New Moon in Capricorn

The New Moon is here! My post yesterday said it would arrive in the afternoon, but that was me reading "p.m." for "a.m." We're in the territory of planting seeds and making wishes with the organized, steady, traditional energy of Capricorn.

Dana Gerhardt offers two essays that highlight today's double theme: This is the time for serious New Year's resolutions, and, wow, there's an upbeat energy of great good fortune in the skies!

Dana writes about connecting with the archetypes of Capricorn, and also about welcoming the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction. Expansive, lucky Jupiter and surprising, psychic Uranus have been traveling together for a long while now, and today reach an exact conjunction. They're also trining Venus, bringing her good luck and partnership into the mix.

The Moon squares Saturn now, emphasizing Capricorn's energy once again. She'll join Mars in Capricorn this afternoon. The message is clear: We need to get clear on what we want for the coming year, and then to act on it. Capricorn, Saturn and Mars are not ones to sit on the sidelines.

April Elliott Kent invokes Marley's Ghost, reminding us that the Saturn who squares the Moon today is in Libra. Marley's mission to uber-Capricorn Ebezener Scrooge was to scare him into a more balanced view of himself and his life, a balance that opened his heart and saved his soul.

The partial solar eclipse arriving with this New Moon tells us that we are in a time of heart and soul decisions. The wishes and intentions we create now will resonate for many lunar cycles to come. Capricorn and Saturn bring their structure and gravitas to the table. It's time to get down to business, they say. And yet, here are Jupiter, Uranus and Venus reminding us, as Marley did, that our business extends so much farther than "business."

Perhaps our most important task at this New Moon is to do whatever personal work is needed, so we can open to the riches of the universe. With all the Capricorn energy around, the messages to get serious, get to work, and focus on realistic goals are clear. Yet the cosmos is reminding us that being realistic means expecting the unexpected, and opening to success and plenty, as much as disaster.

Capricorn loves tradition and achievement. Today we might recall the words of Ben Franklin who said (among many other things) that failing to prepare is preparing to fail, and Louis Pasteur, who said chance favors the prepared mind.

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.

Waning Moon in Sagittarius Moving into Capricorn

The Moon welcomes 2011 with the open arms of Sagittarius, and with open ears. If you're still working on your New Year's resolutions, listen up! As I write this morning, the Moon is joining Mercury in the sky, sitting with the messenger of the gods, planet of mind and communication.

what will this year bring?

Throughout the day, Moon and Mercury, thought and feeling, will join forces. Aligning these two is a vital step in setting New Moon intentions; when we get the wording right, we feel the resonance in our hearts. If the resonance isn't there, then the words need to be adjusted, or we're not ready for that intention.

It's not time yet to make New Moon wishes, as it's important to wait until after the moment of the New Moon. This is a great day to begin exploring what those wishes will be, though, and how they might be phrased, with the Moon and Mercury's cooperation.

Begin with your birth chart (which you can get here if you don't have one). Maybe you're intimately familiar with its contours and patterns, maybe you're learning what the symbols and lines really mean for you, maybe you're somewhere in between. No matter how many times I look at my own chart, new things can pop out at me when I least expect it, so pull out that chart and take a look.

Donna Cunningham offers a comprehensive process for working through a birth chart to set intentions for the whole year. It's an excellent, if daunting, one that involves looking at the transits of major planets throughout the year and figuring out how to work with them.

Here's an approach that fits Moon and Mercury in Sagittarius the adventurer: Choose something in your birth chart to explore today. Begin with a planet, aspect or house that intrigues you. What does it mean to have a Moon in Leo? How does a Venus-Jupiter conjunction affect my relationships? How have I experienced having Scorpio on my Fourth House?

Or begin with an issue you know you want to work with this year: if I want to develop a healthier lifestyle, or get my finances sorted out, or deepen my friendships, what can my chart tell me about patterns in these areas of my life?

Choose a place to begin, and dive in. Use any tools that present themselves. Search the internet; I'd recommend anything linked here as a great jumping off point. Pull books off your shelves (libraries might be closed today). Engage your intuition. Joanna Powell Colbert's Gaian Tarot website offers an online oracle, and Julie Cuccia-Watts offers free online readings from her three wonderful decks.

By tonight, the Moon will be receiving messages from the outer planets Neptune, Chiron, Jupiter and Uranus. Having spent the day with Mercury, her antennae will be finely tuned to listening to these cosmic frequencies. Spending time exploring our own issues in the context of our birth charts will open our senses and help us craft strong, clear intentions for the year ahead.

Overnight, the Moon leaves Sagittarius and enters Capricorn. The first Monday morning of the new year brings us the energy of Cardinal Earth, determined, practical, and steady. Use today's open invitation to explore, before getting down to business tomorrow.