Capricorn takes over our stars like a BOSS
Hard work and a dedication to the long game will make January '24 sexy as hell
What is happening?!
Celestial bad boy Mars followed the path of our sun last week, wandering out of the breezy, philosophical parlor set up by Sagittarius and into the playroom of earthy, determined Capricorn. This week, our determination and will to achieve will be compounded further by a powerful new moon in the sign of The Sea Goat that suffers no fools and takes no lip. Strict deadlines and leather bondage are not required, merely recommended.
Despite moving into a sign of his own exaltation last week, the red planet couldn’t actually achieve much for us, thanks to the shadow of a very long and intense Mercury retrograde casting its hazy, inarticulate pall over the world.
For anyone who needs to hear it, the exact date of Mercury moving direct rarely indicates a clean stop to our technological and communicative troubles; it typically takes Mercury an extra week of standing still, staring into space and then asking itself, “Wait, what was I doing? I swear was doing something…” before the resumed motion can again work to our benefit. In this sense Mercury is your typical, aging Gen X-er every time they walk purposefully into a kitchen, only to promptly forget their aim.
With the first 7 days of January behind us, though, we have room to revel in a positive and productive kick in the pants, astrologically speaking. All the bullshit that those pervasive year end wrap-ups had us marinating on - our jobs, our families, our public image, our life goals, and whether or not we will inherit Uncle Jerry’s calcified aorta is up for serious revisioning and renegotiation. Not only are we going to be infused with energy and a desire for change, but we may be gifted uncanny circumstances that allow and encourage those changes to actually take place. It’s the difference between screaming for help in a room with a locked and barricaded door v.s. finding a chest of power tools and taking the fucking thing off its hinges yourself - empowerment, directed at people in a concrete way, can quickly and directly change even the most unfavorable landscapes.
Long shot dreams and ambitions have real weight and possibility starting this week, as long as we are willing to do the Capricorn thing and put our noses to the grindstone. We also need to realize that Rome wasn’t built in a day, a week, or a year, but was the outcome of decades of intensive labor, attention to detail, and stubborn determination. We might not be instantly rewarded in the coming days, but we will be given a treasure map to a brighter, richer, and more fulfilling future. Capricorn isn’t going to do this all for you (she is, after all, a goat that swims), but she will give you the tools to get it done yourself, and the terrific power of this new moon is due to the Sea Goat’s earthy drive working in tandem across multiple planets and aspects. Take out the tool box, charge your battery packs, and let’s get to it.
Why would this affect me?
There are so many planetary transitions and rearrangements going on that we will not, individually, feel them all to the same dramatic degree that Co-star coldly warns us about on Monday mornings. (Seriously, Co-star, calm down.) Though we will all feel some sort of activated clarity and urge to solidify plans and goals, the area of our lives that benefits most from our rejuvenated sense of discipline will vary based on, you guessed it, individual natal charts. We can get a broad sense of how this might play out with my favorite exercise, an a la cart menu of the major celestial players and their individual hang-ups.
Pluto/Hades = Ruling zaddy of The Underworld with a chip on his shoulder from enduring all the drawbacks of being a planet without the prestige of being an actual planet - he culminates in the last degree of Capricorn at the point of this new moon and will soon tip over into world-changing Aquarius.
Luna/Moon/Selene = Silvery, mild, and changeable goddess of the night sky who reflects the fortunes and feelings of human kind back down to Earth. Often associated with hunting, forests, and other natural, earthy pursuits.
Neptune/Poseidon = Introverted fish guy who is more interested in dreams than reality and who rarely emerges from his murky, oceanic depths. Not a people person.
Mars/Ares = Ruler of war, action, courage, hotheadedness, and hair gel (probably). Gets shit done, but not always in the most elegant fashion.
Mercury/Hermes = Zippy little messenger who ensures the constant flow of ideas, scholarship, and communication, but who can be kind of two-faced and is very bad at keeping secrets.
Capricorn/Pan = Methodical, reasoned, and reliable realist who acquires riches like a dragon and has a penchant for naughtiness. Often depicted pantless and dancing with nymphs.
This new moon is a window; one through which Luna shows us the productive, weird conversation between Mars, Neptune, and Pluto about humankind’s collective and individual future. Mars wants to get the thing done, Neptune dreams about getting the thing done, and Pluto is going, “Guys, are you sure?” before he gives us a glimpse of the consequences that will ensue after actually doing the thing we so desperately want to do. These planets are giving us the roadmap to success, and earthy, determined Capricorn is the guide we need to traverse this terrain safely throughout January.
Remember that Mars, our personal planet of drive, conviction, and action had been in the sign of The Archer since November 24th, coloring the landscape where we get things done with a very open, intellectual hue; we didn’t want to fight about things in a concrete, fist to the face way, we wanted to marinate in the ‘why’ of things. Mars in Sagittarius is like a the lush sitting room of a high end madame - we flit about with a saucy cordial, appreciate the silken pillows, and ponder the meaning of what we came for…action, if you know what I mean. That action commences with an ingress into The Sea Goat, when we finally leave the parlor to get down to it in a room full of straps and padded tables.
Capricorn has an unfair reputation for being a bit of a bummer - all work, no play, numbers driven dullards who would rather meet an hourly deadline than experience the wilder side of life, but, for you non-Capricorns out there, I can happily inform you that it is all a ruse. Yes, The Sea Goat enjoys deadlines and timeframes - with a ruler like Saturn, it would be silly to expect otherwise. They also love hard work and easily dedicate themselves to stringent lifestyles and practical tasks…until they don’t.
Capricorns work hard to accumulate wealth and security precisely because they have designs for their money - namely, lavish spending on hardcore leisure activities, luxury apparel, and timeless, hand crafted accessories that may or may not include artisanal leather cuffs and collars in oxblood.
When do I have to deal with this?!
Our activated, intensely focused new moon in Capricorn graces the horizon on 1.11.24, and just a few hours later she makes a quick trine with Uranus, giving us the go ahead to follow our own innovative, uncomfortable ideas which may or may not involve BDSM. Go for that dominatrix job! (I’m only partially joking.) Shortly after that, Luna forms her sextile with dreamy Neptune, giving our weird dreams shape, language, and a path to becoming reality. A few hours after that she adds a powerful conjunction with Pluto, providing a teeny sneak preview to Pluto’s imminent ingress into shit-disturbing Aquarius.
As far as moon rituals go for Thursday evening, it would be wise to write all manifestations down with specific timeframes, in addition to whatever candles/sigils/elements you like to incorporate in your own practice.
This is a Saturn-ruled moon, and Saturn, like all middle management, loves specificity and timeframes. So, instead of writing, “I will land the job of my dreams so I can tell that bitch Brenda to suck my ass on Facebook,” on your dried bay leaf, try writing, “I will get hired by Astrology Today on 1.17.24, and will shit post my news to that bitch Brenda’s Facebook page by 8pm the same evening. Hail Kronos.” That, my friends, is what the corporate world calls ‘a S.M.A.R.T. goal.’
Mercury then zips into Capricorn on Saturday, 1.13.24, and we suddenly feel able to communicate, loudly and effectively, all the things that have been percolating in our brains, our dreams, and the underground of our community since fall of 2023. Yes, the next 10 months could be full of change, enlightenment, upheaval, and destruction in equal measure, but we can take heart in these last weeks of Capricorn season as the planets position us to make the most foolproof, beneficial plans for our lives as possible. Let’s not waste the opportunity.
Cool, what does the Tarot say about this?
The Chariot is a major arcana card of drive, ambition, and new agency linked with the astrological sign of Cancer, whose planetary ruler is…the moon. The Chariot showed up for Monday, 1.8.24 AND on the new moon of Thursday, 1.11.24, indicating that any unsettled business from Monday may re-settle itself on Thursday as long as we give it thoughtful attention and some Capricorn-inspired elbow grease.
As Mercury enters the last degrees of Sagittarius and leaves the fuckshit of the retrograde behind us, communication vastly improves on 1.9.24, leading to an epiphany about some long-standing situation. This fresh knowledge shows us new dimensions to an old problem, freeing us up to enjoy some much needed enlightenment in the form of The World.
On Wednesday, 1.10.24, we enjoy domestic fidelity and abundance with Litha, a pagan holiday associated with major arcana card The Sun signaling earned indulgence and luxurious hedonism. The Sun is also associated with…wait for it…Capricorn.
By Friday, 1.12.24, moves we made earlier this week will start to pay off with the 3 of Coins, a minor arcana card also associated with Capricorn that insists on collaboration as a path to true material security - so things like borrowing money from family, starting a joint bank account and kicking off a group business venture will likely have positive outcomes. Yet another Capricorn association shows up on Saturday, 1.13.24 in the form of The Devil reversed, which sees us reclaiming control of our narratives if we can successfully tame our worst impulses. (Remember, I warned you that bondage would be recommended, not required.) Our reward for backing off of greed and hedonism is the King of Pentacles, who shows up on Sunday, 1.14.24 to offer reassurance, guidance, and assistance when it comes to material security.
Tomorrow I’ll have new moon horoscopes by sign, and next week we’ll have individual horoscopes for Mercury in Capricorn, in case y’all haven’t heard enough about bondage and goats.