In this blog post we investigate the cosmic dance and its probable impacts on us while the Sun is in Capricorn. The interactions between the planets are continually creating energetic configurations that focus cosmic energy. Because of our oneness with universal energies, we feel the effects of these ever-changing energy patterns. At the end of the old and the beginning of the new year, there are many planetary influences that effect how we feel, think, and react and are part of our initiation into the Aquarian Age.
December 21 – Solstice – The Sun shines in Capricorn
from December 21 (9:11 AM PST (5:11 GMT) through January 19-20 at 7:51 PM PST (3:51 AM GMT)
The Earth’s energies realign at the change of seasons. Intimately connected to our Mother Earth, our energy field too undergoes a recalibration. We can feel tired, sleepy, or out of sorts and wonder why. These reactions are normal. We can facilitate our personal adjustment by relaxing, not pushing ourselves, meditating, doing easy yoga, and walking in nature.
When the Sun moves from fiery Sagittarius to earth bound Capricorn, we can feel let down by the absence of the passion that just days ago fueled our highest expectations. However, cycles have built in a purpose. Pragmatic Capricorn grounds us in physical reality and helps us manifest our dreams. Capricorn offers us solid commitment to our goals and backs them up with the planning, patience, and work necessary to bring ideas into physical manifestation.
The Mountain Goat has the endurance and discipline to persevere through the tedious process of reforming or completely transforming situations and institutions (and ourselves!) that have been stuck in outmoded ruts.
During our Capricorn state of development we consolidate our life experiences into maturity and wisdom, which makes it possible to choose consciously and to focus on creating from our soul’s directives. We become aware of our destiny path and dedicate our life to do what it takes to fulfill it.
December 21 – Venus turns retrograde in Capricorn through January 31
Beginning at Solstice, Venus retrograde offers us a six-week period of reflection on what is most important to us. This is a special time to make a serious assessment of our lives in the areas of personal, life style, career, finances, and relationships. We can increase our effectiveness and happiness by eliminating what does not serve us and focusing our time, energy, and efforts on what does. Venus in Capricorn (November 6 – March 6) stimulates us to adjust our personal values to align with practical goals and a realistic calculation of our resources.
January 1 – Capricorn New Moon 3:14 AM PST (11:14 AM GMT)
The new year begins with a New Moon in Capricorn. There is energy for a fresh start. Pluto’s alignment with both the Sun and the Moon in Capricorn emphasize the imperative of cleaning up our past (which we have buried deep within) in order to move forward with the consciousness that supports our future goals.
The impact of the Capricorn New Moon is intensified by the on-going grand cross in the cardinal signs (discussed in my previous blog.) Uranus in Aires, Pluto in Capricorn, Jupiter in Cancer, and Mars in Libra are joined by the Sun, Moon, and Mercury in Capricorn. This complex alignment activates ten squares and five oppositions! The angular (squares and oppositions) form pathways that open up possibilities for change.
The dynamic energies in this New Moon alignment come from the Sun, Moon, Pluto, and Mercury all being conjunct (or lined up together) in Capricorn (within 2 degrees). The Sun and the Moon amplify Pluto’s force that requires letting go to create the space for something new. We feel impelled to get rid of or to transform things in our life that we have outgrown and now get in our way. This can relate to any aspect of our lives — job, relationships, life style, attitudes, and beliefs about ourselves, others, and the world.
Pluto makes us realize that deep transformation isn’t as simple as making better choices. Everyone thinks they choose prosperity, good relationships, health, a good life, etc. But to realize these goals, we have to face our fears, and witness how our beliefs and programming constrain us. We have to understand how our thoughts and emotions have created situations that got us into trouble, restricted our personal freedom, and limited our joy in life. This confrontation with our shadow can seem humiliating and bring up feelings of guilt, blame, and shame (just what we need to get rid of!) But it is this honesty that sets us free from these ego traps and connects us to our soul, which operates from love and compassion (not from should’s, blame, shame, and guilt.)
At the collective level, the revelations of misuse of power and resources have reached a tipping point in the consciousness of planetary citizens. In earth sign Capricorn we are concerned with how we use and take care of our common assets for the greatest good of all, not just the top 1 percent. While Pluto is in Capricorn (from 2008 through 2024,) the misuse of power continues to become ‘more transparent and less tolerable.’ Something is wrong when CEO salaries rise ‘from 24 to 383 times more than the average worker from 1965 to 2000.)’ *(1)
Multiple Interactions and Effects of the Grand Cross
The multiple interactions of the planets offers a whole series of stimuli that help us achieve major breakthroughs and take initiatives to move forward. There are many ways that we can experience this series of alignments.
The Pluto factor makes it imperative that we get to the source of the problem so that we can deal with what is real. Pluto permits no fantasies, lies, deception, or falsehoods. Mercury in the mix exposes the truth so that we are obliged to operate with integrity.
The Pluto factor stimulates deep self-examination and exposes psychological needs that we must met to achieve inner satisfaction. It also reveals our untapped power and potential. We are supported in identifying underlying causes that are at the core of our external issues. Instead of reacting and blaming external circumstances, we can penetrate to our core emotions, identify our fears, and become aware of our unmet needs. The honesty to face what we prefer to ignore can gift us with self-awareness, clarity, and maturity.
The Uranus factor promotes experimentation, causes breakdowns and breakthroughs, and awakens us to hidden gifts. We have to give up resisting change, attaching ourselves to old habits, and preferring the familiar to forge a new self, a new life, and a new world.
The Mars in Libra factor (December 8 – July 25 including March 2 -May 19 retrograde) highlights relationships. Libra awakens the urge to achieve balance and harmony. To achieve harmony with others, we have to be in harmony with ourselves. Most of us design our inner stance in terms of our family’s, society’s and our partner’s expectations. This tendency is most common with women and a serious source of inner conflict.
When our inner life is focused on trying to live up to others’ expectations, we cannot focus on ourselves and meet our own emotional needs. Our neediness feeds the fantasy that we can get our emotional needs meet from our others or our partner. This dysfunctional scenario of being dishonest with ourselves results in being dishonest with others. We have 7 months to figure this one out. The following dates are good days to monitor our condition and progress.
December 25 – Mars in Libra opposes Uranus in Aries.
December 30 – Mars squares Pluto in Capricorn.
January 8 – Mars squares Jupiter in Cancer.
The Cancer influence makes us aware of the fact that our desire for love, recognition, and money cannot be fulfilled in the shadows of self-criticism and self-doubt. Self-love and self-acceptance are the foundation for achieving our higher goals. Inner satisfaction is the preliminary requirements for having more, not the final result.
Cancer Full Moon – January 15
For 5,000 years the patriarchy has ruled the world. The overall result has been the exploitation of the Earth, the subservience of the feminine, the oppression of women, and the denial of our feeling nature. The reintegration of the feminine at a higher level of conscious expression involving both the masculine and feminine polarities is the underlying imperative of the shift to the Aquarian Age.
The Cancer Full Moon directs us to honor the Earth as our Mother, the physical world as sacred, our emotional body as the feeling communication mechanism of our soul, and women as the creative source of human life. Cancer gives birth to, nurtures, and protects life. The feminine Cancer essence must be integrated into our personal and collective lives.
At the Cancer stage of our developmental process our emotional body is formed. Without a conscious relationship with our emotional body we feel insecure, helpless, victimized, and out of control. We seek outside ourselves for security and in the process sabotage ourselves and give our power away in co-dependent and submissive relationships. Our emotions are our delicate roots and that must be honored, nurtured, and cared for to create a healthy inner reality and to establish our connection with our inner authority.
A primary cause of neediness is our inability to meet our own emotional needs, which is a subtle inner process that we must take the time to cultivate. It is our personal responsibility, no one can do this work for us. Creating emotional maturity and contentment includes (1) establishing energetic boundaries, (2) monitoring our feelings, (3) learning how to use our emotional energy to love ourselves, (4) trusting our instincts as the communication system of our soul, (5) taking care of our body as the home of our emotions, and (6) creating nurturing environments for ourselves.
Cancer/Capricorn Polarity Pair
The Cancer Full Moon highlights the security issues that are a primary focus for both Capricorn and Cancer. Cancer is emotionally very sensitive and must establish inner connections to build inner security. Capricorn is pragmatic and finds security by establishing external structures that anchor it in physical reality.
Walking on the beach where I live in Coronado, California, I often encounter abandoned crab shells. It is hard to pick one up without breaking it. And when I step on one, it is like stepping on thin breakable paper. These experiences have helped me understand the delicate sensitivity of the Cancer Crab.
The Cancer/Capricorn polarity pair is about maturing into functional adulthood, where we are able to take care of ourselves both emotionally (Cancer) and materially (Capricorn.) Cancer’s job is to develop our emotional body to the point that we are no longer dependent upon external direction, validation, or approval. At the Capricorn stage of our development, we step into our power, we acquire an internal sense of authority, we operate from integrity, and we are able to be autonomous in the big wide world.
The Full Moon continues to intensify the on-going grand cross. The Sun and Venus join Pluto in Capricorn. The feminine asteroids Ceres (mother nurturing) and Vesta (the eternal flame of the hearth) *(2) join Mars in Libra. The Moon joins Jupiter in Cancer. The Libra and Cancer energies add a softness to this New Moon that encourages to deal with our issues, others, and ourselves with kindness and love.
Happy Holiday! Happy, Healthy, Holy New Year!
SAT NAM! Guru Rattana :+)
References and Footnotes
Austin, Stephanie, Capricorn- New Moon — January 1 and Cancer Full Moon- January 15-16, The Mountain Astrologer, December/January 2014, pp. 103 and 109.
*(1) Austin, 103.
*(2) See the discussion of the feminine asteroids in The Gift of Womanhood, found at the end of the chapter on Spiritual Paths for Women, pp.76-80
