December 29th ~ January 5th
Ring out the old, ring in the new, Ring, happy bells, across the snow: The year is going, let him go; Ring out the false, ring in the true. ~ Alfred, Lord Tennyson
The month of January, named after the Roman god Janus, ushers in the New Year. Janus, the two-faced god is the lord of beginnings, endings, transitions and time. Portrayed with two faces, one looking back and the other looking to the future, Janus presided over the doorways and gates of Rome. The astrological sign of Capricorn, ruled by Saturn/Chronos/Father Time, presides over the festivities at this time of year as well, a sign, like Janus, associated with time, as well as planning, tradition, setting goals and an enduring fortitude that allows us to bring our goals to completion.
And as Janus presides over the doorways of Rome, Olde Father Time harvests the wisdom and experience from the former year; while clearing the field of the detritus of what remains with his double-edged scythe. This prepares the way for the seeds of what will be, in the New Year to come.
Let our New Year’s resolution be this: we will be there for one another as fellow members of humanity, in the finest sense of the word. ~ Goran Persson
Traditionally this is a time in which we not only sweep out the remnants of the year that was, but also when we make our resolutions for the New Year to come. With grand gestures we make promises to ourselves: I will lose this weight; I will achieve that insurmountable goal; I will be a better person. According to the Fisher College of Business only about 9% of people will actually follow through with their resolutions, about a quarter of the people give up after the first week, and by the end of January half the people who made resolutions have already put them back up on the shelf.
After discussing this idea of New Year’s resolutions with friends, I propose a new sort of resolution. Perhaps a resolution to accept ‘enough’: I am enough; Whatever I achieve will be enough. And rather than trying to fit into someone else’s idea of what we should or could be, or placing unrealistic expectations on ourselves, how about some altruistic acceptance? This does not mean to not set goals for yourself, but perhaps to do so with reasonable and healthy expectations that whatever you achieve is not only enough, but perhaps a welcome and illuminating experience.
This year, Jupiter, the planet of grand expectations, will station direct on December 30th/31st, ending its retrograde phase. Whenever Jupiter stations (direct or retrograde) it does so while trine the Sun, an aspect that fills us with a sense of optimism, and hope for the future. This is prime weather for making grand pledges, including those that cannot possibly be fulfilled. However, as Jupiter stations direct this year, it also does so with a sextile to Saturn, a planet that grounds us in reality, and cautions us to make our promises to ourselves and others realistic and achievable. Whereas Jupiter is expansive, visionary and hopeful; Saturn is conservative, limiting and methodical. Jupiter inspires us. But Saturn reminds us that we need a realistic strategy and a well-thought-out plan. Together they are a formula for creating our own achievable New Year’s Plan.
Not only will Jupiter station direct on New Year’s Eve, but then Mercury stations direct on January 1st/2nd ending its retrograde phase as well. In the week leading up to the direct station we might have been aware of a shift in our awareness. A shift that begins to feel something like what we usually perceive as being normal. However, this year as Mercury stations direct it does so with a square to the planet Neptune. Due to its retrograde phase, Mercury will make a total of 3 squares to Neptune: November 27th, December 27th and January 8th.
Like drifting through a fog, Neptune casts a veil over the proceedings, making it difficult to see our way forward. Thankfully Mercury is ending its retrograde phase, although the Neptune square could feel a bit like a retrograde hangover. As a result we could feel like we are needing to proceed, make decisions, create a plan, without any idea of what the actual outcomes will be. This is perhaps yet another reminder to let go of expectations, and to be content with what we are able to achieve. At least for now.
The last of the Mercury/Neptune squares is on January 9th, followed by the New Moon in Capricorn on January 11th. If you are wanting to start a new initiative, begin something new, or set your realistically achievable plan in motion, the New Moon could put some wind in our sails. Until then the best course of action is to take each day as it is, one day at a time, one foot in front of the other, trusting that we are being led precisely where we need to be in order to fulfill the plan that is brewing within the Jupiter/Saturn umbrella.
This is what you shall do; Love the earth and the sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to everyone that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence toward people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of men, go freely with powerful uneducated persons and with the young and with the mothers of families;
read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life, re-examine all you have been told at school or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul;
and your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency not only in its words but in the silent lines of its lips and face and between the lashes of your eyes and in every motion and joint of your body. ~ Walt Whitman
For this week’s horoscopes, click below: