Small, Beautiful Change
By hook or by crook, today's Capricorn new moon centers the highest good.
Hi, doll.
I got pulled out of sleep this morning at 4am—a few hours before the heat came on in my pre-war Brooklyn building. Cold and confused, I stared into the dark while my familiar mewed irritably. (You know it’s early when your cat deems the hour inhospitable.) Then I realized I was awake because the new moon in Capricorn was demanding I finish this post.
Capricorn doesn’t mess around.
Today both the sun and the moon are in this sign, the domain of the sea goat—he who crosses seas and mountains to attain his spiritual and earthly goals. Capricorn has zero bedside manner and can be quite gloomy, but its intentions are pure.
Saturn rules both Capricorn and Aquarius—the signs that govern our relationship to the human condition rather than individual humans. This karmic taskmaster prompts us to do our very best within the limitations of the third dimension, especially the rigors of linear time.
It takes 28-30 years for Saturn to complete an orbit of the zodiac, also known as a Saturn return. So anyone over 30 has experienced its take-no-prisoners destruction of shaky structures, especially at ages 29 and 58.
As my mother used to say when I was trying to shirk a chore: it ain’t cute.
The good news? Saturn serves no cream in its coffee but plenty of precious, practical magic.
More than any other planet, this stern daddy builds infrastructure that reflects our highest calling and purpose. Since it’s running the room until late February, we can take the time we need to sort out its recommendations—nay, demands.
Small Changes
Often by mid-January, an initial high has been supplanted by ennui and despair. The revelation dawns that the hopes foisted upon a new calendar year may have been, oh, a tad unrealistic. That we may not be entirely different people just because we flipped a page in our planner.
Now, with the moon joining the sun in the sign of investment and commitment, we can begin to methodically work toward the change we want to be in this fraught, fertile world. We can figure out what is worth our energy, and figure out how to figure that out.
A lunar cycle beginning in this energy is about trial and error—quietly knocking on doors until one swings open. If you’ve been thinking about a geographic move, or a career or relationship shift, this is not the time to jump into the deep end. Rather, it’s the time to consider the ramifications and lay down groundwork.
To check in with the feelings underlying the desire for these shifts.
Remember that anxiety, though deeply uncomfortable, is not always a bad sign. For many of us, it’s a reflexive response to all change, positive and negative. The trick is to go beneath it, to the eye in the storm.
To find the transpersonal love that lives at our center (also known as the heart chakra).
Only by going there can you discover whether the anxiety stems from an alignment or misalignment with the flow always moving through you. Whether you’re experiencing a legitimate sense of impending doom or a nervous excitement.
If all you do this lunar cycle is figure out how to regularly center yourself, you’ve done enough. During the next one, you can take more concrete action.
For now you’re giving yourself the most important tool with which to divine and develop sustainable structure: Your sense of your highest self.
Rituals, not Rules
Take this lunar cycle to establish centering rituals for the first hour you are awake.
While sleeping, we live as the self that is part of the divine. As we stir into consciousness, we are still very connected to that magic so it’s a good time to harness its messages.
Over the years of conducting intuitive readings, I have learned people are so differently wired that everyone requires unique rituals. Some need rigorous exercise as soon as they wake; some need to sit still on a meditation pillow. Some need music; some need utter silence. Some need to be alone; some need to snuggle with another mammal (human or otherwise). Some need a creative practice; some simply need to sit with a cup of tea or coffee while it cools.
Our souls, or centers, know when they have found alignment. When you are connected to your center, you know what resonates with it the same way you know whether a bird is chirping or whether the sky is blue. You know by trusting your senses.
So start with the central question of what makes you feel energized yet peaceful, then experiment with what nurtures this state within you.
Remember this is not a punishment but a practice. Be loving yet firm, like the parent everyone needs most.
“There is no atlas charting that lonely, moonless stretch of highway between where you start and who you become.”—Suleika Jaouad
Over the next month, I’ll be heeding my own advice.
From January 16-February 14, my intuitive readings schedule will be closed as I rebuild infrastructure and recharge my batteries. During the rest of Capricorn season, I am focusing on “money, honey”—on better understanding currency in its most literal and metaphorical forms. Any recommendations for resources on finances and prosperity are gratefully received.
Rest assured you still will hear from me on this platform. You also are welcome to purchase discounted readings packages until January 19 (my birthday!) to support your 2024 path, and to book your Valentine’s Day readings now. I have been cooking up some new Venus tarot spreads to support love in all its expressions—creative, social, and, o yes, romantic.
Next week paid subscribers will receive viewing suggestions to brighten these saturnine months. You are welcome to invest in a Ruby Report subscription for yourself or another.
As always, your support allows me to serve.
With waggling eyebrows and slow kitty blinks,