Johnny Mirehiel

After the two very dynamic New Moons of this past November and December, it is a relief to see one that appears so tame. Did anyone ever tell you that looks can be deceiving? Here’s that deceptively simple chart:

OK, now let’s look at the salient points beginning clockwise from the New Moon degree at 25° Capricorn:

1. This New Moon is also an Annular Solar Eclipse.
2. Venus joins the Sun and Moon, not only in a partile (exact by degree) conjunction at 25° Capricorn, but is also Parallel by Declination.
3. Venus in Capricorn is also in Mutual reception with Saturn in Libra, the sign of its exaltation.
4. The finally stationary Mercury has come back to conjunct Pluto and both Square Saturn.
5. Like last month, Mars continues to be the lead planet in this chart’s “Locomotive” pattern at 15° of Leo. It is also the only planet (in this Southland Whole Signs chart) that is above the horizon, it is Retrograde, and it is unaspected.
6. Uranus is STILL at that problematic 23° of Pisces, and
7. That beautiful healing energy of the Chiron, Neptune, and Jupiter triple conjunction is about to drift off into the stars, not to reappear for more than 230 years.

The Eclipse

One sure way to spot an eclipse in an astrological chart is to see if either of the Moon’s nodes is in close proximity to the degree of the Sun/Moon. This tells us that, in addition to the two being at the same longitudinal degree (East/West) along the Zodiacal Belt, they are also in the same degree North or South of the Celestial Equator. When this “Parallel Declination” occurs, there is a perfect alignment, so much so that the disc of the Moon blocks the Sun’s light, giving us the solar eclipse. When the Moon is farthest from the Earth, as it is in this case, its disc does not fully cover the Sun’s and a “halo” is observed around the eclipsing Moon. Metaphorically it shuts down the Sun’s externalizing light consequently enhancing the projection of internal light.

The path of this eclipse begins in central Africa, cuts southeast through northern Zaire, Uganda and Kenya, dips into the Indian Ocean, up through the Gulf of Mannar between the southern tip of India and the island nation of Sri Lanka, north into Burma and through south central China and finally fades out over the Yellow Sea. This line will be sensitive for up to six months.

In Capricorn, this New Moon eclipse highlights the qualities of this 10^th sign of the Western Zodiac: ambition, determination, discipline, conservatism, professional pursuits, long-term goals and one’s public reputation. Like the Sun, the Moon in Capricorn is also goal-oriented, unemotional, practical, structured and organized.

But it should also be remembered that Capricorn is a double-bodied sign, as may be seen in its symbol, the Sea Goat. The upper half of its body is represented by a mountain goat, symbolizing the animal that lives at the highest elevations, while the lower half of it is depicted as a back half of a fish, denoting the “being” which lives in the deeps. In other words, Capricorn can reach the heights as well as plummet to the depths.

Two examples may demonstrate what this sign is capable of: the historical Jesus Christ and Richard Nixon. Both certainly can be said to have reached the highest attainable levels, Christ as God and Nixon as arguably the most powerful person in the world as President of the United States. The Christ could certainly “plumb the depths” of men’s souls while the former President plummeted into the deepest political recess.

Venus to the Rescue?

Which path might be open to us, the heights or the depths? Venus gives us a clue. Joining the Sun and Moon at 25° Capricorn, Venus is situated almost exactly in between them, by both longitude and declination and in the direct “line of fire” between the Sun and Moon. While this can intensify its impact, we might best remember that the “inter-lights” position can call forth from Venus two different faces inherent in her mythic nature. True enough, she is the beloved and, as the guardian of our values, she enhances the qualities of love, artistic impulses, friendliness, natural warmth, congeniality and compatibility in relationships, youth and beauty. But be warned: she has another face. Liz Green calls her, the “Great Harlot.” As the Greek goddess, she was an unfaithful wife who comes to symbolize, “…a quality of absolute self-love and self-value.” She is an erotic companion to multiple lovers, callus towards mortals, extremely vain, amoral and capable of being utterly treacherous. In the even older “myths,” she is Ishtar, Inanna, Astarte and Isis, a quartet of lovelies I wouldn’t want to face in a dark alley.

So either side of Venus can be “fired up” by this eclipse. And remember that neither Venus, the Moon nor the Sun is particularly comfortable in cold and calculating Capricorn. Uranus, via its Sextile to the eclipse complex, might be thought of as promising of a solution to the challenge of this three headed eclipse, but here we find him at that problematic 23° Pisces, where he suggests either an unexpected disappointment or a spiritual breakthrough. Which might it be? The smooth flow of energy from eccentric, but often spiritually impelled, Uranus should enhance the aforementioned inner sight. The direction of this vision is determined, astrologically, by the house position of the eclipse. Here in the Southland, we find it manifesting in the fourth house, the home, the parents, the roots and the very bottom line on who we are. Here we want to use the eclipse’s inner light, enhanced by a Uranian jolt of spirit, to look into those depths and make some deep-seated changes. Now is a time that it can be done, a time to turn resolutions into realities.

Fortunately though, this and every other New Moon is accompanied by additional planetary players. For instance, there’s the Pluto/Mercury conjunction at the beginning of Capricorn down at the bottom of the Southland’s New Moon chart above. Take Pluto, the planet that, as I see it, is analogous to the rear edge of the rudder of a ship. As such, it is the smallest element of a ship and well hidden beneath the surface, characteristics not dissimilar to Pluto’s tiny size, unconscious nature and enormous distance from us. Yet both he and the rudder are supremely powerful because both we and the ship will sail in the direction indicated by that very small and deeply hidden guide.

Another planetary mighty mite, the ever-babbling Mercury, stands still at a direct station at deep-diving Pluto’s side, willing to be the channel of communication between the depths at which the change must be implanted, and the surface where we see the manifestation of the change. Here, he is getting ready to resume his direct motion after almost three weeks of backward, retrograde motion. His thinking now turns outward and, as he makes that shift, the confused thinking and miscommunication of the retrograde period begins to dissipate. It is time to clear up all manners of communication. Together, Pluto and Mercury are very well placed and fully capable of plumbing the Capricorn depths, and of supporting a positive outcome for this eclipse in our lives.

A Bit of the Node

Part of every planetary eclipse picture (Sun/Moon) is a close conjunction of the pair to the North Node. This astronomically determined point marks the spot where the Moon crosses the ecliptic (the orbit of the Sun) from southern to northern celestial latitudes. The polar opposite South Node is called the descending node, marking the descent from northern to southern latitudes and declinations.

Both of these metaphorically sensitive points carry every bit as much meaning, characteristic behavior and interactive consequences by sign, house placement and aspects as any other point in a chart. Among several of the characteristics attributed to the North Node is a sense of some thing that is destined. Okay, so add this input of a destined moment to the deep-diving qualities mentioned above, and this New Moon really starts to get interesting.

The Venus/Saturn Connection

And then there’s Saturn. There’s always Saturn. Here in the Southland he’s camped out in the first house, where he brings to the general outlook of this New Moon the rather dour qualities associated with the sign of Capricorn (see above), as well as an inclination to look at things very seriously. Add in that he, too, has taken an inward turn as he just began an almost four-and-a-half month retrograde this past Wednesday, the 13^th at 7:57 a.m. Compound this with a stressful applying square to Pluto and one that he receives from the stationary Mercury. There are, however, saving graces to this position in that Saturn in Libra is in Mutual Reception with Venus in Capricorn, which seems to lighten his darker moments, and the fact that Saturn here is exalted by sign. According to the late Charles Carter, this means that he is purified, inclined and designed to express himself well. It could be worse.

Did I hear anyone say: MARS!

Ah, yes. There he is, all alone and unaspected up in the 11^th house, looking for all the world like he has nothing to do with the rest of the chart. Yeah, right.

In the first place, he’s the lead planet in the chart’s locomotive pattern, meaning that it’s his energy that drives this moment to become self-actualized. And he’s just bursting with energy, being a Fire planet in a Fire sign (Leo). Unaspected, he is under no restraint from any other planet and is therefore free to fulfill his personal creativity and leadership characteristics, traits that agree with his “locomotive” position. He is also brought into high focus by being the most elevated (nearest to the Midheaven) planet in the chart, the equivalent of having a bright light focused on it, just the way Leo would have it.

Then, too, there is the fact that at 15° Leo, it is at one of the “alchemical” center points of one of the powerful fixed signs, one that Dane Rudhyar said, “…is one of the four great moments of the year-cycle when life operates definitely and creatively ... [and] through which power and purpose are released and experienced.” And as if all that weren’t enough, lo and behold, the fixed-star Dubhe is there too. It is the main star of Ursa Major and one that the Ebertins, in their AFA pamphlet “Fixed Stars and Their Interpretation,” associate it with the destructive powers of Mars. Interesting. Joseph Rigor suggests that when Dubhe is connected to Mars, the native (here the New Moon) is imbued with great courage and determination and Bernadette Brady attributes what she calls “Quiet strength” to it.

In short, it would seem that Mars brings a rather strong will to get things done to the chart. And that which would get done would seem to be the eclipse driven need to change at our root levels.

And Winding up in Aquarius

This, of course, marks the final few days of Jupiter’s sojourn in the sign of the Water Bearer. Soon after the New Moon, he will slip into Pisces, one of the two signs he governs and in which he is most comfortable. But here at 29° Capricorn, he is actually at a most powerful position where he adds his most God-like qualities to the highest reaching degree of the mountain-climbing Capricorn. And he is still in reach of the highly spiritualized Neptune, which in turn remains strongly connected to the healing energy of Chiron. Here, in the Southland’s fifth house, this trio of outer planets is poised to act in their most creative expression in support of the deep-seated changes we would welcome in our lives.

In Summary

The energy that the chart of this New Moon offers starts with an in-depth examination of who we really are, all the way down at the root level.  It is here where we can examine what the essential self is and, importantly, use a highly focused intellectual capacity to get a true grip on not only what needs changing at that base level, but also the ability to formulate a plan for how to how to bring about that change.  The chart also suggests that the energy, drive and determination to carry out that plan are not only available, but eager to be employed in the service of making those changes.  This, more than many another month, is the time to act on what you know must be done in this respect.

And finally, in a note of caution for those of us in this beautiful Southland of ours: since there is so much energy focused on the fourth house, please take note that this continues to be an active time for earth changes.

Recommended Reading

As a general rule I usually will send interested readers to Lynda Hill’s page on the Sabian symbol for the New Moon. It is particularly interesting with the energies of the eclipse and the presence of Venus at the same degree. Please do have a look at what our brilliant friend has to say for this one.

And while I’m at it, I’d also like to direct your attention to what astro-friend Philip Sedgwick’s peripatetic “Galactic Times” web page has to say about January’s Jupiter Jam.

Good Luck with your changes and may all of your New Year resolutions to do so become realities.

Johnny Mirehiel is a 40-year student of spiritual, metaphysical and astrological ideas. Internationally known as the discoverer of the astrological chart of the Harmonic Concordance, he is a member of the San Diego chapter of NCGR and he has been accredited by The International College of Astrology as both an astrological practitioner and teacher. He now plies his trade in the high desert of Southern California. Click here to e-mail Johnny.