MARCIA SACKS

The Full Moon is  Saturday, May 18 at 4:11 p.m. CDT in 27° Scorpio. New moons are new beginnings. Full moons often bring things to a completion or contain the results of whatever occurred at the new moon. Rather than begin something new, it is best to take some time out over the next few days to contemplate what resources (personal, financial, emotional or spiritual) you need to finish projects already started. Scorpio energy is excellent for this type of reflection.

Venus and Uranus are conjunct in the Full Moon chart. New and unusual friends can pop into your life. Inventive and creative energy will spark new ideas.

The hardest but most valuable work you can do at a Scorpio full moon is letting go of old hurts, angers and resentments. It's a type of emotional house-cleaning. One of the things I learned from Marie Kondo's system of getting rid of old physical stuff in your home is to start discarding the easiest things first, the ones with the least emotional content. I think you can do that with forgiveness work, too. If you inventory your angers and discover you're still angry at Amazon for delivering a package in three days instead of two, that might be something you can practice forgiveness on to begin with.

​Find something or someone on your list that's easy to forgive and visualize yourself saying "I forgive you" to that person or situation. Imagine sending them light or other type of blessing. When you get good at that, try it with whatever is a little bit harder. And so on. When we call something a spiritual practice, it means you need to practice it to get good at it. Practice forgiveness.

What I've been thinking about the most since Sunday is a scene in Game of Thrones that was an unfortunately perfect visual of the Saturn/Pluto near conjunction which we experienced at the end of April. I'll describe it generally so that it's spoiler free - but if you saw it you'll know what I'm talking about.  In the scene, a battle seems to have come to its conclusion. However, the leader of the battle pauses for a moment. In that terrible moment all the angers, pain and resentments the leader experienced in the past flares up and overtakes logic and reason.  The leader re-mobilizes the forces and horrific destruction ensues. The viewer sees that the character's dreams for the future are destroyed in that moment.

If you don't use spiritual or psychological practices and techniques for dealing with the negative emotions of the past, these emotions will rise up at some point with destructive force. For the average person, it's not a big battle with thousands of enemies. It's often something simple like an argument with someone you love and have no intention of hurting. A pattern from your past arises and suddenly you put a lot more heat into the 'discussion'. In the blink of an eye, the argument has escalated.

In Kriya Yoga we learn to recognize the patterns through personal reflection and the use of astrology. Through meditation, we choose peace as a preferred state. Through forgiveness we 'de-magnetize' ourselves to negative patterns. When the karma arises with the urge to escalate a quarrel, we can select a different way to respond.

Do your emotional house-cleaning now, before Saturn and Pluto are exactly conjunct in January 2020.

In print:


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My article Getting to Know Yourself Deeply is in the May/June issue of Yoga Chicago Magazine.

If you're interested in learning more about karma, I recommend this book:

The Laws of Karma by Goswami Kriyananda

The New Moon tomorrow May 4 is at 5:45 pm CDT in 14° Taurus. This New Moon will bring stability and an appreciation of the good and beautiful things in your life. Especially here in the Chicago area, we have hopefully weathered the last snowstorm of the year (5 inches on April 14!) and are seeing green grass and leafy trees.  The New Moon in Taurus is positive for things that have to do with working in the earth, like gardening, or enjoying the things that come from the earth like fruit, vegetables and grains.

For those of us who are still experiencing the Saturn and Pluto station retrogrades, struggling with heavy responsibilities and life frustrations, it might help to know that these will ease with time. Saturn went retrograde on April 29. I usually talk about a week or two after that for things to return to a more normal level, gradually improving day by day. It's only much later that you will realize that you have gained a skill, strength or expertise that will help you in the years ahead.

Speaking of Saturn and Pluto (whose conjunction will be exact on January 12, 2020), I realized that that aspect was illustrated symbolically by two things I watched this past week. The Game of Thrones episode "The Long Night" and "Avengers: End Game" both had similar themes. The forces representing Life fought the forces representing the annihilation of Life in a long battle. It's always interesting to me when fiction that grabs the collective consciousness so intensely at a particular point in time exactly mirrors the current major planetary transits. 

If you are interested in symbology and synchronicity, check out Ray Grasse's book The Waking Dream.

More books and classes:








Artist and Kriya yogi Gary Whitney has just published a book Song of the Avatar: Visual Riffs on the Bhagavad Gita.

There are many English translations of the great spiritual text the Bhagavad Gita.  My guru Goswami Kriyananda has one that is both poetic and mystical.



Artist and Kriya yogi Ann Brownfield Meara has a class called Meditation to Creation taking place this September in Sedona, AZ.

The Professional Astrology Course is online learning from the Temple of Kriya Yoga that can be started at any time. It is taught by Goswami Kriyananda via audio recordings and written texts. The course also includes live monthly webinars with Temple instructors. I am a program leader and instructor for this course. Please feel free to contact me with any questions.

If you would like to receive the Astrology Update blog as an email newsletter, message me here.

You can find me on:

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The Full Moon is on Friday, April 19, 2019 at 6:12 a.m. CDT at 29° Libra. The 29° Aries Sun is conjunct Uranus at 2° Taurus.  When Uranus is the "flavor" of the Full Moon there are often unexpected events, unforeseen issues causing changes in plan and a general feeling of restlessness.
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The position of the Moon at the very end of Libra, gives it a type of indecisiveness. Sometimes astrologers say that a sign is in transition to the next sign when it's located at 29°. Libra is a sign that is naturally indecisive as it weighs all judgements in the balance. You may find yourself saying, "Well, on this hand … but on the other hand …".  The Saturn and Pluto station points in the following days will force a judgement or decision. It can be very helpful to have all available information plus the advice of experts in whatever field you are analyzing.

I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fire at Notre Dame cathedral in Paris. When there is a major event in the news like this, I try to pick it apart symbolically and astrologically for its message for me. I first reflected on the Saturn/Pluto conjunction which is in the Full Moon chart. Saturn represents things  that are old and haven't changed in a long time. Pluto symbolizes the transformations like death and rebirth.  So I've been reflecting on the old established structures in my own life. Is it the building itself that has value? Or is it our relationship to the Divine which awe inspiring churches, temples, synagogues and mosques represent? What happens when material structures in our lives are burned or destroyed? Is our relationship with the Divine destroyed? Or is it some thing that we just need to let go of? Or rebuild in an even more beautiful and awe-inspiring way? Maybe there's a way to look at this on the more personal level, symbolically thinking about structures of ideas that I have, ideas that I need to let go of, transform, or reconstruct.

Be compassionate and flexible as you encounter challenges in the next two weeks.

April 24: Pluto Station Retrograde 23° Capricorn
April 29: Saturn Station Retrograde 20° Capricorn

I wrote about these planetary retrogrades occurring together in my article in Yoga Chicago magazine: Astrology, Yoga and Balance.

I don't always talk about the asteroid Chiron in relationship to a lunation chart but I see that Mercury in the chart is conjunct Chiron. One of Chiron's symbols is "the wounded healer." It suggests that you can be helpful to people by sharing your own difficult situations and how you solved them. So rather than giving advice like "you should do this", frame it as "when I found myself in a similar situation this is what helped me."

In the News:

Ray Grasse's book Urban Mystic: Recollections of Goswami Kriyananda has been published this month and is available on Amazon both in paperback and Kindle format. As many of you know, Goswami Kriyananda was my guru. He was a light on my path and the spiritual preceptor of the Temple of Kriya Yoga in Chicago. 

April 28, 2019: The Babaji Festival, usually held at the Temple of Kriya Yoga, is being held at the Moksha Yoga Center this year. It starts at 11:30 a.m. with chanting followed by inspirational talks. I will be giving a talk on "Planetary Cycles: Messages, Lessons and Gratitude”.  Contact the Temple for more info at: 773-342-4600 or kriya@yogakriya.org

The New Moon is at 15° Aries on Friday, April 5, 2019 at 3:50 a.m. CDT. Lots of vibrant energy for starting fresh on new projects. Work steadily if you can. There's a tendency to charge in to an activity and exert so much effort at the beginning that you can fade out and quit before finishing.

Jupiter goes retrograde at 24° Sagittarius on April 10 with Mercury square to it. The mood will be fun and light, but it will be easy to be careless with what you communicate, both writing and speaking.

Are you taking advantage of learning new things while Jupiter is in Sagittarius? Even retrograde, Jupiter in Sag will help to sustain your interest and boost your ability to grasp new concepts.

The Full Moon and the Vernal Equinox both occur on March 20, 2019. The Equinox is at 4:58 pm CDT, as always with the Sun at 0° Aries. The Full Moon is at 8:42 pm CDT in 0° Libra.  Equinoxes represent balance and the sign Libra represents harmony. One thing to think about at this time is how you can bring more balance and harmony into your own life.
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With the Equinox and Full Moon giving emphasis to the Aries/Libra polarity here are some other things to think about. How you want to approach the next two weeks (the Full Moon time frame) or the next quarter of a year (the Equinox time frame)? Will you choose the forcefulness of Aries or the diplomacy of Libra? What works best for you - the independence of Aries or working together in partnerships like Libra?

With Mercury still retrograde, neither the decisiveness of Aries nor the Libran tendency to poll the opinions of others will have an advantage in the next few days. Important decisions that have legal implications should probably be put off until several days after Mercury goes direct on March 28.

So how has this Mercury retrograde period been for you? On March 5, the day of the Mercury retrograde we were already in the car on the expressway when we realized we left something critically important at home. We had to get to the next exit, retrograde our way back to our house on the local roads, retrieve what we needed, and then get back on the expressway.  That was so totally Mercury retro that we had to laugh even though it was a time-consuming inconvenience.

Goswami Kriyananda said "Karma is forgetfulness." So even though I knew that it was Mercury retrograde, and I knew we needed to stand still for a moment and think before we walked out the door, we still got caught up in that moment of rushing out.  The key point about knowing that an aspect occurred and a piece of karma triggered is that if you can rebalance right away, the piece of karma is over. Actually, laughing is a way of softening or neutralizing karma. If we'd beat ourselves up about the incident all day, we'd have been hanging onto a piece of karma that could have been over.

Here's a relevant Zen story "The Muddy Road" from the book Zen Flesh, Zen Bones by Paul Reps:

Tanzan and Ekido were once traveling together down a muddy road. A heavy rain was still falling. Coming around a bend, they met a lovely girl in a silk kimono and sash, unable to cross the intersection. 'Come on, girl,' said Tanzan at once. Lifting her in his arms, he carried her over the mud. Ekido did not speak again until that night when they reached a lodging temple. Then he no longer could restrain himself. 'We monks don't go near females.' He told Tanzan, especially not young and lovely ones. It is dangerous. Why did you do that?' 'I left the girl there,' said Tanzan. 'Are you still carrying her?'

Keep in mind that when Mercury goes direct on March 28 it's conjunct Neptune so extra 'forgetfulness' is possible for a day or two around the 28th. Do the best you can by communicating carefully and making lists of things to remember. If you have to 'retrograde' to fix a problem, just do it, then let it go. A few days on from March 28, projects and plans will begin to move forward again.

Online:

My article "Astrology, Yoga and Balance" is in the March/April issue of Yoga Chicago Magazine.
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Goswami Kriyananda's Professional Astrology Course is distance learning at your own pace.

In the Future:
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Saturday, March 23, 6:30 - 8 p.m.: Music Meditation with the Temple of Kriya Yoga Musicians at The Yoga Shop, 3830 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago

Sunday, March 31: Astrologer Lynn Ewing is giving a workshop "Retrogrades - the Big Rewind - Karma, Reincarnation, Revisioning" at Life Force Arts Center in Chicago.

Mercury goes retrograde on March 5 at 29° Pisces. It will go backwards through Pisces (in apparent motion as seen from Earth) until March 28th. Pay attention over the next few days to things that have to do with communication and transportation/short distance journeys. Re-read your emails before your send them. Think before you speak. Check your route on the map before you turn on the GPS. (I've had the experience of my GPS directing me to make a right turn into a winding route around a neighborhood when I could have made a simple left turn into the street I was looking for.)

The New Moon is on Wednesday, March 6 at 10:03 a.m. CST in 15° Pisces.  The New Moon is conjunct Neptune (16° Pisces).  Everyone is sensitive, more empathetic and receptive at a New Moon conjunct Neptune. Create your own environment as much as possible. Hang out with positive people. Put up photos or artwork around you that makes you smile. Play music that gives you joy. Chant, sing, or repeat affirmations to create a harmonious inner condition.

Bid, then, the tender light of faith to shine
By which alone the mortal heart is led
Unto the thinking of the thought divine.
~~~George Santayana


This is a wonderful New Moon to meditate on the Divine in whatever form brings an uplift of spirit.  For some, it is a deity. For others, a spiritual principle like lovingkindness, wisdom or compassion. Dedicate yourself and your actions to that highest goodness. This transforms Neptune from vague and scattered daydreams to your experience of the sacred oneness of all life.



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Online:

My article "Astrology, Yoga and Balance" is in the March/April issue of Yoga Chicago Magazine. You can find the print version of the magazine at yoga studios, holistic health centers and other locations throughout the Chicagoland area.

In the news:

The noon meditation and other Sunday services that are normally held at the Temple of Kriya Yoga are being held at Moksha Yoga while the Temple building is undergoing some repairs. Check the Temple website for updates to class locations.

You can find me on:

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The Full Moon is on Tuesday, February 19, 2019, 9:53 a.m. at 0° Virgo.  The Sun is always in the opposite degree and sign at a full moon, so the Sun is at 0° Pisces. This Virgo/Pisces polarity symbolizes our ability to see things in great detail on a microcosmic level (Virgo) opposed to the ability to see things in a greater perspective looking at a macrocosmic level (Pisces). So this polarity can lead to duels between people who seem too focused on the minutia in life and those who appear out of touch with their head in the clouds. You can use this polarity to shift between perspectives. If you feel like you're too stuck in the nuts and bolts of a project, try to pull yourself out to the overview level for greater understanding of the whole. If you have  a grand vision of a plan, use specifics to map out the details.

There is a Mercury conjunct Neptune at 15° Pisces in the chart of the Full Moon.  For this will emphasize the "spacey" trait of the sign Pisces, better for imagination and daydreams than hard facts. We all need to use extra caution in Mercury things over the next few days especially regarding communication and short distance journeys. Mental spaciness can affect driving. Going too deep into a day dream can have you drive past your expressway exit even with your GPS telling you "turn here." Not a good time for signing contracts and agreements. Promises made may not be fulfilled.  Re-read documents to ensure you have the entire meaning.  

While thinking about this aspect yesterday, I walked into my kitchen. Suddenly my socks were soaking wet! I'd stepped into a puddle of water on the floor and discovered my dishwasher was leaking. Neptune in an inharmonious aspect can often signify plumbing leaks.

Also in the Full Moon chart is the brief journey of Venus between Saturn and Pluto. On Monday, February 18th, Venus conjuncts Saturn. Not a good day for buying items related to beauty or fashion because there's a tendency to purchase something cheap or too small that you'll never be happy with.  As Venus approaches Pluto and makes the conjunction on February 22, you're likely to become aware of passion (or lust) as a motivator. Now the caution with purchases is to be aware of excessive or irrational spending. Romantic or partnership relationships will tend to be down, then up during those few days. Don't finalize important relationship decisions until after Feb. 25.

In the future:

Just FYI, Mercury goes retrograde between March 5 through March 28. If you have a super important project to start, you might want to begin it before the beginning of March, even in some symbolic way. One symbolic way could be to write your goal or affirmation on a piece of paper which includes the positive outcome of the project. Then sign it and date it (before March 1). Don't worry so much about the everyday stuff. We've been through three Mercury retro periods every year for our whole lives. Humans are experts at handling course corrections and have excellent problem solving skills.

Online:

Creating Your Cosmic Connection
The audio recording of my talk at the Temple of Kriya Yoga on February 10th is on my youtube channel at: Creating Your Cosmic Connection
Attunement to the Divine or Ishvar-Pranidhana is a key observance in the yoga tradition, and component of spiritual maturity. This noon meditation with focus on the actions we can do mentally and in our everyday life to come nearer to an awareness of our cosmic connection. It includes some meditation practice, so don't listen while you're driving.

The Professional Astrology Course
Temple of Kriya Yoga has re-launched The Professional Astrology Course: How to Be a Practicing Astrologer. This is a distance learning course where you can go at your own pace. Along with the recorded lectures and written material by Goswami Kriyananda, there will be monthly conference calls or webinars with Temple instructors. It starts with the basics of astrology, planets, signs, houses and aspects, goes through natal chart interpretation, adds in progressions and transits, karmic astrology and advanced topics. So even though it's called a professional course, it's really a good program for anyone who wants to learn astrology in depth. Of course, there is also information on how to consult with clients and other aspects of being a professional astrologer.

I'm one of the program leaders and an instructor for The Professional Astrology Course and would be happy to talk to you about the course and its content. If you have questions about registration, please contact the Temple of Kriya Yoga.

The New Moon is on February 4, 2019 at 3:03 pm CST in 15° Aquarius. This is the New Moon that signifies the Lunar New Year in many Asian cultures. Because the Solar and Lunar Eclipses in January were so intense, I'm feeling like this Monday will be my fresh start to a new year. The energy in general will be positive for friends, friendships and doing fun activities with a group several days on either side of the new moon.

​Mercury is conjunct the Aquarian New Moon bringing new ideas and quick, to-the-point communications. With Jupiter in a trine (harmonious) aspect to the New Moon, it's excellent for learning new things especially related to science, space travel, computer technology, and astrology which have a symbolic correspondence to Aquarius. Also good for learning things like foreign languages and religious or spiritual philosophy (which relate to Jupiter). 

Jupiter is also the planet of abundance. We are blessed with an abundance of free learning opportunities whether through the library system (books!) or online. I was watching Marie Kondo (author of "The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up") on Netflix and became entranced as she spoke in Japanese. I wondered if I could learn Japanese and went online to Duolingo.com . 
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I was delighted to find that they now have Japanese and I started their lessons. Wow! So much harder than any language I've ever tried. But my brain felt happy that I was learning something new. Don't know how far I'll go, but so fun to explore it. Jupiter is in Sagittarius for only one year out of every twelve. What would you have fun learning this year?

Mars is approaching a conjunction with Uranus at 29° Aries: accident proneness, especially cars, electricity and sharp objects. This aspect could fire early at the New Moon or closer to the exact conjunction on February 13th. It may feel so right to take that risk but that feeling could get you into trouble.

I have to tell you that shortly after writing this about Mars and Uranus, I was getting a few things out of my kitchen cupboard (most likely in an unwise way) and a glass measuring cup fell onto the edge of the kitchen sink and smashed into pieces. It was one of those things that happens in the blink of an eye (Uranus) and left hundreds of sharp shards of glass (Mars) on my counter, floor, and sink, not to mention the pieces that fell into the garbage disposer.  My first thought was "Mars/Uranus fired really early!"


I'd recently heard Goswami Kriyananda say (on an audio recording) that lunations (new moons, full moons and eclipses) often trigger an approaching aspect, even a few days before the lunation itself. Anyway, safely clearing up the pieces was a long chore. To me, though, it was an important message that there was some karma going on and a warning not to trigger that Mars/Uranus aspect in other ways. I'll do my best to focus on "shanti, shanti, shanti" (peace, peace, peace). 

In the future:

Sunday, February 10, 2019, I am giving the noon meditation at the Temple of Kriya Yoga:

"Creating Your Cosmic Connection"
Attunement to the Divine or Ishvar-Pranidhana is a key observance in the yoga tradition, and component of spiritual maturity. This noon meditation with focus on the actions we can do mentally and in our everyday life to come nearer to an awareness of our "cosmic connection."

The Professional Astrology Course: How to Be a Practicing Astrologer

Temple of Kriya Yoga is re-launching The Professional Astrology Course: How to Be a Practicing Astrologer. This is a distance learning course where you can go at your own pace. Along with the recorded lectures and written material by Goswami Kriyananda, there will be monthly conference calls or webinars with Temple instructors. It starts with the basics of astrology, planets, signs, houses and aspects, goes through natal chart interpretation, adds in progressions and transits, karmic astrology and advanced topics. So even though it's called a professional course, it's really a good program for anyone who wants to learn astrology in depth. Of course, there is also information on how to consult with clients and other aspects of being a professional astrologer.

I'm one of the program leaders and an instructor for The Professional Astrology Course and would be happy to talk to you about the course and its content (you can message me on the contact page. If you have questions about registration, please contact the Temple of Kriya Yoga.   

The Lunar Eclipse is on Sunday January 20, 2019 at 11:15 p.m. CST in 0° Leo. The Sun in Aquarius and Moon in Leo of the eclipse is squared to Uranus (across signs) in 28° Aries. The Moon in Leo highlights the desire to be the leader, to be in charge. The Sun in Aquarius is the opposite urge which is to work collaboratively with others. The square with Uranus brings in a strong desire for freedom or simply to do things differently. Therefore, if you feel yourself being moved toward an extreme position - forcefully authoritarian or intensely rebellious - remember that your priority is your life purpose or long-term goal. Use wisdom to take a step back and see if there's a more moderate way to resolve conflict and move forward.

The other pattern in the Eclipse chart is Venus conjunct Jupiter squaring Neptune and trining Mars. This planetary grouping has the potential to bring in a generosity of spirit and good relationships with others. The good that can come out of this pattern depends on your ability to handle the Sun/Moon/Uranus aspect described above. Make a note in your journal of new people that you meet a few days before, during and after this Lunar Eclipse as they may become significant in your life in the months ahead.

Jupiter transiting through Sagittarius this year is a good time for learning: taking classes, studying a new language, or reading scripture or philosophy.

Financially, the Venus and Jupiter squaring Neptune can cause some people to exaggerate the positive potential of an investment, so take extra time to think over a business proposal before jumping in. Also there's a possibility to be too generous with money as you reach out to help others. Know your boundaries both with investments and with your role as a benefactor.

Coming soon: Speaking of learning new things, I'm excited to announce that the Temple of Kriya Yoga is re-launching The Professional Astrology Course: How to Be a Practicing Astrologer. This is a distance learning course where you can go at your own pace. Along with the recorded lectures and written material by Goswami Kriyananda, there will be monthly conference calls or webinars with Temple instructors. I'm one of the program leaders and an instructor for The Professional Astrology Course and would be happy to talk to you about the course and its content. If you have questions about registration, please contact the Temple of Kriya Yoga.

You can find me on:

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The January 5th solar eclipse is conjunct both Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn. It occurs at 7:28 p.m. CST in 15° Capricorn.  This lineup of planets is likely to bring difficult and frustrating responsibilities combined with a strong desire to break free from old patterns. I often talk about the Saturn/Pluto conjunction as a 'volcano' aspect - pressure from within ourselves in conflict with pressure outside ourselves. Practice ways to release stress such as meditation, hatha yoga, singing/chanting, walking or dancing.

There's more about Saturn, Pluto and the January 5th Solar Eclipse on the audio recording of my talk "Astrology and Kriya Yoga: Planetary Patterns 2019". 

And a lot more in my article: Yoga, Astrology and Self-Discipline in the January-February issue of Yoga Chicago magazine.

On January 6, Uranus makes a station direct at 28° Aries.  Uranus is sudden unexpected changes of plan. It's symbolized by electricity and lightning. It's the revolutionary urge for freedom, with some hyper-activity,too. Combine that with the Eclipse energy described above and you have the perfect storm.

Stay flexible. This first week in January may not proceed as you have planned. 

Both the yoga tradition and the Buddhist tradition often talk about detachment. Often people think about detachment as releasing the bond with material things like having the latest model iPhone or eating in a trendy restaurant. Emotional and mental detachment sometimes means being flexible about our plans and the timing related to those plans. If you have New Year's resolutions you planned to jump right into and an unforeseen responsibility or deadline pops up, give yourself a break. Take care of priorities and know that the astrological aspects are much better for new ventures at the end of January, beginning of February.