January 2021: New Moon in Capricorn

[voxcaelorum]

Above is teh chart for the New Moon as seen from Washington DC.

I am new to mundane astrology, so this is not presented as a set of prophecies, but only as hypotheses.

The first things to look at are the luminaries, that is, the Sun and Moon.

The Sun in a mundane chart represents the head of government, and the Moon represents the people. Now, any new moon chart will always feature a conjunction of the Sun and the Moon. Under ordinary circumstances, we would interpret that as an important aspect, indicating an alignment of the will of the people with that of their government. In the case of a Full Moon chart, though, this doesn't make sense, as that would require us to believe that the will of the people and the government line up with one another every 28 days!

Instead, let's look at the location of the Lunation itself-- that is, the conjunction of the Moon and the Sun-- as setting the tone for the 28 days to follow.

We find The Lunation in Capricorn, and on the 4th house cusp. The 4th house rules the land, agriculture, and mining. It also rules the opposition party to the government.

Now, unless unforeseen circumstances intervene, the head of state and the opposition party will be changing places during the time period governed by this lunation. This suggests that the conflict between the Democrats and Republicans will take center stage during the next four weeks-- no surprises there.

The Lunation is closely conjunct Pluto, and sextile to a powerful Neptune in Pisces. While I follow the theory that Pluto is a minor body, whose energy is waning, it still has some power and will until 2036. Expect our political debates to continue to be marked by the unbridled rage which is Pluto's signature, aided by the delusional power of Neptune. Neither side's actions are rooted in anything resembling reason.

As Capricorn is the sign of Hephaestos, the divine craftsman, and the fourth house is associated with mining and agriculture, expect efforts to direct government aid to the working population to take center stage during the time of this lunation.

The lunation is also distantly conjunct Saturn, and Saturn is in a very interesting position at this time. He is in Aquarius, which was his traditional rulership but is now assigned to Uranus. He is strengthened by loose but still operative conjunctions with Jupiter and Mercury, but locked into square aspects with Uranus and Mars. Both of the latter two planets are in very bad shape in Taurus, the sign of Uranus's Fall and Mars's detriment. Indeed, the Saturn-Uranus square looks like it will be dominating events in general over the next year, and is worth a whole post on its own. For now, I want to note that, to my mind, it looks like a war in Heaven. Now the gods, being good, do not actually go to war with one another, but at this remove from their light, that is what it feels like. Uranus rules sudden, revolutionary change, technology and railways and eccentricity generally; Saturn rules conservatism, tradition, stability and agriculture. These two forces are in conflict with one another, variously aided or hindered by the slower planets in the solar system. The issues of internet censorship and coronavirus lockdowns, at the very minimum, will be major manifestations of this conflict in our everyday lives.

Having explored the Lunation itself, let's take a look at the houses.

The First House rules the people generally, along with the Moon. The first House is in Libra in this chart, which means the population are represented by Venus. We therefore look to Venus to get a sense of the conditions the population is facing. We find Venus in very mixed condition: Peregrine in Capricorn, weakened in the third house, but strengthened by trines to Mars and Uranus. This suggests a population disempowered by the ongoing lockdowns, continuing to maintain contact through the use of technology. The trine to Mars and to the Uranian side of the War of the Gods suggests that conflict is brewing, though it remains at a simmer as yet.

The Second House rules the nation's wealth. As the second house is in Scorpio, Mars is its ruler. Taken on his own, Mars is in very bad condition in this chart. He is in Detriment in Taurus, conjunct the malefic planet Uranus-- who, in Taurus, is at his most malefic-- and square to Saturn, Jupiter and Mercury. Times are tough right now, and people are angry about it.

The Third House rules travel, communications, literature, and the news; in the modern world it rules the Internet. Now the chart starts to heat up. While the cusp of the Third House is in Sagittarius, Venus is here as well, who is, as we saw, ruler of the people in this chart. This suggests what you already know: Everyone's attention, while they're stuck at home (Capricorn), is on the news. And the news is just what you would expect. Jupiter, the ruler of this house, is peregrine in Aquarius, conjunct malefic Saturn and square to Mars and Uranus in Taurus. His only dignity is a conjunction to Mercury, which in this case suggests-- news, lots of it, and all of it bad. Or, to say it another way, all of it focused on the War of the Gods.

The Fourth House has already been covered in the discussion of the lunation. Let me also add that, as the house cusp is in Capricorn, Saturn is the ruler. Saturn is square to Mars, who rules the 7th house of foreign nations and war. Open war will not occur during this lunation, as Mars is weak in Taurus, but acts of terrorism or violent protests, ruled by Uranus, very well might.

More generally, the Fourth House is very much the main event of the next month. Five planets-- 6 if you include Pluto-- and the lunation itself are found here. I expect the conflict between our two political parties-- the opposition parties, as they switch sides-- to be the main focus of the next few weeks. But you already knew that. Events in the middle of the country, and very possibly foreign relations and immigration, will also be important.

The Fifth House rules entertainment, education and children. The fifth house is in Aquarius, of whose ruler, Uranus, we've had much to say already. In particular, the square between the fifth house ruler and the fourth house ruler suggests that the bigotry of our "entertainment" industry toward the people who occupy the middle of the country is going to be front and center during this time. A friend of mine who works in Hollywood described his industry to me the other day as "Aggressively and toxicly self-righteous." I expect that that aspect of Hollywood will be on display during our next president's inauguration.

The Sixth House rules public health, the military and the working classes. The Sixth House is in Pisces, whose ruler, Neptune is right on the House Cusp. Neptune rules mysticism, socialism and big ideas; it also rules delusion, addiction, and madness. Both delusion and addiction continue to spread among the population. Socialist agitation is likely, and will probably be aided by some within the Biden administration. The sextile between the lunation and the sixth house ruler suggests that the new administration will make economic relief for the working class and vaccination against the coronavirus a priority.

The Seventh House rules foreign relations, international disputes, and war. The Seventh House in Aries, whose ruler, Mars, is also in the 7th house-- though across the border in the sign of Taurus. And this is probably a good thing. If Mars had all of its other placements in this chart and was also in Aries, war would be very likely during this time period. As it is, Mars is at his weakest in Taurus. Still, the conjunction to Uranus and the square to Saturn suggests, at minimum, a war of words. Conflict over immigration may also take place, given the radically different approaches of the incoming and outgoing administrations. Acts of violence or terrorism may take place, and it's very possible that foreign funding is involved.

The Eighth House rules death and mortality, and also foreign trade, as it is the Second House from the Seventh House. As the 8th house is in Taurus, its ruler is Venus. Importantly, malefic Uranus is conjunct the 8th house cusp, and trine Venus. Uranus is the planet of sudden, radical change. Raphael has it that Uranus in the 8th house portends many sudden deaths by explosion or suicide, or "unaccountable ways." If he is right, the following four weeks may see at least one heavily publicized bombing, public outburst of violence, or controversial suicide.

The Ninth House rules religion, legal matters and the Supreme Court, and science. As the house cusp is in Gemini, the ruler is Mercury. Mercury is in a difficult position in this chart, being very much involved in the War of the Gods. What I would expect to see is clergymembers very publicly taking sides in our political disputes-- the US Conference of Catholic bishops publicly pledging support for Biden, the Jericho Marches continuing, pastors and priests lining up to bless one side or the other. As most of Mercury's aspects are negative-- conjunction to Saturn, squares to Mars and Uranus-- this will not go well for them, any of them.

The Tenth House rules the executive branch of government. In this chart it is in Cancer, which is ruled by the Moon. Considering the Moon simply as the house ruler and taking no other factors into consideration, the conjunction with the Sun suggests a strongly united executive branch, focused on all the matters we've discussed before. It's worth mentioning-- just as an aside-- that Pluto, which is tightly conjunct the Moon and the Sun, rules organized crime. What that says about the nature of either the incoming or outgoing administrations is probably better left unsaid at this time.

The Eleventh House rules Congress, and in particular the House of Representatives. As the house cusp is in Leo, the Sun is the ruler of this house. This shows a Congress strongly united behind the president, focused on all the matters we've discussed with respect to the administration-- economic conditions, the pandemic, the Opposition. Again, I think the conjunction with Pluto, ruler of the underworld, hidden things, unbridled fury and organized crime, needs to be kept in mind.

It's worth noting that John Michael Greer considers that one of Pluto's qualities is that Plutonian things look worse than they actually are and are never all they're cracked up to be. I do not know if he's right, but keep it in mind when you hear about how awful the Other Side is during this time.

The Twelfth House rules national institutions, jails and hospitals; and hidden enemies. The cusp of the 12th house is in Virgo, and Mercury is its ruler. As we have already seen, Mercury is in a very bad way. Violent crime has increased over the last year; expect that to continue. Trust in national institutions is currently very low; expect it to continue to bottom out. The 12th house suggests that terrorists, foreign enemies and other shady actors are very much involved in the ongoing national crisis.

And so there you have it. It's going to be a difficult couple of weeks. But you already knew that.

We'll check in again at the Full Moon and the next New Moon.

Comments

[ari_ormstunga]

Interesting take! I have been doing New Moon mundane charts for awhile now, and I did one for the sixth that was quite on-the-nose. Your write up and analysis is better than mine though! I'll be looking forward to your next post.

[voxcaelorum]

Thank you! Where do you post your interpretations?

[ari_ormstunga]

I don't post them. I've considered it but I'm still developing my skills. I've had some good results but I've also had a few charts where I was clearly letting my prejudices influence my interpretation. I've also been unsure about posting political content given recent events!