Winter in the Stars: Anything goes!

In the Northern Hemisphere, winter arrives when the sun moves into the cardinal sign of Capricorn. The day is short and the night is long. Many consider this time, when the wheel of the year turns and the days begin to lengthen, the true new year. 

Capricorn signifies the time of year when it is dark and cold, and this year, the Capricorn influence is especially strong. At the Solstice, the sun in Capricorn is accompanied by Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto. This is a lot of energy concentrated in one place, and it is rare to find so many slower moving planets in Capricorn at one time. Saturn, with a 28- to 30-year cycle, was last in Capricorn in the late 1980s. Pluto was last in Capricorn during the American Revolution. So this is a big deal, and it will affect climactic, political, social and economic aspects of our lives for some time to come. In the Northeast, keep your shovels as well as your cut-offs handy; extreme weather is on the way. Anything goes. 

To add to the mix, less than a week after the Solstice, there is a Solar Eclipse in Capricorn. Eclipses bring change. 

During this winter season, we cannot avoid the Capricorn principles of responsibility, obeying the law and operating within the constructs of society. Saturn, ruler of Capricorn, is at home and those Saturnian principles of contraction, attention to duty and wise use of resources loom large. Don’t think that you are going to skate by. Do your homework, pay your electric bill, take care of your health and your car, and call your mother. If you don’t, it is all going to come back and bite you.   

At the January 10, 2020, Lunar Eclipse, Uranus changes direction, and Saturn joins Pluto in a rare conjunction. This Saturn/Pluto conjunction is not a quick overnight flash. The influence will be with us throughout the year. Uranus is about shock and scandal. The Lunar Eclipse is along the 2nd / 8th house axis, which deals with money, finance and the stock market, as well as secret sexy stuff. Ceres, the dwarf planet, is in the picture here, right alongside Saturn and Pluto. Ceres was the Roman Goddess of agriculture, grain and a mother’s love. In the Greek myths, she is known as Demeter, the mother goddess whose child, Persephone, was kidnapped by Pluto and brought to the underworld. In her anger and grief, she caused the earth to be barren, no crops, no food, no nothing until her daughter was returned to her. Will she play some of her tricks here? Ceres personifies outraged motherhood. Pluto is sex and death. I think the goddess is about to to flex her muscles. 

The next Lunation cycle begins on January 24 with the New Moon in Aquarius. Aquarius too is ruled by Saturn, so that Capricorn accountability is still with is. This is not an easy time. Mars pulls Neptune into the picture and more of the secret sex and money stuff comes out. Bribery, extortion, deceit on all levels. At the February Full Moon on the 9th, we’re not out of the woods yet. The credit card bills from the holiday spending plop into our mail boxes and reality hits like a hammer. Mercury Retrograde on the 16th makes for a great time to review and revise your thinking, your budget and what it is that makes you happy.  

The late February New Moon in Pisces on the 23rd finds Mars mixing it up with Uranus. This is an earthquake aspect. Expect something explosive, Earthwise, politically or economically. By the time of the Full Moon on March 9, Neptune riding with the Sun speaks of illusion, delusion and deceit. There’s a cloud around our authority figures and it will take some doing to figure out what is true and what is not. This is a Super Moon, with extra high tides and extra high emotions. Mercury goes direct now; over the next few days the fog may clear and we get at the truth. 

This winter season with Pluto, Saturn, Jupiter and then Mars in Capricorn marks a significant time in our development and significant challenges to our society. Pluto, with a 248-year cycle, is inching toward a return to the point where it was when the US declared its independence from England. It will not reach that point again until February 2023. The influence of this transit cannot be underestimated. Challenges to the status quo will continue up to the actual conjunction and beyond. Pluto signifies power, control and huge movements in society. 2020 will prove to be a very challenging year and the winter season will start it off with a bang. Hang on tight!