The compass rose is nothing but a star
with an infinite number of rays pointing in all directions. It is the one true and perfect symbol of the universe. And it is the one most accurate symbol of you. Spread your arms in an embrace, throw your head back,
and prepare to receive and send coordinates of being.
For, at last you know—
you are the navigator, the captain, and the ship.
Vera Nazarian
The New Moon on February 1, 2022 at 12 Aquarius inspires us to make new commitments and lay in a course of action. A new or revised direction of our lives is crystallizing out of understandings that were not available until now. Looking over the changes we experienced, choices we made, and learnings we gleaned over the last year, there is a clarity and perspective about the shape our life is taking. We have a better understanding of what is falling away, what is emerging, and what we are to be about.
The New Moon is an affirmation that we are ready to declare our ‘North Star’ with the concentrated dedication and commitment needed to navigate the course ahead. We are ready to cement a direction. It is time.
Commitment, Grounding and Responsibility
New Moon conjunct its Classic Ruler, Saturn
There is a serious tone to the New Moon. We are being prompted to slow down, be self-sufficient and have a responsible, pragmatic approach to the vision that guides us. There may be a sense of heaviness or struggle as we embrace and embody what is to be done.
In many ways, Saturn is like the riverbanks that determine the direction and flow of the river - the flow of vision into reality. Saturn’s presence has us addressing infrastructure, boundaries, time-management, and plan details. We are ready to lay the track, lay the foundation, make the plans that define the course in which the vision can flow into being. Without a sound structure (the riverbanks), the energy of the vision can dissipate or go off in many directions. Saturn’s presence infuses us with a new kind of strength and resiliency. We are to declare our intentions and move towards our 'North Star' with fortitude and persistence.
Welcome Change and Release Habitual Ways that No Longer Serve
New Moon squares its Ruler Uranus
We are to anticipate the element of surprise. There can be sudden revelations or events that disrupt our plans or automatic ways of thinking. While Saturn is supporting the crystallization of a course of action, we are reminded to be flexible and open to new elements and truths that break through into our awareness.
Sometimes the slightest things change the directions of our lives,
the merest breath of a circumstance, a random moment
that connects like a meteorite striking the earth.
Lives have swiveled and changed direction
on the strength of a chance remark.
Bryce Courtenay
Unexpected changes or disruptions (Uranus squares) happen because there is vitality or energy that is trapped or repressed that needs to be released and integrated. Sometimes we are alerted to something that was missed or something we downplayed. Sometimes what erupts in our lives is stressful and sometimes it comes as a chance encounter or flash of insight that enlivens and expands our life in some immeasurable way. We may very easily meet a kindred spirit at this time that offers an opportunity for mutual support and of validation for the direction we wish to take our life.
“But how will I know it's my destiny?' 'Like love it will possess you...
You can't help but know.”
Gail Tsukiyama
Come February 3, All Planets Move Direct until the end of April
With both Mercury and Venus in Retrograde the last weeks of January, we have been compelled to take a step back and re-evaluate our approach. The ‘re-’ words are apt keywords for the last weeks as we review, retreat, recuperate, replenish, rethink, rewire, re-examine and renew ourselves.
Rather than charging forth into the year, we have been more inclined to mull over how we can better approach what matters in our life, redefining priorities, seeking out information that can support sound decisions and catching up on self care.
Come February 3, the pace of life will begin to pick up. There will a momentum that builds to the Aries Equinox, a time when the earth and our efforts can spring forth and bloom anew. Energy will be high and events may happen quickly over the coming weeks and months. So, it is prudent to use these last days of the Mercury Retrograde to get our ducks in a row.
4 Planets in Capricorn: Mercury Retrograde, Pluto, Venus, Mars
Emboldened by the Capricorn spirit, we are ready to roll up our sleeves and dedicate ourselves to a long range plan that is worthy of the full measure of our strength, talents, and wisdom.
Venus, just completing her six week retrograde in Capricorn, had us reassess our values, relationships and finances so that we can redefine these things to better align with who we are becoming.
Our Thoughts are Deep and Penetrating, Unearthing what has been Hidden
Mercury hanging out with Pluto as it completes its Retrograde and goes Direct
We are taking a hard look at our fears and blocks, looking at how we want to define responsibility and accountability for ourselves. It is less about what others expect of us and more about what we are expecting of ourselves. Our mind can penetrate the surface, see into the depths and get to the root of what inspires, motivates and thwarts us. Things we or others have kept secret may be revealed or spoken and Mercury looks to bring the hidden into the light. Our mind and thoughts can be transformed by deep truths that have been masked and obscured.
Transformation Fuels our Destiny
Pluto Trine the North Node
Throughout February, new pathways in our consciousness are opening as we look to grow what matters. The North Node this year is inviting us to shape a future where we come back to the basics and simplify our lives. Pluto in Capricorn is breaking down the structures that are incompatible with who we are becoming and are meant to be.
We are being Energized to Engage Forward Movement
Mars in Capricorn Trine Uranus
We feel energized to engage in our mind's awakening, the changes that are occurring in our life, and the adventure that will shape a future that is a departure from what we have known. Mars, exalted in Capricorn, rouses our ambition to set goals that will challenge and draw out our strengths and persevering spirit. There is added confidence and inclination to be brave about the endeavors we wish to undertake (Mars sextile Jupiter).
If one is master of one thing
and understands one thing well,
one has at the same time, insight into
and understanding of many things.
Vincent Van Gogh
Breakdown of the Status Quo Creates an Opening
for a New Vision of our Future
A Big Picture View of Jupiter, Pluto, and Saturn's Journey through Capricorn and into Aquarius
The Aquarian New Moon is massaging the point in in the sky where Saturn lingered this last year, a point that signaled the changes of 2021. The New Moon brings a deepened understanding of the changes that have occurred in our lives and how we can support and build upon them. From this, the future direction of our life begins to crystallize and take shape.
In Capricorn, Pluto (beginning in 2008) and Saturn (beginning 2019) have given us a reality check on what was in sore need of deconstruction and reconstruction, and we faced letting go of ways of living that were outworn. In early 2020, when the two conjoined there was a destabilization of the status quo and a wake up call as to what lacked integrity and sustainability.
Later in 2020, Saturn moved into Aquarius and in December 2020 Jupiter and Saturn formed the Great Conjunction in Aquarius. Aquarius brings vision and insight into the big picture of our understanding of what needed to break down and what would rise in its place. Aquarius is futuristic, humanitarian, and progressive. It inspires invention, rebellion, revolution, awakening, flashes of insight and a breaking away from conformity. It is compelled to move away from the status quo in its desire to move towards an ideal potential. This disruption can include extreme weather events and earthquakes - metaphorically, and literally.
Collectively, we have experienced a breaking down of societal conventions, of norms that had previously gone unquestioned. In the wake of this, our focus has turned to the future and into a process of visioning and re-visioning a new way of living.
The signature dynamic of 2021 was the square between Uranus and Saturn, a tension between our attachment to the old and our longing for something new. We encountered where we are entrenched in keeping things the way they are and challenged to release comfort and habit to open, expand and grow into a new way of seeing and being.
Radical transformation is in the cards for the U.S.
The U.S. Pluto Return (2022-23) occurs in the 2nd House of the U.S. Birthchart
This is the first Pluto Return for the U.S. when Pluto returns to the place in the sky where it resided at the founding of the country. The 2nd House is the house of values, finances, land and resources. There is a mounting crisis around the values that founded our country. The issue of "Taxation without Representation" that sparked the American Revolution is re-emerging again as a fundamental issue. Does the government serve the people or is it serving corporate interests or those with power? There is a growing divide on the interpretation of the Constitution and the founding principles of the country that needs to be resolved for the country to continue in a good way. Likewise, financial systems, allocation of resources, and agricultural practices are all areas that may be the focus of crisis and reformation. How the U.S. handles this turning point in its country's evolution will inevitably impact democratic governments and humanity worldwide.
Catapulted into the Future that is Now in its Seed Form
Pluto enters Aquarius (2023 - 2044)
When Pluto, the planet of transformation enters Aquarius for the first time in 246 years, the movement towards a sustainable future that honors all life will move into high gear. Aquarius is the collective and the sign of humanity. There will be substantial shifts in communal and social experiences as a collective that will see changes in venues like theaters, sports arenas, and amusement parks Where we experience community and how we have a collective experience will undergo transformational shifts.
Beyond this, Aquarius rules technology. There will technological leaps, changes with the internet a testing of social media. There will be seismic shifts related to travel (highways, airports, outer space).
Currently Saturn is moving through Aquarius (in advance of Pluto) and is testing the efficiency and sustainability of our vision for the future. Pluto will catapult us into that future. More on this in upcoming newsletters.
The Aquarian New Moon amid the Transformation from an Old Order to a New One
This New Moon in many ways is a turning point in this multi-year process of sweeping change where we can, at this moment, assimilate and integrate what we have learned over the last few years. There is the potential for a deep understanding of the nature of the changes happening in our lives. From this, we can feel a strength and resolve to now take a stand for what our lives will be about and what we are ready to give dedicated focused time in the name of a long-range view of the future.
