NEW MOON AT 0+ CAPRICORN, Solstice
December 21, 8:35pm CST, 5:35pm PST,
December 22, 1:35am GMT
IMAGE: Vermont’s winter wonderland. Photo by author. Southern hemisphere folks, I realize you are on the other end of the year, but I couldn’t resist sharing this icy snow view of my country road in Calais, Vermont, a big event this month, with extended power outages for many (mine was out for 3 days. I’m grateful for my wood stove and gas cook stove!) It still looked like this after two weeks. How many shades of gray?
A NEW MOON on Solstice clearly claims attention as the true turning of the New Year. A bevy of Capricorn planets gathers to celebrate Winter Solstice, a seasonal turning point of the year that various cultures have observed as the New Year. We all might as well celebrate along with the ancestors. The Moon shortly follows the Sun into Capricorn for a Winter Solstice New Moon. This fresh monthly cycle proclaims a natural turning point into New Year 2015.
As we are turning and tuning into Earth’s wisdom. Let’s have another refrain of Shaker Elder Joseph’s song:
“‘Tis the gift to be simple, ’tis the gift to be free
“Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
“Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gained,
To bow and to bend we shan’t be ashamed,
To turn, turn will be our delight,
“til by turning, turning, we come ’round right.”
[Jewel has a sweet version on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amcGIfMu0bw]
MERCURY, PLUTO and VENUS announce the Sun, suggesting news (Mercury) of transformation (Pluto) in the economy (Venus), to mention one theme that claims our attention. Emotional intelligence, based from earth wisdom is behind the transformation train this year. Keep you ear tuned for major developments in the next couple of weeks.
The PLUTO-URANUS square is turning the wheel of global change, after another exact alignment on December 15. Uranus also turns today, moving forward after several months of recapping our level of change, sparking off fresh initiatives and some sort of global fireworks. This planet of higher mind appears to agree that, indeed, a brand new year is upon us. Mercury and Venus invite transformational energies directly into our experience for this new cycle. Radical new systems and ways of thinking rearrange our lives. Putting our egos aside, can we cheer on the wildly creative life force that directs the show for our highest good? It’s not an easy time. We are in the midst of chaos as it is being reformed into a new design. We are not all thrilled about this, to say the least. However, if we maintain a broad perspective, we can keep our heads above the stormy waters and work together to live up to the potential of these interesting times. This last week or so of 2014 is going to test our mettle. At the same time, there is lots to be delighted about. Let’s turn our hearts in that direction.
SATURN is on the far edge of Scorpio, ready to change signs and gears for the first time in two years, as it moves into fiery Sagittarius in just a couple of days, on the 23rd. Get your arrows out of your quiver and sharpen your vision. Imagine your next adventure. Spiritual teacher Elbert Hubbard wrote that “imagination is only sympathy illumined by love and ballasted with brains.” It’s a good operating system to develop in this new Saturn phase. This rather stern, reality-check planet will confront us with any limiting belief systems that inhibit our vision. A good antidote is open-mindedness to different points of view and new ideas, which are the name of the game under the overarching Uranus-Pluto square. There are those that want to spoil the game and will roadblock any influences “foreign” to their opinions. Saturn in Sagittarius looks for manageable and measurable goals. We can use those as markers on the way, but let’s not aim too short in times such as these. We can’t fix dysfunctional systems without leveling the ground and rebuilding. Bandaids aren’t enough. At this juncture, short-term solutions are a waste of valuable time and resources.
Capricorn is an Earth-honoring sign, bowing in respect to tradition and Earth wisdom that has stood the test of time. We can learn a lot from the “old” ways. It behooves us to sit at the feet of those who carry on and walk the talk of philosophies that encompass the natural cycles, geometries and beauty of life. In many ways, we are re-learning from the underground up.
The December 6th New Scientist magazine features a cover article called “Smarty Plants,” a fascinating article about the intelligence that is now being scientifically verified in plants. This is a rare and significant “mainstream” scientific article on the topic. With Pluto in Capricorn, science will likely be rediscovering more such evidence, long known among original peoples and which many herbalists, mushroom hunters, good growers, natural healers and others experience deeply. Here’s the intro link (thanks to Orchid Essence master Don Dennis):
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22429980.400-root-intelligence-plants-can-think-feel-and-learn.html
In ESOTERIC PSYCHOLOGY, Alice A. Bailey conveys high-level teachings from her Tibetan teacher. I’ve been reviewing some of this work, thanks to an email series offered by astrologer Marguerite dar Boggia (email her at maitreya33@csiway.com if you are interested).
A key element in these teachings is the Seven Rays, essential qualities that channel divine life force. We each embody a main combination of rays, like we embody a main combination of zodiac signs. The planets also channel specific rays. The Earth vibrates on the Fourth Ray, often called Harmony through Conflict. That’s fairly evident, is it not?
Ray 4 evolves through constant points of crisis, focusing on parts rather than the whole, disjointed points of view, competitiveness, undue emphasis on the Not-Self. These scattered elements are eventually synthesized into unity and harmony by evocation of the intuition, right judgment and pure reason, and (I like this one:) “wisdom which works through the Angel of the Presence.”
When we tune into this thread of eternal, ever-present Now, a vibrational fullness ripples with an intensity inherent in the centerpoint at the heart of every thing. All hearts communicate on the wavelength of love, at supra-luminal velocities extending beyond the speed of light.
A Solstice is one of two still points in the year. The Sun appears to pause, at its northerly or southerly extreme, offering a potent moment to experience NOW. Let’s remember the 2012 December Solstice, marking a rare cosmic confluence of cycles that end and begin again in the great round of universal life. The implications of that turning point of renewal and regeneration continue to unfold. How have you been experiencing life in your time-space capsule since then? The Solstice Sun is closely aligned with the Heart of the Galaxy, beaming in rarified wavelengths that reverberate on a cellular level.
Especially on a rare Solstice New Moon, let us pause to celebrate light, love and joy and make a heart-felt resolution to plant them deeper into our lives in the New Year. How wonder-full!
HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL.
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