11.01.24: New Moon in Capricorn
“Our bodies know that they belong; it is our minds that make our lives so homeless. Guided by longing, belonging is the wisdom of rhythm. When we are in rhythm with our own nature, things flow and balance naturally. Every fragment does not have to be relocated, reordered; things cohere and fit according to their deeper impulse and instinct. Our modern hunger to belong is particularly intense. An increasing majority of people feel no belonging. We have fallen out of rhythm with life. The art of belonging is the recovery of the wisdom of rhythm.”
― John O'Donohue, Eternal Echoes: Celtic Reflections on Our Yearning to Belong
Hi, Dear One,
how are the New Year resolutions going so far?
I hope you all know me that well by now that you haven’t been doubting that this question came from a place of pure sarcasm and irony.
Please know that if you’re not hitting the gym every morning and haven’t compromised on your cookies, there’s nothing wrong with you. Quite the contrary actually.
Many of you – including me – are so turned off by the new year stuff that it either makes us angry, desperate, sad – or best case: We don't care about it.
THE FAKE VS THE REAL NEW YEAR
Probably many of you know that for thousands of years, New Year was celebrated at the beginning of spring when the Sun enters Aries which happens to be the moment of Spring equinox – when day and night are at equal length.
On January 1st, the Northern Hemisphere, where most of us live, is still in deep hermitage. It’s by the end of March when nature wakes up slowly and starts to replenish, starting to grow the seeds and soon blossoms.
Very unfortunately, some humans decided one day, a very long time ago, that we need a new calendar system that is apparently smarter than nature itself. That’s how we ended up celebrating New Year’s randomly on the 1st of January. Meh.
No wonder many of us by now still feel like bears in deep winter sleep, needing to hibernate and have a good long nap with some cake and tea.
If you feel that way, you're in good company and you don't need to doubt yourself but rather the world that wants to sell you a fresh new beginning at a time that totally collides with the natural cycles.
For us, women, that story sounds familiar somehow. But more about that later on.
The good news is that we decide what we take as our truth and according to that, we can structure our lives based on how it feels right.
And honestly, I feel that lots of people are waking up to this power and deciding to live a life according to their integrity.
And here it is – taadaa – the Capricorn Archetype has made its way naturally into the love letter while I’m typing in free flow.
NEW MOON INVITATION: WHAT DO I ACTUALLY WANT?
As you have learned by now, New Moons occur when the Sun and Moon are very close to each other – it's called “conjunction” in Astrology.
Because there is not much sunlight coming that illuminates the moon, the sky is rather dark at those times, inviting us to retreat, reflect, and contemplate our lives for a new cycle to start.
It’s worth thinking about the last lunar cycle (that started on the Full Moon in Cancer on Dec 26th).
Ask yourself: What is it that finds its closing and what do I want to invite for the upcoming two weeks into my life?
New Moons are generally moments to connect to your inner alignment and see what you want to focus on in the next cycle.
THE MEDICINE OF THE CAPRICORN ARCHETYPE
This New Moon occurs at 20 degrees of Capricorn, affecting people born with personal planets and points at approximately 17 to 25 degrees of the Cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn) most significantly.
If we believe that the zodiac is a reflection of human consciousness, then Capricorn is the moment where we have to take responsibility for the truth that we have found in Sagittarius.
Capricorn is a cardinal earthy Yin sign. What does the yin quality tell us about Capricorn?
It emphasizes that it’s rather facing inwards than outwards. It’s about owning our truth with integrity and climbing that mountain by ourselves, not reaching for validation from the outside.
Capricorn would never ever compromise its integrity to please other people, avoid conflict, or win something without really earning it. She knows that she can rely on herself, not needing anyone.
So let's ask a fair question: How many people do you know that live by a strong internal value system rather than letting society, their families, their bosses, or social media dictate what they should do with their lives?
NEW MOON IN CAPRICORN: INTEGRITY IS KEY
What can we learn from this New Moon in Capricorn? Well, maybe it’s time to step into our own ideas of how we want to live a life rather than just following what others tell us.
So, in case you have made some New Year resolutions, it’s worth asking where those came from: Society, your parents, social media, or your own value system?
Before knowing what one’s own values are, we need to discover them. That can be fairly hard for humans who have lived most of their lives following what people were expecting from them – I am talking from my own experiences.
It took me years asking myself again and again what the values are that I deeply connect with, that I will fight for, and want to see unfolding in my life. And guess what, integrity is written all over my journal.
So let’s just contemplate integrity for a second, what does it actually mean?
To me, someone who lives in integrity is a person who lives based on their moral compass and makes decisions based on their alignment with themselves rather than what others expect from them. ESPECIALLY in those moments when no one is watching.
People who live in integrity will most of the time do what they say, and say what they do. It's people who apologize when needed. It's people who respect your time and dedication. And it's people that won't hold back their honesty just to fit into a concept you made of them with the help of your projection.
That builds a sense of trust. You’ll feel automatically safe with them.
We meet many people during our lifetime whose actions won't be in coherence with what they actually say. That’s confusing and can make us feel unstable. But in the end, it's each and every one of us who decide what we accept in our lives.
INTEGRITY FROM A JUNGIAN PERSPECTIVE
In my Jungian studies, I currently learn about the term „individuation“ and what C.G. Jung meant by it.
The British Psychotherapy Foundation describes the process of individuation as: „The lifelong developmental process through which our conscious and unconscious potentials unfold leading to greater wholeness and differentiation of the personality. The process of individuation Jung once described as becoming more who you are. It involves a separation from the crowd, an integrity, authenticity rather than compliance or conformity, and is very different from individualism.“
So here we read that integrity has to do with coming to wholeness with all of our parts. With taking everything that you strongly believe into account when you make decisions – the big and small ones.
Individuation was for Jung one of the most important topics in one’s lifetime.
WHAT THE MOON IN CAPRICORN ASKS FROM YOU
If the Moon, currently wandering astrologically through the sign of Capricorn, could speak to us today, it would probably ask the following questions:
What does integrity mean to you?
What are the values that you won’t negotiate with anyone?
Where are you currently compromising your integrity and why?
In what areas of your life could you trust yourself more?
What people and situations make you feel authentic to yourself?
URANUS TEACHING US ABOUT BEING UNCOMFORTABLE
Uranus, the ruler of Aquarius, and the responsible for any chaotic disruption, makes a trine with the New Moon this time.
The Lord of Chaos teaches us that in order to come into alignment, we need to break old habits and surrender to the intelligence of the present moment. Yep – easier said than done.
Uranus is a great teacher who can make us understand that new versions of ourselves can only emerge when worn-out stuff leaves. Not in an „I want to lose 5kg“-way. But deeply connecting to the new part that wants to be born rather than sticking to the old self that we have outgrown.
I was born with a natal Sun Uranus opposition, so Uranus and its medicine have been and remain one of my biggest teachers. There have been so many moments in my life that asked what I would be ready to do for freedom and agency. And I had to give up a lot what felt comfortable to head one step closer to freedom. And I am still on my way here.
Today, Uranus screams from the heavens to all of us: „Don’t you worry, my child. In the discomfort, you can find comfort, I promise. Lean back, try to enjoy the ride, and have faith that something new is on the way. If you want true freedom, you'll need to become cozy with the falling apart.“
So in case some weird things happen these days and you feel the ground beneath you cracking up, let yourself drop into the unknown and just breathe through it. Uranus has your back.
NORTH NODE DEMANDING ACTION
This New Moon in Capricorn forms a square – which is often understood as a tensional aspect in Western Astrology – with the North Node of the Moon.
The North Node of the Moon is seen as our mission in this lifetime. Currently, the North Node is in Aries, whereas the South Node is in Libra.
So the Moon, passing through Capricorn, is in a tensional aspect with its North Node which can be understood as our collective mission to stick to our passions and live according to our free will rather than being entangled in co-dependency.
For me, it’s a nice dialogue where the North Node shouts to the Moon: „Hey Moon, saying „yes“ to yourself means saying „no“ to other people and situations sometimes. It’s time to prioritize yourself and stop conforming to the stupid bullsh** that others want from you. What do you really want? I'm asking again: What do you truly want?“
Collectively and cosmically speaking, this will be a question that will accompany us for a longer period of time.
CAPRICORN ASKING ME TO COME TO TERMS WITH MY OWN INTEGRITY
Well, speaking of integrity, I have shed lots of thoughts on this love letter which I have been writing for about 5 months now.
And as much as I do love creating it, it’s a lot of work and sometimes, having lots of other projects besides it, it’s hard to find the time for it without stressing myself out.
Also, I'm currently dwelling in the mysteries of the female menstruation cycle, trying to understand the natural patterns that I have been ignoring for more than 20 years since my first bleed. This whole process asks me to be more in tune with my body, rest more and do less – which, you can guess, is a very hard task to do.
So I keep asking myself: “What is it truly that I want?”. And as often, my soul whispers that it wants freedom, more time in silence, flexibility and not doing things because I have obliged myself to do them.
And just like that, I start to understand that being responsible sometimes means to free yourself from responsibilities.
Based on that, I have decided that from now on, there will only be a Full Moon love letter on a regular base. And I’ll be deciding spontaneously before every New Moon if there will be an additional New Moon love letter or not – but what you can surely expect, is a Full Moon Newsletter each month.
It doesn't feel comfortable to write this but it feels right. Or – let me say it with Jung's words: “I don’t aspire to be a good man. I aspire to be a whole man.”
Love,
Karina
*GIF Source: GIPHY.com
