Capricorn New Moon 'Scope
by Dana Gerhardt

"The lyf so short, the craft so long to lerne." –Chaucer

The astrologers didn’t predict it. The seismologists didn’t predict it. And I have neither the depth nor wit to make real sense of it. But it is impossible to approach this New Moon without a remembrance of last month’s Full Moon, with its Capricorn-Cancer opposition of earth and water incomprehensibly dramatized. Earth rocked water, water crashed against earth, both dissolved into mud, driving so many bodies into the ground and carrying more out to sea. At this Capricorn New Moon, may we keep the victims and the survivors of the Indian Ocean’s Tsunami in our prayers. May we visualize the hungry fed, the homeless sheltered, the orphaned children embraced and nurtured, the grief-stricken ones comforted and consoled, the dead well-guided on their journey.

Watching the astonishing images on the news, more than once I wondered, why wasn’t I in the middle of another life, the kind of life that would have me hopping on a plane headed straight for the devastation to offer my helping hand. Why didn’t I grow up to become a relief worker? Why wasn’t I feeding Africans? Educating homeless children in Mongolia? Performing surgeries in makeshift tents full of need? If nothing else, disasters set our priorities straight. They remind us that life is short. They make clear that we need each other—that helping others is perhaps the most meaningful work we can do. The huge outpouring of world support these past two weeks affirms that many of us felt the same way.

This is also the prime directive of Capricorn’s New Moon chart. It draws the emblems of woundedness, generosity and duty together, in a T-square connecting the Sun/Moon’s conjunction with Chiron (the Wounded Healer), Jupiter (benevolence), and Saturn (duty and death). What work are you here to do before you go? You’re encouraged at this New Moon to touch deeply inward and seek the seeds of your highest possibilities. Capricorn describes the need to get practical about bringing your gifts to the world. Society needs each of us to do something. What is your most meaningful contribution? Are you approaching it with diligence, knowing that death could come at any time? As Chaucer reminds, life is short; and your "craft," whatever it is that you’re here to do, will take years to perfect.

I’m afraid of flying and the sight of blood makes me squeamish. I’ll never be hopping on a plane to give disaster victims aid. But there are as many ways to serve life as there are stars in the sky. Capricorn wants a lasting monument from each of us. Through Capricorn we can commit to big works. We can focus our efforts so they will be useful to a larger world. The house in your chart where Capricorn falls may describe the particular nature of your "monument." Combine the essence of that house with the sign on your Tenth house cusp to gain a more complete picture. (If you’d like to know more about the connection between your chart and each cycle, you may enjoy my monthly workshop, Twelve Moons.)

Whatever your chart indicates as your optimum personal focus this New Moon, you should approach your goals with some urgency; achieving them will take time. Capricorn is an earth sign. Earth months ask us to get into motion and strengthen our will for endurance. Be like a tree, stabilize yourself, inwardly at your roots, feel solid at your core; then reach and stretch with your branches. This is the cycle to get serious about your commitments. Recognize your authority in something. Lay the groundwork for an impressive future. And pray for the rest of us trying to do the same.

In Memoriam

We were honored to have had Anna Raphael Duval as a contributor for MoonCircles—from February through June of last year. She died on December 31 at 12:12 am. She was at peace and with her family. As an astrologer, a teacher, a feng shui practitioner, a mother, a gentle and whimsical spirit adept at mixing scents and essences, and as a friend, she will be missed by many.

© 2005 Dana Gerhardt,
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