**Times where noted are Pacific Standard Time.
**Degrees where noted are rounded to the nearest whole degree.
The stabilizing force of Capricorn cannot be underestimated. A six-planet cardinal grand cross continues to play out, and with it the potential for great unrest or downright calamity (internally or externally manifested): Uranus in Aries, Jupiter in Cancer, Mars in Libra are squaring off with Pluto, the Sun and Mercury in Capricorn. With Venus in Capricorn, that brings the total to four planets in the sign of industry that are keeping the wheels of life humming amidst the momentum for change. Although the usual hot spots in such areas as the Middle East and Africa are experiencing the kind of violent eruptions that happen when the planets cycle through fractious patterns such as this, the collective proverbial lid seems to be holding for the most part. Disruptions here in the U.S. are more from accidents or natural forces such as winter storms than from an angry populace striking out against the well-oiled industrial machine that seems to be generating an over abundance of inequality these days. Capricorn may not be known for compassion but when put to its highest potential, it is great for creating efficient structures to organize life. We’ll reach the tipping point when the imbalance can no longer be sustained. Until then, what these dominant aspects have to offer us is a very constructive build up of energy. In cardinal signs, that energy is likely to be used to start something big. With all the squares, it may very well mean a tectonic shift or two is in the works. We would do well to use this time to lay out a few blueprints of our own for the new structures we want to build to replace the old, dysfunctional ones we may have suddenly realized don’t work for us anymore!
Additional steadying factors have to do with Capricorn’s ruling planet Saturn, now transiting Scorpio, in mutual reception (in the sign each other rules) with Pluto in Capricorn. This will last until Saturn moves into Sagittarius at the end of the year. Saturn is also in a supportive trine to Jupiter in Cancer that is just beginning to leave its orb of effectiveness, but only temporarily until Jupiter turns direct and moves back into orb of the trine in April, at which time Venus in Pisces will join them to create a reinforcing grand water trine. Perhaps yet again, these calming countercurrent energies in the heavens will offer a productive outlet for the pent up tension that is bound to be felt with the next phase of the cardinal grand cross between Uranus, Jupiter, Mars and Pluto plays out in a few months, this time in a more condensed period of time (April 22-23) and degree space (13°33’ to 13°48’), rather than the two week “translation” period we’re in now across a broader degree space (8° to 15°).
The Capricorn magic (not a word normally associated with this sign) is about maintaining a solid attitude of getting down to business, clearing the channels of activity, tightening connections, plugging leaks and generally preparing the tight ship we’ll need in the not too distant future to navigate even choppier waters than we’re collectively experiencing now. Hopefully we’ll channel our inner Noah and have our arc ready by spring!
Over the next couple of weeks, we have the opportunity to take advantage of additional supportive planetary signatures that may elevate, stimulate, maybe even charm us to stay the intentional course we set at the Capricorn New Moon on New Year’s Day.
On January 5th, Act 3 of the cardinal grand cross play that opened on Christmas day continues when Sun in Capricorn opposes Jupiter in Cancer offering a confident outlook for the New Year. Within the bundle of energies performing in this scenario, the Sun/Jupiter pairing adds a yearning for growth and freedom. We may be bursting to explore new ways of being no matter how it works out, because with Jupiter, it always works out OK, even if disaster strikes! No defeatists here. For this brief moment in time, we may become bigger than life visionaries with divine protection at our backs propelling us to push our luck for a chance to find meaning in life.
If our New Year intentions happen to be related to improved communication in the pursuit of enhanced relationships, all the better. January 6th-7th, Mercury, the planet of all talk all the time, sextiles Saturn in Scorpio and conjuncts Venus in Capricorn. The Capricorn influence on Mercury and Venus may diminish the impulse for talking about love and beauty, but Saturn in depth-loving Scorpio could take the discussion below the surface where our real feelings reside. The smart sextile relationship could incite a game of seeing just how deep we can go to find buried treasure in the form of the tools we need to further our ambitions on the relationship front – the right words at the right time that will simultaneously touch and impress, move and improve with masterful simplicity.
Bringing the cardinal grand cross play to a fighting finish, Mars in Libra squares retrograde Jupiter in Cancer on January 8th. Uncomfortable in Libra’s deferential costume, Mars brings with him some amount of pent up energy after his opposition to Uranus and squares to Pluto and the New Moon over the holidays, which he may now set into motion. Jupiter is known to expand whatever it touches, which in Mars’ case is the desire to act. It could manifest like a kick in our collective butts to push us to make a play for something we believe in. Many a crusader probably had this driving aspect. Acting through the mask of tribal Cancer and partnership oriented Libra, the planetary fuel favors those who are not in the theatre of life just for their own pleasure.
On January 11th, the Sun conjunct retrograde Venus in Capricorn act like a power couple aligning with the vault keeper when they sextile Saturn in Scorpio. The queen of beauty and the solar king use their considerable charm and authority to access valuable resources. The Saturn/Capricorn influence may temper the Sun/Venus tendency for kindheartedness to ensure the opportunities to share are done so responsibly and that valued relationships are employed in the service of artful living and loving. This is the Inferior Conjunction of the Sun/Venus cycle, meaning any relationships under review at this time may hit a turning point – either an ending or a jump to a new level.
Conservative and rational mental processes give way to free and innovative thinking when Mercury enters Aquarius on the 11th. A sense of intellectual detachment may make decisions a little easier and open the door for eccentric humor – we can be a lot more original and funnier when we don’t care as much what other people think! Now the second planet in an air sign (joining Mars in Libra), Mercury should bring some cool objectivity back into our perceptions. An ability to see in the abstract may activate a greater interest in scientific and technological developments. Dodging more personal emotional expressions, Mercury has an easier time speaking out through the megaphone of Aquarius about socio-political causes. The next three weeks would be a good time to channel our inner activist.
The most achievable of our New Year intentions should be fully set and in motion by the time of the Full Moon on January 15th. At this annual opposition of the Moon in Cancer with the Sun in Capricorn, the nurturing matriarch of the family and the authoritative patriarch of society face off in an effort to bring balance to the concerns of each side. It is no secret global society has favored the masculine over the feminine for thousands of years. Evolutionary forces are pressuring for greater parity, not just between the sexes in personal relationships, in the media and in global leadership, but between industry and the environment, capitalism and philanthropy, autonomy and collaboration. The Moon is at her full power in Cancer, the sign she rules, so has the edge in this planetary imperative to embrace balance between these archetypes. She’ll need it…
…and she gets it when retrograde Venus in Capricorn squares Mars in Libra on January 16th. The often sensationalized battle of the sexes comes to the forefront to underscore the Full Moon theme, making for provocative encounters that keep relationships on their toes, if only to always be ready for the next round. The challenge with this tempestuous coupling is to let real love in. To do that, the lovers must understand each other at a deeper level, which means they’ll have to find a way to cooperate rather than live for the chaos creating conflict, no matter how good the make up sex is.
Radical ideas on how that cooperation can play out may spontaneously stream through the portal created by a Mercury/Uranus sextile, also on the 16th. Mercury operating through Aquarius, the sign ruled by Uranus, which is currently at work in pioneering Aries, heightens the energy for revolutionary thinking. This may be a quick transit but brilliant notions do have a way of finding a path to manifestation – if they manage to form alliances with willing partners who have the resources, organizational ability and desire to see them through the process. This ultimately is the lesson of the planets dancing in the heavens above us – each one a unique star with ever-changing relationships between them, beaming down infinite possibilities for expressing as they orbit the Sun. May 2014 be the year we all find our Sun and live it to the fullest.
Here’s the data:
January 5th Sun opposite Jupiter at 1:12 p.m. at 16° Capricorn/Cancer
January 6th Mercury sextile Saturn at 12:51 a.m. at 21° Capricorn/Scorpio
January 7th Mercury conjunct Venus at 2:02 p.m. at 23° Capricorn
January 8th Mars square Jupiter at 2:36 p.m. at 15° Libra/Cancer
January 11th Venus sextile Saturn at 2:44 a.m. at 22° Capricorn/Scorpio
Sun conjunct Venus at 4:25 a.m. at 22° Capricorn
Sun sextile Saturn at 5:39 a.m. at 22° Capricorn/Scorpio
Mercury at 0° Aquarius at 1:35 p.m.
January 15th Full Moon at 8:52 p.m. at 26° Capricorn/Cancer
January 16 Venus square Mars at 9:13 a.m. at 18° Capricorn/Libra
Mercury sextile Uranus at 10:25 p.m. at 9° Aquarius/Aries
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