January 2024 begins with Mercury retrograde in late Sagittarius conjunct the Galactic Center, signaling a time of solemn messages and harsh truths spoken from Tiamat about the human kingdom’s strides toward balanced reciprocity with her, each other, and the cosmos. With Mars also empowering this conjunction, a plethora of different directions and choices are possible for every person. Wisdom suggests that following the crowd might be detrimental rather than produce security. Attempting to convince others of one’s direction and choices in attempts to create alliances is unwise during this time. Mercury goes direct on January 2, 2024, but its affect lasts until January 21, 2024, when it returns to station and forward motion begins in earnest.