May all that has been reduced
to noise in you,
become music again.
David Teems
The Capricorn New Moon January 13 at Midnight EST is a coming full circle, where we revisit where we were this time last year, harness what was learned, and recognize that there is no going back to what we once had. A clarity emerges about the road ahead, where we sense possibilities that have opened, and map a course towards a future we can live into. There are challenges to charting this new course, as we experience the friction necessary to engender a leap forward towards a life aligned with our values.
It was on this day last year and at the same degree in Capricorn, the exact conjunction between Pluto (transformation) and Saturn (manifest reality) took place that set off a chain reaction that unfolded through 2020. The pairing of these two planetary giants heralded a breakdown of the status quo, of the structures and agreements that compose our way of life. It was a transformative moment aimed at destabilizing what was out of integrity to quicken the soul purpose of humanity to realign with it rightful place in the great dance of life.
Now one year later, the Capricorn New Moon at 23 degrees Capricorn joins Pluto (currently still occupying this potent place in the sky). The New Moon, as new moons do, announces a new beginning as it massages that place in the sky that initiated a year of unprecedented unrest, unpredictability and change. And what has fallen away thus becomes the fertilizer that will germinate the new growth.
There is a heavy emphasis on the element of earth with 6 planets occupying Capricorn and Taurus. Earth seeks stability yet we experience the ground beneath our feet as unstable, prompting us to shift our stance and adjust our focus to accommodate change. The breaking up of what was once solid releases once trapped and pent up energy can now find expression (Uranus in Taurus 2019 - 2025) coupled with a continued breakdown of structures that no longer serve (Pluto in Capricorn 2010 – early 2024).
Movement, vision and innovative thinking was introduced when Saturn and Jupiter moved into Aquarius at the Winter Solstice last month, but its expression is being inhibited, or at least challenged. We are in the middle of a transition from 'earth' to 'air', from a society that values material resources and material wealth to a society that that values ideas, shared vision and the potential of the human being. We are in the midst of a reckoning, a dismantling, and a learning from what has gone before. It is an evolutionary moment, where the debris of what is breaking down is removed so the path to rebuild is clear. We are to ask: “What has been gained in the detour our lives took last year when the routine and habitual way of living was disrupted, and how can we now apply what was learned?"
The power to dream…
is the power to participate in creation itself.
Dreaming reality is not only an ability
but a duty, one all humans must perform with grace
so that our grandchildren will inherit a world
where they can live in peace and abundance. Alberto Villoldo
An Aquarian Vision
Creative and inspired thinking is fueled with Mercury conjoined Saturn and Jupiter in Aquarius We have increased capacity to see and conceptualize a larger picture. There are new dreams to explore and to build for ourselves, our community and for the generations that will follow us.
Mercury will remain in Aquarius for its upcoming Retrograde cycle (January 30 - February20) affording us the opportunity to deeply contemplate and review what is opening now. Through Mercury’s extended stay in Aquarius, we are encouraged to take the time to focus on the various puzzle pieces and begin to see how they fit together in greater and greater wholes. We are prompted to step out of the box of our conditioned thinking and reprogram our mind to imagine and embrace potentialities.
In February, six planets will be traveling in Aquarius. We have not seen such a lineup of planets in Aquarius since January 1962. Aquarius invites conversation, the exchange of ideas, enlightened thinking and the shaping of a collective vision that arises from lively exchange. The inspired ideas of February will in all likelihood spark the inventions, advancements and programs that will take shape in the months, even years to follow.
When I am working on a problem
I never think about beauty
But when it is finished
If the solution is not beautiful
I know it is wrong.
Buckminster Fuller
Determined Disruption – Mars Joins Forces with Uranus
Mars moved into stable and steadfast Taurus on January 6, after 6 months in dynamic Aries. Normally, we would experience this as a slowing and a steadying of activity, but when Mars entered Taurus, it began to engage the Great Agent of Change, Uranus. Volatility, accidents, eruptions are anticipated when Mars and Uranus pair up, and in the Taurus, the key word is earthquakes.
There is a building pressure as Mars moves closer and closer to Uranus. The disruptions and challenges of January and February (Mars/Uranus square Jupiter/Saturn) will crack open illusions and faulty presumptions that were once accepted because they were familiar and habitual. We are being propelled to get clearer, to take off the blinders so we can envision something different and not simply recreate what has fallen away.
The difficulty is that the determination to move forward with a deeply held vision can suddenly ignite and justify ill-timed, rash action with Mars/Uranus spurring a feeling of urgency for radical solutions. Our values (Taurus) are being tested in what amounts to a performance review. We have all been brainwashed in some measure by culture, by the status quo, and we are now waking up. Sudden events beckon us to reconcile and bring our core values into focus. It is not about holding on, but letting go of what we thought life was, to discover what it can be. We can be curious about what we don’t know, about what wants to be released as we continue on the journey to discovering authentic expression free from attachment to unhealthy systems and habits.
How the coming weeks play out will set the course for the year, much as the Pluto/Saturn conjunction of January 2020 set the course for last year.
The US Presidential Inauguration January 20
January 20, Mars comes into an exact conjunction with Uranus. The building intensity and volatility as Mars approaches Uranus will culminate on January 20 with a dynamic release of unpredictable and revolutionary energy. One scenario is that the release of the tension that has brought the US to this moment will be like a wave reaching shore with the tension dispersing as a new president is sworn into office. The scenario of radical, revolutionary actions is also a foreseeable expression of the Mars/Uranus conjunction.
Later in the day on January 20, feelings are inflamed and unstable when the Moon conjoins Mars/Uranus. Taurus seeks stability, but the Moon in this position calls us to embrace the feelings rising and not repress or explain them away. We are also cautioned to be mindful of actions our feelings may inspire us to take. There is wisdom in fostering patience, in allowing some time for feelings to be processed so we can understand what they are revealing to us.
Aquarius is a fixed sign and can signify being fixed in ones thinking, fixed in one’s vision. The positive side of this is that a dedication to a vision can lead to a turning over of an old order. The shadow side is that there is a willingness to take bold action in the name of one’s beliefs without a willingness to question one’s beliefs or have them challenged. Herd mentality is also a shadow side of Aquarius, which is why engaging people of varying beliefs in conversation is a way to give ourselves a reality check so our thinking doesn't become rigid and inflexible.
Certain things catch your eye
But pursue only those
That capture the heart
Hindu Proverb
The United States and The Pluto Return
The Unites States is entering its first Pluto return, as Pluto returns to the same point in the sky it occupied when the Declaration of Independence was signed. Pluto resides in the 2nd house of the US Sibly birthchart. This is the house of values, property and finances. The next few years will propel the US into a transformative process to bring about a renewal of the values that formed the country and a reckoning with practices and systems that do not live up to professed ideals.
The New Moon conjoins with U.S. Pluto illuminating the issues and values that will be recurring themes as the US embarks on the journey to rebirth itself as a nation.
Transiting Pluto and the New Moon oppose Mercury in the U.S. Chart opposes Pluto. Mercury rules all forms of media. As part of the reshaping of America, broadcast communications will be reshaped. Definitions of values around Free Speech and Freedom of the Press will be explored, debated and be clarified. What types of speech violate and exploit the sacred value of free speech will be a hot topic. As part of the process, we are likely to see increasing regulations that monitor news outlets and social media giants, and increasing regulations regarding our rights to speak without censorship.
Be the love
You never received
Rune Lazuli
Taking the Reins and Being the Change
Venus is a minor player at the New Moon, but her Presence has significance and offers a path in which to act. In the early degrees of Capricorn, Venus is now walking through the systems, structures, responsibilities and road that had us arrive to where we are. She is serious and pragmatic in her approach. High-minded dreams or radicalized solutions are not up her alley. She is looking for the value, the return for her investment and efforts. Specifically she is looking to increase her self-value in how she moves forward.
We are taking ourselves seriously and our values seriously with Venus in Capricorn. We feel an empowered authority within ourselves to concrete change especially in the area of relationships (Venus trine Uranus) and can take steps to heal unhealthy patterns created in the wake of being hurt by another (Venus’ square to Chiron).
Our eye is on enhancing our self-worth, to value ourselves in how we take the next steps, to respect ourselves and extend respect to what matters to us. For Venus in Capricorn, this is love in action. We can readily look to how someone else or some outside situation needs to change, but Venus here reminds us that what is changing is happening within ourselves.
We can looking at dissolving a barrier that has kept our love from flowing. Or perhaps there is a boundary that needs to be erected that will provide a riverbank where love can more readily flow towards trust and deepened connection. New relationships can come in, new agreements within relationships we have.
Capricorn is about responsibility, respect and power. Through the lessons of 2020, we are afforded a new awareness concerning the nature of power. We can easily tune into the media to see how those who hold power and the structures that have been given power have held up, disappointed and been challenged in 2020. But Venus prompts us turn to look at ourselves and how we relate to power, respect, agreements and to take our next steps with integrity so self-value is enhanced. This personal work within ourselves and the relationships nearest us is key to walking into a new way of living.
In Summary
The New Moon is about beginnings, and in conjunction to Pluto, it signifies an opportunity for an evolutionary shift. It is a time to move forward, applying what was learned from the past and embarking in a new direction. The New Moon is transformative and thus holds great intensity, but this intensity is amplified by a complexity of planetary alignments (4 conjunctions and 6 squares) that challenge a fresh start. There is building pressure and frustration that will be resolved with an unexpected and surprising release of these tensions in the coming weeks. Venus in Capricorn trine Uranus directs us to give our attention to enhancing self-respect. Feeling our self-value we can initiate beneficial change in our relationships. In this way, we are acting, not reacting, to extend the value and love we hold for ourselves to circumstances and to others. The noise within us thus becomes music and together we can to create a new harmony.