around the time of this Full Moon. This could be in connection with an overly competitive colleague or a difficult student that no longer shows enthusiasm for their weekly lessons. Time to have that difficult chat to clear the air. What is the best course of action moving forward?

January 30^th – Mercury goes retrograde in your 1^st house of identity. Use this retrograde to review some of your past performances. What can you learn from your last recital? What went well? What was difficult? Did you suffer from performance anxiety? How can you better approach your next performance?

Pisces (February 19-March 20)

January 6^th – Mars moves into your 3^rd house of communication. Write that book or article! The time has come. You likely have a really good teaching idea or are inspired by the life and works of an important composer but may have been putting off doing the research and writing an initial draft. ]Mars will encourage you to put pen to paper.

January 8^th – Mercury moves into your 12^th house of behind-the-scenes activities while Venus moves into your 11^th house of groups and communities. Spend some quality time reading through new repertoire in your smaller chamber groups. There will likely be a piece or two that really resonates with yourself and your colleagues. Share your ideas on the best way to approach the work both in the practice room and in subsequent rehearsals.

January 13^th – A New Moon appears in your 11^th house of groups and communities. You may be joining a new orchestra or flute choir around the time of this Full Moon. This is a great opportunity that will likely open a number of important doors. Practice, practice, practice but also do what you can to make important connections with your new colleagues.

January 19^th – The Sun moves into your 12^th house of behind-the-scenes activities. Get ready to set up shop in the practice room when the Sun changes signs. You will be focused on practicing new repertoire and strengthening fundamentals with some good, old-fashion Taffanel and Gaubert drills.

January 28^th – A Full Moon appears in your 6^th house of daily work and health routines. Take a close look at your daily schedule during this Full Moon. Is there a group or committee that you agreed to participate in that takes up far more of your time than you originally anticipated? Can you back out or redelegate your responsibilities to someone else? What can you do to trim down your daily schedule?

January 30^th – Mercury goes retrograde in your 12^th house of behind-the-scenes activities. Take a step back during this retrograde and check in with your emotional life. How are you feeling lately? Is something distracting you from getting in your best practice time? What is blocking your ability to express yourself in your playing? Use this time to improvise – Create music from the heart.

Aries (March 21-April 19)

January 6^th – Mars moves into your 2^nd house of income. The New Year will start on the right foot for your, Aries, as Mars moves into your work sector. You will be extremely productive at work. Do all of the things! Check off everything on your to-do list and some of those items on your longer-term list of goals. You may even be inspired to apply to new, more challenging positions. Go for it!

January 8^th – Mercury moves into your 11^th house of groups and communities while Venus moves into your 10^th house of career goals. Use this time to think about what type of groups you would like to perform within now and in the future. Would you like to perform principal flute with a local orchestra? Would you like to start your own regional flute choir? What groups can you audition for now that will help you prepare for your ideal groups in the future? Start preparing.

January 13^th – A New Moon appears in your 10^th house of career goals. A new job opportunity will present itself around the time of this New Moon. This is a great next step for you! Make the most of this new adventure and do what you can to prepare for the challenges ahead, whether that means more practice time or devising a more strategic performance schedule.

January 19^th – The Sun moves into your 11^th house of groups and communities. You will be quite busy with your rehearsal schedule when the Sun moves signs. Your focus will be on making the most out of every rehearsal in your packed schedule. Attend all of the sectionals, schedule outside rehearsals, and reserve a good portion of your practice time for woodshedding technical passages in your group repertoire.

January 28^th – A Full Moon appears in your 5^th house of creativity and joy. A creative project that you have been working on will need to undergo serious revisions around the time of this Full Moon. Are you composing a new piece? Take a critical look at that dreaded second movement. Does it need to be shortened? How does it connect to the surrounding movements?

January 30^th – Mercury goes retrograde in your 11^th house of groups and communities. Be careful at the end of the month in your group rehearsals as Mercury may create a few miscommunications and hurt feelings. Try to be sensitive to your colleagues who may be having a difficult time understanding your cues or finding your pitch. Tempers may be high and stress will be contagious. Proceed with caution.

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

January 6^th – Mars moves into your 1^st house of identity. New Year, New You will be your motto at the beginning of the year. You have a number of important goals this year and Mars will help you achieve all of them. Practice more. Perform more. Learn to play Jazz. Do all of the things!

January 8^th – Mercury moves into your 10^th house of career goals while Venus moves into your 9^th house of travel and higher education. Dream big with this combination. Discuss your current career trajectory with a trusted advisor or fellow flutist. There may be a gap in your knowledge or experience that could very well be filled by taking a course or going back to school to complete a new degree program. Mercury and Venus want you to take this leap!

January 13^th – A New Moon appears in your 9^th house of travel and higher education. A new educational opportunity will present itself around the time of this New Moon. You will likely find yourself signing up for a new class that fulfills some of your New Year’s Resolutions. Go for it!

January 19^th – The Sun moves into your 10^th house of career goals. When the Sun moves signs, you may be offered a new job or promotion at your current job. This opportunity aligns perfectly with your newly redesigned career goals. Although it will definitely be a challenge, your hard work will definitely pay off in the end.

January 28^th – A Full Moon appears in your 4^th house of home and family. Something in your home environment will need to undergo changes or be eliminated during this Full Moon. Redecorate your home studio environment! Update all technology including recording devices. Update the furniture. If it is broke, either fix it or get rid of it. Remember: New Year, New You!

January 30^th – Mercury goes retrograde in your 10^th house of career goals. Use this time to review all of the changes you have already made this month in your career. Take a step back and look at the bigger picture. What do you want to achieve with the lessons you are about to learn? How can you build on your current experiences to bring you closer to your ultimate career goals?

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

January 6^th – Mars moves into your 12^th house of behind-the-scenes activities. Mars does not generally enjoy being behind the scenes, but for us musicians the Mars energy is excellent for accomplishing a lot in the practice room. Practice all of the things this month. Select new repertoire for your next recital. Polish your sight-reading skills. Woodshed your excerpts.

January 8^th – Mercury moves into your 9^th house of travel and higher education while Venus moves into your 8^th house of banking and finance. This is a great time to discuss possible educational opportunities in the upcoming year. Want to learn a new instrument? Want to go back to school to study musicology? How will you accomplish these goals? Most importantly, how will you finance your educational venture? Venus will help you attract the necessary resources, but first you will need determine your bottom line.

January 13^th – A New Moon appears in your 8^th house of banking and finance. You may be receiving an educational loan or a financial gift from a friend or family member to finance your new degree program. Congrats! Remember to write a thoughtful thank you note.

January 19^th – The Sun moves into your 9^th house of travel and higher education. Sign up for classes when the Sun moves signs. You are ready for this new adventure! Be patient with yourself as you make your way through the learning process. Things won’t be as simple as you initially thought. Stay strong!

January 28^th – A Full Moon appears in your 3^rd house of communication. A writing project that you have been working on will need to go through some serious revisions around the time of the Full Moon. Are you writing an article and finding yourself extending way past the preestablished word count? What can you cut out? What can you streamline? Do you really need all of that introductory background info? Sometimes less is more.

January 30^th – Mercury goes retrograde in your 9^th house of travel and higher education. You may find that your travel plans will be changed, delayed, or even canceled during this Mercury Retrograde. Create a Plan B or move your trip to a future date when you anticipate smooth sailing. Use the time instead to relax and unwind at home.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

January 6^th – Mars moves into your 11^th house of groups and communities. You will be spending a lot of time in rehearsals at the beginning of the month, or at least reconnecting with your ensemble members virtually. Sight-read new material for the next performance season! Discuss programing and concert timelines. What are your group goals for 2021?

January 8^th – Mercury moves into your 8^th house of banking and finance while Venus moves into your 7^th house of relationships. This is a really great time to discuss collaborations with some of your flute friends. Together you will likely come up with a very good business plan for a new series of performances or even a new product launch. Mercury will ask you to put together the financial figures needed to accomplish your goals. Meet with a financial advisor or wealthy investor to pitch your great new idea. You may be rewarded with the resources to take the next steps.

January 13^th – A New Moon appears in your 7^th house of relationships. You will likely meet a new flute friend or musical colleague around the time of this New Moon who is very interested in helping you out with your new venture. They have a lot of great ideas to add to the mix and will be a very valuable connection in the coming months.

January 19^th – The Sun moves into your 8^th house of banking and finance. You may receive a bit of good news when the Sun changes signs. The bank could approve your loan or you may receive some other financial approval to kick off your product design or performance series.

January 28^th – A Full Moon appears in your 2^nd house of income. Something in your job is about to change around the time of this Full Moon. You may be redelegating some of your most dreaded tasks to another colleague or you may be bailing on an upcoming performance as the concert schedule does not really mesh with your current responsibilities. Not to worry – As one door closes, another one usually opens.

January 30^th – Mercury goes retrograde in your 8^th house of banking and finance. Make sure to check all of your account balances when Mercury goes retrograde at the end of the month. Are your automatic payments hitting the way they should? Have you paid all of your bills? Are there any weird charges that you cannot explain? Check everything twice.

Leo (July 23-August 22)

January 6^th – Mars moves into your 10^th house of career goals. You are unstoppable in your career at the beginning of the month, Leo. Your list of New Year’s Resolutions no doubt includes the words, “apply to a new job” scribbled at the top. You are ready to make the next step, and Mars will help get you there. Update your CV. Brush up your excerpts. Apply! Apply! Apply!

January 8^th – Mercury moves into your 7^th house of relationships while Venus moves into your 6^th house of daily work and health routines. Networking with current and potential flute friends will be high on your list of priorities this month. Schedule a series of virtual coffee visits with some of your closest colleagues. What are they working on? Are there any opportunities to collaborate?

January 13^th – A New Moon appears in your 6^th house of daily work and health routines. You may be asked to serve on a committee or judge chair placements around the time of this New Moon. This may have come out of your discussions with colleagues earlier in the month. Enjoy this opportunity to serve as an expert in your field. You will share a lot of great insights with your fellow panel members.

January 19^th – The Sun moves into your 7^th house of relationships. You will be chatting it up when the Sun moves signs. Spend some time connecting to colleagues old and new from near and far. You all have a lot in common and are working on very interesting projects this year. Learn from each other!

January 28^th – A Full Moon appears in your 1^st house of identity. You may need a makeover – or at least one for your flute. Schedule a clean, oil, and adjustment to start the year off on the right foot. Ever think about adding a crown? How is the condition of your pads? You may need an overhaul. On a smaller scale, upgrade your gear with a pretty new flute bag.

January 30^th – Mercury goes retrograde in your 7^th house of relationships. You may find yourself in a disagreement with a friend when Mercury goes retrograde. Be careful how you approach this conflict. Choose your words carefully and keep any emails or text messages short and to the point. Miscommunications arise easily when this planet goes retrograde. Make sure you are not just arguing or the sake of arguing. It is okay to agree to disagree.

Virgo (August 23-September 22)

January 6^th – Mars moves into your 9^th house of travel and higher education. You may have “learn a new instrument” on the top of your list of New Year’s Resolutions, Virgo. Mars will give you the energy to hit the ground running. Rent or purchase your new axe. Schedule a series of lessons with a known guru. Buy a couple of decent method books and look up YouTube videos to help get started.

January 8^th – Mercury moves into your 6^th house of daily work and health routines while Venus moves into your 5^th house of creativity and joy. You may be working on a very interesting creative project or a performance series in the upcoming year. Schedule a few meetings with other key personnel working on this project. Establish timelines. Prioritize action steps and delegate workloads.

January 13^th – A New Moon appears in your 5^th house of creativity and joy. A new opportunity may arise in connection with this creative project. Perhaps a performance series in one location turns into a tour of a few locations. Or maybe a masterclass series may be planned at local school in conjunction with these performances.

January 19^th – The Sun moves into your 6^th house of daily work and health routines. Your focus will be on your absurdly busy schedule when the Sun moves into your 6^th house. Make sure you are programming enough time to sleep, eat, and exercise around all of the chaos of your daily to-dos. Prioritize practice time and turn any unnecessary meetings into emails. Keep your cool!

January 28^th – A Full Moon appears in your 12^th house of behind-the-scenes activities. You may need to chuck a piece of repertoire you have been practicing tirelessly in the practice room around the time of this Full Moon. It just doesn’t work for you. You have practiced slowly, with a metronome, practiced in chunks, experimented with different keys and rhythms all to no avail. It is okay – find a piece that sparks joy rather than rage.

January 30^th – Mercury goes retrograde in your 6^th house of daily work and health routines. You may find yourself with canceled lessons and rescheduled meetings at the end of the month. Nothing will be predictable! Make sure to schedule a bit of flexibility in your calendar during this time – you will need it!

Libra (September 23-October 22)

January 6^th – Mars moves into your 8^th house of banking and finance. One of your most important New Year’s Resolutions this year may be to save up some money (possibly for a new flute by the end of 2021). Mars will help you get there! Create a budget. What expenses can you cut out of your monthly obligations? How much will you need to save by the end of the year to purchase your new instrument?

January 8^th – Mercury moves into your 5^th house of creativity and joy while Venus moves into your 4^th house of home and family. You will be very busy with your home studio. Recruit new students and host a series of masterclass (virtual or otherwise). This is also a great time to try out any new teaching approaches with your students. Did you learn a new way to explain vibrato to beginning students at last year’s NFA virtual conference?

January 13^th – A New Moon appears in your 4^th house of home and family. You may be planning some major renovations for your home studio space. Expanding? Adding an outdoor gazebo for masterclasses in the summer? How can you beautify your current space? Add an inspirational new piece of art or a calming fountain.

January 19^th – The Sun moves into your 5^th house of creativity and joy. Your focus will shift onto a creative project when the Sun changes signs. Do you have a great idea for a masterclass series? How will you structure it? Where will you host it and when? Dream big!

January 28^th – A Full Moon appears in your 11^th house of groups and communities. You may be saying goodbye to one of your ensembles. Perhaps you have outgrown this group or the rehearsal schedule no longer fits with your other responsibilities. It is okay to say goodbye. Remember to keep in touch with your musical colleagues and avoid burning any bridges. The Universe wants you to move on to bigger, brighter things.

January 30^th – Mercury goes retrograde in your 5^th house of creativity and joy. Whatever this creative project is, you may need to make a few revisions during the Mercury Retrograde. Remember to step back and look at the bigger picture before making too many changes at the micro level.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21)

January 6^th – Mars moves into your 7^th house of relationships. You will be spending a lot of time socializing at the beginning of the month, Scorpio. I know – this is not your favorite thing, but with Mars in your house of relationships, you may find yourself connecting to a number of new flute friends and reconnecting to various musical colleagues you may have lost touch with over the years. What are they working on? Are there any opportunities to collaborate?

January 8^th – Mercury moves into your 4^th house of home and family while Venus moves into your 3^rd house of communication. You may come across some very interesting research on feng sui or ideas to revamp your home studio environment. This may involve some major or minor renovations but will have you inspired to lighten and brighten your space. Share your research on your flute blog. Other flutists will also be interested in updating their teaching spaces in the year ahead.

January 13^th – A New Moon appears in your 3^rd house of communication. You may be presented with an opportunity to write an article for a music publication or co-author a book chapter with one of your colleagues. This is a great opportunity to share your ideas with a much broader audience. Get to writing!

January 19^th – The Sun moves into your 4^th house of home and family. Your focus will be on your family when the Sun moves signs. Check in with your loved ones. January may be a bit stressful for them and they may wish to return to the joy and comfort of the holiday season. Make sure to spend some quality time with them.

January 28^th – A Full Moon appears in your 10^th house of career goals. It is time to be very honest with yourself about a career goal that you have been struggling to attain. There may be a reason that you have not been able to achieve what you thought you wanted to achieve in the past. It is okay to release this goal and create a new, better goal in its place. Remember: Being a musician looks like different things to different people.

January 30^th – Mercury goes retrograde in your 4^th house of home and family. You may find yourself in disagreements with family members when Mercury goes retrograde. Try to remain patient during this time. If your practice schedule is getting on their nerves, try to temporarily revise or move your practice to another location in the house that will be less bothersome.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21)

January 6^th – Mars moves into your 6^th house of work and health routines. You will be very busy at work at the beginning of the month, Sagittarius! Luckily, Mars will help give you the stamina to get everything on your to-do list done, with a bit of time to spare for extra exercise time. You are on fire!

January 8^th – Mercury moves into your 3^rd house of communication while Venus moves into your 2^nd house of income. Although you will be busy at work, you will also be super motivated to apply to new, exciting opportunities and may be interviewing or auditioning for new groups in your community. Use your flute blog as a platform to discuss effective auditioning tips and what others may learn from the interview process.

January 13^th – A New Moon appears in your 2^nd house of income. You may indeed receive a job offer around the time of this New Moon. Well deserved! Negotiate a decent pay bump if you can and begin planning the transition to your new role (after celebrating your success, of course).

January 19^th – The Sun moves into your 3^rd house of communication. Write up a storm on your flute blog when the Sun changes signs. You are attracting a decent sized readership at the moment and your fellow flute community is engaging in your posts more than ever. Your ideas are great and your writing is super clear and effective!

January 28^th – A Full Moon appears in your 9^th house of travel and higher education. You may have been planning a trip that will unfortunately be canceled during this Full Moon. Not to worry - Instead plan a bigger and better trip for some time in the future. You are too distracted by your new job opportunity at the moment anyways.

January 30^th – Mercury goes retrograde in your 3^rd house of communication. It is never easy when the planet of communication goes retrograde in the house of communication. You may find yourself in a number of miscommunications, particularly over text or email. Do what you can during this time to keep messages brief and to the point. The more you overexplain, the more you open yourself to potential conflicts. Simple is best.

Happy January and Happy New Year!