New Year, New Moon in Capricorn: Step Into the Light of Your Power
The final new moon of the year on December 29, 2016, gives us a perfect opportunity to set clear intentions for 2017 and start fresh. It is through the new moon that we cultivate what we wish to bring into our lives, to grow and develop, and to nurture into fullness. With the new moon so close to New Year’s Eve, it’s is a perfect opportunity to tend to your goals, particularly in the areas of your career, responsibility, growth and maturation and discipline. Have you been skimping on a regular spiritual practice? Do you find yourself procrastinating? Are you not stepping up to the responsibilities that life is handing you? Now is the time.
This lunation is very close to Mercury, which is still in retrograde at this time. This offers us a chance to get super clear with our communication, particularly in our business relationships. If there is anything that you need to get out there an on to the table, now is the time to do it. While it’s not a time to start new projects, it is a good time to wrap up what is in the works, or embrace the work that is on your plate right now.
The moon also makes a relationship to Pluto, who governs resurrection and transformation. While Pluto’s energy can be intense and traumatic (we all resist change), it is easiest to bear when we embrace total surrender. The more you surrender to your higher self, the easier the coming transformation is to endure…and you may even find a sense of grace as things shift for you at the end of this year.
Divine surrender is the best way to step into the light of the new year, embrace your power and harness your role as a light-worker and change agent. It’s time to create your light body – the kind of embodied existence that supports constant awakening. We must stay awake in the coming days. It’s the only way we will be able to support those that need us, step up into our mentorship roles and connect with others on a higher vibrational level. The world needs us now more than ever. This last New Moon of the year calls us to be ready to step into the flow of grace and follow our intuitive guidance faithfully into the next year.
Alchemical Ritual for the Capricorn New Moon
As an earth sign, Capricorn is grounded, committed, strategic and ready to work. This energy intense, both in its capacity to get things done, but also in its ability to overwhelm and overwork. Capricorn constantly strives to reach its goal, but what is most important is that Capricorn reaches the right goal, and maintains a clear vision of the forest for the trees. This new moon ritual for Capricorn draws feeling and emotion into Capricorn’s normally critical thinking, encouraging us to ask ourselves: What do we really want, and how badly do we want it? The right answers to these questions come from the heart, not the head. When fueled by compassion and love, there is nothing Capricorn cannot accomplish.
Capricorn’s ruler is Saturn, the cosmic father who constantly pressures us to get things done. This is an important aspect of life, but Capricorn sometimes also forgets how to enjoy life, too! When we bring meaning to life, it becomes enjoyable, and meaning is found by letting the heart guide all of our endeavors. To enliven Capricorn’s intensity in this ritual, gather a dark stone like onyx, hematite or garnet. Cypress or patchouli essential oil may be used to anoint your third eye, and your knees (Capricorn rules the knees) before and after the ceremony. Use sage, sweet grass or palo santo to cleanse yourself and the space by casting the smoke over yourself and encircling your own body three times. Light a few candles and dim the lights. Enter your ceremonial space with conscious intention to bring your heart’s desire to life in this ritual. Step inside, sit down, and close the eyes. Focus on the breath and clear the mind of thought. With clarity and receptivity, say the following invocation out loud:
Capricorn and Saturn, allow me to do the work of my heart, so that I may manifest meaning in my life.
Spend a few moments in quiet contemplation. Clear the mind of thoughts completely. When you are clear, ask yourself the following questions out loud:
What do I want?
(pause, wait for the answer)
How badly do I want it?
(pause, wait for the answer)
The answers may surprise you. When you allow the heart to finally speak, it speaks clearly and concisely, in simple words (often only one or two at a time), elegant concepts (an inner knowing), an image, or most powerfully: a feeling. When the heart serves up a feeling response, it charges your conviction and in that moment, you know you have found meaning. The answers to these questions are likely infused with emotion, which means that there is no denying what the heart wants, nor that you must do what it takes to accomplish it.
When complete, chant Om three times, and snuff the candles. Place your right hand over your heart as a way to connect physically to the driving force behind the meaningful answers you receive in this ritual. This ritual harnesses the powerful energy of Capricorn, giving you the means to make manifest your heart’s desire.
