The Best Laid Plans: New Moon in Capricorn
While our calendars help keep our society functioning, our bodies and brains evolved under the cycles of the Sun and Moon. In our calendars, the Sun defines our years and days, while the Moon defines our months. But we had to make a few tweaks to get everything to fit neatly into a 12-month year, hence the leap years and the occasional year with 13 New Moons instead of 12. It all works out, and everybody can agree on what day it is.
Regardless of what the calendar says, life on Earth still responds to those planetary cycles, and astrologers know that the New Moon — that moment every 29.5 days when the Sun and Moon are aligned at the same degree of the ecliptic — heralds a shift in the patterns of our lives here on Earth. It also indicates how the patterns forming at the moment of the New Moon are likely to play out before the next New Moon. That gives us the opportunity to shift things in our personal lives in line with our goals and desires. Or we can ignore the opportunity and just get swept along in the tide of events.
The New Moon of December 30th falls in the sign of Capricorn, offering insight into the practical actions we need to take in order to thrive in whatever arenas we are working in.
The Capricorn New Moon always brings our focus to organization, building structures that support our lives. We also may find ourselves facing the responsibilities that are ours, whether we want them or not. This year, there are a lot of conflicting agendas among the planets, suggesting that getting more control over the aspects of our lives that we can control will mean we have more time and attention to handle any chaos that may pop up unexpectedly. (I’ll post a look at the astrology of 2025 later this week.)
I’ll go into more detail, but first, here’s a quick look at the technical stuff for astrologers and students. If that doesn’t interest you, skip over the italics.
(Astrologers: Cast the chart for December 30th, 5:26 p.m. EST. The New Moon (NM) is at 9°43’ Capricorn. It is semi-square Venus in Aquarius, inconjunct Jupiter in Gemini, and sesqui-quadrate Uranus in Taurus. Pay attention to Saturn’s aspects, because it rules both the NM and Venus. It is still within orb of the second of three squares with Jupiter, sesqui-quadrate Mars and semi-square Pluto. Mars is retrograde, approaching its partile opposition to Pluto on January 3rd, and is sesqui-quadrate both Mercury and Saturn. It is also trine Neptune, which is about the only ease we get in this rather tense chart. Also, note Neptune in a close but over the sign line conjunction with the North Node.)
This is the time when the more organized among us get out the yearly planner and start filling it in with all the important dates, goals, and seasonal reminders. For the rest of us, our organizational efforts range from buying a planner and filling out a few things to hanging a calendar on the wall to shrugging and going with the flow.
But this year's flow may feel more like white-water rafting, and having a plan, assessing your resources, and setting up reminders can help you avoid any upcoming rocks in the river.
“The best-laid schemes o'mice an' men Gang aft agley” ~ Robert Burns
Yes, the year ahead will see many well-laid plans “gang agley” (go awry), because it promises to be full of surprises and unexpected U-turns. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t plan. It means you need to see the big picture and plan around that while being flexible about the details.
What do you need? What can you pare down to basics? What are your actual responsibilities, as opposed to those others try to guilt you into taking on? What are your core values — the ones you feel you must uphold no matter what twists and turns your life may take? What are your overarching, long-term goals for your life? What skills and abilities can you contribute to a rapidly changing world?
These are the kind of questions you’ll want to ask yourself before laying out your plans. Because then not only will your plans be personally fulfilling, but if you need to change them, you can quickly make new decisions based on what you know is most important to you.
The other plans you’ll want to make are for temporary disruptions during the year. Some may be environmental, some governmental, some social. You probably know the drill by now — stock up on necessities, make sure you have a couple of weeks of water and food, and make plans for reuniting with your family if communications shut down in an emergency.
Pay close attention to your health this month as well, particularly your stress levels. It will be easy to overwork or even just over-fret about things. Prioritize giving your body what it needs — good food, fresh air, exercise, enough sleep. Many things are in flux this year, and while opportunities will abound, you’ll want to be healthy and rested in order to take advantage of them.
If you want to know how these changes are likely to impact you personally, contact me, and we’ll set up a consultation.
Happy New Year!
