A Year with Astrology AND PARTS OF OUR BODY
Full Moon: January 3, 2026 | New Moon: January 18, 2026
For Nectar’s blog in 2026, we will journey through the astrological seasons, exploring how each sign’s qualities live in the body, and how simple practices support such placements and their potencies. Each month, we’ll focus on body placement, elements, and gentle practices to help align your physical rhythm with cosmic timing. While there are many sites who focus on astrology as prediction, astrology as embodiment notices where the macro-sky of our solar system meets the human body.
Informed by astrologers such as Renée Sills of Embodied Astrology, whose work emphasizes intersectional and embodied approaches to astrology, Chani Nicholas, whose progressive framework grounds astrology in personal agency and social justice, and Meredith Rosenbluth, who focuses on linking body, psyche and chart, we can integrate the stars with the body, ranging from yoga asana, breath, free movement, journaling, or even Tarot pulls.
Read along and make space with us, attuning to how sensations relate to realization, where practice is a doorway to flow with the Universe.
January: From Earth to Air
Nestled in a temperate rainforest on Bowen Island, just a short ferry from Vancouver, Nectar Yoga Retreat is a place to begin again. Recognized by New York Times and Condé Nast Traveler as one of British Columbia’s leading wellness retreats, our approach to self-accountability is practical and kind. We locate resilience in the body first, then ask the mind to take responsibility for choice.
As the year opens, the Sun travels through Capricorn and Aquarius. This passage moves us from the elemental earth to the elemental air, in other words, from structure to spaciousness. Capricorn grounds us in commitment; Aquarius invites us to think beyond what’s currently possible. Together, they remind us that discipline and imagination need one another.
JANUARY’S ASTROLOGICAL SIGNS AND BODY PARTS
Capricorn (Earth): Knees, sites that physically anchor stability and responsibility.
Aquarius (Air): Ankles & Nervous System, both relating to the flow of movement, connection, and awareness.
With the awareness of Earth shifting to Air, the elemental axis speaks of being rooted in structure to allow for lightness and flow.
When we work through the knees and ankles this month, we engage the body’s architecture of trust and adaptability. In other words, we can be mindful of standing firmly while staying open to change.
Practices for January, Capricorn and Aquarius Seasons
In the subtle body, Capricorn’s steadiness resonates with the Root Chakra and the Bladder Meridian, both are guardians of endurance. Aquarius, in turn, relates to the Crown and the flow of prana through the nervous system, translating cosmic signal into human insight. Together, they teach grounded receptivity. These poses and practices invite steadiness, clarity, and calm that blend the grounding of Capricorn’s earth and softening into Aquarius’s air.
When you bend your knees in Chair Pose, you enter Capricorn’s realm, Saturn’s steadying influence that strengthens foundation. The knees hold the weight of commitment, asking: how do I meet pressure without collapsing? As you rise and extend the arms overhead, Aquarius takes over. The movement opens the chest and lengthens the spine, awakening the channels of breath and nervous system that carry ideas and inspiration. Within that simple transition, bending and lifting, grounding and expanding, the dialogue between Earth and Air becomes tangible. Capricorn steadies the form; Aquarius releases it into circulation. The body itself teaches what the sky describes: that stability and freedom are not opposites, but phases of the same intelligent whole.
How to Work with the Knees & Ankles
Chair Pose, with variation (Utkatasana)
Purpose: Build knee integrity (Capricorn) while lengthening through the side body and arms (Aquarius).
How-to:
Stand feet hip-width, place a block lightly between thighs.
Inhale reach arms overhead; exhale sit back as if to a chair.
Shins vertical, knees track over second toes, weight evenly through heels and balls of feet.
Soften jaw/shoulders. Hold 5–8 breaths.
For a variation, make it Tiptoe Chair pose: From standing, rise onto the balls of your feet and bend the knees as if to sit into a low invisible chair. Engage the thighs and draw the belly gently in. Keep the spine long, chest open. Hold 3–5 breaths, then slowly lower the heels.
Focus: “Root to rise.” Let the steadiness of the knees and thighs support the upward reach.
Half Moon Pose (Ardha Chandrasana)
Purpose: Integrates Capricorn’s steadiness through the standing leg and Aquarius’s airy expansion through the lifted limbs and open chest.
How-to:
Straighten the right knee slightly (keep a micro-bend). Walk your left hand to your left hip.
Hinge forward from the right hip and place your right fingertips on the block under your right shoulder (not far ahead of it).
Root the right heel and spread the toes.
Shift your weight into the right foot and float the left leg to hip height. Flex the left foot and press through the heel so the lifted leg is active and long.
Turn your left hip and shoulder open to the ceiling (as if your belly button is rotating to the left). Keep the right knee tracking over the second toe.
Repeat on the other side.
Focus: Let the rooted leg express Capricorn’s structure while the lifted leg and open arm channel Aquarius’s freedom. Feel how the axis of your body, which is rooting to reach in order to maintain stability, mirrors the rhythm of the cosmos itself.
Seated Forward Fold (Paschimottanasana)
Purpose: Grounds through the legs and knees (Capricorn) while calming the mind and lengthening the spinal currents of breath (Aquarius).
How-to:
Sit with legs extended.
Root the backs of the knees into the mat and reach forward to hold the feet or shins.
Allow the spine to lengthen rather than collapse.
Stay for 5–8 breaths.
Focus: Feel the weight travel down the legs into the earth. Each exhale deepens trust in structure; each inhale invites spaciousness through the back body. The meeting of Earth and Air, embodied!
Tarot Pull + Journaling
Astrological Tarot Correspondences
Capricorn is traditionally associated with The Devil, a Tarot card that highlights attachment, habit, and the structures—internal or external—that shape our choices. Aquarius corresponds with The Star, offering perspective, relief, and the possibility of renewal once awareness is brought to what binds us. Together, they invite reflection on responsibility and release, discipline and vision.
The Devil (Capricorn): Where am I operating from habit or obligation, and what might loosen if I bring conscious choice to it?
The Star (Aquarius): What restores my sense of clarity or direction when I step back and widen my view?
Journalling
Write freely, without editing. The act of inquiry itself is the practice.
At the Full Moon (Jan 3), reflect: Where do I need to release control to make space for vision?
At the New Moon (Jan 18), pull one card and ask: Where can I find steadiness in change?
As you practice, imagine both energies present within you: the steady root and the open sky. If you’re looking for a Tarot or oracle deck, Nectar Goods carries a variety.
Integrating the Elemental Axis
Capricorn is about structure, and Aquarius inspires freedom and movement. Together, they form a continuum, that is can be viewed as an inhale and exhale of sorts, contraction and expansion, earth and air. The conversation between the two is one of trust: to rise into the air, we must first feel supported at our roots.
On Bowen Island, the forest mirrors this rhythm: the grounded roots of cedar balanced by the high, moving canopy. At Mist Thermal Sanctuary, this same dialogue of grounding and release unfolds through contrast therapy. The rising heat of the sauna meeting the groundedness of Mist’s transition tub or rest by fire overlooking the forest. The practice of contrast therapy invites the body to remember its intelligence: stability is what allows openness.
Looking Ahead
In February, we’ll explore Aquarius and Pisces, turning attention to the feet and head, where flow meets the emotive and intuitive. We have our eye on this yoga retreat, themed release, in February. Or check out our full listings for upcoming yoga and meditation retreats and workshops here at Nectar on Bowen.
About Nectar Yoga Retreat
Set beneath towering conifers on Bowen Island, Nectar offers 2-night Experience Packages with restful stays, nourishing vegetarian breakfasts, and daily guided yoga and meditation. We also host retreats and workshops with leading teachers in yoga, meditation, and holistic wellness. Together with our sister brand, Mist Thermal Sanctuary, we welcome guests from Vancouver, Victoria, Seattle, and beyond to experience renewal and a steady relationship with practice.
Sources
The Twelve Zodiac Sign Syndromes of Medical Astrology by Judith Hill
Body Astrology: A Cosmic Guide to Health, Healing, and Harnessing the Power of the Planets by Claire Gallagher
https://www.wortsandcunning.com/blog/2015/3/24/the-astrological-body
Disclaimer
The practices in this post are for information only and are not a substitute for medical advice. Please consult a healthcare provider before beginning any new wellness routine, especially if you are pregnant, have health concerns, or physical limitations. Participation is voluntary and at your own risk.
