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Astrological forecast for Sun in Capricorn
Dec 22 through Jan 22
by our reluctant shaman
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This past June (Sun in Cancer, 2007), I received a major tap on my shoulder to begin correlating each new month with the Major Arcana of the tarot, in order, starting with the Fool card. Without looking too far forward, I figured the Universe was trying to tell me and all my readers (both of you!) to begin the Fool's journey - boldly into the unknown future - which admittedly looked quite bleak and uncertain at the time, during the conclusion of the Saturn/Neptune oppositions.
Each month since then, the next card would flip over, and - Holy Mother of God! - look what pops up this month: the Lovers. If there's a better New Year's or Winter Solstice resolution to consider making, please tell me.
At first blush, the Lovers card represents the strictly human romantic love between two consensual individuals. This (plus astrophysical forces beyond my understanding) makes the world go 'round, no? If this were the only meaning behind the Lovers card, I'd say we could be in for a pretty darn good year. However, moving beyond this initial interpretation, we can hopefully see it as a union for ourselves far greater than any delightful roll in the hay - a union/reunion for we of good faith to become lovers of life and the Universe itself - and to become fully partnered with everything in between. The alternative to this is to live in fear, and fear rarely makes anyone's New Year's list of things to do.
It's "in the cards," but is it "in the stars" as well? Sure enough, the planets are indicating how and why this is happening, it's only a matter of how much we're willing to sacrifice of ourselves to make it happen. Any person in a successful loving relationship will admit that they've had to sacrifice a bit of themselves in order to make a partnership work. Similarly, in order to become One with the All, we need to sacrifice a little (or a lot) of our egos to make our birthright of purest love a reality.
Keep in mind that the death/rebirth moment of instant karma doesn't necessarily require the physical death of any one, or any thing. This is essentially the realm of the metaphysical death, knowing that the flip-side of death is always rebirth, and only a conscious free-will decision away.
Ruler of the Underworld Pluto is slowly moving away from the center of our galaxy - our metaphorical Source - with Jupiter adding a major exclamation point to this timeless re-birthing process. Their exact meeting on December 11 was their first conjunction in thirteen years, thus ending one cycle of the death-and-rebirth meaning of Pluto, and the beginning of another cycle.
It happens just like that - BOOM! - death and rebirth. For everything that dies, another life is instantaneously beginning. This means that another cycle of rebirth has just begun for anyone brave enough, or wise enough, to give life and love another go. So, to all of you in tune with this energetic, I wish you a happy new birthday! Welcome to this weird and silly little fixer-upper planet. It's more than just a little messed up - nothing ultimately fatal - but it is clearly time to help clean it up.
Mercury leads a tight cluster of Jupiter, Sun, and Pluto at this Solstice, within four degrees of each other, and all four of these planets are within six degrees of the center of our galaxy. According to some researchers, Jupiter and Pluto last met up at the galactic center 3,000 years ago. Yup, we're living in extraordinary times.
And all four of these planets (Sun, Mercury, Jupiter, Pluto) will be opposed a retrograde Mars at this Solstice, and I seriously doubt that this configuration has happened since our species first went bipedal. In order to fully make sense of this Solstice, we'll need to use our brains - those minds of ours that grew exponentially larger when our species went to two legs - all those millennia ago.
Fortunately, Mercury rules our intellect, our ability to communicate with each other, and ultimately with our ability to communicate with our life's Source. Mercury, leading the way for us at this Solstice, tells us to use our minds, to look before we leap, trust our instincts, and stay in touch with our inner Divinity. This holds true not only for this month, but for the entire year of 2008.
The Winged Messenger Mercury rules Gemini the Twins - the Lovers - and synchronistically, this Solstice sees the Moon in Gemini, ramping up for a Full Moon the next day, December 23. This Full Moon (just over the line into Cancer) will be one for the ages, primarily because this is the first Full Moon since Jupiter met up exactly with Pluto at the galactic center, just twelve days earlier. Jupiter and Pluto are still less than three degrees apart at this Solstice and Full Moon, so this Full Moon symbolizes the emotional attachments we may have to the death/rebirth transformation represented by Pluto, and magnified by Jupiter.
Further, Lady Luna will be full right on top of a retrograde Mars at this Full Moon, and both will be opposed Mercury, Sun (exact), Jupiter, and Pluto. There are all kinds of ways to look at the energetics involved in this configuration, from the interpersonal to the Universal, but time and space will limit me to just a few.
A retrograde Mars can be seen as a debilitated inner warrior, and it wouldn't be surprising to see random acts of violence ramping up during this holiday season. For instance, last minute shopping might easily seem like hand-to-hand combat. A Full Moon is always the Divine Feminine Principle in all Her glory, while a retrograde Mars might be seen as the perfect spokesman for Viagra. An increase in domestic violence would not be surprising either.
A much more positive way of treating a Mars retrograde is to see our inner warriors as laying down our weapons, chilling out with a few cold ones, and fully owning the Lovers card. Make love, not war. Seeing as how Mercury is leading this charge into Capricorn, it would make sense to have a clear mind, and show a little kindness to the distraught during the holidays. And then, just for good measure, duck for cover. The wise warrior lives to see another day.
In a more Universal manner, a retrograde Mars opposed Pluto and Jupiter (at the galactic center) would seem to be the Cosmos' way of telling every nation to lay down their arms against each other. "Blessed are the peacemakers..." said the Prince of Peace himself, born at this time some 2,007 years ago.
Mars slips backward (retrograde) out of emotional Cancer on New Year's Eve, and back into Mercury-ruled Gemini before moving direct January 29. Keynotes for this month are therefore spelled out again in "look before you leap," and "think before you act." This is a reminder of why we have relatively large brains - we need to use them.
Mercury will move into think-outside-the-box Aquarius on January 8 before slowing down to move retrograde at the end of the month - right around when Mars stops to move direct. Stay tuned for that, but please learn the lessons that the Lovers are trying to teach us right now. "Make love, not war" would be a good start.
Capricorn is ruled by Saturn, and Saturn is actually helping us at this time, but only if we're paying attention to his teaching methods. The Good Professor is slowly moving retrograde through the early degrees of Virgo, preparing his syllabus for all of his serious students in 2008. This will be the astrological event of the year - Saturn's first opposition to Prometheus (Uranus) in November - for the first time in 42 years. At the Full Moon of December 23, Saturn is holding up one third of a Grand Trine (favorable aspects all 120° apart) with Mercury in Capricorn (and loosely with the Sun, Jupiter, and Pluto), and with Ceres in Taurus.
Capricorn, Virgo, and Taurus are all Earth signs of the Feminine polarity, and this flowing Grand Trine will be in effect all month with Jupiter, and later Venus, replacing Mercury and the Sun as the Capricornian third point. This Earth-y Grand Trine energetic is helping us keep our feet on the ground if we've been praying for inner stability. Pray on lovers, and people of good faith.
Ceres is the missing link to all of the above - a major focus of this Grand Trine. The Earth Mother will be moving direct from her retrograde cycle (fully in Taurus) December 28, trine Saturn throughout the month. The Goddess of the Harvest, and of Agriculture in general, has been causing a lot of us to reflect on sustainability issues during her retrograde cycle the last couple of months, and it's been no accident that policy makers have been meeting with global climate experts in Bali recently. This is Saturn trine Ceres (trine Jupiter and Pluto) at it's finest.
Speaking of Jupiter trine Saturn (as part of a Grand Trine with Ceres), we'll soon be revisiting a cycle that began this past March, and will conclude in November - a cycle that was last seen in 1987 and 1988 - the last time Jupiter was in a pulling-away trine from Saturn. What was happening in the world twenty years ago? I'll bring up the Harmonic Convergence for starters, the communal event that helped shape many of our lives within the metaphysical community. The HC was inspired by the Mayan calendar as the penultimate cycle ending/beginning - the final 26 year cycle before "the big one" in 2012.
Keepers of this particular flame should be receiving affirmations throughout January, and if we feel like becoming active participants for positive change, a ritual for peace and love at the New Moon on January 8 would be highly appropriate. Venus (the Goddess of Love and Peace) and asteroid Juno (Protectoress of the Lovers) will be the focus of a T-square with a loosely opposed Saturn and Prometheus (Uranus). If we consider Venus and Juno to be energetic mediators at this New Moon, we can hopefully avoid some of the messiness that the upcoming exact Saturn/Prometheus opposition may entail for the unaware. Make love, not war.
One last fun-fact about the upcoming month: Mercury (ruler of Gemini the twins/lovers) meets up with Wounded Healer Chiron, and Goddess of the Hearth Fire (asteroid) Vesta, all in the exact same degree (15° Aquarius) on January 17. Putting these three together in an exalted sentence, we get "Healing (Chiron) begins in front of a warm fire at home (Vesta), by using our intellect to communicate (Mercury) with our Source." Singing a love song to our inner Divinity would work quite well, and the Sabian symbol for 15° Aquarius says it all: "Two lovebirds sitting on a fence and singing happily."
This astrologer will be humming a tune from 1973, The Who's "Love, Reign O'er Me."
Peace, to all makers of peace, and to all makers of love.
(The Sabian symbol is from Dane Rudhyar's "An Astrological Mandala", 1973).
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