NEW MOON ON JANUARY 2
Jan. 2, 2002 – This is really New Year's Day. In some traditions which follow the natural calendar of the year, winter solstice indicates the new year. That's when the Sun stops its southerly movement and turns around, heading back up north. Actually, of course, the wobble of the Earth causes it to lean toward the Sun at different angles during the year.
But let's talk about the first 2003 New Moon, which starts off our year. An unusual note is added by Chiron, conjunct (joined with) the Moon, which spices the month, and the year, with its maverick flavor. Let's look at some images and then consider what potentials are opening up, as we step across this bridge.
The Sabian Symbol for the New Moon at 13 degrees Capricorn:
BENEATH SNOW-CLAD PEAKS, A FIRE-WORSHIPPER IS MEDITATING.
A timeless image, this truly Capricorn degree carries a deeply spiritual essence. Withdrawing from the hubbub of life, the soul tends the inner light. Some religions perform a seasonal dowsing of the fire, which is then relit with ritual and prayer. At this annual point of the Sun's turn-around, it is most appropriate to stop our own busy-ness and contemplate the power that sustains us. Many people I know had a rather quiet Christmas, for one reason or another. Can you sense the vital hush of the majestic Himalayas or Andes mountains in this image? At such heights life is stilled, awestruck in its proximity to the heavens.
Chiron's position adds another image of the beauty and richness of nature:
PHEASANTS DISPLAY THEIR BRILLIANT COLORS ON A VAST LAWN
As Chiron engages with the earth energy of Capricorn, we are having a reality adjustment. Chiron's shamanic energy impresses us with circumstances and realities that are outmoded, out of step with the emerging paradigm and out of tune with the classic Harmony of the Spheres. This image shows us the beauty and grandeur of nature as a key to wholeness in this year. Joined with the New Moon, we are reminded that Nature is a reflection of the holiness of the life force, which we tap into inside ourselves. The outer reality unfolds from within.
Chiron brings us up to an often painful threshold — this year we face it — insisting that we cross the great water, as the I Ching puts it. As we prepare for such a crossing, such a quantum leap of consciousness, we feel the pressure, like a space getting smaller and smaller. We start feeling cramped and tight, rather like a womb when we are ready to be born. Alice was having a Chiron experience when she entered the underground hole following the White Rabbit:
Dear, dear! How queer everything is today! And yesterday things went on just as usual. I wonder if I've been changed in the night? Let me think: Was I the same when I got up this morning? I almost think I can remember feeling a little different. But if I'm not the same, the next question is,
Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle!
Entering Wonderland, Alice started to shapeshift, her body started to morph with the new energy. She got much bigger, then much smaller, changing beyond her own recognition. She could not reach the key on the table that would open the door. Chiron represents such a key. Chiron will often manifest physical symptoms, so we can deal literally with where the energy needs to open up. Chiron is a solar system body discovered in 1977 that bridges Uranus, a radical dimension of transpersonal potentiality, and Saturn, planet of form, function and structure. The holistic energy dynamic of Chiron requires the physical integration of new consciousness.
Alice was finally swept out along with a whole sea of creatures in the pool of her own giant tears. One big news item for 2003 is the movement of Uranus into Pisces, the sign of compassion and sensitivity, or confusion and delusion. I'll discuss that more as we come closer to its shift in March.
At this New Moon, revolutionary Uranus is challenging Venus and Mars in the deep waters of Scorpio. Emotionally unsettling — or thrilling — this passionate combination is punctuated with the dramatic flair of Jupiter in Leo. Fireworks! Creativity! Intensity! Last time I wrote about the desire and will power of Scorpio. Keep on track with your deepest desires, let go of your fears and resistances — Chiron will show you where they manifest in your life.
Then magic can happen! Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings are hot on the Big Screen. Capricorn is the sign of mastery of form. Impacted by Chiron's multidimensional energy, magic is alive and active. We can all tap into the creative life energy to reshape our lives. Use Joy — it goes a long way, even in serious times. What we carry in our heart matters, literally. If you are turning 50 this year, you are having your Chiron return and you are really turning on! What is your kind of magic? Young people born 1988-1994 all have at least two planets in Capricorn; with some charts logging up to six planets in that one sign! This is an incredible time for them.
Editor's note: Astrologer Kelley Hunter is a resident of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands, where she leads stargazing nights and is studying for her Ph.D. in cosmology and myth and writing on Lilith and the Cosmic Feminine. She will be a speaker at the October 2003 conference of the International Society of Astrological Research in California. Check out her website at www.heliastar.com. To be on her e-mail list for monthly articles or for an astrology consultation, write her at kellhunter@earthlink.net.
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