SOLAR ECLIPSE IN CAPRICORN ~ NEW WORLD GENESIS
Image: Genesis II by John Stephens
January 5, 2019: New Moon Solar Eclipse at 15º Capricorn ♑︎
The first eclipse season of 2019 is here! Eclipses come in pairs or trios, and occur roughly every six months. These eclipse seasons are a time of heightened evolutionary intensity. They are like checkpoints on our journey. It is common to experience significant endings and/or beginnings, though often times these turning points are only apparent in retrospect.
Our last eclipse season took place in July and August 2018 amidst a multitude of planetary retrogrades that challenged many of us to go deeper, inviting us to stretch and grow in ways than may have felt really uncomfortable.
As we settle into the new Gregorian year of 2019, eclipse season is here to move us forward into the next chapter in the story. Today’s solar (new moon) eclipse is happening at the midpoint of Capricorn, where the Sun, Moon, Saturn, and Pluto are aligned in a potent cluster, not far from the South Node of the Moon in the later degrees of Capricorn. (Check the area of your chart where Capricorn resides to learn more specifically where this is playing out for you.)
There’s no mistaking these are strong and serious guides offering us an opportunity for restructuring and setting a new foundation that can stand the test of time. With both Pluto and the South Node in the mix, shadow material is most certainly at play and in need of transformation.
Change is happening but it may not unfold on your desired timeline. Saturn’s influence brings reality checks and a demand to approach things with a diligent and measured work ethic. You may have to pay your dues before you can get paid. When it comes to our individual goals, we are invited to practice, to study, and to hone our craft. When we take our time to learn we grow in the capacity to understand and to apply our energy with excellence and skill.
Mercury also in Capricorn in a square to Mars in Aries brings an urge to blaze your own trail and perhaps a sense of impatience with the steps required. Use this tension as fuel to move you toward what is most authentic while considering the impact you would like to make in the long run.
With the Nodes in a square to Uranus, itself on the verge of stationing direct in late Aries, the old paradigm cannot stand. Radical change and evolution is required in the collective space. Meanwhile, Pallas Athene stands her ground in Libra, a voice for the highest ideals of right relationship. Taken together, these form a Cardinal Grand Cross highlighting the need to transform and establish more equitable legal and political structures that support individual agency and interpersonal harmony.
We see these energies and contrasts at play in current events here in the US, with right wing nationalists holding the Federal government hostage over funding for a border wall even as the most diverse group of lawmakers in American history has just been sworn in to Congress.
Amidst all this powerful conflict and change, we have a Grand Water Trine between the North Node in Cancer and Chiron in Pisces, and Venus in Scorpio, emphasizing that as always, shadow work is about healing. When we put in the work to look at patterns in our lives, to look at the parts of ourselves that we’ve denied or avoided, we ultimately gain access to more of the whole, and we have more options for how to be and act.
Remember that you are in charge of your life. You have the power to choose, to apply your energy, your focus, your resources, and your love. Where are you headed and how are you going to get there?
REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
Take a moment to reflect on what was going on in your life during July and August 2018 eclipse season. What was draining and what was energizing? Which seeds were planted and which fruits were harvested? What was born and what was laid to rest?
What is your vision of what's next?
Which resources do you need to bring this vision into form?
What planning is required? Which structures need to be in place?
How can you better manage your time and resources?
In this process, where can you shift from following an outer authority to lead with your own inner authority?