In a tribal society, everyone has a purpose and place, with set rules and expectations. Children are taught the tribe's strictures through their old stories and by example. They are trained to take up their crafts, their duties and their visions. Central to their life is the welfare of their tribe. In many tribes, the most vulnerable ones were protected and nourished. In other tribes, these same ones were vilified and outcast. Feudalism was a form of society in which the few ruled the many. The noble's word was law. Then we have democracies, where each person is free and equal. But what happens when that democratic individuality goes overboard and becomes "every man for himself'? Or "every corporation for himself' (I think modern corporations are intrinsically masculine, so I'm going with that pronoun). There are all sorts of societies.
Which kind of society do we live in? What kind of society do you want to live in? Americans like to believe that we live in an enlightened society and that we are good, moral people, and yet in a time of major crisis we are allowing our political structures to sacrifice our most vulnerable people -- women, children, elders and the sick - instead of standing up for our "moral' values and taking responsibility for what we have created. Instead of doing the right thing by sharing a common vision of sacrifice and unity, these vulnerable ones are being short-changed by an elitism of money and wealth that is even at odds with many people's overt religious beliefs. How do we treat our much-touted "heroes' who are returning from war, many with PTDS? We have no jobs for them. So how do we honor them beyond showy words and one night tributes? How do we ensure for the future when we take away money from our children's education? How do we take care of our sick when we allow the depredation of our environment which is our first defense against disease? How do we live an honorable and happy life if we can't take care of our basic needs? What kind of society do we live in?
This Capricorn Full Moon offers us an emotional picture of how our most basic needs are being considered and taken care of. That goes for each of us personally as well as collectively. Each of us has a set of patriarchal rules entrenched within our psyches, embedded there before we had a choice. Each of us is shaped by our society. Capricorn delineates the structure in which we live our common life. The full Moon here asks us to open up our eyes and look at our society and acknowledge how we feel about living in it. Societies can be healthy or sick, vibrant or dying.
What kind of society do we have when people don't take their neighbors into consideration? Out-of-control individualism is not what freedom is all about. What would you do if your neighbor blasted the radio out into the yard every weekend from 10am to 10pm -- and add to that screaming children - and then told you when you asked them to please turn it down that they could do whatever they wanted at their own home? How do decent people handle situations where people don't remember that we're all in this together? And if we can't remember consideration on that very personal level, how do we have consideration for each other on a global level? If we can't see our connection to each other, how can we see our connection to the Earth and Nature?
These are big questions, but if we don't think about them, who will? Someone has to because it will not be our governments and politicians who make these decisions. They are too entrenched in the patriarchal system, too indebted to banks and corporations to do the right thing. This is where those other powers of the Moon come in: spirit, heart, soul, courage, ardency . We the people are the ones who have to take our society back into our own hands and change our world. That's what these next years will be about.
C apricorn Full Moon
This full Moon doesn't make any aspects except to Venus in a wide conjunction to the Sun and opposition to the Moon. So Venus becomes an important energy, since it "rules' Saturn in Libra which "rules' the Capricorn Moon. And Venus also completes the 4th leg of the cardinal T-square that has been so influential since last summer and which is leading up to the squares between Uranus and Pluto which will begin next year. So let's look at these energies and decipher what's going on.
The Sabian symbol for the Sun at 23* Cancer is: The meeting of a literary society. This symbol is meant to indicate a gathering of like-minded individuals to discuss the common factors in our culture and its problems. It is the sensitive people in a society -- the poets, the writers, the artists, the mothers -- who try to understand our social structures and how they operate and then imagine what might be. These people are able to name their emotions and think about what it means for themselves and society at large. This image can include social networking where we share insights. But the times are calling for us to take it a step further and begin to manifest some of those important future visions.
The Sabian symbol for the Moon at 23* Capricorn is: A soldier receiving two awards for bravery in combat. With the two awards, this image implies unusual bravery being recognized with respect and appreciation. There must be a mutual give and take between the individual and society if we are going to live in a free world. This full Moon is calling us to make an important social or cultural contribution to our times. It begins with listening to your imagination and finding your destiny. We all have something to contribute. Now is the time to believe in yourself and begin to do it with the help and support of your "literary circle'.
The Capricorn Moon is "ruled' by Saturn at 12* Libra. Miners are surfacing from a deep coal mine. This is the deep excavation that we've all be working through, digging for the wisdom we'll need to bring about a real transformation in our society. It's been hard, lonely work, searching for the answers to seemingly impossible questions. Take a breath of fresh air -- you deserve it! Saturn stills forms one leg of the cardinal grand cross that now includes the planet Venus.
Venus is the "ruler' of Libra, and therefore has influence over Saturn. She softens Saturn's hardness through love mixed with responsibility. Together Venus and Saturn give shape to the fairness and balance we all must achieve personally so we can serve as examples for society. Venus is at 14* Cancer, the degree of America's 4th of July chart. A very old man facing a vast dark space to the Northeast. This old man can be an aspect of the archetypal Wise Old Man. The Northeast is the direction from which spiritual/cosmic forces enter the Earth-sphere through the dark void of creation. This wise old man must face the changeless reality of spirit and see the truth. Perhaps the truth is that it is time for patriarchy to die so that a new society can arise. If this is America's destiny (Sun at 14* Cancer) then it is up to us to finally achieve it. Our founding fathers knew that the power of corporations was growing and they wanted us to resist it. We are approaching our second revolution as Pluto goes through Capricorn for the first time since just before the American Revolution. We must take that revolution to its next step in our own times.
With Venus at this sensitive spot, the energy we must use to face the dark void is Venus in her aspect of Aphrodite Urania, or Lady Wisdom. Women are being called to reclaim our ancient powers of wisdom and insight to help birth a new world. Time to step up, Ladies! Venus exactly squared Uranus on July 7th, opposed Pluto on July 8th and squares Saturn on July 13th, challenging us to honor our relationships with Wisdom.
Once again, Pluto in Capricorn and Uranus in Aries form the last two legs of the grand cross. These four energies are squaring and opposing each other, challenging us to push through the resistance in ourselves and in society and take responsibility for ourselves, our society and our world.
Uranus, which turned retrograde on July 9th, is still at 5*Aries: A triangle with wings. This image symbolizes our capacity for self-transcendence. We can reach a new dimension of being. It challenges Pluto at 6* Capricorn: Ten logs lie under an archway leading to darker woods. We are shown the threshold we stand on. On the other side lies a dark and unknown future, but like Arthur's knights who go in search of the Grail, we must each enter into this dark woods and achieve our quest.
To work with this grand cross, you must find a way to use both Uranus's originality and revolutionary spirit and Saturn's hard work of mining coal in the depths to make something new of yourself. Then you have to go to Pluto's threshold and let Venus' Wisdom shine a light in that dark woods. You have to embody the Moon's power of Spirit, Heart, Soul, Courage and Ardency to create change. It's hard work, but as J.F.K. said before his vision could take hold in a hostile world, "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." My generation heard him say it. It is up to us to help our children finally do something about it.
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