As Saturn moves out of Sagittarius into Capricorn December 19, we will be less preoccupied with speculative and illusionary futures and confronted with more in your face realism.
December 21 – The Sun Moves into Capricorn
8:29 AM PST (16:29 GMT)
When the Sun moves into Capricorn, our attention shifts to the present, practical plans, keeping our body healthy so we can deal with the basics of physical reality, and our connection with Mother Earth as the foundation of manifesting in this world.
Capricorn likes the clarity of a detailed plan to follow. Steady, patient, organized, and persistent define the Goat’s operating mode. Capricorn is intent on climbing the mountain of life one step at a time. Its aspirations require hard work, which the Goat enjoys because it likes the feeling of accomplishment and the satisfaction of a job well done.
December 19-20, 2017 – December 17, 2020 – Saturn in Capricorn
8:45 PM PST (4:45 GMT)
Saturn has been in enthusiastic and optimistic Sagittarius for 3 years. (beginning December 24, 2014.) As of December 19, the ‘hope for the best’ Sag attitude is replaced by ‘Good results require hard work.’ As Capricorn (ruled by Saturn) takes over, we feel compelled to get down to business. Taskmaster Saturn and Capricorn require us to focus on the task of 3-D survival. We must face reality as it presents itself and work with the resources available. Rose-colored glasses and excuses are not allowed in Saturn and Capricorn territory.
Without the use of a telescope, Saturn is the outer circumference of what we can see of our solar system. Saturn thus represents limits, the boundary between the reality of what we perceive with our physical senses and the vast unknown.
Saturn in Capricorn forces (and helps!) us face the challenges and problems that we confront in physical reality. Capricorn is concerned with the structures that we build to secure, direct, and consolidate power and the use of resources.
With Pluto in Capricorn (2008-2020), political, economic and social institutions are already under going critical scrutiny. The speculative and greed driven nature of our basic financial institutions and the questionable state of national and global economic security and stability jumped into the limelight in 2008 just as Pluto entered Capricorn. (banking crisis)
Now Saturn in Capricorn is going to turn up the heat. The neglect of maintenance of physical infrastructure (buildings, bridges, roads, dams) as well as policy to protect the environment is already a source of serious concern. Saturn in Capricorn has to deal with the restructuring of our institutions that are supposed to monitor, regulate, and manage common resources for the good of all members of our society.
With Saturn in Capricorn, it is impossible to ignore the obvious. We certainly did try while Saturn was in Sagittarius. The Tarot Fool, where the naive young man is dancing toward the cliff is an apt metaphor for Saturn reality checks and wake up calls. We hope the Fool wakes up in Capricorn territory before stepping off the cliff into the abyss below.
Saturn and Pluto will conjunct January 12, 2020 (at 22 degrees Capricorn). Saturn in Capricorn is preparing us for this event. While Saturn was in Sagittarius we were under the illusion that we were preparing for a distant reality. In pragmatic Capricorn the reality is now. Karma hits the fan for 3 years and we have to deal with it. There is no room to put off the inevitable. We meet the inevitable every day and at every moment. We are forced to face the consequences of both past actions and non-action. With no distance between here and now and the future, we are obliged to take action.
January 1-2 – Cancer Full Moon
6:24 PM PST (2:24 GMT) at 11 degrees
The new year is inaugurated by a full moon in Cancer, inviting us to break free from fears that kept us stuck in limited versions of ourselves, each other, and emotional reality. The Cancer archetype represents the Great Mother Goddess, the creative mysterious flow of life, and nurturing kindness.
The Cancer Full Moon forms a water grand trine with Jupiter and Mars in Scorpio and Neptune in Pisces. Activating deep intuitive feelings that speak for our soul, we are invited to pay attention to the messages that guide us into deeper knowing and awaken the passion that motivates us to pursue our dreams. Our subtle sensory system is very available for us now. We are well advised to use it to tune into our emotional needs and instinctual wisdom.
The Cancer Full Moon is opposed by the Sun, Venus, Saturn, and Pluto in Capricorn. The pragmatic Goat is interested in short, medium, and long-term goals, social responsibility, making a contribution, and worldly recognition. The Cancer/Capricorn polarity pair is a great team. Capricorn provides the structure and focus necessary to bring Cancer’s creative flow into form. For Cancer and Capricorn to effectively work together, both must free themselves of fear and trust their intuition and each other. Cancer must trust and be grateful for Capricorn’s focus on the practical side of implementation. Capricorn must relax and adapt to less rigid plans when necessary. Both dogmatically insisting on sticking to ‘the plan’ and dreamy visions can give rise to insecurity and prevent practical and adaptable unfoldment of our goals.
This full moon tests our ability to let go of fear and trust messages from our soul. We need to forego defensive positions and listen to our heart. When the Crab is overcome with fear, it pulls back into its shell in an attempt to find security and comfort in its known and familiar inner home. When the Mountain Goat feels threatened, it resorts to attempts to restrict, resist, and control the flow.
At the Cancer Full Moon we find power and support in our connection with the Great Mother, her unconditional generosity, and endless manifesting energy. We nurture ourselves through connection and kindness. Take care to avoid old patterns of escaping (Cancer’s strategy) or toughing it out and isolating ourselves by going it alone (Capricorn’s strategy).
We can use this full moon to remind ourselves of the important role of the flowing water element to give nurturing movement to the solid earth element. Relaxing into our personal flow and being kind and compassionate with ourselves and each other are basic sources of power, which have long been overlooked, denied, and thwarted. Focusing on accomplishment of practical goals at the expense of personal well-being, needs, and feelings has created disastrous results in our personal and collective health. The Divine Feminine Force, embodied by the water and earth planets, are a strategic force in helping us redefine our individual and global priorities.
January 2 – Uranus Stations Direct
For the past five months, Uranus retrograde has been a simmering pot building stem. Our internal simmering could culminate in a surprise awakening and awareness about what is really happening behind the scenes. With two asteroids (Pallas Athena and Eris) aligned with Uranus, this Aries activation can give us the courage to take action, the confidence to trust our intuition, and the fortitude to venture into new territory.
The paradigm shifting square alignment of Pluto in Capricorn and Uranus in Aries is still active. Uranus wakes us up to that which we wish to deny. Pluto digs deep into the psyche to destroy the programs that keep us stuck, stagnant, and asleep. Capricorn teaches us that the more responsibility we take for our lives (past, present, and future), the more we are empowered to create a reality that aligns with our soul (and not our victimization stories.)
January 16-17 – Capricorn New Moon
6:17 PM PST, 2:17 AM GMT at 28 degrees
The Capricorn New Moon makes a serious statement — take charge of your life and commit to a self-supportive plan of action. Six planets are in Capricorn — Mercury, Venus, Sun, Moon, Pluto, and Saturn. The mission of the last earth sign is to manifest our destiny and build solid structures that can have a lasting beneficial impact for society.
The job of Saturn and Capricorn is to crystallize our soul’s mission into form. To do so we have to progressively crystallize our own being into our soul identity. With dedicated commitment, we become conscious of our essence and our destiny path this lifetime.
We can feel pressurized by all this Capricorn energy to make important decisions that will direct the course of our lives. We need to listen carefully to our instincts and intuition which speak for our soul. Trusting our inner authority is critical to avoid succumbing to fear of the unknown. BTW, we are always jumping into the unknown. Capricorn is about connecting with our inner authority so that we can step out of the paradigm of fear, which causes us to give away our power to external authorities.
Capricorn is also about focus and directed action. Under Capricorn influence, we will be motivated to monitor why, where, and how we scatter our energy and resources by engaging in activities that aren’t aligned with what we need to be doing. I offer you the motto I live by – I do only, what only I can do. This keeps me on task and centered on my mission. These words are very comforting to me. They produce a feeling of peace, confidence, and trust. It is the feeling of peace that we are looking for. With peace we also find clarity, motivation, direction, and support.
At this new moon we need to spend time alone and in silence to connect with the Source of our life and power to manifest. Mars and Jupiter in Scorpio help us access the deep feelings and desires that direct our soul. We can manifest our material goals only when they are supported by the emotional foundation at our core. It is the emotional juice that supplies the fuel and the passion that makes it possible to persist, move through challenges, and experience the deep satisfaction of offering our best to the world.
Uranus squares this new moon. The surprise planet can create chaos, disrupt what we thought we could count on, and catalyze groundbreaking shifts in perspective and circumstances. Uranus can also precipitate change in arenas we thought were unavailable or impossible to touch. Through shock treatment, we are forced to accept reality as it presents itself, surrender to a higher force, and give up our illusions, including our illusion of being in charge. Uranus invites us to give up our limited agendas and to trust a Divine grand plan that is currently beyond our ability to imagine.
The Ascent Up the Mountain of Consciousness
At the personal level, the Capricorn archetype is about the ascent of individualized consciousness and consciously connecting with our inner energetic reality. Instead of focusing on trying to change the world, we commit to changing ourselves. Actually as we evolve, appropriate opportunities for us to make our contribution appear. As we outgrow our limited perceptions of how things should be, we awaken to a higher order and our role in the greater plan.
At the bottom of the mountain, Capricorn is overly concerned with worldly success, ambition, and material possessions. In more awakened states, the Capricorn Goat represents the integration of the physical and emotional realms, which together form the foundation of grounded spiritual awakening. Its worldly power is founded in an inner consciousness that perceives the connection between physical and non-physical realities and holds this precious realization as its guiding light.
References
Butler, Simone, How Secure Is Your Moon?” The Mountain Astrologer, October/November 2017, pp. 12-17.
Levine, Rick, ‘2018 Change is Inevitable, Growth Is Optional’, The Mountain Astrologer, December/January 2018, pp. 29-31.
Trinkaus, Emily, Cancer Full Moon – January 1-2, The Mountain Astrologer, December/January 2018, p. 97.
Trinkaus, Emily, Capricorn New Moon – January 16-17, The Mountain Astrologer, December/January 2018, p. 101.
