The New Moon in Capricorn hit in the wee hours this morning, 3:57am PST, and we move through our true intention setting, alpha omega, beginning of the new year moment. The calendar says we do this on January 1st, and of course the collective power of New Years cannot be underestimated. But in the mechanism behind consciousness itself, the solar system is doing the intention setting right now. With this lunar cycle, it’s time to consider the goals and ambitions we have for the year ahead. Capricorn is cardinal earth. Earth means it is a grounded sign, where we are supported in the world of form. Cardinal is the startup energy, that says we initiate movement and thrust. Fixed signs offer us stability, and mutable signs are where we find fluidity and change. But cardinal energy (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn) says we are moving forward with a bit of propulsion, and in Capricorn, that propulsion is designed to set our sights on what we want to accomplish in the year ahead.

This New Moon packs a punch because the Moon and the Sun are coming together in an almost exact Trine with Uranus, the Great Awakener. Uranus is the wildcard energy, where change happens in a fast and furious manner. Capricorn, and its ruling planet of Saturn, is all about slow and steady wins the race, and contains the steadfast focus to climb any mountain. Uranus tells us to take risks, think outside the box, and allow your sense of innovation to rise up and let you try something brand new. If Capricorn is a cardinal energy that engenders movement and the ability to slowly and steadily create anything you desire, it is Uranus in this lunation that can bring the miracle. Go big with your intentions, take risks, and allow yourself to think outside the box. Uranus will support rapid expansion, and the world will correct you as we go if the pace is slower than you wish, or if something you desire is not for you.

We can only set clear and authentic intentions to the extent that our hearts are healed of the wounds of underserving. You can desire something profoundly, but if your heart doesn’t feel worthy, you cannot create something that lasts. Fortunately, we have been through tremendous healing both from a Chiron perspective, as well as all the movement of Venus since her retrograde last year, and the two eclipses each ruled by her. And in this New Moon, there is a lovely Trine brewing formed between Venus in Sagittarius, and Chiron in Aries, and this precise astrologer is delighted that that Trine is exact. We are approaching this New Moon intention setting moment with as much healing in our hearts as we have perhaps ever experienced.

There is another exact Trine in the background of this New Moon. Mars is exalted in Capricorn, and the fact that the planet of the body, action, and choices is in the same sign as the Sun and the Moon, is a boon to us. This New Moon is like a textbook study in the laws of attraction and the technique of manifestation. After all, we set intentions with Mercury, feel the possibility with Venus, but it takes action to create the stuff through the consciousness of Mars. Mars is in an exact Trine with Jupiter, the Great Expander. In Taurus, Jupiter promises tremendous abundance and expansion. Only the mind is a little out of joint today. Mercury is in Sagittarius, which is a sign of his detriment, so he’s a little overstimulated. Uranus being so prominent today is not exactly going to slow our minds down, so you may have to do a little extra work to quiet yourself mentally as you approach your intention setting process.

Pluto is sitting at the anaretic, mastery degree of 29-Capricorn, and he is poised to move into Aquarius in about ten days. But in this New Moon, he is partying with the luminaries, allowing us to tap into our sense of personal power as it aligns with the goals we might be attempting to birth. This also indicates how much we are all being asked to change and transform, to meet the wild changes in the collective right now. This New Moon, and Pluto himself, is in a T-Square with the Nodes of the Moon, that collective point that we all share that indicates our path forward. This is a turning point for us all at the personal level, as this Square says we are destroying an old world (Square South Node) while efforting powerfully to create a new one at the same time (Square North Node). But make no mistake about it, it is also a turning point for the outside world’s transformations, and we are being asked to keep up.

The year ahead is going to bring more change as Pluto spends the year in both Capricorn and Aquarius (he will retro back into Cap again for three months in September). We are going to need discipline and focus to stay on course while navigating a world gone mad, and Capricorn is where we first learned these qualities. I am a firm believer that when each of us knows what we want to accomplish for ourselves, when we are aligned in the heart, what we desire to bring will organically contribute powerfully and positively to the collective. This is how we generate Peace for Humanity at last, as each of us drops our wounded spaces, turn toward our heart’s desires, and turn those desires into discipline and action as we move through 2024. Have at it!