“From the fool’s gold mouthpiece

the hollow horn plays wasted words.

Proves to warn that

he not busy being born is busy dying.”

-Bob Dylan, It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)

 

Though the New Year was rung in over a week ago, this Saturday, January 9th 2016, the first New Moon of the year will appear in the sign of Capricorn.

As the New Moon ushers in a fresh cycle of emotional energy, you can set the tone for the rest of the year by making a real commitment to the process of growth.

A New Moon in the tenacious sign of Capricorn can inspire you to become the hero of your own story. But this calling, however noble, bears no learning without error; no triumph without struggle.

As you examine your desires, your resolutions and your dreams, you will need to ask yourself,

“Am I busy being born or am I busy dying?”

Oftentimes when life becomes a struggle, the business of dying usurps one’s consciousness. Without hard-earned spiritual integrity, the business of dying takes over easily with the sound of a “hollow horn that plays wasted words”.  

This is especially true considering that most of the business of dying’s manifestations and habits are socially acceptable. (i.e., addiction, mass media, corporatism, corrupt politics or any other thought-forms and behaviors that promote willful ignorance)

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Of course, Capricorn’s desire for the attainment of success can be used to further the business of dying.

This results in the stereotype of Capricorn as the cold-hearted executive whose only aim is to rule over others and exploit them. However, the true nature of Capricorn is to push life towards the business of being born, which results in continuing to grow and evolve with respect to your own nature.

Making lots of money and attaining worldly success is not excluded from the business of being born, but the deeper ambitions of Capricorn are to transform all desires through the labor of self-mastery.

Therefore, the cycle of realization that may be catalyzed by this New Moon is less about what success looks like on the outside (status, wealth, power) and is more about what success feels like on the inside. (peace of mind, the value of your word, sublime trust in the universe)

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Remember when John Lennon sang, “I’d give you everything I’ve got for a little peace of mind.”

The true strength of this Capricorn influence is its ability to distill all experience, whether harrowing or joyful, into the fuel for evolutionary momentum. So Capricorn is not merely sadistic or tyrannical in its ambitions. It is the sign that has the heart to keep busy being born.

“And if the elevator tries to bring you down

Go crazy! Punch a higher floor!”

-Prince, Let’s Go Crazy

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This New Moon will summon a refreshing view of the big picture in your life.

You may begin to see with new clarity how everything in your experience (the good and the bad) works together to catalyze your development. As the beginning of a new cycle, this New Moon in Capricorn will be an especially supportive influence for redefining your greatest ambitions.

For instance, if it is your ambition to become rich and famous, you might begin to understand the deeper significance of that desire which will bring you closer to self-mastery.

Or, if you desire to become a mother, you may develop a keener understanding of the significance of that urge, probing deeper than biology and/or romantic fancies.

This New Moon will also be making major aspects to Pluto (primal ecological force of catharsis, death and rebirth) and Uranus (Promethean fire of revolution and rebellion).

The New Moon will be conjunct to Pluto in Capricorn, magnifying its transformative power intensely. With lunar and Plutonic energies merged, you will feel moved by unseen forces to find the deep caves of mystery within.

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The Moon/Pluto conjunction will also square Uranus in Aries, offering the rush and the push  you need to forge new tunnels into unexplored caverns. The tension between these planets will enable you to overcome self-doubt and proceed in life with courage and hard work as your greatest totems.

 

Finally, Mercury’s retrograde through Capricorn at the time of this New Moon will also assist you in the business of being born.

Mercury’s shift in direction will help you to reroute thought patterns that have long kept you hinged on bad habits and dull routines. When you change your language, you change your reality.

The only obvious purpose of life is to learn and to grow. Therefore, spiritual development should evoke the intensity of this purpose and create stimulating situations through which your consciousness can be applied and transformed.

However, a true spiritual quest should also allow you to take life a little less seriously than before, yielding you more peace of mind and good humor. The New Moon in Capricorn will coax you into the process of reshaping yourself through the power of your own will towards a way of life that is more deeply fulfilling.

Know thyself. Be enslaved by nothing and inspired by everything.

“And if my thought-dreams could be seen

They’d probably put my head in a guillotine

But it’s alright, Ma, it’s life, and life only.”

– Bob Dylan, It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)

 

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