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Saturday, January 1, 2011

January 2011-Let The New Year Begin!

Saying Goodbye to 2010

Remember what the ancients said: Eclipses signal big events. We certainly had a big one with the Lunar Eclipse on December 21. First of all the eclipse was beautiful. What a gift for those of us living in North Texas. A disappointed friend wrote from Austin where it was too cloudy to view the darkening of the Moon. It was a warm, clear night here. Did this eclipse coincide with any special events in your life? If you were traveling east I’m sure it was eventful. The blizzard on the east coast will be remembered for generations. Mother/Father winter slowed us earthlings down. People died because emergency crews could not reach them on snow filled streets and babies were born even though women could not get to hospitals. Very major events for many people. On December 30th Mercury left its retrograde phase and travel became normal again. The streets of New York are probably plowed by now and the snow will melt. Mercury is gaining speed as it moves direct through the last degrees of Sagittarius. If Mercury retrograde brought troubles your way in December, those matters should be easing as the New Year begins. If problems linger, they should be cleared up around January 17th when Mercury leaves the degree where it originally went retrograde. 2010 ended with the sobering wisdom that Mother Earth is more powerful than we are.

Let The New Year Begin

Another eclipse! A Solar Eclipse on January 4th encourages us to be conscious of what we want to leave behind and what we want to take with us into the New Year. The New Moon and the Sun join at 13 degrees of Capricorn, and Mars is nearby at 20 degrees of Capricorn. Remember that astrology operates with polarity between opposing energies. If Capricorn is activated with a New Moon, the opposite sign, Cancer, is also activated. During this New Moon Solar Eclipse we can ponder what is really of value in our lives. That is the Cancer part of the polarity. The travelers who suffered through the inconveniences of the blizzard on the east coast will have their list of what is really important—a comfy bed and long hot showers! Nurturing and the comforts of home go with Cancer. Values are intangibles, like love, comfort, self-esteem, integrity, security and safety. How we achieve those values and what form those values take is the Capricorn part of the scale. It may be something as vital as a roof over our head. It might be to create our own family or have a close relationship. Finding ways to achieve those Cancerian values is a Capricorn matter. During this New Moon in Capricorn people will be motivated to get on with it and give their values new life and a new look. For some people self-esteem demands they achieve more status or have a position of power. For another person self-esteem may mean finding employment after months of unemployment. Mars in Capricorn says, get the job done! The Capricorn influence of December continues to be strong at the beginning of the month. Practicalities take center stage. Many will set goals under the aura of the Solar Eclipse. Capricorn rules plans, goals and accomplishment. Mercury retrograde in December certainly slowed down everything so now we are ready to get on with our lives.

This New Moon Solar Eclipse in Capricorn does have challenges. The Sun and Moon are squaring Saturn. Mars is also squaring Saturn. Mars wants quick results; Saturn says “not yet”! This means we can make our to-do lists for 2011 but we will need to be patient. Capricorn is an Earth sign. It takes time to create in the physical, earthly dimension. We can think it, we can get very enthusiastic about something, and we can feel how much we want it. Capricorn Sun squaring Saturn tells us it takes planning, organization, energy and time to reach our goals. Maybe it’s good we have to continue with a slow pace. It gives us time to connect with what we have experienced this past year. We have a few moments to integrate what we have learned from the events of 2010. We have time to reflect, to nurture ourselves and to acknowledge what we have achieved and what we hope to do next. Breathe, and gather the strength to set off on the next part of your journey. Think about the pine cone that holds the promise of new life. In Celtic tradition the pine cone represented the masculine seed of life held safely in the male genitals during the long cold days of winter. Procreation and new life are still possible in the masculine seed. No matter what difficulties we experienced in the previous year, now we have hope for a better tomorrow. We believe we can get pregnant again and eventually give birth to our new creation. Happy New Year!