Astrology: Happy New Year New Moon!
The stars give zero fucks about arbitrary human calendars like the one we use in the West.
But we still care, because it’s culturally wired into us.
Some of it comes from the ancient European pagan focus on December Solstice (they had NO idea it was summer solstice in the south!).
Some of it emerges out of a modern, corporatised system for doing end-of-cycle reviews and plans.
And much of it comes from our self-perpetuating collective decision to make this time of year important.
Want to make the most of it AND get the ooomph of the stars AS WELL?
Skip anything like a resolution – those are usually designed to ‘fix’ us – to make us more acceptable via a number on the scale or in the bank account. Ugh.
Instead, pay attention to the Moon.
There’s usually a New Moon sometime around now.
This year, as the Gregorian calendar moves us from 31 December to 1 January, we will be experiencing the delicious Dark Moon before a Capricorn New Moon.
And OHHHHHHH … that is some GORGEOUS energy to surf!
Dark Moon (aka NOW) is a time for resting and resetting.
By all means incorporate some gentle clearing away, especially in the physical world of daily life. Or not-so-gentle, if you have the capacity and joy for it.
For example – I have just done a big inventory of my freezer and cleaned out my fridge shelves; next comes the veggie drawer and some meal planning. This isn’t my usual happy place but right now, I’m loving it!
New Moon in Capricorn (2 January 1:33PM US Eastern time) happens at 12° Capricorn, while Venus Retrograde, Pluto and Mercury all dance cheek-to-cheek in the same sign.
Venus Retro says ‘reassess and revisit your core values and your deepest, truest desires’ – your doorway to DECIDING what you want.
Pluto says ‘be willing to allow for some transformation from the old to the new, in order to unleash your deepest and most scary personal powers’ – your doorway to OPENING UP for more.
Mercury says ‘I know how to express what you want, and how to smooth the way for any Plutonic work you need to do’ – your doorway to witnessing and articulating your own self with clarity and a little detachment.
New Moon says ‘it’s time for a new cycle to begin’ – your doorway to the FEELING of fresh new things.
Capricorn says ‘MAKE SHIT REAL’ – your doorway to building something tangible out of this experience.
SIDEBAR – it’s tempting to think it’s all going to be about taking massive action to make shit real. Because that’s what we’re trained to do when Capricorn is lit up. But massive action can ALSO be:
- carving out uninterrupted time so you can just. think. deeply (essential if you want to do big things of any kind)
- napping to get fuelled up (not as a reward after depleting yourself, but in preparation before doing something big – like LIVING)
- breath work
- meditating
- play (defined as ‘pointless activity done for the sheer pleasure of it’) – for me, that’s reading, music, dancing and building Lego
Capricorn likes to build a tangible result. But it’s our social conditioning which makes us think that results come only from certain kinds of actions.
Here’s my recommendation to get the most out of this New Moon / New Year combination.
Brain dump a list of things you’d like to have, do or be by the end of 2022 – your true desires (Venus). Let loose FULLY, even if at this stage it seems unreasonable, unrealistic, whatever. Be shameless and unapologetic because this is ONLY for you.
For each one, step back and review it (Mercury) – see if you can identify the underlying why, and refine until it’s clean and powerful (Pluto).
For example ‘lose 20 lbs’ – when you ask why that matters, it might be ‘I want to love my body’. That’s not a clean desire coming from power. That’s an attempt to ‘fix’ yourself – after all, you could easily choose to love your body now (and honestly, that’s a MUCH better thing to do anyway!). Find a different underlying why which taps into joy or power, such as ‘I want to be kinder to my knees, so I can play with my kids’ or ‘I want to fit into that favourite dress cuz it’s soooooo great to wear’.
This gives each goal an underpinning foundation (Capricorn) of clean, aligned-with-you power (Pluto).
For extra bonus ooomph – implement a way to easily review these daily so you can keep coming back to this solid foundation of clean power. That alone is transformative! I keep mine in my journal and each day I review them before I do anything else. BOOM!
Now, step back again (Mercury) and look for an overarching pattern or theme they have in common – something which is an expression of your own core values (Venus).
Set an intention to experience and explore the feeling of that, in 2022.
You can use this step to create a word of the year (Mercury).
You can use it as a compass, to guide any transformative inner work you’re undertaking, with or without a coach (Pluto, Mercury)
You can use it if you’re doing direct work with post-patriarchy Venus to unleash your true desires.
I have about a dozen goals on my goals list for 2022. I’ve explored and refined the WHY for each one, and I know the underlying desires.
The common theme behind them all is LIBERATION.
- liberation from old trauma responses (that also means a willingness to do the sometimes painful work of healing them)
- liberation from emotional limitations (that means ditching old habits of judging certain emotions as ‘bad’ or ‘wrong’ and embracing the full tapestry)
- liberation from doing things I don’t enjoy simply because other people think I should (um…. ’nuff said lol)
- liberation from the burden of responsibility (taking personal responsibility for the things I can actually control is AWESOME; carrying the burden for things I can’t control is TOXIC)
And for me, liberation only counts if EVERYONE from EVERY community is also free to pursue the same opportunities with the same degree of comparitive safety.
That means my version of liberation incorporates being:
- feminist
- anti-racist
- LGBTQI+ inclusive
- anti-ableist
- pro-choice for women’s reproductive rights
- pro-science
- pro-magic
- pro-vaccination
- engaged in progressive social justice (until EVERYONE has a seat at the table, the work is not yet done)
Here’s the TL:DR
Figure out what you want. Figure out what lies beneath that. Find a way to sum it up. Set your intentions to live more of THAT in 2022. Find a way to remind yourself of that underlying intention every day. And drop any judgement if you don’t do it perfectly!
Capricorn wants to make shit real, for sure.
And it’s your INTENTIONALITY which sets the direction for what is being built, from the foundations to the rooftop.
This is a perfect time to get that straight!
PS if you’re not sure whether something is pointed in the right direction – tap into your body and ask ‘does this give me wings or drag me down?’ Your body always knows.
PPS if all this Capricorn stuff sounds super scary, or too complex or difficult in your current personal circumstances, or beyond what you could manage right now – I get it. I’d love to help with that in whatever way suits you:
- start out with my free Venus resource and take it one tiny step at a time
- pick up my DIY resource to help tap into your Unapologetic Desire
- decide that 2022 is the year to become one of my 1:1 clients. My calendar opens up again in late January, and you can find out more here
Janette Dalgliesh is a coach and astrologer, who helps women of all kinds, from all walks of life, to experience the deep joy of living their soul’s true purpose in the world. You can find her at www.janettedalgliesh.com
