How to Fight Blue Monday Blues Based on Your Zodiac Sign

Follow the New Order, I told you sadly – the darkest day of the year is upon us.

According to some, a combination of post-holiday slump, resolution failure, financial reckoning and long winter nights conspire to make the third Monday in January the most depressing day of the year.

What is Blue Monday?

Blue Monday was first introduced by a now-defunct UK television channel, Sky Travel, in 2005. Citing a specific “equation” designed to find the exact date, the company used the idea of ​​Monday blue to promote products to those who feel cold. fear and the dark slumber of January.

Of course, Mondays are already maligned, with 58% of people declaring it their least favorite day of the week.

Astrologically, Monday belongs to the moody, internally motivated moon and heralds a time to rest and invest before the real work begins. This paradigm has been honored in the past, but has been toppled in favor of productivity.

When is Blue Monday 2025?

This year, Blue Monday falls on January 20, 2025.

Combined with the fact that Mondays are abhorrent, January routinely ranks as America’s least favorite month, so Blue Monday is possible—if not outright proven.

While the idea of ​​Blue Monday has been dismissed as pseudoscience, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)—a popular form of depression that kicks in during certain parts of the year—is very real for many people.

Symptoms of SAD (the most convenient acronym ever) include low energy, irritability, excessive sleep, carb cravings, and feelings of worthlessness, powerlessness, and/or guilt — tough stuff, people.

Whether your blues are temporary or permanent, there are ways to fight back.

Read on to learn more about the seasonal strategy for staying on the sunny side, according to your sun and/or birth sign.

Ice rolls in your face

I know the idea of ​​applying cold treatments to an already cold season is controversial, but you’re the sign of extremes and could always benefit from a little chill, Aries.

While you also treat your head and face, a daily dose of cold therapy – courtesy of an ice roller – will give your system a welcome jolt, improving circulation, promoting lymphatic drainage and keeping your skin looking great and tight.

Buy yourself a succulent

As a spring-born sign, the fields of winter sweat can be a real draw for you, Taurus.

Bring real life into your home by getting yourself a houseplant, preferably a hardy succulent that doesn’t demand more from you than you’re willing to give. A patch of green will serve as a permanent reminder that spring is on its way.

Read, don’t move

As the most curious sign of the zodiac, you need to feed your head, Gemini. But to beat the bad guys, you need to be aware of the content you consume.

Has anyone ever felt better after spending 4.5 hours on TikTok? No, mate – they haven’t.

As a gift to yourself during the dark hours of winter, put down your phone and pick up a book. Your cortisol will drop, your mind will clear, and your objective heat levels will increase.

Make yourself the kind of meal meant to be enjoyed in the cold and dark

You’re the sign of home and hearth, Cancer—and no season provides comfort food quite like winter, when root vegetables replace berries and stews give up salads.

Embrace the rich flavor of the long night with Julia Child’s beef bourguignon or a hearty mushroom soup; light a candle, pour a stout red and celebrate.

Bonus: For ultimate laziness and indulgence, have your groceries delivered to your doorstep.

Look for the sunshine

In the Northern Hemisphere, winter equals fewer daylight hours, a common behavior of the blues. Ruled as you are by the sun, Leo, you need it the most.

Energetically connected and energized by the sacred power of the sun, slather on some SPF and find yourself a pocket of sun to sit in, or at least open the curtains in your abode and let the light in when and where it can.

If it’s nothing but gray skies where you live, consider investing in a light therapy lamp.

Dance it

Dancer, choreographer and friend of the Virgin Agnes de Mille says: “To dance means to be outside yourself. Bigger, more beautiful, more powerful. This is the power, it is the glory on earth, and it is yours to take.”

As an earth sign ruled by Mercury, you are sometimes more in your head than your body, but dance is a pure and primitive way for you to seek the power that lives in transcending the former through the latter.

The benefits of dancing include, but are not limited to, “relieving physical tension, anxiety, and aggression by decreasing cognitive and kinesthetic confusion.”

Whether you’re taking a class with others or sharing it in your kitchen to the tune of death metal or K-pop, let the music get you in a good mood.

Add color to your home

As a sign ruled by Venus, you are more aesthetically sensitive than others, Libra. Honor your natural tendency to chill through beauty by investing in bold colors that send the middle finger straight into the bleak heart of winter.

A loud pillow, a blood-red tea kettle, a neon vibrator or a vibrant area rug can help you feel better, brighter and more alive.

Take a break

As a threshold sign that doesn’t take anything lightly and tends to suffer in silence, fear can be a familiar feeling for you, Scorpio. Deep breathing techniques can help ease the mind and calm the body.

Psychologist and performance psychology expert Haley Perlus says: “Deep breathing exercises can calm you down physiologically by lowering your heart rate, releasing muscle tension and changing skin conductance, which will help reduce feeling your fight or flight”.

For a list of helpful breathing exercises, see here.

Get on board for a future plan

Archer Jane Austen writes of “that sanguinary expectation of happiness which is happiness itself.” This study shows that people who make and keep plans, from coffee dates to vacations, are happier than those with open spaces ahead. Anticipation is its own kind of antidepressant, so put some joy in the books.

Sweat, outside

While everyone benefits from physical activity regardless of the season, winter fitness offers benefits that can see you through the blues, Capricorn.

Sea goats are a guarantee—exercise, especially outdoor exercise, warms up the body, boosts the immune system, and floods you with the kind of endorphins that help you forget that the skies are gray and we’re all going to die.

Call a friend

Although you rule the eleventh house of community, you can be a little lonely, Aquarius. While the sanctity of solitude has its merits, it has been scientifically proven that reaching out to a friend for a proper accomplishment reduces the risk of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Researchers theorize that these interactions increase our sense of belonging, saying that interpersonal connections—including quality conversations of any kind—can make us feel less alone, which in turn can reduce our stress and loneliness by increased our sense of optimism.”

Bonus; the effects of a mood-enhancing conversation are felt immediately, making picking up the phone a fast track to a pick-me-up,

Make your bed…and make your bed a nest

Winter is the season of worshiping the bed as an altar. With longer nights, we are drawn to deeper sleep. Prepare a holiday ritual for yourself, Pisces. Start by making your bed every morning so that it looks like an irresistible invitation to get into it every night.

To enhance relaxation and ease the overwhelming anxiety of being alive, consider adding a weighted blanket to your bed and a red light to your nightstand to stimulate serotonin production.

Astrologer Reda Wigle researches and reports candidly on planetary configurations and their effect on each zodiac sign. Her horoscopes integrate history, poetry, pop culture and personal experience. To book a reading, visit her website.