New Moon in Capricorn: Mining for Gold

We are in a very Capricorn time. Right now, the Moon, Saturn, Mercury, Black Moon Lilith, Pluto, the Sun, and Venus are all in the sign of the Water Goat.

Are you feeling weighed down? Or intensely focused on accomplishing a goal? Are the consequences of past actions hemming you in? Or are you finally getting some traction from all your steady, hard work?

Any or all of these could be true with this much Capricorn in the air.

Capricorn is cardinal Earth, the place where the rubber hits the road, or perhaps more aptly, where the hooves meet the mountain. This sign loves committing to a goal. Ruled by Saturn, this is the place where traditional authority comes into its own. Capricorn loves structure, achievement, and karma–both kinds.

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How we experience this Capricorn time will depend on our relationship to Saturn and Capricorn in our charts. It’s worth checking. Do you have planets, points, or chart angles in this sign? Capricorn will appear on at least one House cusp or hidden inside it: Where is that?

And where is your natal Saturn? Which sign is he in and in which House? If you don’t know that already, this is a great time to learn. Check your birth chart and if you don’t have one, follow this link: Get a free copy of your birth chart here!

The New Moon in Capricorn arriving overnight on January 16 offers an excellent opportunity to dive deep into territory that sometimes feels bleak and yet always offers hidden gifts.

At the New Moon, Saturn stands at the door to his castle. He’s at 3 Capricorn, where he is king. He arrived at 0 Cap just hours before the Solstice, and was there to welcome the Sun at that turning of the year.

Saturn remains in Capricorn for the next three years, finishing out the decade. During this time, we can expect a reorientation of the rules. How we define right and wrong, what we see as just, where we draw the line, are likely to look different when we reach the end of this period. For a succinct but cogent overview of what to expect, I recommend Steven Forrest’s blog.

This important shift for transiting Saturn is one reason this New Moon in Capricorn is so important. New Moons are times for planting seeds and setting intentions. If, as the skies suggest, we are moving into a time of hard work, setting boundaries, and facing consequences, what are our personal goals?

Saturn in Capricorn loves to support steady, determined effort. If there is something you need to do that you’ve been putting off, now’s the time. If there is a genuinely difficult task that must be accomplished, enlist Saturn’s help. Grit and discipline are among Saturn’s gifts.

Venus, closely conjunct the New Moon, has also made an important transition. On January 9, she reached her superior conjunction with the Sun, the time when she is on the other side of the Sun, away from the Earth, and hidden in the Sun’s light. She disappeared as the Morning Star and will reappear in mid February as the Evening Star. For now, she remains invisible, on a dark journey during which she is challenged and ultimately strengthened by the Sun.

The way the Earth and Venus dance around the Sun is magical, tracing beautiful five-pointed designs that repeat endlessly. If you are not familiar with how this happens, here is an enchanting video that illustrates the dance.

At this particular Sun-Venus conjunction, alchemically powerful Pluto was also present. He brings deep transformation, pushing this Venus transition into underworld territory. Pluto is still present at this New Moon, widely conjunct and therefore still in touch with Venus as well as the Sun and Moon.

Venus is associated with relationships, creative expression, finances, and values. Here again, the New Moon offers an opportunity to plant seeds for the emerging Evening Star.

Do some of our relationships need deep, steady work to create a stronger foundation? Do some need new boundaries? Can we find the discipline and dedication to move our creativity from lovely ideas into concrete expression?

Capricorn is good at reality testing. Where might our finances, our values, our creative lives, and our relationships be unrealistic? Where would adjustment and effort lead to better results down the road?

All of these would make excellent seeds to be planted at this New Moon.

The presence of Pluto reminds us that Capricorn is not only about concrete day-to-day reality. Worldly goods and status are only the outward trappings of this Earth sign whose roots reach deep into rock. Capricorn was known in ancient times as mysterious and spiritual. In the past, we understood that lasting power rests in inner strength.

Within our Shadow, the place in our psyche that holds the dangerous and antisocial impulses we shun, as well as the bright but quirky talents our families and cultures did not accept, lies our greatest power.

At this New Moon, we are invited to journey into the depths. We are sent on a quest to free the gold of our lost powers, the ones hidden away from our conscious selves.

If we are to be miners at this New Moon, delvers in dark places, who will help us split the rock open so we can reach the richest ores?

As it happens, there is one more key player. Uranus, reaching the end of his time in fiery Aries, squares the New Moon. The Promethean fire, possibly in the form of a lightning bolt, is more than capable of breaking open even bedrock. Uranus the revolutionary always pushes us to align with our truest, most complete self. He is happy to help us mine for the power hidden in our Shadow.

As always, check your birth chart to see where this New Moon and the square from Uranus touch your planets and points. This will help guide you in choosing wishes and intentions.

We have stepped through into a time when the pragmatic and the practical will rule. Yet these very qualities create the most powerful magic. Through patient, steady effort we can reach for goals that seemed unobtainable. With Saturn’s help, in the presence of Venus’ love and creativity, nudged by Pluto’s alchemy, and sparked by Uranian fire, we can achieve anything.

I use Unsplash for almost all my photo illustrations. All astrological charts are my own. The images in this post include the title, created from the photo Light and face by Christopher Campbell, the photo Golden Hand by MUILLU, the photo Beyond the Cosmos by Joshua Sortino, and the photo Bottled Up by Andrew Bui.