angstoic.com Astrologer, Ang Stoic
Yes, this is serious. Didn’t you know? We’re in Capricorn territory. The New Year kicks off on a sobering note as a partial Solar Eclipse in the first week of January sets the tone for the year ahead.
This celestial event will be best visible in the skies to those who shuffle off to the sub-freezing climes of central Siberia, where, from the bleak outpost of Srednekolymsk one may garner the best views of the Moon taking a serious bite of the Sun’s ear for a few minutes.
For the rest of us, we still get to feel the potent psycho-emotional effects of this lunation, and its sister – the TOTAL Lunar Eclipse two weeks after – on the night of January 20-21 at 00°52′ Leo, visible in the Americas, Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
Any Solar Eclipse besieged by ‘malefics’ Saturn (♄) and Pluto (♇) is a harbinger of tough, unpleasant news. Both ancient and contemporary astrologers decry that such lunations are usually signs of unfortunate twists of fate. Perhaps it is the proximity of the besieging planets, or the midpoint impact of Saturn/Pluto (cruelty, hard labour), that imposes such a dark overtone to the event. In any case, spiritual matters relentlessly press upon all of us, forcing humanity to grow – one way or another. Those affected personally with planets/points in mid-degrees of cardinal signs will see circumstances tearing down the very rigid ego structure that is stopping them from growing. This powerful lunation generates a relentless pressure to get to the bottom of any subconscious behaviour and bring up for assessment. Fears, judgements, scapegoating and deep oppression are motivators for both pain and healing, and man may be brought to the point of breakdown in the immediate weeks after this lunation.
An Air of Sobriety
For a start, any Capricorn New Moon is in itself a solemn, sober affair. An eclipse wrapped in the pressure of ♄/♇ however partial, augurs a world-mood slumped in a heavily introspective emotional state, one from which only a sensible and mature set of intentions can emerge as the healthy option. This is a hangover of the severely austere Sun/Saturn conjunction, exact on January 2.
New Moons are generally times of new beginnings, when we set our best foot forward with a specific intention. However, with eclipses (as you may already know from this article) there is usually something gnarly and unexpected that threatens to come along and spoil our best intent. Spoilers coming our way on/around this event strike as a rude, sobering slap upon the face of our audacity. It is usually the frivolity of our endeavour that gets on Capricorn’s goat, so we best stay mindful that it is our folly and indiscretion that will be curbed here. If it’s not driven by your conscience, somewhere out there is a stern judge of your flippant behaviour and he wears an iron fist.
It’s all about R.E.S.P.E.C.T. for R.U.L.E.S.
Generally speaking, Saturn in aspect to the Moon and Sun ain’t much fun, whatever their sign. In serious Capricorn, a generally discontented attitude leaves us feeling a lack of the support and acceptance. We either shrink into shame and inadequacy, or become impelled to prove that we have what it takes to make something of ourselves in this world.
It is this resolution to triumph over whatever adversity and hardship hangs over us that ushers our way towards a single-pointed plan – an ambitiousness to make good. If we feel we have what it takes, we can get busy, so long as we follow the expectations that Capricorn marks for our success.
This is not to say we can’t have fun – we just need to stick to the rules, and don’t look as if we’re enjoying ourselves too much. Saturn craves whatever it can’t have (youth, verve, spiritual freedom…) so his intent is always to deny you of it unless you can prove its practical purpose to him.
Indeed, these can be frustrating times. As much as we might wish to keep a sense of lightness and humour about the apparent hypocrisy (♃ □ ♆) of what goes on in our institutions and governments, there are some serious developments going on in our world that we would be foolish to ignore or dismiss.
As always, where Pluto is involved, all is not what you think. There’s a greater agenda to get to the bottom of things, Pluto applies tremendous pressure that will inevitably lead us to a breakthrough. By application of serious discipline we can transcend and transform ourselves out of limitations, go beyond the rules and laws we have set up for ourselves.
We are called to employ a new, supernatural awareness – one that extends beyond space and time if we are to navigate into the brave new world that is unfolding in 2019-20. These next 2 years are a time where Saturn and Pluto converge into conjunction, compelling us to return again and again to problems until they are truly and completely solved.
Walking one’s talk with impeccable integrity
Enforcers Saturn and Pluto are there to drive the “life is a permanent struggle” message home. Observe how there’s always some ‘bastard’ around to remind us of our duties. Whether we like it or not, we are pressured to take a clever, mature, shrewdly business-like approach to improve our situation. Strangely, the prodding force we identify as most uncomfortable and unpleasant now will be the one which, in retrospect, be seen as the defining key towards our transformation.
Compassion is the key
These are strange times, where the definition of ‘success’ is subtly being refined to include some pretty immaterial, more ethereal concepts. Spiritual stuff seems most important here. A sextile from Neptune lifts the normally materialistic values of Capricorn to its higher, more spiritual octave. Hence, where we may feel as if our social achievements aren’t exactly satisfactory – always aiming for a higher standing, esteemed status, greater reputation, more riches – the real inspiration will be to show increased humanitarian and compassion concern for others and for all entities.
In any sense, career concerns will govern much of what our intentions will be about. As with any eclipse, we must not be alarmed when some curveball flies in from left field and completely reassigns our flight path, job description, official title, or general status in the big-wide-world.
Redefinition of ‘success’
The imprudent and unwise mustn’t feel dismayed when the auspices of a ♄/♇ Capricorn Eclipse spirals our entire social placement as almost completely redundant due to transforming market trends changing business-models. ‘Social importance’ may rapidly shift into ‘not-so-importance’ through this time. Those most in danger would be feeling this for some time in the lead-up to this lunation. Relevance and urgency of our position can become redundant overnight, and those who acclaimed fame and fortune on flimsy, superficial premises may easily be divested into the ‘where-are-they-now’ fraternity.
Yet, whilst machines, robotics, artificial intelligence etc., can progressively sweep humans out of their respective roles and job titles, they are unlikely to provide substitute for the love and tenderness we value greatly between community members, both in the social and professional arenas.
Appreciation of others’ feelings instead of wishing to impose dominance of power or position seems to be a much need quality in both the domestic and business arenas. Even in corporate or bureaucratic positions, those who specialise in being more understanding and unbiased in their dealings with others, or who tune into other using their emotional intelligence as a business asset will stand better chance at success in the race to positions of higher esteem.
Harshness to achieve an objective
To the great masses, this lunation will be met head-on with rigid stubbornness, cold level-headedness, even callousness to preserve and progress their individual interests. Many are so stuck in their rigid ego-framework that they are unprepared for the deep seriousness and profundity of this moment in history. Most of us are inept at going beyond the limits of our own personal agenda and to connect to one another on a wider, deeper level. Yet the call over these next two years is for a global spiritual alignments and collective transformation. We must be prepared for any challenge, train our mind remain reasonable and accurate with what we need to achieve as a species. Effectiveness, and strength of perception are intrinsic to accomplishing the hard-centered, creative endeavours.
On this New Moon, observe how rapidly humanity is undergoing this massive recalibration to its collective nervous system (its culture). These intense ‘upgrades’ to the organisation of human society may indeed seem dark, disruptive or confronting to our old standard conception of what constitutes ‘normality’ or where we see ourselves in the traditional context of the LinkedIn/social ‘status quo’.
However, by now, most of us can already see that aspects of our physical world, the dynamics of its structure are simply falling away. The way we live and work together as a society is altering dramatically. In this, observe how we are also learning to adjust our social behaviour, at least to keep ourselves from losing our place, our competency and respectability among all those around us.
As kingdoms rise and fall, individuals continue to flower and ascend in their own right. A new kingdom is about to rise on the horizon. Can you see it?
Can you see where you might like to see yourself in all of this?
© All rights reserved, Ang Stoic 2018
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