Solstice and Capricorn New Moon December 2011: Stepping Into The Unknown

"Winter Solstice - the longest night of the year - profoundly challenges our psychological tolerance for darkness. It is a visionary time. Like the dark of the Moon each month, Winter Solstice represents not only the pitch black of night, but also a seed of something that will unfold in the coming year. We pray for a future we can only imagine." Vicki Noble, We'Moon Calendar 2009: At the Crossroads

"If not for our system of weights and measures, we would stand in awe of the firefly as we do the Sun." Kahlil Gibran, Philosopher (1883-1931)

I experience immense pleasure observing and experiencing the night sky. This is rich food for my Venus and Jupiter in Aquarius. 

While daytime brings its special gifts of uniquely crafted clouds, magical rainbows, and the occasional sightings of the waxing or waning Moon, the night serves up a regal spread of pure jewels, a sparkling and alluring array of cosmic wonders stretched across unfathomable distances. 

Over the past 10 years, our awareness of this cosmic treasury has exponentially exploded thanks to sophisticated satellites such as Hubble, Spitzer, Chandra etc. Our awareness now attunes to cosmic frequencies heretofore unavailable to human kind. We are being summoned into the vast unknown. Are you ready to take a bigger step than you ever thought possible?

Early this morning just before dawn break, a golden sliver of moonlight rose in the far southeastern sky, accompanied a short while later by two ruddy stars. As shown in the above image, the Crescent Moon, planet Mercury and red star Antares served as potent heralds for the coming day.

As I gazed at the beauty of this trio, several thoughts came to me: thin early morning crescent means New Moon time is almost here = yikes...time to fuel this astrology blog; December's far southeastern rise of the crescent Moon signals Winter's arrival in the Northern Hemisphere (despite living in Hawaii I do on occasion experience Winter's cold. For example, last week I stood in the snow at the summit of Mauna Kea...brrrrrrr); yet most important to this moment, what I perceived in the heavens this morning bears absolutely no relationship to the true size, nature and distance of these points of light.

Antares, seemingly very small compared to the Moon, and the heart of Scorpio, actually is one of the most massive of stars. Yet at 520 light years from Earth, a distance that defies comprehension, it resembles merely a bright point of amber/red light. By contrast, our Sun would be invisible at that great distance. The illustration to the right gives you a sense of Antares hefty girth. Note, our otherwise huge Sun is the tiny speck just below the "e" in Betelgeuse.

Antares' ruddy color indicates it has entered the last stages of its stellar life. It is known as one of the 4 Royal red stars of ancient Persia . The name means "rival of Mars", due in part to its similar color and position along the ecliptic. Yet in reality, in the known Universe only a few rivals match up to this royal star. Said another way, if this rival of Mars were positioned at the same distance to Earth as our Sun, all the inner planets, including seemingly potent Mars, would be swallowed up inside its extended gaseous shell.

In today's early morning air I breathe and absorb the photons of light that left this distant beacon over 500 years ago. I absorb the pure energy that has traveled over the past 5 centuries through a vast galactic ocean at the astonishing rate of 186,000 miles (300,000K)/second. By contrast, at the same speed of light, it takes but a mere 8 light minutes for our Sun's light to reach Earth. Think about it...when this light I now perceive left Antares a half-millennium ago, Europeans were just beginning to discover new worlds across a different ocean, seemingly far, far from home.

On an even bigger scale, cosmic light emitted from any galaxy or star system becomes a time traveler of sorts, carrying a treasure trove of energetic information from "beyond the beyond". Literally, galactic transmissions carried on cosmic waves fuel inspiration, creativity, and if truly dialed-in to the now moment, a renewal of spirit. How much can we possibly allow ourselves to receive in this age of rapid transformation and change?

With these thoughts as a backdrop, we arrive at the Capricorn New Moon on December 24th at 8:06 am in Hawaii, just 3 days after the Winter Solstice. Other New Moon times: West Coast US 10:06a, East Coast 1:06p, Universal Time, 6:06 pm; on the 25th in the early morning from eastern India, east to the International Date Line. 

As one of the 4 Cardinal signs, Capricorn signals the start of something new for the just arrived season. A New Capricorn Moon injects an air of organization and realistic goals into the Sagittarian ideals seeded in the last Moon cycle. It literally makes the intangible tangible. Hence, this is a productive time to seed your goals for 2012 into 3D form. 

Yet, remember the downside of the Capricorn Moon is a penchant for stability and safety at the expense of growth and risk. Given the current transformative aspects outlined below, stability and safety are not congruent with the rapid societal shifts now occurring around the globe. The old order is falling apart and fading away. It's time for a new holistic approach in the areas of organization, structure and production.

The Winter Solstice signals the reemergence of light on physical, psychological, emotional and metaphorical levels. Our bodies crave and require light. Without the Sun's rays we would cease to exist in our physical form. More so, the cosmic light from beyond our solar system is equally important to your psyche and awareness whether or not you are conscious of its existence. Without this cosmic stream we would lose our inner connection to our physical origins, the very star dust birthed from a supernova explosion eons prior to the birth of our solar system. Fortunately, the Universe keeps everything connected, constantly reminding us through serendipity, spontaneity and grace "we are not alone".

In the realm of "anything is possible", the light now arriving at Earth from our Galaxy carries the very cosmic seeds or thought forms for birthing a new world consciousness in 2012 and beyond. How receptive are you to the Cosmos at this moment in time? What symbolic rituals have you planned to honor the next energetic waves to arrive? In Capricornian fashion, which aspects of your life are you ready to reorganize and restructure in alignment with this season of the building light?

Here are the Solstice and New Moon charts

As in 2010, Winter Solstice/New Moon this year occur near each other. Hence, both charts carry similar aspects, intentions and vibrations. 

In short, 2012 will be a year for birthing a new direction about how we participate together as a conscious civilization. Sometimes new starts prove awkward and seemingly counter-productive...cosmic baby steps, if you will. This awkwardness underscores the inherent intensity of Uranus square Pluto through 2015. 

Yet, the Universe seemingly continues to show an enormous degree of patience, and or persistence, with our evolutionary unfolding. We are being constantly prodded in mysterious ways to evolve consciously towards greater awareness and connection with all of life. This thought underscores the dynamics inherent in these charts energetic structure.

First, the Solstice Chart, featuring a Scorpio Moon, contains 4 potent squares or challenges.  Labor pains come to mind.

1. Scorpio Moon squares Neptune in Aquarius. The infusion of cosmic visionary designs (Aquarius) into the emotional realm of life force (Scorpio) requires new vision and heart-felt passion. Are you ready for something radically new?

2. Capricorn Sun squares Uranus in Aries. A mere 42 degree minutes apart by square, this is the closest association of Sun vs Uranus in Aries for any solstice or equinox until the year 2261. Uranus = quick, lightning like intensity; Aries = radical change. Think "combustion". More so, this potent association occurs to a lesser yet still potent degree at 2012's Spring Equinox and Winter Solstice. Sun dynamic adds its fuel to any situation. In my opinion, Uranus does not need any more fuel...but then again, what do I know? ;) 

Capricorn fuel points to areas of finance, Corporate organizations, business, and politics. It's the glue of our society which happens to be dissolving into something new. Whether we like it or not, Uranus, ruler of Aquarius, is going to provide the "out of the blue" impetus over the next 3 years to facilitate this over due transformation.

3. Venus in Aquarius squares Jupiter in Taurus. While the Moon in Scorpio emotionally fuels our life force, Jupiter on the other side of the Taurus/Scorpio coin provides an expansive physical framework for expressing this energy. The key here is to inject Venus' widest possible Aquarian perspective of the Cosmos into this framework. Connecting/integrating Heaven and Earth through our physical body's would be a huge step in this direction.

4. Mars in Virgo square the North/South nodes in Sagittarius/Gemini. Mars, ruler of Aries, creates combustible energy whenever there is a lunar nodal interaction. As Mars remains in Virgo through July due to its coming January retrograde, this persistent square will provide the necessary fuel for radical shifts in how the world civilization functions and relates. This fervor is already evident around the globe.

Meanwhile, in the New Moon chart we have:

1 & 2 - Moon joins Sun and Pluto in square with Uranus in Aries. This adds more emotional fuel to this association, which could give rise to restlessness and short fuses around New Moon.

3 & 4 - Venus/Jupiter - same as described above for the Solstice

5. Chiron at 2 Pisces serves as a balancing point for these square associations. This vibration calls for compassionate service through humanitarian efforts by effectively addressing human suffering, poverty and inequality. Without such focus, no balance point exists. In such an instance, these squares intensify on many levels of society. Remember, Chiron in Pisces now sets the stage for Neptune's reentry into Pisces come February 2012. On a personal level, use this time to bring to peace and closure family/friendship hurts/wounds.

Retrogrades

Mercury moves out of its current retrograde shadow on December 31/Jan 1 when it passes its retrograde point at 20 degrees Sagittarius. This has been one potent retrograde around the globe regarding matters of truth (Sagittarius). For example, the recent flareup of tensions in the United States, Egypt, Iraq, Europe and parts of Africa point to a deeper desire to uncover lies and deception imposed on the masses by totalitarian governments and Corporate entities.

Further, the gift of this retrograde has been the opportunity to take a step back, reevaluate from a Sagittarius perspective your approach to life, your underlying life philosophies and beliefs, and review decisions and choices you have made which have had a strong impact on your life and those close to you. How did you fare over the past month in these areas?

Jupiter finally completes its near 4 month retrograde on the 25th, just after the New Moon. This ought to free up energy and ground some much needed Jupiter-like optimism into our physical forms for most of 2012. 

From that date through January 22nd, all planets are in direct motion. This 28 day period (ironically matches a lunar cycle) provides productive energy to move forward with projects, tasks, new opportunities etc. The party ends on January 23rd when Mars turns retrograde for about 11 weeks. Because Mars represents assertiveness, initiative and achievement, those qualities will diminish the "go-go-go" vibe of late December, January. 

Conclusion

As Kathryn and I look back over 2011 we feel deep gratitude for quite a year of extended travel, deeper connections, inner growth and new direction. We are equally grateful for everyone touching our lives; family, friends, clients, fans and everyone in-between. 

We wish you an enriching holiday season and many blessings for the coming year. May 2012 open your heart to new possibilities and opportunities to be of service for humanities evolution. May you create an even deeper, richer connection with others in your life. And may you be inspired to further expand your awareness of the deeper mysteries of the Cosmos.

Next Blog - The year 2012 - coming planetary cycles and trends.

Aloha from Big Island, Hawaii
Starman, Joseph Mina
December 22, 2011
©Gemini Awakening 2011 all rights reserved

Astrology Chart Illustrations
- chart generating software - Time Cycles Research Software
- chart annotations - ScreenSteps by Blue Mango Learning Systemsio