New Moon in Capricorn & Partial Solar Eclipse: Ancient Shadows

Remember how I said the Solstice Full Moon was opening the curtain on a new cycle of eclipses in Cancer and Capricorn? Well, 2019 is not waiting around on that.

The first New Moon of the year is today, Saturday, at 8:28 pm EST. It’s happening in Capricorn and is a partial solar eclipse.

While the eclipse itself is only visible in far northern regions, it’s still happening. We need to take it into account. We’ll feel its effects whether we can see it or not, so better to be prepared.

This is what Capricorn would want. “Be Prepared” is a good Capricorn motto as is “Work Hard!”

Capricorn is the cardinal Earth sign ruled by Saturn. In so many ways, Saturn is the planet we love to hate: He is the taskmaster, the boss, the deadline, the hard limit, the thing we can’t get around, the rules.

Yet, deep in our bones, we know that’s not the whole story. When we point the finger at Saturn, we’re trying to kill the messenger. We are here in a physical world in a physical body. While understanding  the cosmos is made of infinite energy, we still feel pain when we stub our toe, crash the car, max out the credit card, or suffer a serious illness.

But wait! (I hear some of you thinking) the physical is only one dimension. Many other dimensions and even worlds are also real.

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This is true. Yet the physical world has a kind of “realness” that anchors us. Physical reality is (relatively) stable, at least when compared to psychic realms. Things are slow here. They have mass and form.

Sometimes these very qualities make us impatient, irritated. Kind of the way we feel when dealing with Saturn. We might even come to believe that Planet Earth is a punishment, or at least a trial. If we meet the criteria (whose criteria? Saturn again?) we might get to heaven, or at least someplace more fun.

For now, though, this is where we are.

Another Saturnian phrase is “reality check.” It’s time for a hard look at who we are and the structures that support (or inhibit) our lives.

As we see in the chart, we get extra strength Capricorn with this New Moon. Saturn and Pluto flank the Sun-Moon conjunction. Mercury is also present, having just entered the sign of a sea goat.

Saturn is structure. He rules the skeleton. He values routine, habits, traditions. He loves authority, the rule of law, principle. He believes in having a goal and working hard to achieve it.

Pluto also takes an interest in structure but at a deeper level. Pluto is that which lies beneath, first principles, driving forces, archetypes, what is foundational.

Together, they make this New Moon eclipse a force to be reckoned with. We have the opportunity to see what is usually hidden.

The Moon is always dark when it’s New. When the Moon lines up between the Earth and the Sun, it darkens the Sun as well. We get a solar eclipse. This bestows extra power, a stronger influence, and a longer time frame.

Let’s bring in the South Node of the Moon, where this all takes place. The Nodes of the Moon are not bodies in the sky but points, two points, always opposite each other, that anchor the path of the Moon around the Earth.

Our cosmos can be imagined as a series of interwoven circles. The Earth travels around the Sun. We see that path in our mind’s eye, remembered from drawings and videos. The Moon travels around the Earth and we see that path as well, a bit tilted relative to the Earth’s orbit.

That tilt is important. It means the Moon travels downward half the time and then curves back upward, over and over again.

The Nodes are the points where the two paths intersect. At one Node, the South Node, the Moon is traveling down, or south. At the other, the Moon travels upward, or north.

That northerly, upward Node is associated with the future, with what is coming into our lives. In Vedic astrology, this is Rahu, the head of a fierce dragon.

The southerly, downward Node is the past, what we are carrying and may no longer need. This is Ketu, the dragon’s tail. Today’s New Moon eclipse happens at Ketu, the South Node, the place of letting go.

This is a bit of a puzzle. At New Moons, we plant seeds for the future. We have completed a cycle and are ready to begin anew. Yet this powerful New Moon is about the past. What seeds do we plant now?

Our wishes and intentions for this first New Moon of a new year will focus on the past. This can take several forms.

Under the relentless gaze of Saturn and Pluto, we may realize some of our structures are outmoded, out of date, no longer working. Yes, traditions have value, but that value is based on the idea of the “tried and true.” When something no longer works as intended, change becomes necessary.

What in our past needs to be released?

In asking this question, realize that the past includes more than our personal history. It includes family traditions, cultural ways of believing and acting, the structures of society, and karmic patterns. This is a time for ancestor work in all its forms.

Honoring Saturn, we can release the past with gratitude and grace, even as we firmly set some of its aspects behind us.

What in our past needs to be recognized as false?

One of Pluto’s tasks is examining foundations. Are they solid? Are they true? Perhaps we have always believed “x.” Maybe “x” was once true and is no longer useful for helpful, so, we can let it go. But what if “x” was never true? What if we’ve been handed a false bill of goods?

This kind of falsification is sometimes deliberate. History is, we know, written by the victors. Sometimes moving forward requires a correction of the record.

Sometimes, the false idea is accidental, or unintentional. We hear things when we are young, things we take on as foundations of our character. We are not as smart as our brother. We can’t sing. We’re terrible at relationships. What if those things were never true? That’s one kind of burden we can definitely put down now.

What in our past needs to be honored?

We’re not burning ancient libraries here. Saturn would never advocate such a terrible action. It is entirely possible, even likely, that a deep examination of our past will reveal wonderful, powerful, honorable things. First principles we can rely on. Goals worthy of our best efforts. Achievements we value. Values we can rededicate ourselves to.

This New Moon calls us to sort the seeds of the past before we plant again.

We are making important choices. We cannot leave the past wholly behind us, nor should we. That’s not realistic. It’s not human. We can choose. We can recognize when something is ready to go, to be finished.

At this New Moon, we can see, if we look, which structures hold us back and which hold us up.

Another intriguing point about this New Moon is that it comes at the end of the intercalary days. Traditions we know as the Twelve Days of Christmas are fading. Yet these days are ones that are set aside, apart from the day-to-day calendar.

Sometimes called Omen Days, this was a time for reflection and divination, simultaneously evaluating the past to prepare for the future. A time outside time.

The heaviness we feel around Saturn, Pluto, and the South Node is not the only energy of this New Moon eclipse. There’s also Fire.

Uranus and Eris in Aries square the Nodes of the Moon, pushing for purification, revolution, and rededication. Mars has just entered Aries, the sign he rules. He’s ready to move, act, get things done.

Jupiter, the philosopher and sage, continues his journey through Sagittarius, the sign he rules, exploring the world for the best it has to offer. At this New Moon, Jupiter squares Neptune in Pisces, an aspect pattern these two will dance with all year.

A square is a challenge, but Jupiter and Neptune, both in signs they love, sharing goals and values, are not fighting each other. Instead, this is more of a challenge between friends to see who can reach the highest, travel the farthest, find the brightest star.

Jupiter and Neptune challenge us to dream big dreams.

If we do the work Saturn and Pluto have laid out for us, our foundations will be solid.

Remember Archimedes, who said, give me a lever and a place to stand and I can move the world? At this New Moon, Saturn and Pluto focus on where we stand. Once that is firm, Jupiter and Neptune are ready to hand us the lever.

Then, big change can happen.