New Moon Capricorn - January 2016 - Commencing Cleanup
New Moon in Capricorn January, 2016, well... where do we begin?
This new moon is a doozy. While a slightly larger orb at just a hair under 4 degrees, this New Moon conjuncts Pluto, the planet of tearing things asunder and rebuilding. Or Death and Rebirth, if you're into that sort of thing. And it's still squaring Uranus (radical change, rebellion, revolution), which this new moon also does. So right now things are looking pretty tense!
Here is the chart of the new moon as it's close to exact, as seen from Seattle, WA (where I live near now).
Combine this with the Mercury Retrograde that just started a couple days ago, and Jupiter now having gone retrograde as well (and right on the North Node as well!), we have all sorts of opportunities for mayhem and upheaval. Mercury Retrograde, of course, is where travel, signings, communications, etc. go awry. Traditionally, anyways. It's usually a time to redo, rethink, review, repair (though whether the repairs hold, well, my old car could have something to say about that)... but enough about that.
Jupiter retrograde... that's a planet of expansion and in some circles is the "greater benefic." When retrograde, the expansion tends to go inward. This new moon is trining Jupiter, so we have an opportunity to begin a cycle where we look inward and begin some changes that will benefit us in the future, especially with the Jupiter conjunct North Node placement. Now, with the new moon square Uranus and conjunct Pluto, these beneficial inner changes to ourselves would be best spent in tearing down what no longer serves us, and setting the stage for rebuilding later on. This would also be a good time to review your budget plans, IMHO, and if you have debt, review your plans for tackling that. Being able to enact new plans... might want to wait until Mercury goes direct if able. (Sometimes circumstances force us to act).
Personally, there is a lot I need to discard that no longer serves me. Such as procrastination. Which partially explains the lack of updates in the last several months, as well as crazy events. (Pluto is personally in my 2nd house as well and that is not playing nice with my resources right now. The aforementioned debt thing is also in mind as the Fed just started raising rates for the first time in several years and they're expected to total 1% by the end of this year, and a grand total of 1.75% by the end of 2017 from what I read (I forget the source, sorry!) Not thrilled).
This new moon also sextiles Chiron, so we may be able to see some healing as opposed to wounding this cycle. Venus is squaring Chiron right now with a 4 degree orb or so, so it's possible there could be some wounding when it comes to romance, relationships, associations and to a degree jobs (And I'm not entirely certain on that one). With Saturn also in square to Chiron and conjunct Venus, issues of restrictions like controlling relationships could come up, and some of us will have to make a choice as to what to do about it this cycle.
Mercury is still in orb to an off-sign square with Mars. Considering Mercury Retrograde this time started with Mercury in Aquarius and squaring Mars more directly... It has been a rough week for a lot of us. This lunar cycle is likely to expect frustrations with communications and biting our tongues is highly recommended.
Uranus in this new moon is trining Venus, so we may see some slightly benefic shakeups in romance and relationships depending on your own natal placements. With the Saturn conjunct Venus, again, that wet blanket is likely to spoil the party a bit. Trining Chiron may bring some catharsis.
Venus/Saturn is also a weak square to Neptune still. I noticed a lot of relationship changes in the past month or two with the Saturn square Neptune cycle. Now, the question is, do those relationships that started under the Neptune/Saturn square stand the test of time, or were a lot of endings and beginnings under the auspices of illusion? Maybe illusion of escaping a controlling situation? How many of those ended up in another restrictive circumstance? Or back into one? Grass isn't always greener my friends. With Saturn leaving orb (along with Venus) to the Neptune square briefly (for Venus it'll be for good for about a half year or so), the illusions should start coming down anytime now. If it's meant to endure, it will likely endure. I can only wonder what will happen with the current front-runners for the US Presidential election? (Especially Trump... oi.)...
Do keep in mind though, Neptune and Saturn will have a couple more exact square contacts, especially when Saturn turns retrograde later this year. The November exact square helped pave the way, personally, to some devestating realizations when an illusion came to an end and what was hidden from me came into view. (Hint: I did not react well. Keep in mind, the Uranus/Pluto square is making a T-Square to my natal Mars/Pluto/Venus in Libra. If we include my natal asteroid Nessus in Cancer, it's a Grand Cross by transit. I'll write about this later...) But regardless... with the square weakening for the moment, we should see these disparities relax a bit the rest of the lunar cycle. (The square returns in full force in June 2016, and again in September 2016).
This new moon, for my recommendation, is to set in motion the intent of a cycle of introspection and cleaning away what no longer serves you. Do remember not to throw out the baby with the bath water, however... Not all that looks like it needs to be eliminated may need to be eliminated. Let's be careful out there. As the full moon gets closer, we'll see what comes in the completion phase of this cycle.
