With Pluto soon to begin its work of revamping our Capricorn structures, it's an ideal time to contemplate what our personal ambitions are. Have we moved our thinking out of the old paradigm, or do we still spell success with $$$signs? This Capricorn New Moon gives us the chance to imagine what our life's purpose is, for Capricorn rules the way we contribute to our society.

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Capricorn New Moon January 8, 2008

“The time of the Winter Solstice has now come, opening the Gates of Capricorn. The days have decreased in length as much as they even will. . . .Death seems to rule supreme over the visible universe. And yet, somewhere and forever, a new Christ is born.. . .

What is this new life which men have symbolized in the beautiful Christ-story, whose roots go deeply into the soil of older mythologies? Who is the eternal Christos, whose significance remains everlastingly true and vital, whether or not people believe in the historical or religious Christ?

It is the “Day-force”; that aspect of the bi-polar life-force which, as a personalizing energy, tends to transform the scattered and disintegrated remains of a previous cycle into a new organic whole, integral because defined by limitations, creative because conscious. That new organic whole in the realm of humankind is what will grow in time into the fulfilled personality: that is, the human individual, conscious of his relative uniqueness, centered in the sense of his “I-am-ness,” in an ego.

The Christos is that power in the universe which leads people to “individuation.” It is the foundation upon which all concepts of equality and democracy, of the abstract value of the individual, of the dignity and intangibility of the human personality, are based. It is the foundation of the “self-evident truths” of the Declaration of Independence, the center of the “Rights of Man.”

Dane Rudhyar, “The Pulse of Life”

    The daylight is now growing again, and so we begin to look ahead and set goals for our new year. The old is on its way out, the new is just a baby, a seed, a vague feeling of change in the air. Psychologist Jean Huston speaks of a galactic baby waiting to be born this year in humanity.  And it will be women who lead the way, for we are the birthers of humanity.  When men remember that their role is to protect and create, we will all create the world we've been waiting for.

    2008 is numerically a 1-year, symbolizing a new beginning. In numerology, the number 1 symbolizes beginnings, the individual, independence, leadership, determination, strength of will, innovation and courage. Collectively, we are called to become empowered – each and every one of us. (Check for your personal numerology year by adding up your month + day + 2008. Then layer it on top of the collective 1 year.)

    So, let us look at Capricorn, the old Goat of the Zodiac, and see how he can help us on our way. He usually gets bad press, since he rules society at large, government, politics, power plays and corporations. But as you can see from the above quote, Capricorn can become the energy that demands “Individuation.” Capricorn is where we are energized to grow up and live our life's purpose and add our creativity to the society we live in. It's hard for Americans to realize that the first step to consciousness is the need for maturity and responsibility.  We too often use the excuse that we are a young nation to explain our immaturity.  Astrologically, we are about to enter the 'midlife-crisis' of the '60's energy.  Let's meet it with the power of maturity and vision.

    In Capricorn, just as with the New Year, the new orientation to life is still uncertain, but it has the power to topple Caesar's empires as it grows stronger throughout the new year. Let's take this image to heart, and know that the challenges we face this year in America are really one challenge – to bring a strong new mature consciousness to birth in the collective political arena. And we have to do it, one individual at a time.

    We will be helped immeasurably this year by the fact that Pluto, which has wreaked havoc for the past 12 years in the fields that Sagittarius rules – religion, government, education, foreign affairs – will now have a chance to take on the affairs of Capricorn when it enters Capricorn on January 26, 2008 until November 2024. (Yes, Pluto's erratic orbits changes the amount of time it stays in each sign. I guess we'll need the 17 years it moves through Capricorn to transform our world's civilization and make it truly HUMAN.)

    Pluto is that energy that reveals the TRUTH, no matter how unconscious we might be of it. It digs up the dirt that has been hidden – hypocrisy, untruths, power plays, control issues, manipulations - and brings it into the Light so that we can see it and evolve. Pluto was in Capricorn in the birthchart of America, and it is returning now for its first visit since America's foundation. If WE do our work as an enlightened and informed citizenry, we can challenge the powers that be and finally establish the country that our founders imagined, if not established, in truth.

    Now, back to the Capricorn New Moon. The seed-time of the lunar cycle, and of the year. Capricorn is ruled by Saturn, who has also gotten bad press through the years. Saturn is all about reality - form, structure, time and space. Saturn compresses and structures, while Jupiter expands and imagines. Jupiter is in Capricorn this year, so there will be reality to be faced, but we also have hope that better things are possible. These two planets provide balance in our social structures and responsibilities. When Jupiter is in Saturn's domain (Capricorn) Jupiter's playful, optimistic energy is more compressed and subdued, more focused, disciplined and practical. There's lots of common sense available as well as the ambition to get things done.

    What are your ambitions? Do you need to make lots of money so you can become another consumer droid of American capitalism? Or are you ambitious to manifest your gifts and talents so you can promote the changes that are coming? Capricorn will ask you to choose: fit into the collective corporate and governmental structures or go your lonely way up the mountain to showcase your life's purpose. Just chose your mountain well! Even better, become an agent of change (which is very Aquarian!) and help bring down the old worn-out structures of society that need regeneration. How about a free media? Better stories anyone? What about government by the people, for the people and of the people? What about limiting corporate rights and privileges and giving people back their freedom? What about breaking the hold of oil on our lives and not just go Green, but help create it in your communities? There's lots to do but we'll have Pluto's power of regeneration at our backs. When used consciously, Pluto's power is a force for change and evolution. And since Pluto just spent the last year receiving new evolutionary instructions from the galactic center of the Milky Way Galaxy, it's ready to energize the changes we need to grow and flourish here on Earth.

    At the moment, America is using its Pluto power in the worst, most unconsious ways imaginable. Pluto in Capricorn in the second house of resources in America's chart has given rise to the American culture of greed and entitlement, to our need to control all the resources in our world through our military might, to the manipulation of our free press, to the rise of corporations and much more. But Pluto was still undiscovered (and therefore unconscious) at the founding of America, so there's a much better chance that we can become conscious of its power and channel it in more constructive ways now that it's returning to its natal position in America's chart – and we know it's there.

    But this is just the beginning – so perhaps we need to step back and slow down. New Moons are a perfect time to go within – a very wintry thing to do – and spend some time connecting to your Self – that part of you that is immortal and contains the Christ-seed. Listen to your dreams – write them down and take them seriously. Learn to interpret them, or if you're still confused about them, sign up for one of my dream teleclasses.

    Dreams are the most important form of communication with the Self. They can help you grow towards your goals. They connect you to the larger Self that knows what it is you really need. And what the collective culture needs. I had a dream during the Pluto/Jupiter conjunction near the galactic center: I saw the constellation of the Pleiades shining in the daytime sky. The Pleiades is considered a very special constellation by many native traditions. It signifies a new dispensation - a new beginning. That baby floating in space.

    So never doubt that your dreams contain vital information – even when they seem the most confused and scattered. You don't understand them because you never studied symbolic language. They make perfect sense to someone who does.

    Our Capricorn New Moon asks us to get in step with our times and to birth new forms into physical manifestation. What do we all need to have a thriving society – or individual life? Right now, Capricorn's ruler, Saturn, is retrograde in Virgo forming a trine to Jupiter in Capricorn. The energy is there for us to be disciplined and focused. Why do we spend so much time worried about our physical well-being – like losing weight - when our mental, emotional and spiritual health is ignored? Saturn in Virgo wants us to pay attention to our whole Self – body, mind & spirit. Uranus in Pisces will be opposite Saturn in Virgo on November 4th (election day!), but it will be building up to the point all year where we will have to think outside the box. Why not start now?

    Mars is still retrograding back through Gemini, still nearly opposite Pluto in the last degrees of Sagittarius. Are you still in a feisty mood? Watch your words – they can create backlash.

    The Sabian symbol for 18 Capricorn is: The Union Jack flag flies from a British warship. When the power that is required to maintain social order is misused under the pretext of preserving 'law and order', we must insure that justice and compassion are balanced against the power of privileged groups. We need to protect ourselves against the misuse of Political Power.

    How appropriate this symbol is for our times. As we begin the process of picking our presidential candidates, we have the responsibility to demand a new and better vision for the future. Why not write one yourself and compare it to the candidates visions? Then you can more easily see which candidate deserves your support. Know your values, and then live them.

    See where this New Moon occurs in your chart and know that if you stay conscious, protection will be given you in that area of your life. 

Cathy Pagano, M.A., C.E.C.

Authors Website: http://www.cathypagano.com

Authors Bio:

Cathy Pagano is a spiritual advisor and Jungian psychotherapist, storyteller, author and teacher.

She is the author of a book on the return of the Goddess, "Wisdom's Daughters: How Women Can Change the World".

Cathy trained at the C. G. Jung Institut-Zurich in dream interpretation, has an M.A. in Counseling Psychology in Feminine Spirituality, and is a certified Life Coach.

As an astrologer and storyteller, she weaves the Cosmic Stories written in the stars. From The Bard's Grove, she writes about emerging archetypal themes in movies and books.

Cathy works with the tools of the imagination - dreams, alchemy, myths, astrology, symbolic language, storytelling, ritual - to awaken the Soul's wisdom.



I believe that Americans are called to a higher consciousness at this point in our history. We are called on to live up to our ideals and create the country our forefathers imagined. Inner consciousness needs to be acted upon for social justice.



Cathy believes that our writers and artists must take up our responsibility to create art that inspires, teaches and heals our humanity.



Cathy writes about political, psychological/spiritual, and cultural issues.