And now let us welcome the New Year
Full of things that have never been. –Rainer Maria Rilke
A New Moon is always a new beginning, a starting place, a commencement and this being the first one of the year it feels particularly significant. Ambitious Capricorn wants to manifest something concrete and tangible in the world; to bring forth a great work. What do you want to create this year? Capricorn is not simply about a day job; it’s about having a calling; doing something in the outer world that expresses who you are inside. Are you doing the work you were born to do? Are you on the right path? If not, is there some action you could take that would move you closer to it? Or is there something you need to let go of first? Old structures are dissolving; old dreams are fading yet beneath them a new vision is taking form.
Winter is the oldest season; it has some quality of the absolute. Yet beneath the surface of winter, the miracle of spring is already in preparation; the cold is relenting; seeds are waking up. -John O’Donohue.
The Mountain Goat is a winter sign; it’s associated with those qualities we need to survive in cold weather; caution, patience, perseverance, and self-discipline. Do you know how to wait, to pause, to postpone? Summer is a teenage season, all hormones and desire but winter, like Capricorn, is associated with the elder. This wise and judicious sign teaches us about the power of waiting; waiting for our dreams to ripen, for the right time to act, for the sun to appear and spring to return.
Saturn (the ruler of Capricorn) is in Sagittarius, conjunct beautiful Venus. This duo asks us to look seriously at what we value and hold dear; to examine our commitments, goals, and beliefs. What’s worth keeping; what needs to be released? The planet Uranus makes a positive trine to Saturn and Venus, supporting and enhancing this process. Although Uranus and Pluto are separating from their square, they are still close and at the center of this New Moon; Pluto (in Capricorn) is conjunct it; Uranus (in Aries) squares it. This edgy duo turns up the volume on action and acting out. Yet genuine progress and authentic change originates from within. This is a dynamic New Moon but not a pushy one; it invites us to slow down, get real, make a plan and create a solid foundation for the year head.
Mercury Retrograde on Jan. 5
Communication guru Mercury goes retrograde on January 5 (until January 25). As you know, it’s not great for initiating new ventures or making large purchase; especially Mercury ruled items like computers, phones and cars. It is more about completing old business rather than initiating new. But it doesn’t have to be negative. In fact, there are advantages to Mercury retrograde.
Many years ago, it was access to information and movement that seemed our greatest luxury; nowadays it’s often freedom from information, the chance to sit still, that feels like the ultimate prize. ― Pico Iyer (The Virtue of Stillness)
We live in a world that is fast paced, frenzied and constantly changing. Every day we are bombarded with new information, products, ideas, stories, and scandals. Mercury retrograde periods offer us a time to shift gears, process, and reflect. In mythology Mercury was a multi-tasker; among other things, he was the messenger who traveled between the worlds, a trickster and a magician. These times often bring fated meeting with old friends, unfinished projects resurface and lost objects reappear. That being said, Mercury is making a square to aggressive Mars (in Scorpio); back up your computer, allow extra time when traveling, and be conscious about all forms of communication.
Generous Jupiter, currently in health-conscious Virgo, turns retrograde on January 7. It will be moving backward until May 9. Jupiter in Virgo (another earth sign) is an opportunity to fine tune issues around health, service, education, mentoring, and work. On a deeper level, it is a long meditation on understanding how our beliefs impact our health and our work. Mercury and Jupiter make a helpful trine, exact on January 14. This month is a wonderful time to clear up clutter (physical, mental and emotional), do a mini cleanse, begin a fitness regime, or get back to a beloved project that was put aside. Be gentle with yourself. It’s easy to let your inner critic take the reins. Instead, get in touch with your inner wise person.
Going nowhere … isn’t about turning your back on the world; it’s about stepping away now and then so that you can see the world more clearly and love it more deeply. –Pico Iyer (The Art of Stillness: Adventures in Going Nowhere)
What is your special word for 2016?
One of my favorite January rituals is finding a word (or phrase) that will be my talisman or mantra through the year. I don’t like resolutions; they feel too militant and never seem to last. But a simple word or phrase has magic and meaning; it doesn’t demand; it inspires, motivates. Over the years I’ve chosen words like Joy, Kindness, Manifest, Yes, and Forgiveness. Consider phrases like Happy for No Reason, Slow Down, Daring Greatly, Radical Good Health, Love Yourself, Outrageous Abundance, or Big Magic. There are no rules; you can change it any time you want or have more than one. Play with it, have fun, create a collage or painting with your word or phrase; make it your own.
The new year, like a new relationship, can be exciting and filled with potential but it can also feel pressured and bring out the perfectionist in us all. Allow the year to unfold. Find your own rhythm. Above all have patience. Beginnings are fragile and life is not about perfection; it’s about wholeness. Love, Virginia
Like spring secretly at work within the heart of winter, below the surface of our lives huge changes are in fermentation. We never suspect a thing. Then when the grip of some long-enduring winter mentality begins to loosen, we find ourselves vulnerable to a flourish of possibility and we are suddenly negotiating the challenge of a threshold. –John O’Donohue
