13 Jan The Secret Strength of Things ~ January 14th-20th, 2019

“The everlasting universe of things

Flows through the mind, and rolls its rapid waves,

Now dark—now glittering—now reflecting gloom—

Now lending splendour, where from secret springs

The source of human thought its tribute brings…”

– excerpt from Mont Blanc by Percy Shelley

It is the final week of Capricorn season. The struggle against Saturn’s gravity reaches its crescendo and life seems to be a very steep uphill climb. It may seem like you’re working hard, but accomplishing little. That’s to be expected right now.

Remember, this New Year was born old, creating conditions that favor quiet contemplation and withdrawal. With the South Node, Mercury, Saturn, and Pluto all lined up in Capricorn, this season has initiated a deeply internal process of reflection. Old fears and anxieties emerge as obstacles, challenging you to evolve the strength you need to overcome them. The heat and pressure that summons your evolutionary instincts is very uncomfortable to endure.

This week, your struggle with the heaviness of Saturn’s earthly domain will continue to intensify as the Sun completes its journey through Capricorn.

Dizzy Ravine! and when I gaze on thee

I seem as in a trance sublime and strange

To muse on my own separate fantasy…

Fortunately, there is a release over the weekend as the Sun enters into the air sign of Aquarius and the lunar eclipse in Leo arrives. This shift into Aquarius lightens up the heaviness of earth and spurs things into motion once again.

It should be noted that this lunar eclipse in Leo is the last of the Leo-Aquarius eclipses that began in February 2017. This means that a significant narrative arc is coming to a conclusion, giving you the opportunity to reflect on how much you’ve accomplished and grown.

Some say that gleams of a remoter world

Visit the soul in sleep, that death is slumber,

And that its shapes the busy thoughts outnumber

Of those who wake and live.—I look on high;

Every zodiacal season comes with a distinct purpose for spiritual growth. In order to make the best of the remainder of this Capricorn season, it is best to meditate upon the meaning that lies within the heart of the sign. Capricorn is not an easy terrain to navigate, but the beginning of the soul’s journey of ascent has its own sublime beauty.

To know the sublime is to encounter the startling majesty of the wilderness. Françoise Dufour of the University at Reims defines the sublime as follows:

“[T]he sublime makes one taste fear and produces delicious shivers and feelings that lift the soul.”

To add to this understanding, in the Oxford English Dictionary the word sublime is listed as a synonym of “elevated” or “raised high”. The soul-purpose of Capricorn is exactly that, to elevate and raise you higher.

Where Power in likeness of the Arve comes down

From the ice-gulfs that gird his secret throne,

Bursting through these dark mountains like the flame

Of lightning through the tempest…

Capricorn offers the instinct and the tenacity to push upwards, towards the light of divinity. The season of Capricorn opens a gateway for your soul’s journey of ascent. The Romans honored this fact with the name for the month of January, derived from the word janua meaning gateway.

The gateway of ascent was also the sole purpose behind the Roman celebration of Saturnalia, a holiday in which slaves were served by their masters and great feasts were shared by rich and poor. The wisdom in this festivity was to uplift the souls of the enslaved by letting them taste freedom and to uplift the souls of the masters by letting them taste humility.

Capricorn is the sign that honors the hard work undertaken by each soul that is incarnated upon earth, from spirit’s heavy descent into matter and onward into matter’s ascent into spirit.

The quality of Saturn’s long transit through Capricorn is meant to raise your spirits and uplift your soul through deeply humbling experiences. When you find yourself in the wilderness, you are simultaneously humbled and inspired by the vastness and beauty of nature. The awareness of your utter insignificance against an infinite expanse is sublime. Though often disquieting, encounters with the sublime are the foundation of a strong character and a free-flowing imagination.

Capricorn season is the time to let your character evolve. What you gain now through fear and struggle will serve you well throughout the coming months.

Mont Blanc yet gleams on high:—the power is there,

The still and solemn power of many sights,

And many sounds, and much of life and death.

It was in search of the sublime that the Romantic poet, Percy Shelley, composed his poem Mont Blanc, an ode to the power of the highest peak in the Swiss Alps.

The sheer scale of Mont Blanc arouses thoughts of infinity and of terror. In the poem, Shelley admits that his mind has trouble comprehending the vastness and starkness of the mountain wilderness. The poet is humbled by his meditation, admitting that nature, not the human mind, is the “everlasting universe of things.”

Power dwells apart in its tranquillity,

Remote, serene, and inaccessible:

And this, the naked countenance of earth,

On which I gaze, even these primeval mountains

Shelley was an atheist, so his experience of the sublime did not lead him to trust in a Creator or governing universal mind. Instead, his experience of the sublime in nature caused him to consider the possibility that he was starkly alone.

At the foot of this majestic mountain, freed from dogmas, theories and spiritual certainties, Shelley’s imagination bursts into being, creating a rushing river of poetic imagery.

The gift of Capricorn season is the secret strength of things. In nature, it is pressure that inspires the power you need to adapt, responding by pushing you beyond your former limitations.

The secret Strength of things

Which governs thought, and to the infinite dome

Of Heaven is as a law, inhabits thee!

And what were thou, and earth, and stars, and sea,

If to the human mind’s imaginings

Silence and solitude were vacancy?

Think of this final week of Capricorn season as an opportunity to attune to the wisdom of the sublime, finding the secret strength of things. Remember that during this season, any initial feelings of fear and insignificance can lead towards great outpourings of imagination and courage.

Monday/Tuesday: The Human Mind’s Imaginings

Even though it perfected last week, the square between Jupiter and Neptune will remain in effect for the remainder of the week. This waning square will linger like a euphoric daydream, wafting in like a soft breeze. These conditions are enchanting, bringing many lyricals and romantic ideas into being. But the psychic space created by Neptune transits is really slippery, making you quite susceptible to the siren calls of escapist fantasies.

Watch the temptation to drift away into a narcotic haze. And protect yourself from being too gullible.

This vulnerability to delusion will be increased on Monday, when Mercury in Capricorn will sextile Neptune in Pisces. Your mind will be lulled into daydreams, making this a day for musing and meandering. Stories, plays, films, and music will seem especially immersive and alive.

Wednesday/Thursday: Still and Solemn

The Sun will conjoin the South Node in Capricorn during the middle of the week, summoning some of your past issues with traditions and authority to the forefront.

In response to the lingering conditions of the Jupiter/Neptune square, it is likely that you will contemplate your personal history of spiritual development. Where have you broken from restrictions? And where do you uphold the traditions of the past?

Friday/Saturday/Sunday: Now Dark—Now Glittering

On Friday, Venus in Sagittarius and Mars in Aries will make an harmonious trine, giving you the extra fire that you need to express high courage and faith. An exuberant feeling of optimism will carry you through some of the remaining struggles of Capricorn season. This is a very good time for relationships to find a healthy balance between harmony and passion.

The fire trine between Venus and Mars should offer enough light to make the conjunction between Mercury and  Pluto in Capricorn something that works to your advantage. When Mercury touches the intensity of Pluto, your mind will become intoxicated by the quest for truth.

You will be drawn to mysteries, creating perfect conditions to have deep conversations or long nights of dedicated research.

The journey of deep questions and study prompted by Mercury/Pluto in Capricorn will most likely unearth unexpected information. This is because the Sun in Capricorn will square Uranus in Aries introducing the element of surprise.

The Sun in Capricorn seeks to climb higher and Uranus seeks freedom. These two energies can work well together, pushing you to grow immensely, but you must resolve to remain flexible and experimental.

The Sun’s transit through Capricorn ends on a high note with the influence from Uranus, offering a glimmering vision of the future to inspire you forward.

TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE IN LEO

On Sunday, January 20th, the Sun will enter Aquarius, beginning the season of the future-minded inventor.

This Aquarius season begins on an electrifying note with a total lunar eclipse.

At approximately 9:00pm PST, the Lunar Eclipse in Leo arrives with the Moon square to Uranus. This eclipse will be visible from North America, South America and much of Europe.

Every Full Moon marks an energetic peak, a culmination of creative and emotional energies. Full Moons illuminate what is completing or coming full circle. But a total lunar eclipse amplifies the intensity of a Full Moon, making everything much more potent.

In this case, what is coming full circle is the last 18-month eclipse series. Since February 2017, the eclipses have been focused on the Leo/Aquarius axis.

This eclipse will conclude the tension and development that has been occurring between the axis of Leo and Aquarius for the last couple of years. This eclipse series has been casting more light and longer shadows upon the roles that you play in life.

It is upon this axis that the strings of melodrama are tightened, for here the tension between self-importance (Leo) and total insignificance (Aquarius) are discovered to be two sides of the same story.

The sign of Leo is about developing the “Self” into a graceful artist of the instrument of life, crowned with courage, vitality, and genius. While developing the self into these ideal forms seems to be a noble cause, this Lunar Eclipse in Leo invites the observant eye of the Sun in Aquarius to critique your performance. In this case, you will be critiquing your own performance of Self.

What character have you been playing since February 2017? What aspect of this role remains vibrant and what needs to be released now? 

Eclipses are volatile and can stir up a lot of doubt and insecurity. But after the long trip through Capricorn season, you should be strong enough to let the drama play out as it will, even taking pleasure in whatever changes begin to occur.

This final lunar eclipse in Leo has the erratic energy of Uranus to make it really unnerving and strange. But it also offers a fresh inventive energy, making the coming weeks a good time time to seek out the leading edge thought.

With so many planets still in Capricorn, there’s no real escape from the conservative and practical energy that has governed the last year. But after this total lunar eclipse in Leo, you can find some reprieve in the wild freedom lands of Aquarius.

 

Until next week…. <3