A First Quarter of Dramatic Realizations and Creative Resolutions

Saturday's First Quarter Moon in late Aries has much to offer, as we arrive at a crucial moment in this January lunation cycle, in the very heart of this current Mercury Retrograde period. Regarding the latter, which has characterized January's Capricorn cycle, we have in these last few days come past the point of the Sun's conjunction with Mercury, one peak moment of the retrograde period, and we are now heading for another, in Mercury's January 25th station to direct motion. This will represent one further stage in our inward-leaning journey of meditative reflection on who we are and where we are truly headed; and to what end. As Mercury straightens out, eventually regaining the sign of Aquarius by mid-February, we will be in a better position to move forward, with surety and confidence, toward a new plan.

Mercury's January 25th station occurs in close conjunction with Pluto, at 15 Capricorn, which could prove to be quite significant as we further assess the massive transformation that we are all in the midst of. We are in a process now, as unnecessary aspects of our lives fall away, of seeing more deeply into changes in life direction; entirely appropriate to the season in which we find ourselves.

This is in part as a practical response to recent realizations, and to a time of sensing into an expanded vision, heading into the relatively unknown territory of another year on planet earth. At the moment of this weekend's somewhat difficult quarter Moon, we might also more clearly recognize the obstacles to what we are idealistically attempting. The Sun and Pluto are also separated now by about eleven degrees, therefore still in a wide conjunction, with Mercury traveling at a degree that is quite close to their mathematical midpoint. The timing of this interesting lunar phase is therefore very relevant to our exploration of where we are in our evolutionary journey, how far we have come and how far there still remains for us to go.

Kicked off by the quarter moon of a somewhat dicey weekend, this latter half of January also features the optimistic energy symbolized by Jupiter's expansive archetype. Jupiter is prominent in this configuration due to being in close conjunction with the lunar North Node, square Venus, inconjunct the Moon and Eris in conjunction, and in close trine to the Sun/ Mercury midpoint in Capricorn. This powerfully future-oriented presence indicates a strong determination to be carrying through, no matter what, with whatever in which we most deeply believe, and is therefore an important antidote to ever giving in, even when the going gets tough.

The Sabian symbols for this First Quarter Moon are encouraging. They are, for the Sun in the 27th degree of Capricorn, "A mountain pilgrimage;" Marc Edmund Jones refers to "unquestioned devotion to [the] worth-while task at hand," and calls this symbol an emblem of "intensification of every vision to which intelligence might aspire." For the Moon in the same degree of Aries, we find the mysterious and subtle: "Lost opportunity regained in the imagination." Jones enlarges upon this image, as "the psychological maturity of [humankind] on the practical side of life, the all-important and creative fluidity of character which makes [of us] immortal beings." Indeed, in these days of relative adversity, attitude is everything. With positivity on our side and trust in our process, when we sense worthwhile struggle we try all the harder to make significant progress. And when we run up against hardships, we can treat them as opportunities for finding inner strength.

A First Quarter of Dramatic Realizations and Creative Resolutions

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Chart for the First Quarter Moon on January 16, 2016

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