The First Cauldron: Traveling with Capricorn

Head of an Old Woman by Jordaens

Crescent Moon in Aquarius
January 4, 2014
10:40 am EST / 3:30 pm GMT

First Quarter Moon in Aries
January 7, 2014,10:39 pm EST
January 8, 2014, 3:30 am GMT

Gibbous Moon in Gemini
January 11, 2014, 8:51 pm EST
January 12, 2014, 1:51 am GMT

Full Moon in Capricorn
January 15, 2014, 11:52 pm EST
January 16, 2014, 4:52 am GMT

We're in the time of Capricorn, an easy link to the archetype of the Father––Father Time, authority, the senex who is the old goat, the one who holds us back, holds us down, and says "no" a lot.

Capricorn's much more complex than that. As Elaine Kalantarian notes in her solstice essay, Capricorn is a feminine sign, a yin energy, and linked with water as well as earth, agriculture as well as 'business' in the modern sense, and the Earth itself.

Indeed, our limited view of Capricorn may well be linked to our separation from the Earth, mythically, spiritually, and (we think) physically. Now, we're traveling in Capricorn territory, facing some of the things we'd rather not: limitations, physicality... you know, the fun stuff.

Today, I am iced in. Not literally––I can open my door and could probably drive if I had to––but there's a snow drift against my front door, they've closed the university for the day, and the wind chill is more Alaska than Southern Indiana. Folks are out of power, and the limits of the physical are very real.

It's a day to appreciate all I have, physically, and I do. This also is part of the Capricorn journey. I have power, made quiche yesterday, have soup in the fridge, and the scent of the fresh lemon I sliced for my morning hot water with lemon was citrus personified––clear, clean, awakening.

I'm also confronting limits in another way, as Blogger isn't wanting to save my work and didn't want me to sign in in the first place. The grid is stretched today, and I need to appreciate that too.

And then, I feel older when it's this cold––stiffer, creakier, more wary of sudden moves. Another Capricorn reminder that helps me appreciate warm sweaters and even warmer baths. Oh, and this hot water with lemon, which also has ginger in it.

Why all this carrying on about Capricorn? Because we're in a strong Capricorn cycle. This year's Capricorn New Moon (on New Year's Day) was in early Cap, so the coming Full Moon is also in Cap. We're meant to be diving deep into this earthy territory now.

The Crescent Moon of January 4 landed on the extra-strong, final degree of Aquarius, asking, what's our vision for the Earth? For our lives? For this day? It'll be transformative, whatever else may happen, we know that much.

Tomorrow's First Quarter Moon is in energized Aries, part of a Cardinal Grand Cross that will push hard for new action. Moon opposite Mars, squaring the Sun, Pluto, Venus and Mercury who are all opposite Jupiter. The definition of "up close and personal"!

And yet, the strong Capricorn vibe will keep our feet on the ground, asking at every step, is this viable? Can it be done? Can we do it? The Aries Moon may feel like charging into the snow; the other energies will be holding out wooly scarves and cups of hot soup.

The Gibbous Moon in Gemini will look for ways around any obstacle. Well, Gemini will go over, under, around, negotiating, wiggling, cutting a deal––anything but straight through. Again, the Capricorn planets will play the heavy, pointing out the things that must be faced.

It's not about holding us back. It's facing the fact of living in a world with structure and form. The physical world, certainly; the spiritual or imaginative world as well––without form, nothing can be perceived, apprehended, worked with. And the very forms that allow this, create limits.

We don't like limits. We need limits. This is the Capricorn paradox. 

Back to the this morning's lemon. Our greatest joys as well as our greatest challenges are inherent in each present moment. I think if I could really, really know this, many of the things that trouble me would fall away. But it's tough. Capricorn is not an easy energy for me.

This Capricornian space feels slow and heavy. Words don't come as easily, ideas take times to tease out. As an Air type, I prefer something more cerebral, less dense.

And yet this earth is our ground, in every sense of those words. That from which actions and thoughts emerge. When I can appreciate that deeply, it feels good. It's something I need to practice accepting and, more than that, loving.

We're all on this journey this month. It's a time to celebrate simple things––food, warmth, friends, our bodies, shelter, song, hugs. The Full Moon will bring illuminations around this, so exploring limits from all sides this month is good.

Here's a way to celebrate Capricorn I learned of recently, I'd like to share: Aleah Chapin's Aunties Project, paintings of women's bodies that set aside the artfully presented so-called ideal in favor of the actual, which is art of a much deeper kind.

This is the Capricorn journey. Here, take this hat ... stay warm.