Waning Moon in Capricorn

The Moon entered hard working Capricorn overnight, and today joins the North Node and Pluto. We're now in the territory of 2011's first New Moon, which arrives tomorrow afternoon along with a solar eclipse. Getting ready for this seed time, resolutions in hand, means learning about Capricorn.

There's a construct in psychology called Need for Achievement (NAch) that captures a lot about Capricorn. Those with high Need for Achievement are intense, driven, and committed to reaching their goals.

Defined by Henry Murray in 1938 as "intense, prolonged and repeated efforts to accomplish something difficult. To work with singleness of purpose towards a high and distant goal. To have the determination to win," this statement is something Capricorn can definitely get behind.

Capricorn is a traditionalist, respecting the hard-won knowledge of the past and skills honed over time. This sign wants to win, but is not a gambler. Those with high Need for Achievement tend to focus on challenging but achievable goals; they like to work but hate to lose.

The "hate to lose" part points to one area of Capricorn's shadow: the drive to reach a goal can turn into an ends-justifies-the-means willingness to accept high levels of collateral damage. If the goal is important enough, no cost appears too high. Capricorn can be the sign of burnout as well as success, and the sign that sets feelings and comfort aside to reach a desired outcome.

So, at this New Moon, wishes and intentions relating to how we work, why we work, our determination, and our commitment to reaching goals, would all be supported. If we tend to let our tenacity get in the way of our health, our relationships, and our joy in life, then wishes and intentions to develop a more balanced view of life are also supported.

We all have Capricorn in our charts somewhere; check your birth chart to see where this sign falls. Most likely, you'll see Capricorn in two houses, one where falls on the cusp and therefore rules the House, and one for the degrees before the cusp.

In the Dalai Lama's chart, for example, Capricorn falls on the Descendant, which is the 7th house cusp, making Capricorn an angular ruler (sitting on one of the four angles of his chart). Yet his Descendant at 27 degrees of Capricorn means that most of Capricorn actually falls in his 6th house, where (in the Placidus house system) we see his North Node.

The 7th is our house of relationships, with the Descendant marking the place in our charts where we move from the private to the public sphere. The 6th house is our workplace, our service, and physical health.

The houses in which Capricorn falls in your chart will tell you something about where the energy of this sign influences your life. For an introduction to the houses, visit Cafe Astrology and The Mountain Astrologer.

Linking New Moon wishes and intentions to the spheres of life in which Capricorn falls in our birth charts will increase their power, by aligning them with our own energy patterns.