New Moon in Uttarashada: Victory through Unity

Our New Moon is this Tuesday, January 12th at 7pm HT and is once again happening at the very last degree of the sign it is in. This trend has been going since late summer/fall and shows a real lack of presence with the new cycles we are beginning each month. This New Moon is 29:04 sidereal Sagittarius in the star of Uttara Ashada. Uttara Ashada is where we are “invincible.”  Coupled with the former star, Purva Ashada, it forms a pair of elephant tusks. Here we can harness the power of Visvadevas, all of divinity. The Vishvadevas are all the deities and show how much power can be harnessed when the collective sacred energy works together. This star is ruled by the Sun and in the first pada, where this New Moon takes place, we see the strength of the Sun illuminating our beliefs. Once we move into the Capricorn part of the star, the energy becomes concretized on the physical plane. This is also where we meet our limitations, as Saturn ruling Capricorn brings up the hardships that come when we actualize rather than idealize. As both the Moon and Sun are moving into Capricorn right after this (The Moon an hour later, the Sun in 2 days), those issues will come to bear right away, but the “victory” will still come. These two stars represent the energy that comes from the work we put in when we plant and tend to an ideal or a belief and then reap the harvest of that effort, or the suffering from having not used discernment up front and seeing the results are not what we want.

Venus is joined the Sun and Moon here, and in the sign of Sagittarius shows how we can get messy with our beliefs when we base our spiritual practices and ideologies on getting along with others or wanting to be agreeable. Ultimately, our connection to source must be ours and true in our heart, for better or worse. When we compromise our truth to be harmonious in our relations, we will feel removed from the victory later. Venus here can also indicate befriending and partnering with those who share similar beliefs to you. This can be very helpful for getting along, but of course at some point, you might diverge and how strong you are in your own heart-seat will determine how much you compromise to “get along”.

When the Sun moves into Capricorn, on January 14th, Makar Sankranti will be celebrated. This is meant to be the day the Sun moves forth in its Northern course (Uttarayana) but is now off of the actual solstice, due to being one of the few Hindu holidays that by being tied to the stars as opposed to the Sun’s course is no longer accurately attached to its meaning. Astrologically, what we will see happening, is the Sun moving into conjunction with 5 other planets, the moon being one who quickly moves out, and if we consider the outer planet Pluto who just made transit into sidereal Capricorn in the new year himself.  As a planet smaller than many moons of other planets, it has been dubbed a Dwarf planet, and is not one of the 9 Grahas traditionally used in Vedic Astrology, however it’s valuable in a generational sense, in that it is in a sign for 20 plus years and so begins a period of deep collective work. Pluto takes 248 years to orbit the sun. It is 1/3 water and has more than 3 times as much water as all the Earth’s oceans. The rest is rock. As such it represents a struggle that is largely emotional but has some core truths that keep it real.  It’s about releasing and purging things that are buried deep, so as to reach those truths. It can be destructive, as well as creative; once we can let go of the emotions and power struggles, we can find the core truth we are ultimately seeking.

We of course, still have Jupiter and Saturn here in Capricorn, for which you can take a look at previous forecasts if you don’t yet “get” this transit, but at this point the energy these two outer planets are generating here is a bit more relational, as Mercury has been joined since January 4th, creating more communication around our now deep commitments to our beliefs. This perhaps began as people “speaking out,” but now that Mercury is in Vishnu’s star of Shravana, it is encouraging us to listen. In what ways can we hear what other’s are saying, without needing to immediately make them wrong? Is it possible we can learn from listening to other’s perspectives, rather than just pigeon-holing them based on our assumptions from one part of what we see or know? Of course it is, but many do not know how to listen anymore, especially in our internet/social media age, where fast responses to people we often don’t even actually know can seem necessary at first. Ultimately, as the Sun shining here will remind us, and Pluto marking our collective emotional “baggage” will bring slowly into the forefront, is that we are in this together. As much as we might see things differently or disagree, we are here on this planet together and in our various locations amongst whoever that may be. We can move and try to live amongst those who are more “like-minded”, but as Venus in Sagittarius is reminding us, we cannot always agree with anyone, if we are being true to ourselves. Also, the big karma opening from Taurus in Rahu since September is that we need each other. Community is more important than anything for survival when disaster hits, and if we cannot see those we live amongst as humans with similar needs and desires as us, then we won’t survive. The division will be our demise.

Mars in Aries, where much of our anger and (hopefully) discipline and drive to get things done is coming from, is still at the end of Ashwini, the twin horsemen. He is giving us the shakti of healing power here, through our discipline and courage, but as Mars’ nature is harsh and logic-oriented (right/wrong, black/white) he is also giving us the desire to fight based on this simple deductive quality.  Uranus, another “outside planet” made up of mostly gases, is also in Aries and while it’s blue green hue, made more beautiful by the rings that circle it can give off the illusion of peace, it is actually the   energy of revolution it activates. It is the one planet in our solar system that rests in its orbit on its side, and as we have already witnessed, it can also cause erratic and disturbing behavior especially when coupled with Mars.

The final thing I will leave you with is that we have entered a Time Snake on January 10th, a Kala Sarpa Yoga. Officially we are in it only when the Moon is also in it, so for half the month. Kala Sarpa yoga is when all the planets fall between the two nodes of the Moon, coiling around all the different aspects of our lives and trapping us in their illusions. This can be a time of profound spiritual transformation, but it can also be a time of painful misunderstandings and missteps in the world, as the nodes have the power to delude us with their other-worldly nature. Rahu, the north node in Taurus, is leading this Kala Sarpa, as the nodes move backwards. This is also the node that “opens” new karma and is leading us to the tail of Ketu in Scorpio. We are opening new karma on security: food security, financial security, family values, and making things ourselves. Harmonizing with community, finding sustainable solutions, and also allowing ourselves to find pleasure in it all, not just bare-bones survival. This is bringing us to closing a chapter on our deep and painful emotional vault. The fears we harbor and the pain we wreak on those around us for those shadows is needing to be drudged up and cleared out, so we can move forward clearly assessing the dangers in front of us, rather than wrapped up in false or magnified fears. Collectively, this is taking the energy of those first two eclipses of the cycle (December 14th, 28th) and bringing it to all the planets. Personally, it is going to involve different areas of our life, depending on our natal charts. If you haven’t yet, sign up for my newsletter and receive 2 FREE reports: “Rahu in Taurus, Ketu in Scorpio for all 12 Signs” and “Jupiter in Capricorn for all 12 Signs”  to better understand where all these transits are happing for you and your loved ones.

2021 is already off to quite a start and we are where we are collectively. Big question to ask right now, is in what way are you contributing to the well-being of the collective. If the answer is quick & obvious, and coming from some outside source your read, listen or believe in,  then you are responding from an emotional trigger, based in your deeply entrenched beliefs. Dig deeper:)

Happy New Moon! May all beings everywhere be happy and free, including YOU and ME

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