Welcome to Ghost of a Podcast. I'm your host, Jessica Lanyadoo. I'm an astrologer, psychic medium, and animal communicator, and I'm going to give you your weekly horoscope and no-bullshit mystical advice for living your very best life.

Welcome back to Ghost of a Podcast. We are looking at the astrology of January 11th through the 17th of 2026. Listen. My birthday is January 11th, so last week was a short episode, and this week is going to be an even shorter episode because I'm turning 51, and I deserve a little break—but not such a break that I don't keep you up to date, because my love language is consistency, okay?

Before we get into this week's astrology, a couple little things. The first one is a little bit about me. I love astrology. I started studying astrology in 1991, and I have really devoted my whole adult life to the practice, study, and use of astrology—"use" being the keyword—and started consulting with clients for my full-time living—so I was doing it before this, but for my full-time living—in 1999. So I've read a lot of birth charts. I've used the tool a lot.

And my love of astrology, I hope, is communicated to you week after week when I give folks readings in the midweek episode or in the horoscope episode. I never dreamed that astrology would become so popular and so mainstream and that technology would evolve in such a way that I could have something like I have on Patreon, which is a platform where I drop content all the time talking about the energetics at play in the world, talking about how to use astrology, how to think about astrology, teaching astrology in general. For me, this platform is just kind of a godsend because I can communicate my life's work and my passions and not just talk to you, but talk with you, because there's the back-and-forth that happens over there that doesn't happen in the same way on a podcast.

So, if you do want to learn more with me, please join me over there. So much content. I could stop making content now, and you would just be overwhelmed. That's how much you can learn with and from me over there. And you can join for free or become a paid member. I even have a mentorship tier that I am kind of obsessed with. It's something new for me to offer mentorship, but I am learning so much, and we are going so deep. And it's just been a really gratifying and meaningful experience for me. And so, if you've already joined me on the lovers tier, a.k.a. my mentorship tier, on Patreon, thank you because I am loving every minute of it, honestly.

And then, finally, if you missed the webinar Astrology of 2026: How to Deal with the Biggest Shifts of the Year, you don't have to cry. I mean, you can cry. Emotions are good. You know I love emotions. But you can purchase the class on my website. Just go to the shop page. It's linked in the episode description. And you can get the slide presentation and the whole two-hour-and-ten-minute long webinar over there. So giddyap, see. Giddyap.

Oh. And, all of this said, yeah, I'm not doing a midweek episode again. But don't worry; it's not like a new trend. It's just what's happening because of holidays, and I'm going to count my own birthday as a holiday this year.

Okay. Now, as promised, we're going to do a brief breakdown of the astrology of this week. We're looking at January 11through the 17th, and major self-worth issues, embodiment issues, are coming up because Chiron is here. Chiron is loud and messy. It's in Aries, in other words.

This week is a time for inner work and cultivating a willingness to confront your skeletons, to confront your demons, to work through them, to work through old wounds and outdated beliefs that you hold about yourself or the world. And while you're doing that, hold space for other people to do the same. Other people can be fucked up. They can be wrong. They can make mistakes, because if you don't believe that other people are allowed to do that, then I know you don't believe that you're allowed to do that.

So holding space for the messiness and fucked-upness of other people is not equal to consenting to dealing with their shit or eating their shit, for the record. Your job is your boundaries, what you consent to. We all here know at Ghost of a Podcast that we do not process with people we do not trust. What we do instead is receive the information about other people without judgment, without becoming carceral and punishing towards them or towards yourself. If somebody reveals something to you that lets you know that you can't trust them in the way that you once did—boundaries. If you realize that you've made mistakes, that you've stepped outside of what's in alignment and what's healthy to you—accountability. And we keep on going, and we keep on going.

Okay. So, as promised, quickie horoscope for you. January 11th, Venus is exactly square to Chiron. This transit kicks up struggles with self-worth. This can trigger really intense struggles around basically anything that you value. This can be your finances. It can be your relationships. It can be your values system, like your priorities. And it also can kick up issues with your appearances, with the way you look or the way you feel about the way you look, or how you come across to other people. This transit kicks up core insecurities and self-worth issues that come from early developmental experiences. So it's hard. You're likely to act a little off. Everybody else is likely to act a little bit off. So, with that, my dears, do your best to show up.

Unfortunately, on the 12th, we have another exact square to Chiron. We've got the Sun in Capricorn forming an exact square to Chiron on Monday, the 12th. And this transit overlaps with the Venus square to Chiron, and it kicks up identity issues that challenge your sense of self. That, paired with the Venus square to Chiron, is destabilizing. These challenges are likely to show up in relationship to either people or things that you value or that you project a great deal of value onto.

On the 13th, Mars in Capricorn forms a square to Chiron. Venus, Sun, Mars—this is really activating. This is really hard, especially if it hits your chart directly. If you want to know more details on any of these transits, you can get the month-ahead forecast that I have already published over on my Patreon or wherever you subscribe to podcasts. It's the bonus episode for January 2026.

Okay. So Mars square to Chiron. This transit triggers your anger issues. So it might be anger towards yourself. It might be anger towards others. Mars is embodiment. It's passions. It's motivation. And Chiron is core wounding. And so there can be activation inside of you that stirs your passions. And passions are about desire as much as they are about aggression or anger.

It's important to be honest with yourself about how you embody these feelings because, a lot of times, they're really hard to embody in a way that reflects your integrity. Unfortunately, this transit especially, but these three transits in particular, can trigger violence. They can trigger violence in the world, a violent energy inside of you. And so, as much as we want to be mindful about what's happening in the world and our participation in it, it is also really important to mind your body. Notice how you feel in your physical system.

And Mars is hot, and Chiron is in Aries, the zodiac sign ruled by Mars. So this is going to bring up a lot of heat. So do what you can to cool down—and I'm not saying so that you don't feel passions or you lose your motivation, but instead so that you act in ways that reflect your values, your sense of purpose, what you believe in, instead of react defensively and out of egoism, resentments, and insecurities.

Now, on the 14th, we have two exact transits. These are easier, thank God. Okay. So Mercury forms an exact opposition to Jupiter, and Venus is exactly sextile to Saturn. So that Venus sextile to Saturn is grounding. It helps you to act in alignment with your values and to make plans that are in alignment with your values. This is very lovely. It can be helpful for your relationships.

Mercury opposite to Jupiter can have you jumping to conclusions. It can have you spouting off at the mouth and saying shit before you think it through, or it could have other people behaving that way. But the positive of the Mercury opposition to Jupiter is it opens your mind. And so you can learn something that's really important. You can finally speak something, communicate something, that is really important for you to say.

The key here is to keep an open mind, to strive to learn. And when I say learn, I mean don't jump to conclusions. Learning means not just taking in information but making sense of that information, synthesizing that information. And if you can't synthesize it, then you need to learn more. That's what that means.

The opportunity with the Venus sextile to Saturn is to embody what you love, to practice what you love, what you care about. Really, that's what life is all about. It's a practice of showing up. Venus sextile to Saturn helps you to show up in ways that reflect your values and are sustainable. We love it, right? Very helpful.

On the 15th, Venus is exactly trine to Uranus, and Mercury is exactly square to Chiron. I would have loved to have told you that the Chiron squares are over. They're not over. They're not over. We're having a fucking week. You see why I couldn't leave you without a horoscope. Okay. So Venus trine to Uranus is a lovely transit. It helps you to be more open to connecting with other people and to finding different ways, unique ways, for you of connecting with your values system.

This is a transit that on its own can do a lot of things that, contextually to the rest of this week's horoscope, it might not do. In context of this week's horoscope, the Venus trine to Uranus is there to help you to look for different pathways and opportunities, to be diplomatic, to act in alignment with what actually matters to you.

Now, that Mercury square to Chiron—it challenges your way of thinking. It can bring up difficulties in your relationships and spark really challenging conversations. If you are on the same team as that person that you're in conflict with or that you're communicating with, don't forget it. And if you're not on the same team, strive to be clear-minded, to be clear-eyed, about what it is that you're trying to communicate and whether or not you're actually listening to the other person.

Mercury square to Chiron can help you to change your mind, or it can find you being really defensive and doubling down and maybe even shadowboxing, defending something that's not even there. Be open to new connections. These two transits actually can empower you in making new connections, but it's not easy. Keep that mind of yours open.

And that brings us to the last day of the week. It's January 17th. Venus is exactly sextile to Neptune. The Sun is exactly sextile to Saturn. The Sun is also exactly trine to Uranus, and Mercury is sitting on top of Mars in Capricorn. It's a lot. It's a lot, okay? You want to love without pedestals, show up for what's authentic, be open to excitement and authenticity and to change. And remember that everybody is annoying. You're annoying. I'm annoying. We're all annoying. Instead of jumping to conclusions and taking out your agitations on other people or yourself, understand that that Mercury/Mars conjunction is just annoying, and it's testing how you metabolize irritation.

Be wary of snapping at other people or other people who snap at you. And if you can, stay connected to what's really being communicated instead of the tone that a person might be communicating in—easier said than done. I have a hard time with that myself. But that's the assignment.

Okay. So we're going to run through the transits one more time. And if you're watching the video version of this episode, I've now pulled up the Astrology for Days app, which you can subscribe to over at astrologyfordays.com. It tracks the transits so you don't have to, basically.

Okay. Sunday, January the 11th, we have a Venus square to Chiron. Monday, January 12th, we have a Sun square to Chiron. Tuesday, January 13th, Mars is square to Chiron. There's a lot of squares to Chiron. If it feels intense, it's because it's intense. Okay. Okay. Wednesday, January the 14th, we have a Mercury opposition to Jupiter and a Venus sextile to Saturn. Thursday, January 15th, we have a Venus trine to Uranus, and Mercury is now square to Chiron. And finally, Saturday, January the 17th, Venus is exactly sextile to Neptune, the Sun is exactly sextile to Saturn, the Sun is exactly trine to Uranus, and Mercury is sitting on top of Mars in Capricorn.

That's your damn horoscope. It's a lot. I really hope you take good care of yourself and others. Again, if you want to hear a deeper, more nuanced interpretation of any of these transits, just listen to the month-ahead forecast of Ghost of a Podcast. In the meantime, I hope you have a really wonderful week, and I will talk to you next week.