Capricorn New Moon

Just 24 hours after the Solstice the New Moon occurs in Capricorn, with Sun and Moon at one degree eight minutes. The Moon is in mutual reception with Saturn in Cancer but as both planets are in the sign of their detriments there is little mutual support that they can give.

The New Moon has a very wide conjunction to Mercury retrograde (and hence a wide opposition to Saturn retrograde in Cancer). The New Moon is also applying to a square with Mars in Aries. and is sextiled by Uranus in Aquarius. New Moons are traditionally seen as the time to initiate new projects and undertakings. The sextile with Uranus suggests that there is a desire to pick something not only new but unusual, individual or innovative but the square from Mars and the opposition from Saturn form a T square in Cardinal signs. Such T squares often indicate impulsiveness in individuals and may lead to rushing into creating the new without properly thinking things through, especially with Mercury retrograde, the ‘great idea’ may feel right and may seem to require action but it may well not be based on firm foundations.

Venus, in Aquarius, is applying to a sextile with Mars and Jupiter is applying to a trine with Pluto – whilst the former may well be seen as softening Mars’ urge to act, Venus in Aquarius is more impersonal and aloof, more attracted to ideas than people. The Jupiter / Pluto contact can suggest enormous or hidden power, it can also suggest the power of religion and transformation through religion. In one sense this is the message of both Christmas and Yule but in another there is a darker (plutonian) side – the power of religious fundamentalism.

A terrorist attack around this time woudl not be too suprising. Chaunnika has begun and Christmas is this week with Kwanza the day after, not to mention the yule winter solstice. The energy of these holidays generates a field of unease as the terror threat level is raised to orange, and justifiably so it seems.

And yet, Uranus entering Pisces on the 30th refuses to let this degrade further. Spriituality precedes religion and its fundamental structures, we the people will never let ourselves be told what to do blindly. Congregations of all kinds will be of paramount focus this holiday season, from Chaunnika to New Years with aftereffects on Valentines Day.

The orange alert will stay active for quite some time and will present itself as a backdrop that will either drop to yellow or escaleate to red. That backdrop serves as a reminder of religous fundamentalisim that has been thrust foreward at hyperspeed since September 11th, 2001.

My interpretation of Jupiter / Pluto as religious fundamentalism was in part influenced by the condition Orange threat level. However despite Jupiter being seen as the greater benefic, there are some occasions when Jupiter's growth is undesirable - I have seen Jupiter linked to cancers (growths).

Jupiter is also the planet of religious observance and organised religions, Pluto is associated with the elimination of waste - religious fundamentalism wishes to eliminate all the unnescessary (caring?) aspects of religion and get back to the tried and tested core (a very plutonian approach). The trine merely allows this process to occur more easily.

To say that religious fundamentalism is strong at this time does not imply that something must happen - merely that the atmosphere is conducive to actions based on these ideas.