Important Dates:
January 10: Lunar Eclipse (20º Capricorn-Cancer) 11:22 AM PST conjunct Mercury, Ceres
January 10: Uranus D+ (3º Taurus); Eris D+ (23º Aries)
January 11: Mercury conjunct Ceres (23º Capricorn)
January 12: Saturn conjunct Pluto (23º Capricorn) + Mercury and Ceres
January 13: Sun conjunct Saturn, Pluto, and Ceres (23º Capricorn)

The two things in life you are in total control over are your attitude and your effort —Billy Cox

Every mountain top is within reach, if you just keep climbing —Barry Finlay

Our greatest responsibility is to be good ancestors —Jonas Salk

January 8, 2020
Dear Friends,

Fasten your spiritual seatbelt and prepare for warp drive. The next few days are some of the most intense and pivotal of 2020, as an extra powerful new moon/lunar eclipse forms on January 10 at 20º Cancer-Capricorn, both Uranus and Eris station direct later that day, and from January 10-13 the Sun, Mercury, Ceres, Saturn, and Pluto all cluster around 23º Capricorn. This is major breakthrough energy, where we can drop centuries of old programming, if we are able to keep breathing, keep feeling, keep witnessing, and remember that we are all participating in an unprecedented, evolutionary shift. We are divine beings remembering who we really are. We are learning to choose from love rather than fear. And we are more powerful than we realize, especially when we come together.

Before we can release the old, we must become aware of it, and finish feeling any lingering emotional residues — rage, shame, hatred, jealousy, judgment— whatever has been cached in our unconscious. All full moons shed light on what has been in the dark, and lunar eclipses even more so. During a lunar eclipse, we experience the Moon more directly, without the light it normally reflects from the Sun. As the Moon moves into the shadow of the Earth, our attention is drawn to unresolved issues and imbalances in our lives. This is a penumbral eclipse, where only the outer shadow of Earth lands on the moon's face, so the Moon's light is not dimmed as much as in a partial or total lunar eclipse, but its effects remain global and powerful. It will be visible primarily in Asia, Australia, Europe, and Africa. For more information and an animation of the eclipse click here.

Eclipses have a 19 year cycle. On January 9, 2001, there was a lunar eclipse at 19º36’ Cancer-Capricorn, very close to the degree of this eclipse. What was important to you then? What is calling to you now? A lunar eclipse triggers our emotional body, increasing our awareness of suppressed feelings and fears, needs and motivations, especially when it occurs in the polarity of Cancer-Capricorn, like this one. It urges us to pay equal attention to our inner world, as well as our responsibilities to others. What are our body, feelings, and life telling us? What do we need to change? Do we need to move? Pursue our vocation? Heal our past? Where do we need to take a leap of faith and work towards something better?

Feelings are real, but not always rational, until we can identify the underlying, unmet need triggering the feeling. We all have needs. For example: we all have a need for security, for connection, for transcendence. Our feelings inform us as to whether our needs are being met. Feeling happy, peaceful, open, indicates that our needs are being met. When we feel stressed, depressed, and/or frustrated, it’s clear that at least one important need is not being met. Nonviolent communication (NVC), sometimes called compassionate communication, offers simple but life changing tools for understanding the power of our feelings and needs, and how they impact every aspect of our life. For more information on NVC and how to work with it, click here.

This lunar eclipse has six celestial bodies, and the Lunar South Node, all in Capricorn (Sun, Mercury, Ceres, Jupiter, Saturn, and Pluto). Capricorn is the third (transpersonal) earth sign, and much like its ruling planet Saturn, is concerned with how we relate to the material plane, and to the Earth itself. On a personal level, Capricorn seeks to develop a healthy sense of responsibility, boundaries, and autonomy. On a collective level, the archetype of Capricorn corresponds with governments, borders, economics, corporations, and institutions of all kinds, as well as how we relate to shared natural resources (such as water, wind, forests, minerals, and fossil fuels). Uranus in Taurus, the first (personal) earth sign, adds even greater emphasis to the urgency of transforming our relationship with the Earth, from domination and exploitation, to stewardship and cocreation.

Robin Wall Kimmerer is a professor of Environmental Biology at SUNY College, and a member of the Potawatomi Nation. Her beautiful book, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants, combines her deep love of nature and science. She eloquently describes how “the awakening of a wider ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgement and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the world” and how we are called to be living expressions of gratitude for all the Earth has given us. Her message encapsulates the evolutionary shift called for by the predominance of planets in Earth this year. Watch a very inspiring video of her talk What Does the Earth Ask of Us here.

Whenever a planet changes direction, its archetypal energies are intensified. Uranus and Eris both station direct just after the peak of this lunar eclipse, urging us to take a big step forward. Until February 16, and again from March 9 to April 25, no planets are retrograde, accelerating the pace of manifestation and change. Uranus is the higher octave of Mercury, increasing our access to innovative thinking and alternative solutions. Uranus stations can also coincide with revelations, reversals, or other unexpected events, such as earthquakes or severe weather. Eris, a dwarf planet orbiting beyond Pluto, was named for the Greek goddess of Strife and Discord who challenges pretense, false beliefs, and inequality. Af 23º Aries, Eris opposes the asteroid Juno at 19º Libra, named for the Roman goddess of marriage who also symbolizes the feminine struggle for equality. Eris and Juno square the Moon in Cancer and the Sun, Mercury, Ceres, Saturn, and Pluto in Capricorn, forming a very potent cardinal cross, urging the feminine to reclaim its power, and the masculine to reconnect with its heart.

Conjunctions, like new moons, signal the ending of one cycle and the beginning of another. These cosmic gateways increase access to new potentials and pathways. We have a new moon each month, but Saturn and Pluto rendezvous only every 32-38 years. Saturn symbolizes the bounds of time and space, structure and authority. Pluto represents our evolutionary edges, where we ultimately face our worst fears, own our shadow, and align with our divine mission. The mythic Reaper and the God of Death and Rebirth came within 3º of each other in 2019, and conjoin exactly on January 12 at 23º Capricorn, calling for major changes in our priorities and bottom lines. Their previous conjunction was on November 7, 1982 at 28º Libra, and their last conjunction in Capricorn occurred in 1518, coincident with the beginning of the African slave trade and the Protestant Reformation.

The last time Jupiter, Saturn, and Pluto were close together in Capricorn was 1284-85, coinciding with the beginning of the modern banking system, Marco Polo’s Silk Road journey opening up trade between East and West, and the first church clocks, which inaugurated a shift from living in accordance with natural cycles, to modern life being dictated by mechanized time. 735 years later, we are called to go to the next level, to institute major reforms in economic policies, in how we do business, and most of all, in how we relate to Nature.

Astrological and all natural cycles are really spirals. Each year we have a spring, but each spring is different. Cycles that span centuries mark larger transitions and epochs, where social, political, and economic themes repeat, but also evolve. While Jupiter, Saturn, and Pluto will not converge at the same degree this year, Jupiter will form three exact conjunctions with Pluto, one with Saturn, and all three remain within 12º of each other for most of 2020, from January 25 through December. This cosmic combination signals a collective readiness to transform our beliefs around power and resources. We are witnessing the dismantling of the old order — the downfall of patriarchy, oligarchy, and plutocracy, the dissolution of separation — as humanity's evolutionary edge and survival lies in equality, collaboration, and respect for the Earth and all its inhabitants. How quickly this shift happens depends on the choices each one of us makes.

It is helpful to remember that as the old falls away, progress is taking place. Last year, the European Commission elected its first female President. NASA completed its first all-female astronaut spacewalk. The 116th Congress became the most diverse in US history. Montgomery, Alabama elected its first first African-American mayor. Animal cruelty is now officially a federal felony. Humpback whales recovered from near-extinction. Malaria was eliminated from Algeria and Argentina. The Antarctic ozone hole was the smallest on record since its discovery. For many more examples, read 2019 Wasn’t All Bad by Andrea Diaz here and for Yes Magazine’s 10 Stories Readers Loved in 2019 click here.

These are challenging times on planet Earth. Be extra kind to yourself and others. Be proactive rather than reactive. Remember the Chinese proverb: "A journey of a 1000 miles begins with a single step". Envision the world in which you wish to live and move steadily towards that. And remember: “As the light of Creation, you are invited to be smarter than the most insidious acts of unconsciousness. This occurs by responding to unconscious behavior in the personal, cultural, political, or collective sectors of reality with the opposite vibration in view. If people are negative, send them well wishes. If someone you know is down on their luck, visualize them thriving and shining in radiant glory. If countries are in turmoil, send healing energy to each region. If people accuse you of being too passive a participant in global change when anchoring the light necessary to allow change to manifest-- thank them for being an important part of your day.” (from Matt Kahn’s January 5, 2020 blog, full message available here).

Namaste,
Stephanie Austin
www.EcoAstrology.com
360-379-3060
PO Box 1745 Port Townsend, WA 98368

Stephanie Austin M.A.  is a full time astrologer specializing in life purpose, career, and relationship readings and astrology tutorials since 1986. She wrote the New and Full Moon column for the Mountain Astrologer magazine for 15 years, and taught at John F. Kennedy University from 1989 to 2004. Her background includes a bachelor's degree in Psychology, a master's in Consciousness Studies, and a lifelong involvement with meditation, Nature, and healing. For more information on her astrology readings, eBooks, tutorials, and forecasts, visit www.EcoAstrology.com.