Capricorn New Moon~ Building the Foundation

Capricorn New Moon~ Building the Foundation


I am greeting the last week of the Sagittarius cycle with an irritating cold. It seems appropriate, really, as I spent the majority of the cycle that favors expansion and freedom feeling contraction and limitation. Much of this was due to the intensity of lunar and solar eclipses as well as the added lessons of Mercury retrograding in the same signs. As an astrologer I read yesterday said, we were so busy dealing with these alternate energies that we could not put our complete focus into the intention of the cycle.

But I trust there are no mistakes in the cosmic space. As often as I cannot possibly fathom why things happen, I always have to come back to a truth I feel in my gut. That truth is we are finite. Finite, human, fragile and almost incapable of grasping the enormity of the universe. Sagittarius is one of the signs that tries to raise our awareness, get us thinking bigger and brighter, but even the fires of spirit can only blaze so high in these little human bodies. We cannot ever comprehend the infinite possibilities and size of the universe.

Heaven knows we try! This month with so much powerful mental and spiritual energy we were trying, trying desperately to inspire transformations... and since the eclipses are felt for at least 6 months, some of those changes will come to fruition in 2012. But now it is time to turn our attention back to our humanness, to welcome the winter season by invoking the Capricorn cycle and getting back to work in the limitations of the physical realm.

Capricorn is cardinal earth. Cardinal energy is the initiator and earth energy is focused on form: body, home, work, family, manifestation. Last month we were completely caught in the adapting, changing, transforming, mutable energies of spirit and mind. Perhaps you felt like your head might explode or that your body just can't handle all the shifts moving through the ethers. That is the reason I love astrology, just when I can't bear another "spiritual experience", the most stabilizing force on the planet claims the moon light.

I grow to appreciate Capricorn more and more as the years go by. When I was younger, I felt simply bewildered by this sign's focus on the material. Creating structure, routine, schedule and building the most effective foundations on which most anything will thrive successfully. Capricorn is the mountain goat, who sees a huge winding mountain and without a thought, ignores the longer, easier side trail and climbs right up the middle to the top. This sign initiates physical manifestation and generally thrives in any terrain you put in front of her. She accepts the challenge, works hard, knows how to manage her time and is generally victorious in her endeavors.

Part of her confidence is that she understands the restrictions of earth. It might seem miraculous that she can climb that mountain, but her ability to discern where she can step is what makes that climb possible, rather than just a blind faith that she will make it. It is the experience of putting one foot in front of the other, taking a single step at a time and really comprehending the weight and ability of the form that enables her success. If you know many mountain climbers, they will tell you it takes incredible strength, knowledge and practice to scale a summit.

I need that initiative right now. My spirit and mind worked overtime last month and it is the body that feels the effect. The body is the vessel in which spirit, emotions and thought survive. If the vessel is weak, it is hard to rise to the tasks suggested by the other energies.

I can just see Capricorn standing in my doorway this weekend, eyeing me with her cool gaze that can immediately assess that I haven't changed my clothes in 2 days, washed my hair or even shaved my legs in a few weeks. My nails are bitten to nothing and I have been been pretty much ignoring my physical appearance. Laundry needs to be done and the house overall needs some attention. She steps forward, dressed stylishly, but conservatively, not a hair out of place. Jewelry placed and matched perfectly, seemingly effortlessly, as few know how hard she actually works.

I hear her voice, grounded and confident, as she hands me a cup of strong herbal tea and says "You can do this for another day or two. I know you have been struggling. But we have a busy week and you need to show up for it. Another day, and then it is action time. Clean the house, clean yourself. Take pride in your appearance and get back to work. Winter solstice is this week and while I won't begrudge you some time alone in the dark, if you want that light to return, you need to give it a form worth coming back to."

I groan and roll over, pulling the pillow back over my head, welcoming the darkness. She doesn't get angry, she sits beside me, strokes my hand. Her own hand is firm and strong, but still well manicured and soft. "I will stay with you. I will help you. I can pick out your clothes, do your make-up and organize your schedule. This is a big year and winter is the most important season for setting the foundation. I need you to climb these mountains with me and continue to work towards your dreams. This is my time, though all time is my time, and I can show you how to use your time efficiently and powerfully. Just ask for my help, and I am here, I will show you the middle path and together we can manifest anything."

Now I sigh, but I look into her eyes, grey and wise like the tops of ancient mountains. She is the mother of time, ruled by Saturn, one of bigger outer planets that demands we walk the right path and is associated with taking responsibility and the limits of time and matter. She knows the restrictions, but in that knowledge, she also knows exactly how to help us grow within our own boundaries. I understand that this is the year I need her most. I smile wearily and say "Okay. I am with you. I want your help. Please stay with me."

She smiles back, her hand now at my forehead, "I will stay. Now you can go back to sleep and I will be waiting for you to start our work."

Take time to honor the darkness, celebrate the solstice. Rest as much as you need to, but set a limit. The solstice is Wednesday and the new moon is Saturday (which also falls on Christmas eve) The holidays alone can distract us and keep us lethargic. We are gathering on Monday to set intentions, but even if you cannot join, us, perhaps Monday will be a good day for you to start welcoming the Capricorn tasks. Start by cleaning up the vessel, looking the part of the life you want to create. Start to consider your foundation of 2012, what kind of year you want. Get your new calendars, datebooks and start organizing your schedule. Meditate on the mountain top and ask Capricorn to guide you in initiating the foundation. Remember that Capricorn is a realistic task-master and if it feels she is not supporting you in one endeavor, perhaps she is trying to put your focus elsewhere. Welcome her wisdom, her experience and trust that she knows how you need to grow.

Sagittarius New Moon/Partial Solar Eclipse~ Balancing Spirit

Thanksgiving day is usually filled with family, food, tradition and all the things that come along with them. That can include: traveling, shopping, prepping, driving, cooking, eating, drinking, fussing, fighting, laughing, crying, glutton, excess, pleasure, pain, cleaning and I am sure you can each personally add a few more.

 

All of this is intensified by both the Sagittarius new moon & a partial solar eclipse that occur on Thursday November 24th.

 

I am still trying to find the earth from the emotional, watery depths of the Scorpio cycle, even after the grounding Taurus full moon last week. But earth is not the element inviting us into the next month; it is the beckoning of mutable fire that claims the twenty-eight days ahead.

 

The Sagittarus cycle is normally quite welcome, especially in the holiday season. Sag is the centaur, gypsy, philosopher and story-teller. The energy is gregarious, voracious, social and hard to keep still. It's kinda like being hauled out of a deep, dark well (Scorpio) that you have been sitting in for a month and being plopped in front of a giant bonfire with a cup of tea and a camp full of gypsies, singing, laughing, telling stories. It can be a relief, but also a pretty extreme change of scenery.

 

An eclipse intensifies whatever sign it falls on, and solar eclipses intensify the outer, masculine, active qualities, where lunar amp up the emotional, feminine energies. The eclipse on Thursday is partial solar (not as powerful as total solar) and as the sun and moon will be in Sagittarius, that is a lot of fire energy.

 

I feel like we are going to want to do one of two things during this new moon.

 

The first is to completely rebel against all the truth seeking, cleansing and changing Scorpio was demanding and to just hide our heads in too much food, drink, shopping, socializing and playing. I get that, I am tempted to do the same. I am half way through the cleanse I started with the waning cycle and every ounce of me wants to justify ending early and starting to enjoy the pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce, cookies and goodies already springing up everywhere. Sag, after all, is the fun loving story teller that can easily make up a really good reason why you have done enough work and should party party party.

 

OR you may just want to burn out. Scorpio brings up all our deep dark secrets, fears, resentments and with the heightening fire energy, it may feel appropriate to spend Thanksgiving telling your relatives exactly what you think of them or forcing your spouse into discussing every intimate issue you have or any other extreme heated exchange you can come up with. Fire energy is always alchemical, always trans-formative and mutable energy makes it faster, hotter and more changeable. It can be really appealing to want to harness all that hot stuff and just burn those metaphorical bridges, houses and villages to the ground. Because, again, we all are recognizing that we have stuff to work on, things to release, why not just get it over with in a huge blaze of drama and glory?

 

Naturally, neither of those plans is sustainable. Neither support our overall health or the healing of our communities and countries. Following the moon generally means we are invoking more of those intuitive, nurturing, balancing qualities rather than the linear aggressive desires solar energy creates. We start to sense, based on the movements of moon and earth, that everything is cyclical and gradual changes stand the test of the seasons better than immediate destruction and instant gratification.

 

The challenge in this cycle is to build a healthy fire and care for it in a good way. Yes, you deserve rest, joy and a full tummy AND yes, you must continue to let go of the things that no longer serve you and work towards the life you want.

 

Use that visualization this month, if you can. Imagine the fire in your belly, see it being built upon the foundation that supports your dreams, lit by your new intentions and the things that bring you joy and burning through that which you carefully choose to let go of. As you move into celebration, see your fire being tended to by love as well as release. When you feel it getting too high, or dampening, use your breath to come back to center and bring it back to that middle place. The place where it is warm, inviting and likely to last all night.

 

Perhaps you will spend Thanksgiving somewhere an actual fire can be lit, either candles, fire place or outdoors. Take time to look into the flames and again, use your breath, imagination and intention to clear negative energy or honor positive. Remember that Thanksgiving is ultimately about gratitude. Be grateful for the heat, the ability to make and use fire. Be grateful for the moments you can let worries go and be with loved ones and be grateful for the times you can burn away something you don't need anymore.

 

Sagittarius can be a mischievous one, but like most gypsies, if you are straight with her about what you need, she will make sure you get exactly the right medicine, be it food, dance, drink, sleep or a good story.

Fall Equinox & Libra New Moon

Libra New Moon~ Choosing Harmony~

 

If you accepted the Virgo invitation from August's new moon, you may have experienced a wide range of weeding, cleansing, clearing, sweating, releasing and transforming your physical world. I clocked more hours of yard and housework time this last month than probably in the last 5 years. It was much needed and worth every drop of sweat and ounce of frustration.

 

From Mutable Earth, the realm of the healer, we now move to Cardinal Air and the symbolism of the scales. If you really did the deep work Virgo required of you, you let go of a lot and you may still find yourself wanting to "do" more but summer is officially over with Libra's entrance into the sky, and the energy all around is releasing. We must now find the way to balance what we are left with.

 

The seasonal shifts are instigated by the movement of earth on her axis as she circles the sun, as well as by the movement of zodiac constellations in the sky. When Libra takes center stage, it coincides with the perfect alignment of our planet for 12 hours of light and 12 hours of darkness (Autumn Equinox), followed by the shift into shorter days and longer nights for our side of the globe. Libra, ruled by the Goddess Venus, and as I mentioned, symbolized by the scales, seeks harmony. As a Cardinal sign, Libra initiates the creativity needed for compromise and balance. As an Air sign, this initiation starts in the mind.

 

We went camping in the woods this last weekend, a fitting end to the Virgo cycle. As I sat around the campfire with my family, watching the transformation of earth through the burning of wood, my stepson asked me to tell a story. It took me a moment, but as I have Libra rising and Venus ruling my chart, I was quickly nudged to tell my favorite equinox story, a myth that both explained the seasonal change to our ancestors and symbolizes beautifully the act of making choices, compromising, and being in relationship: The myth of Demeter & Persephone~

 

Demeter is the Goddess of Earth, grain, agriculture and all that grows. She was a great nurturing mama and loved to nurture the whole planet all year long, but especially her daughter, the innocent and beautiful Persephone. Demeter was not the only one to adore her child, the lord of darkness and the underworld, Hades, also had taken an interest. Hades got permission, behind Demeter's back, from the King of Gods, Zeus, to take Persephone as his bride, so one day, when the girl had left her mother's sight to gather flowers, the earth cracked open and Hades dragged her down into the underworld. There was no trace of the abduction and Demeter was devastated. She could not eat, sleep or grow any grain until she found her child. She searched and searched and the earth got more and more bare. Finally, Zeus had to tell Demeter that Hades had taken Persephone. Demeter demanded her return or she swore she would never let anything grow again. Zeus agreed.

 

Meanwhile, Persephone was suffering below the earth. She also refused to eat or drink and nothing Hades tried could pull his bride from her sadness. When word came that Demeter was going to take Persephone, Hades grew desperate. He told his wife that she would soon be leaving but to please just eat something so she wouldn't seem so weak. Persephone ate six pomegranate seeds to pacify him. There is a law that if you eat or drink anything while in the underworld that you cannot leave, which Hades triumphantly announced when Demeter arrived. Demeter was beyond outraged and again told Zeus she would let Earth die if she had to return without her daughter; so Zeus was forced to compromise. Persephone would spend six months of the year on earth and six in the underworld. Demeter also compromised, stating that nothing would grow when her child went under but that life would return with Persephone, hence the creation of seasons.

 

There is a lot to this story and many perspectives to consider, but as the the fall equinox and Libra new moon draw close, I want you to consider the journey of Persephone. Demeter represents the light part of the year, the summer growth and blossoming. Hades is the dark time, Winter death, decay and retreat to the underworld. It is Persephone who symbolizes the balance between them, the innocent child of Spring, and the dutiful wife of Fall. It is she who must enter the underworld at fall equinox and return to the earth at spring equinox. Whatever her own feelings, fears and wants, she honors the compromise from Zeus and over time is revered as the Queen of the underworld.

 

Though at first she is just a victim to deities more powerful than she (I think we can all relate to that!) It is still her decision to cultivate the relationships between and within the light and dark. Persephone is the embodiment of the scales and the true creator of harmony and compromise.

 

Whatever may have come up for you on the mental level during this physical cycle of Virgo, it is time to reconcile it. In what places and ways are you having to give up some of your lighter aspects and move into your dark? Perhaps the physical work brought up a lot of darkness and your job during this cycle where there is less sun is to try to find the lightness in them? What can you learn about your relationships and where you can and cannot compromise? Relationships are our greatest mirrors, our most powerful teachers, as we see through Persephone and her connection to both Demeter and Hades. Neither is really better than the other, but they both force Persephone into initiation.

 

This is the month of final harvest, but for many of us, it is in the mental realm of air: practicing slow, balanced breathing, making mental inventories of your own assets/debits as well those of your relationships, reading inspiring books/stories and every day considering how you can bring more harmony into your life. It is not always easy to find balance and compromise, particularly between light and dark, but if Persephone can accept a life split between earth and the underworld, we can utilize twenty eight days for our own exploration of the scales.