Celestial Notebook Overview January 2008

Until 20 January the Sun (), representing our myth, our journey through life, is in Capricorn (). Capricorn injects a sobering and responsible way of being into the zodiac story. Capricorn is a cardinal earth sign and is concerned most with creating structures that are functional and that are able to withstand the test of time.

Time management is an important part of the Capricornian tale: the ever-upward-climbing mountain goat learns to work with the rock and the elements with patience and perseverance. He becomes skilled at working with time instead of against it. Saturn (), the ruler of ambitious, cautious Capricorn, is often called Father Time.

The Sea-goat, an earlier Capricorn symbol, indicates a link with the universal sea of consciousness. Where Capricorn is in our charts is where we are interested in the rules and laws governing the world we live in, the cosmic law. The part we play within this framework, the acceptance of our uniqueness and our destiny within this multiplicity fascinates Capricorn.

Pluto (), Master of Transformation, has been in Sagittarius () for 13 years. On 26 January Pluto enters Capricorn. On 2 April Pluto turns retrograde (seemingly reversing) and backs into Sagittarius on 14 June. It remains in Sagittarius till 27 November after turning direct on 9 September.

Pluto’s intense and dramatic transformative energy will, for old time’s sake, be applied to systems of law and the philosophical underpinnings of matters such as globalisation and who is actually pulling the strings of the puppets dominating the world stage. In Capricorn, transformation directly affects the actual institutions, not just the philosophy underlying them – we will be confronting the limits of everything.

We will be learning to exercise our own inner authority lest the state, the corporation, the bank, the educational system, the health system, or whatever, decide for us. We will learn how to trust our inner voice, not plan every detail and know that we will know how to do it once we get there. This is a long-term project as Pluto remains in Capricorn for 16 years.

Mars (), The Celestial Warrior, plays a pivotal role this month. Whenever any planet retrogrades (seemingly reverses against the background of the stars) our process is one of re-viewing, re-flecting, re-thinking – even re-enacting our life, the past, the future. Often everything we have been suppressing surfaces and we have a choice to either attempt to gather the monsters and ban them to the Underworld forever (ha-ha) or to face the bears, so to speak. Mars has two moons called Deimos and Phobos, ‘fear’ and ‘fright’, and once we are able to move through the fear with awareness we can access the vital energy so necessary for a fulfilling life.

Mars turned retrograde on 15 November at 12° Cancer () and on 31 December re-traced his steps into Gemini (). Cancer is ruled by the Moon (our deepest feelings) and Gemini by Mercury º (our perceptions), the two most personal planets. The interchange between feeling and thought is highlighted and we are given the chance to change doing and saying things out of rote or habit. Our personal history, our ancestral patterns, our origins and our core beliefs often create guilt for which we compensate by our roles, rules and duties. As these defences become more burdensome, we become frustrated and exhausted.

Mars is currently challenging this entire conflagration of energy and we need to take time to allow merciless introspection so that we are able to add a New Year’s resolution of accepting our self for who we are and defining a way of being that creates an inner ease. Look where Mars is in your chart, which house is ruled by Aries and where Mars is transiting at the moment.

It may not be easy to access our true feelings as only Uranus (), an outer planet, is in Pisces (), a water sign. The water element creates responsiveness and empathy; without or with little water we may experience difficulty in containing and processing our feelings: emotional rawness makes rationality and communication complicated OR finding it impossible to get in touch with any feeling until the situation becomes cathartic.

On 21 January Jupiter (optimism, faith) trines (ease) Saturn (stark reality) at 7° Capricorn-Virgo, both earth signs, making it easier to blend our beliefs, values, ethics and morals and the structures of society. These two planets were square in December 2005 and problems that we were experiencing then, especially in business, may be resolved or be taken to new levels.

Two days before Mars (motivation) turns direct in Gemini, Mercury (communication) turns retrograde in Aquarius. During this time Mercury makes a productive trine to Mars, making it possible for us to express our true motivations to others; this process is deepened in February as Mercury conjuncts Neptune À (illumination or illusion), the Sun and Chiron (health and healing). Watch this space!