January New Moon, New Year: Clarity!

“Out beyond ideas of wrong doing and right doing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there.”

~Rumi

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January 2, 2022 New Moon 12 degrees Capricorn

How simple and deeply profound. The words of Rumi bring peace to heart and mind. We struggle with trying to create balance when opposition exists. The mind is in a state of confusion when faced with this and that. We look for ways to reconcile that which is not in balance and harmony. We may not want to make a judgment and yet that may be what we end up doing when we think things exist in opposition. 

Picture a field adorned perhaps with flowers and grasses that grow in abundance. The sky rises up endlessly from the horizon and is clear. We look up from our admiration of the floral carpet beneath our feet and become transfixed by seamless pale blue. The mind finds nothing to compare in this vast, unlimited vista. Within moments the individual is free from thinking in relative terms. That is our habit based on the nature of this duality within which we exist. 

Stillness, peace in the absolute. The whole being can relax and know what it means when we are told: “The Divine Mother takes care of everything. Why resist? Why worry?” We come to trust the quiet within that guides and informs us at all times. When we gaze at the endless sky nothing is out of place, nothing can be more, better or different. We have no expectations and so we rest. 

A New Year, a water Tiger year (February 1st)!

Tigers are fierce warriors and go it alone. They are the largest and most powerful of the cats. Known for agility (they can leap 26-32 ft.) and their ability to swim, tigers can tackle many obstacles successfully. There isn’t much that intimidates them. These days the greatest number inhabit the forests of India. 

This year will be markedly different than last year which was influenced by the metal Ox. Oxen are castrated bovine that are docile and obedient. They are service animals that often work in pairs. Tigers are independent and solitary.

2022 will highlight our independent and fearless nature. We will have courage and wisdom to meet challenges and the confidence to follow through with our visions. We must listen deeply to our own intuition and to that which arises from our hearts. Fear resides in the mind, the heart is free to show patience, compassion and tolerance. 

January is the month of Capricorn. We can give thanks for all the mountain goats who are patient and persistent as they pursue their goals with determination. Challenges are met with courage and a will to succeed! They will lead us higher as we seek to rise above any limiting circumstances. Capricorns are robust with an ability to resist illness. As focused as they are on work, they have no time to deal with sickness. Capricorn relates to structure, building and bringing together resources that successfully support any project. 

With the New Moon in Capricorn we envision new structure that will support us on this journey as the old structure continues to crumble. Again we must take a look at the eccentric planet Uranus that invites us to rebel against control and limitation and to seek freedom. Uranus has been aspecting the New Moon since July of 2021 at which time it was quincunx or inconjunct (150 degree aspect) Sun/Moon. It’s influence is apparent in the upheaval that is taking place in the world environment.

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Uranus promotes change. It pushes, urges, pressures us to move beyond rules, regulations, boundaries that are suffocating us. We are not moving fast enough. Uranus promotes action without judgment. Change will occur! The Tower XIV of the major arcana exemplifies the energy of Uranus very well. Lightning strikes the tower and people fall from a height as the building collapses. This can happen suddenly so one needs to be prepared to give up whatever is limiting movement and not be too surprised if it is taken from us.

If we think again about the oppositional dynamic that we mentioned in the beginning of the article; there are those who have and those who have not. Now, it is true...this is as it is and has been, however the disparity between these two groups creates immense confusion, suffering and emotional discontent—unrest, not peace. We move in the direction of equality, balance and understanding that peace resides when the outer environment becomes a reflection of the inner environment or that which has been our true nature through eternity. 

"The Buddha-nature which is ours from the very beginning is like the sun which emerges from the clouds, or like a mirror which, when rubbed, regains its original purity and clarity.”

~Edward Conze from Buddhist Scriptures

This is peace.

The New Moon in Capricorn at 12 degrees is almost mid-sign and in the second set of ten degrees or the second ‘decan’ ruled by Venus the ruler of the next earth sign, Taurus. This combination is hard work that does duty for the goddess of beauty and pleasure. Comfort has a lot to do with pleasure. We need to be comfortable before we can consider being pleased. Working towards a comfortable existence for the majority. That is the underlying objective with these astrological influences—Uranus, Capricorn, Venus and yet to be mentioned is Mercury in Aquarius the sign that is home to Uranus.

Mercury the messenger has just entered the sign of Aquarius, the voice of Reason, the voice of collective good, of that which serves an enlightened Life. We are challenged on an individual and a collective basis to embrace greater awareness and this we are doing! This is the time to reap the rewards for hard work accomplished in the past and utilize that powerful support system to gain ground in favor of enlightened society. This is the message of Mercury that is in Aquarius until the 27th of January when it retrogrades back into Capricorn. 

Two steps forward, one step back! Cleaning up loose ends...break down, sweep out. 

As Venus rules the Capricorn decan for this New Moon we also examine the position of this planet to see further into the vibration presented to us at this time. Goddess of Love conjuncts Pluto, God of the underworld. The motion is retrograde as of December 19th. We can be sure that there is some deep and unconscious revelation going on in terms of what values feel authentic and those that are simply arising from a place of relative desire. Not to dismiss those desires completely but to think a little about their origin and how might this serve me/us or not. 

On January 6th Venus will exactly sextile (60 degree aspect-some ease) Neptune, planet of spiritual realization and hence also associated with illusion, fantasy and myth as many people may not clearly understand this aspect of human capacity—expressing Truth/Spirit in physical reality. We may waver between ‘knowing’ and ‘not knowing’. Perhaps wanting to create our perfect world but not quite realizing how to accomplish this. We are a work in progress! Perpetual change and motion! Just don’t stop, don’t resist. The machine is gaining speed (the Earth is actually speeding up its rotation, great article on https://earthdata.nasa.gov by Jane Beitler on this subject) and we will keep pace!

“Paradise is not some kind of enchanted land filled with flowers and music. It is not some kind of spiritual Disneyland. Paradise is our primordial pure consciousness, which is free of all limitations but embodies the infinity of the divine.”

~Anam Thubten from No Self No Problem

We talk every month about the energies of New Moon, Full Moon sometimes taking note of what may occur regarding these times in relation to these. What is also good to know is the motion of our machine and how the constant change from day one moves us whether we realize this or not. It all contributes. We are being moved whether we think it or not. This actually allows us, if we accept this, to utilize less effort in our daily lives to have things happen. We can be assured that it all will continue even without ‘my’ effort. 

To paraphrase the enlightened teacher Robert Wolfe, Living Nonduality, “The world gets along just fine without my interference.” 

May 2022, a number six, as above so below, perfection, peace, harmony and equality be the year of greater awareness and embracing divinity of all!