Pan

Mercury Retrograde in Capricorn

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The Faun Musician by Pablo Picasso
  • Mercury enters shadow zone: 12 December 2022 at 8°08’ Capricorn
  • Mercury at maximum elongation as evening star (becoming slower than Sun): 21 December
  • Mercury stations retrograde: 29 December at 24°21’ Capricorn
  • Mercury inferior conjunction: 7 January 2023 at 16°57’ Capricorn
  • Mercury stations direct: 18 January at 8°08’ Capricorn
  • Mercury at maximum elongation as morning star (becoming faster than Sun): 30 January
  • Mercury leaves shadow zone: 6 February at 24°21’ Capricorn

Mercury Retrograde in Capricorn

Mercury delights in questioning categorization and fixed concepts. It’s the only planet that refuses to be limited to singular categories, as it can be benefic or malefic, nocturnal or diurnal, masculine or feminine depending upon the surrounding influences it mixes with. In popular astrology Mercury is often described as linear and logical, yet the ease with which Mercury can interface with the irrational and nonlinear, such as in the interpretation of dreams and omens, reveals how its affinity for deconstruction and destabilization is an essential element of its capacity to bring about primal reordering. When Mercury shifts into its retrograde phase, the star of Hermes makes its home in the liminal, in threshold experiences of leaving one state to enter another. Mercury retrograde delivers transitions and twists in storyline, teaching pivotal lessons from unexpected circumstances. With Mercury stationing retrograde in the final days of 2022, it’s fitting that Mercury will play a major role in ushering us across the threshold into a new year.

Mercury will station retrograde on 29 December 2022 and embark upon a twenty day journey of backtracking from 24°21’ to 8°08’ Capricorn when it stations direct on 18 January 2023. As Mercury retraces the zodiacal terrain from eight to twenty-five degrees of Capricorn, he will excavate material that we need to deepen our engagement with, returning our perception to issues we need to release, rework, or reintegrate. Yet the retrograde of Mercury is not limited to review and redo, as the star of Hermes will deepen development in areas of focus as well as reseed vital ideas and inspiration to enliven work in the season ahead. After passing through a phase of putrefaction and purification, we will experience renewal on the other side once Mercury has returned to visibility and direct motion in the morning sky. Mercury first crossed 8°08’ Capricorn on 12 December and will not move beyond 24°21’ Capricorn until 6 February, creating almost two months of mercurial focus in this range of your natal chart. 

Of course, the reverse direction of Mercury is an illusion stemming from Mercury orbiting in between the Earth and Sun while retrograde. With Mercury’s presence intensified due to being as close to Earth as possible in orbit, the slowness of its backward motion produces a churning quality that can dredge up issues that had been hidden from awareness. With Mercury retrograde in an earth sign, messages and material carried by our body and bodily senses that we have been mentally neglecting will rise into awareness. Due to Venus forming a conjunction with Mercury on 29 December while Mercury is stationing, followed by Venus forming a conjunction with Pluto on 31 December, there will be a wealth of deep-rooted material held within the body and inner recesses of psyche to uncover and explore. The connection between Venus and Pluto will activate longstanding relational patterns, with the ghosts of past relationships emerging within the present relational circumstances we find ourselves within.

There is an important connection between the alignment of Mercury, Venus, and Pluto at the end of 2022 and beginning of 2023 with the previous alignment of Mercury, Venus, and Pluto that took place at the end of 2021 and beginning of 2022. While the planetary combination is repeating, the solar phases of Mercury and Venus are opposite. Last year Venus was retrograde while Mercury was freshly visible in its evening star phase, whereas this year Mercury is retrograde while Venus has recently become visible as an evening star. While there may be specific relationships from last year that have mirroring issues emerge again to address, there is most likely a connection taking place between major relational patterns we needed to address at the end of last year that will be emerging again in new forms. We may realize ways in which we have experienced significant growth while also recognizing aspects of ourselves that will be requiring more inner work.

The Mercury retrograde passage in Capricorn that began in 2023 marks the first of three consecutive Mercury retrograde periods in 2023 that will take place wholly in earth signs. Last year we gained a taste of Mercury retrograde in earth signs due to the retrograde periods ending with Mercury stationing direct in each of the the three earth signs after spending most of its retrograde phase in each of the three air signs. Taking note of lessons learned from last year can help in orienting to the meaning of Mercury being retrograde in the areas of your natal chart occupied by the all three of the earth signs in 2023. A fascinating aspect of Mercury retrograde during 2023 is that the first three retrograde periods of the year in earth signs all feature Mercury in either a flowing trine aspect with Uranus in Taurus or being in close proximity to Uranus. The innovative and liberating influence of Uranus upon Mercury retrograde during 2023 will create opportunities for breaking free from past patterns and making the changes that can accelerate creative development.

In addition to paying attention to information found within your body and its connection with your mind and expression, the fact that Mercury will be retrograde in all three earth signs during 2023 will make it important to analyze and review practical structures and routines in your life as well as the infrastructure and organizational systems you utilize in your work. Capricorn is the cardinal earth sign ruled by Saturn that also exalts Mars, and so Mercury retrograde in Capricorn can help initiate the fundamental changes that need to be made within personal structures of all sorts, from exercise and nutritional considerations to the ways in which you manage time and space. Take stock of habits getting in the way of efficiency or that are needlessly wasting time that can be purged or reformulated during the retrograde motion of Mercury. Discipline is pleasing to Capricorn, and so it will be an opportune time for getting daily plans and routines adjusted and set in place that you can commit to following through within the year ahead.

Mercury retrograde in the nocturnal, cold, dry, and earthy sign of Capricorn has a strong skillset for sorting through and separating factors at play to diagnose the reforms needing to be made. The melancholic quality of Capricorn may influence Mercury to take on a downcast quality at times, brooding over anxieties and worries, but the imaginative nature of Capricorn combined with Mercury forming three sextile aspects with Neptune (on 24 December before stationing, 1 January while retrograde, and 6 February while direct) can also create opportunities for imaginative exploration that can help in re-dreaming your vision for what to produce in the new year. The cold and dry quality of Capricorn will also be tempered by Venus forming a conjunction with Mercury at the beginning of its retrograde passage, signaling that Mercury’s descent into the underworld while retrograde can facilitate a pivotal renewal of our creative potency and agency.

Mercury will not only be retrograde in the earthy domicile of Saturn, it will also be ruled by Saturn occupying its airy domicile of Aquarius. The powerful influence of Saturn combined with Mercury retrograde in Capricorn will emphasize our relationship with collective influences such as societal conditioning from systemic structures. Societies are formed by laws, regulations, norms and taboos, yet we can forget at times how our habitual conformity with certain societal norms can keep us stuck in limiting patterns we wish to break free from. Mercury retrograde in Capricorn will destabilize our perception of societal norms and rules, heightening awareness of ways we have been restricting our authentic expression, As we deepen into a process of revelation, the flowing trine aspect that Mercury retrograde will eventually form with Uranus in Taurus on 8 January will unveil a more vibrant presence and creative expression to take on through our work. The mature and responsible nature of Capricorn can facilitate Mercury retrograde guiding us through a process of taking greater accountability for the work we desire to manifest and embody through our contribution to our wider community.

Pan (1899) by Mikhail Vrubel

We drive and are driven. / But time’s stride– / think of it lost / in the ever-remaining.

All that’s hurrying / will quickly be past; / only what lingers / grants us credence.

Boys, don’t fling your courage / into the thrill of speed / or attempts at flight.

All that is is at rest– / darkness and morning light, / flower and book.

Rainer Maria Rilke, from Sonnets to Orpheus, #22

Like the ancient Saturnalia in which societal conventions are overturned, Mercury retrograde in Capricorn will invert norms in ways that bring awareness to social conformity and taboos. A subconscious portal into exploring our constructs of time and space will open so we may renew our relationship with phenomenal reality. In Capricorn, the star of Hermes takes on the likeness of his goat-horned and hoofed progeny Pan who can shepherd us through a journey into our vast inner multiplicity that mirrors the multiplicity of stars above. As Mercury descends from visibility as an evening star at sunset at the end of 2022, the new year will begin with Mercury shepherding us through its invisible phase in which it serves as psychopomp to our own underworld journey.

The association of Pan with the scapegoat is relevant, as unrecognized inner material emerging into awareness can be projected onto an Other of one sort or another. Intersecting with societal oppression, the collective discharge can often be projected through the lens of collective constructs around ideas of race, gender, or other forms of identity, taking on the ugliness of racism or sexism. When facing inner conflicts around taboos or aspects of ourselves we have been denying, we can utilize Mercury retrograde in Capricorn for coming into greater acceptance of our diverse inner nature and multiplicity of identities rather than projecting what we don’t want to look at about ourselves. In addition, feelings of scarcity or not having enough can become heightened due to the combination of collective economic uncertainty and the emphasis on Capricorn, so there will be a need to take personal accountability and transfigure anxieties into creative production generated from inner strength rather than out of fear or control.

There will be a likelihood of harsh words and wounding projections due to the powerful interplay between Mercury retrograde in Capricorn with Mars retrograde in Gemini in the beginning of 2023. There is a mutual generosity of Mercury being in the exaltation of Mars while Mars is in the domicile of Mercury. Though you may think of Capricorn and Gemini as being averse to one another due to them sharing nothing in common (nocturnal-cold-dry versus diurnal-hot-moist), their aversion is mitigated due to Capricorn and Gemini being signs of equal ascension that share the same speed as well as being contra-antiscia to one another. Planets in exact contra-antiscia form a midpoint at zero degrees of Aries, bringing the diversity of their differences together into a potent marriage of manifestation in the world.

Mercury will become exactly contra antiscia with Mars on 3 January when Mercury is at 21°21’ Capricorn and Mars is at 8°39’ Gemini. Moreover, since Jupiter is close to zero degrees of Aries, Mars and Mercury will form an exact midpoint with Jupiter on 1 January 2023. As a result, the first few days of 2023 possess a potent planetary picture of Mercury-Jupiter- Mars. The effects of this combination will be multivalent, ranging from extremes of destruction in current events to incredible creative production in our own personal sphere. Due to both Mercury and Mars being in retrograde phases, it will be an especially fruitful time for gathering resources and doing renovation that builds a stronger foundation for our visible work to emerge later in the year.

The powerful interplay between Mercury-Jupiter-Mars will occur at the same time that Mercury will be entering combustion to burn off excess under the beams of the Sun. The image of Temperance from tarot can be helpful during this time, as we will need to undergo a process of purging that acknowledges excess in order to bring about a restoration of balance. With Jupiter at the midpoint of the contra-antiscia dynamic between Mercury retrograde and Mars retrograde, we can experience a powerful initiation into a new stage of growth and development. Yet to realize the potential available we will need to take note of our areas of excess so we can become focused more clearly upon what needs to be purged and consumed by the flames of the Sun as Mercury approaches its solar conjunction on 7 January.

Orpheus, early 16th Century

O come and go. You, still almost a child, / with your spell transform for an instant / the dance figure make it one of those pure / constellations in which we fleetingly

transcend dull ordering Nature. For she was roused / to full hearing only when Orpheus sang. / You were still swayed by those ancient chords / and a bit annoyed if a tree took stock / before it followed where your hearing led. / You still knew the place where the lyre / rose resounding–; the undreamt-of center.

For it you practiced those beautiful steps / and hoped one day to turn toward / total happiness your friend’s face and stride.

Rainer Maria Rilke, from Sonnets to Orpheus #28

Mercury will become reanimated by its conjunction with the Sun on 7 January 2023 at 16°57’ Capricorn, a day after the Cancer Full Moon that will take place on 6 January. As a result, the light of the silvery Moon in her watery domicile of Cancer will fully illuminate the reseeding of Mercury in solar light. The regeneration of Mercury occurs as it aligns in between the Earth and Sun by zodiacal degree, as close to us in orbit as possible for Mercury within its cycle. Known as the inferior conjunction of Mercury, it’s a moment of clarifying rebirth that can enhance realization and seed new ideas for the Mercury cycle ahead in which it will transition into becoming a visible morning star. While Mercury is within one degree of conjunction with the Sun, even more so within sixteen arc minutes of its solar conjunction, there can be empowerment for tasks associated with Mercury since it is enthroned upon the solar chariot. Older astrological texts named this moment of Mercury’s rebirth cazimi, or being in the heart of the Sun. It’s the cyclical moment when Mercury enters what Demetra George has named the “sanctum sanctorum,” or “the innermost holy chamber of the mystery initiations” found within “the protected space at the heart of the Sun.”

Although the inferior conjunction of Mercury is typically felt in hidden, interior spaces, the regenerative conjunction between Mercury with the Sun on 7 January will pack a louder punch than normal due to it being illuminated by the Full Moon in Cancer while also forming a flowing trine aspect with Uranus in Taurus that will take place on 8 January. The more we can let go of excess and outdated patterns in the lead up to Mercury’s inferior conjunction, the better we will be able to receive the emancipatory messages of Uranus in Taurus. This can be a powerful time for research and writing, especially when needing to brainstorm and generate new ideas or ways to reorganize and reconceptualize ideas already under development. It can also be a potent time for creating sacred space to nurture our imaginal, tender connections with the interconnectedness of all.

Mercury’s inferior conjunction will be just over one degree away from the fixed star Vega, a fixed star currently projected onto the ecliptic at 15°37’ Capricorn. Mercury will be within a degree of Vega’s ecliptic degree when forming its flowing trine with Uranus on 8 January. Vega is one of the brightest stars in the entire sky and has ancient significance in skylore. As the brightest star in the Lyra constellation it possesses a direct connection to the birth story of Hermes told in the Homeric hymn, an amazing synchronicity as the star of Hermes becomes reborn at this time. After Hermes was born in a cave, his immense curiosity soon led him to journey outside where he encountered the cattle of Apollo, stealing them and marching them backwards to conceal his theft in a manner mirroring the retrograde motion of the planet named after him. But stealing cattle was not all that Hermes was up to on his first journey into the world, as he also encountered a tortoise whose shell he transformed into a lyre. Once Hermes was confronted by Apollo for stealing his cattle, he sang a song with the lyre and gifted it to Apollo, enchanting the Sun god in the process.

Enchantment is central to Vega. Ptolemy linked Venus and Mercury to Vega, a further sync with the conjunction of Venus and Mercury in Capricorn initiating us into the stationing of Mercury retrograde. Bernadette Brady described Vega as bringing “creative, mysterious skill which can be used for artistic, spiritual expression or in a negative reading as a tool of deception,” with a presence that gives “charisma and the suggestion that one has been touched by the other world.” Vega is one of the fifteen Behenian stars long associated with astrological magic, possessing magical properties that amplify creativity as well as bringing protection against demons and nightmares. It’s deceptive, creative, and protective capacities are an exact match for the hidden powers of Mercury that become alive when it passes through its regenerative conjunction with the Sun, especially when also forming a flowing trine aspect with Uranus.

The otherworldliness of Vega can also be found in its mythic associations with Orpheus who played the lyre so beautifully that the music was said to enchant all of life, everything from animals to stones. Orpheus was even able to enchant the guardians of the underworld, permitting him to journey into the underworld in order to retrieve his beloved Eurydice. In addition to the ability of Orpheus to travel to the underworld and back again mirroring the psychopomp capacities of Hermes as well as the symbolic underworld journey that Mercury retrograde guides us through, there is additional chthonic associations with Vega through the image of the vulture. Agrippa in Three Books of Occult Philosophy listed the vulture as a magical image for Vega, and Vega has also been viewed culturally as the brightest star in a constellation featuring the form of a vulture rather than a stringed instrument. Vultures play a vital role in the life cycle through feeding upon the dead, and in another ancient myth it was the form of a kite (a bird of prey that also feeds on carrion) that the goddess Isis took when resurrecting her beloved Osiris from death.

Altogether, Mercury forming a conjunction with Vega as it passes through its conjunction with the Sun and trine with Uranus signifies the immense creativity that can become regenerated and activated during this time. Listen for the song to sing or play your creation into being in the world.

Pan, 1st Century BCE

Does it really exist, Time the Destroyer? / When, on the peaceful mountain, does it crush the fortress? / And this heart, always the gods’ possession, / when does the Demiurge pillage it?

Are we really so anxiously brittle / as Fate would have us believe? / Is childhood, so deep, so rich with promise, / in the roots– later on– stilled?

Ah, the spectrre of transience, / through the guilelessly receptive / it passes like wisps of smoke.

And we, with our driving, our striving, — / the abiding Strengths assume / that the gods have some need for us.

Rainer Maria Rilke, from Sonnets to Orpheus, #27

After Mercury becomes regenerated by the Sun, the middle of January will be dominated by the intensification of Mars stationing direct on 12 January at nine degrees of Gemini. With Mars barely moving in the airy domicile of Mercury, it will gather and focalize energy to solidify new movement. If you have been unable to gain traction on all of the new creative directions you have been inspired to pursue since Mars stationed retrograde on 30 October 2022, the week surrounding the stationing of Mars can be a potent time for committing to making it happen. Amazingly, around the same time that Mars stations direct, Mercury will also become intensified through its heliacal rising, becoming visible again as a morning star heralding sunrise. The divine presence of Hermes will be strongly alive and mediated by Chiron – for Chiron in Aries will form an exact square aspect with Mercury on 11 January, while Mars stations in range of a received sextile with Chiron. There may be an old wound to work through in mid-January that will ultimately prove to be an essential aspect of your work to come.

Moreover, Mercury will station direct less than a week after Mars on 18 January at 8°08’ Capricorn in an exact quincunx aspect to the degree and minute where Mars stationed direct. It will be extremely important to practice mindfulness during this time, paying close attention to any signs or omens in dreaming or waking life that reveal important lessons or insight into the choices you need to make. It will also be important to pay attention to triggers of conflict and restrain from creating additional conflict needlessly through words or behavior. At the same time, this can be a profoundly rich time for creativity and embarking upon new directions. Those involved in research or writing projects can discover deep wells of focus to apply to their work. 

Less than a week after Mercury stations direct on 18 January, Uranus in Taurus will station direct on 22 January. Combined with the New Moon in Aquarius on 21 January that demarcates the Chinese New Year of the Yin Water Rabbit, the week following the stationing of Mercury will bring an extraordinary turning of the tide and a massive shift into generative forward motion. After Uranus stations direct on 22 January, all of the planets will be moving direct until the end of April when Mercury will station retrograde once again in Taurus. In the week following the Aquarius New Moon, Mercury in Capricorn will complete its final square aspect with Chiron in Aries on 27 January with Mars three degrees away from an exact sextile with Chiron. Pay attention to how the tests and trials of the past month have led to newfound strength and courage to face adversity and push forward with your goals and growth.

Matching the forward momentum of this time, Mercury will reach maximum elongation as a morning star on 30 January. The maximum elongation of Mercury demarcates another threshold to cross, as it initiates us into the phase of Mercury speeding up as well as accelerating our capacity for integrating the many inner changes that took shape during the retrograde. Gary Caton described this solar phase of Mercury as being similar to the rubedo phase within alchemy in his book Hermetica Tryptycha. As we work to integrate the insights and changes in perspective realized during Mercury’s retrograde journey, Caton noted that we should expect to endure a phase of chaotic volatility as we make a commitment to embody a new presence of being. With Mars in Gemini also beginning to generate more forward momentum, this will be a key period to take direct action on whatever you have been developing.

Interestingly, Mercury will complete its final sextile with Neptune in Pisces on February 6, the same day that it moves beyond the place where it originally stationed retrograde. A few days later Mercury will finally complete an exact conjunction with Pluto in Capricorn on 10 February before leaving Capricorn to enter Aquarius on 11 February. These final major aspects for Mercury in Capricorn will take place around the same time as an extremely potent Full Moon in Leo on 5 February that will be forming a square aspect with Uranus while applying toward an opposition with Saturn in Aquarius. The Leo Full Moon will be the final major activation of the square aspect between Saturn and Uranus that has dominated astrology during 2021 and 2022.

As a result, two of the longstanding transits that will be ending in 2023 – the transit of Pluto through Capricorn and the square between Saturn and Uranus – will both be stirred up as Mercury finally finishes its passage through Capricorn. Of course, the new year will not bring the final end of Pluto in Capricorn, as Pluto will only be in Aquarius from 23 March until 11 June, and we will continue experiencing Pluto moving back and forth between Capricorn and Aquarius until entering Aquarius for good on 19 November 2024. Though you have already experienced immense regeneration in the Capricorn section of your natal chart since 2008 in relation to Pluto’s transit, the months ahead will bring opportunities for receiving deeper lessons of insight into the ways that Pluto in Capricorn has reshaped your life and perception. May Mercury help us receive and integrate the lessons and meaning we need to learn.

If you enjoy my writing please consider supporting my work through a monthly subscription on my Patreon page. Take a look to see the benefits you will receive as a patron! Beginning in January we will be exploring the fixed stars in the Oak branch tier, including the mythology of the stars and how to work with them not only in natal and mundane astrology but also how to develop relationships with them through ritual and astrological magic. 

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References

Brady, Bernadette. (2008). Star and Planet Combinations. The Wessex Astrologer.

Caton, Gary. (2017). Hermetica Triptycha: The Mercury Elemental Year. Rubedo Press.

George, Demetra. (2019). Ancient Astrology in Theory and Practice: a Manual of Traditional Techniques. Rubedo Press.

Rilke, Rainer Maria. (2004). Sonnets to Orpheus. Translated by Edward Snow. North Point Press.

Stargazer Podcast conversation on Planets in Fall

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STARGAZER-SIDEBAR-ART-2-2-scaled

I’m happy to share a conversation I had recently with Rachel of Aeolian Heart Astrology who recently began her own podcast called the Stargazer Podcast. If you haven’t already noticed Rachel’s writing previously I suggest checking it out at https://aeolianheart.com as well as the benefits you can receive by joining her Patreon.  I’ve read Rachel’s writing for many years and always enjoy her creative and imaginative perspective, so it was a delight to have the chance to speak with her.

We spent most of our time talking about the nuances planets in fall compared with planets in exaltation, including if the ruling planet of your ascendant is in its fall, which is the case with both Rachel and myself. We also spend extra time on how we can reimagine working with Jupiter in its fall of Capricorn in transit, including through the mythopoetic form of the divine Pan.

You can listen to our conversation here:

http://aeolianheart.com/2020/05/12/stargazer-podcast-episode-06-planets-in-fall-with-gray-crawford/

pan chase

Jupiter in Capricorn

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Jupiter Capricorn Pan no text

Cropped image of Pan from Spring Evening by Arnold Bocklin; Astrology glyphs by Bradley Naragon

Jupiter in Capricorn

Jupiter descends from its elevated, fiery home of Sagittarius on December 2, 2019 to enter its fall in Capricorn, where it will remain until December 19, 2020. As Jupiter dismounts from its swift steed of Sagittarius and takes off its saffron robe encircled in patterns of star-fire, Jupiter wanders into the rocky and treacherous terrain of Capricorn where Pan-like it will mix with the spirits of land and nature. Like a goat-horned and hoofed deity who dances with nymphs and lives in complete accordance with nature’s cycles, Jupiter in Capricorn brings the force of Eros underneath the surface of matter to catalyze growth and expansion from subterranean sources underlying the roots of appearances.

During 2019, the transit of Jupiter in Sagittarius was the most positive and beneficial astrological force during a year in which we collectively had to come to terms with the intensifying alignment of Saturn and Pluto ending a cycle together in Capricorn while also conjoining the South Node of the Moon and eclipses. The astrologer André Barbault called the conjunction of Saturn and Pluto “a double star that evokes the death wish of Thanatos,” and as the major alignments of its cycle have corresponded with shattering collective events such as the outbreaks of the first and second World Wars as well as the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack, there has been a lot of fear for what destructive events could erupt during 2020 as they begin a new cycle on January 12. It’s significant that Jupiter will be ending and beginning cycles with both Saturn and Pluto during 2020, while occupying Saturn’s nocturnal home of Capricorn. In the wild, dark forests of Capricorn, Jupiter in Capricorn will have to confront the living ghosts of the past and all of the complex, interweaving strands of historical conflicts found in the shadows of present collective crises.

While Jupiter will bring its strength for reconciling meaning into the widespread decay, breakdown, and power conflicts incited by Saturn and Pluto conjoining in Capricorn, it will no longer be able to purely express itself directly as it could while in Sagittarius. Being under rulership of Saturn, Jupiter in Capricorn will necessitate finding growth opportunities and cohering meaning within the constraints of circumstances and available time and space. Jupiter will need to create from contraction and consolidation, determinedly building what Saturn deems worthy of our investment, stripping away the inessential in the process. As Jupiter comes to the end of its cycle with Saturn, we will need to temper our imaginative visions of expansion with methodical reordering which addresses not only our realizations ripening for harvesting, but also the death of old forms, past issues surfacing for resolution, and the collective changes out of our control we will have to respond to.

zeus amalthea

Giulio Bonasone( 1531-76), Jupiter suckled by the goat Amalthea

Indeed, the year 2020 is not only significant due to initiating a new decade within the Gregorian calendar, it also happens to align with an epochal shift within broader astrological cycles. The last time Saturn and Pluto united was in 1982/83, while the last time Saturn and Jupiter united was in 2000; however, the Saturn and Jupiter conjunction in 2020 also brings to an end a larger two-hundred year cycle of Jupiter and Saturn uniting in earth signs, while firmly establishing a new two-hundred year era of Jupiter and Saturn uniting in air signs. Since the year begins with a conjunction between Saturn and Pluto on January 12, ends with a conjunction between Saturn and Jupiter on December 21, and features Jupiter uniting with Pluto three times in between, the transit of Jupiter in Capricorn is a key transit due to cohering the meaning of numerous planetary cycles together in 2020.

Historically, there has often been a triggering of increased volatility and amplified change and revolution in collective events when Jupiter has moved in between alignments with outer planets like Saturn and Pluto to connect them across broad stretches of time, similar to the “translation of light” caused by the Moon moving in between aspects within planets on a daily basis. Here are some dates for Jupiter forming major aspects with Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto during the next year:

  • Jupiter in Capricorn will form a flowing and innovative trine aspect with Uranus in Taurus on December 15, 2019. This is the only exact aspect between Jupiter and Uranus, but although a passing transit it will correspond with important insights and manifestations of visions we have been experimenting with. In particular, we may experience vital development on ideas we have been developing since the opposition between Jupiter and Uranus that occurred in 2017.
  • Jupiter in Capricorn will form three harmonizing sextile aspects with Neptune in Pisces in 2020 on February 20 (18º), July 27 (21º), and on October 11 (19º). The supportive, waning sextile aspect between Jupiter and Neptune can help ground and structure whatever imaginal visions were developed during the last quarter square formed between Jupiter and Neptune in 2019. It can also help us stabilize any major changes in life direction made in recent years while remaining open to new potential.
  • Jupiter will form three conjunctions with Pluto in Capricorn during 2020. The first with both direct on April 4 (25º), the second with both retrograde on June 30 (24º), and the third with both direct on November 12 (23º).
  • Jupiter will finally form a conjunction with Saturn at the first degree of Aquarius on December 21, 2020. Jupiter and Saturn will be co-present in Capricorn for most of 2020 except between March 21 and July 1 when Saturn will be in Aquarius. Saturn returns to Aquarius for good on December 17, 2020.

Fall of Thema Mundi with Moon

Planets in Fall arranged with the Thema Mundi

Fall of Jupiter

One of the first principles in contemplating Jupiter’s transit through Capricorn in the year ahead is understanding the meaning of Jupiter being in its fall. The graphic above is arranged with the planets in their fall placed into the houses of the Thema Mundi, the mythic horoscope for the birth of the universe.  The Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn all have their fall in the sign opposite their exaltation. The origin of the terminology for “fall” comes from the Greek term “tapeinoma,” which means a depression in the ground or a low-lying place. As Demetra George wrote in her tome Ancient Astrology,  the terminology of fall “carries both the meaning of lower status- humbled, base, low-born- and the corresponding state of melancholy; downcast spirits.” Melancholia and pessimistic beliefs that can come from skepticism are indeed some of the potential downfalls when Jupiter inhabits the cold, dry, and densely earthen home of Saturn.

The schema of exaltation and fall is related to the relation of astrology with the intersection between the eternal realm of Spirit (generally associated with the Sun) with our material realm of Fortune and constant generation, corruption, death, and birth (generally associated with the Moon). Planets in exaltation occupy an idealized, peak expression of the planet capable of receiving fame and acclaim within society. Yet according to William Lilly, exalted planets when unimpeded can describe someone “of haughty condition, arrogant, assuming more to him than his due.” In contrast, planets in fall can be viewed as falling out of the mainstream and the exalted power structure of social hierarchy. Planets in fall may signify matters undervalued by  the dominant culture or falling outside what consensus society esteems as elite or idealized. Planets in fall may also become drawn toward working on behalf of those marginalized by societal structures. While exalted planets can tumble from lofty heights, planets in fall can rise up.

I like to frame planets in fall in accordance with the thema mundi since the Sun in Libra is found in the subterranean angle of the fourth house within the mythic horoscope. The Sun being in the place of the underworld evokes the dangerous and death-defying  journey that Ra, the Egyptian Sun god, has to undergo each night through facing the serpent Apophis. An embodiment of chaos, Apophis comes perilously close to devouring the Sun in the depth of night and in this way reveals the symbolism of planets in fall needing to undergo an underworld initiation. Though planets in fall can bring us down into dark nights of soul, through difficult initiatory experiences we can ultimately receive deeper understanding into being an eternal soul who has fallen into incarnation in a world of constant flux.

Jupiter has its fall in Capricorn, a place where Mars is exalted; conversely, Jupiter is exalted in Cancer, a place where Mars has its fall. Rhetorius, an astrologer from the 6th or 7th Century CE, wrote that since “Jupiter is the ruler of life and abundance, but Mars of death,” it means that since “the breath of life increase” in Cancer that “the quality of death” has its fall there. Furthermore, Rhetorius wrote that since death increases in Capricorn, “there is life in its fall.”  Jupiter in Capricorn is in a sign that favors the combative strength and courage of Mars that deals with survival and death more so than the nurturing strength of Jupiter which focuses on generation and abundance.

There are also ancient associations of Cancer, the sign of the Summer Solstice in the northern hemisphere, being associated with life and the descent of souls into incarnation, whereas Capricorn, the sign of the Winter Solstice in the northern hemisphere, was associated with the ascent of souls following death to the realm of the ancestors. Porphyry in On the Caves of the Nymphs described Cancer as the northern gate “adapted to souls descending into generation,” and Capricorn as the southern gate that is “adapted to ascent” and which “dissolves life” and “sends it upward to the heat of a divine nature.” Thus Jupiter in Capricorn finds itself within ancestral land set apart from farming and fertilizing, where the putrefaction and deep contemplation of Saturn finds its home.

While Capricorn’s association with death and ascent to the realm of immortals could be interpreted as revealing the priestly nature of Jupiter in Capricorn being particularly attuned to communing with ancestors, it also shows the difficulty that the generous and optimistic nature of Jupiter encounters in Capricorn. Faced with fear of survival or scarcity of resources in the rocky expanse of Capricorn, Jupiter’s impetus for growth and expansion can become overly materialistic with ambitious desire to attain status and control outcomes. Jupiter in Capricorn potentially can conform to a crystallized, Saturnian concept of cultural expectations for success rather than an authentic path that necessitates straying from mainstream beliefs and values. In order for Jupiter in Capricorn to access its higher gifts, it needs to follow the higher path of Saturn which involves setting oneself apart from the consensus to discern inner truth.

There is also a unique creative expression that can be accessed through each planet in fall, in accordance with the nature of its ruler. In Capricorn, Jupiter has the resources of Saturn at its disposal that can enable the manifestation of imaginal vision into enduring forms and structures through the hard work and disciplined determination which pleases Saturn. There is a long list of Jupiter in Capricorn natives who achieved immortality through their creativity such as John Keats, Emily Dickinson, Charlie Chaplin, Isadora Duncan, Louis Armstrong, Oscar Wilde, Stéphane Mallarmé, Jean Cocteau, and Beethoven, as well as modern visionary groundbreakers such as RuPaul and Mark Zuckerberg (Zuckerberg also being an example of Jupiter’s excessive potential ambition in Capricorn). There is a steadiness found with Jupiter in Capricorn that can be utilized to strategize ways of persisting through obstacles and setbacks in order to achieve longterm goals.

In keeping with the philosophical nature of Jupiter being placed in the home of contemplative Saturn, there are also numerous notable intellectuals and philosophers such as William James, Karl Marx, Albert Camus, and Martin Heidegger born with Jupiter in Capricorn. Heidegger is particularly interesting in connection with Capricorn as a place of death, as his philosophy involved making an authentic change through facing death and taking the responsibility to resist conforming to dominant social norms and conventions. Jupiter in Capricorn is also found in the horoscope of metaphysical visionaries Emmanuel Swedenborg and Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, both of whom worked within the sympathy found between the celestial realm above with the earth below. During the challenging times portended by the coming transits of 2020, we will need to rely upon Jupiter in Capricorn’s capacity for bringing imaginal vision into the stark reality of circumstances with a focus on making pragmatic results that address the collective breakdown and disintegration occurring.

Pagan Otherworld Devil Arcanum

Devil Arcanum from Pagan Otherworlds tarot deck

Jupiter & Pluto in Capricorn

Perhaps the most massive influence upon Jupiter’s transit through Capricorn will be the three conjunctions it will form with Pluto. The most recent unions between Jupiter and Pluto took place in 2007 in Sagittarius, in 1994 in Scorpio, in 1981 in Libra, in 1968 in Virgo, in 1956 in Leo, in 1943 in Leo, in 1931 in Cancer, and in 1918 in Cancer. When Jupiter combines with Pluto, new knowledge and growth opportunities come from eruptions and catharsis that expand vision beyond previous restrictions. Jupiter can help cohere whatever has fallen apart during the alignment of Saturn and Pluto in the past year, regenerating visions of possibility from the breakdown and decay while asking difficult questions and exploring the taboo. While it’s common for people to resist the deep shifts stirred up by Pluto, the potential explosiveness of its melding with Jupiter will make it important to follow inner promptings for change so that repression does not ultimately lead to implosion.

Pluto conjoining Jupiter will bring expansion through deep penetration into the roots of material circumstances, retrieving lessons, wisdom, and treasure from the inner depths of our unconscious. We will work best with Jupiter and Pluto when finding joy in creation and devoting ourselves to work that intensifies our fulfillment in being alive. Yet we need to be mindful of how Pluto can amplify the inflated ambition of Jupiter to an obsessive degree that can subdue our sense of spirit, generosity and compassion. Indeed, there will likely be numerous power grabs and conflicts erupting amongst the plutocracy as those in power attempt to further secure their grip on resources.  However, since the 2020 conjunctions between Jupiter and Pluto will occur in the same year as a new cycle begins between Saturn and Pluto, the potency of change incited by these new cycles will be so intense that many in power will not be able to hold on to their control.

The limitations of time and space brought by the influence of Saturn upon Jupiter and Pluto will hone our core purpose and temper excessive aspirations. As Jupiter moves through its three conjunctions with Pluto on its way toward uniting with Saturn at the end of 2020, we will be most effective when working with natural cycles and aligning with the seasonal changes of nature, allowing intentions for growth to be determined by the necessity of adapting to the environment and contending with constraints. It will be important to discern when it will be best to rest and recover from collective storms in the caves of Capricorn, and when it will be necessary to climb across boundaries, take action, and participate in creating the change we wish to see happen.

Planetary Nodes of Jupiter.jpg

South Node of Jupiter

Another fascinating aspect of Jupiter, Saturn, and Pluto all beginning new cycles together in 2020 is that all three will be conjoining their own south nodes as we cross the threshold from 2019 into 2020 [note: if you would like to read a more extensive article I wrote about the planetary nodes through focusing on the nodes of Neptune click here]. Just like the lunar nodes demarcate the intersection of the ecliptic (the apparent path of our Sun that forms the zodiac) with the arc of the Moon’s orbit, so do the planetary nodes of Jupiter mark the intersection of its orbit around the Sun with our orbit on Earth around the Sun. Currently, the heliocentric South Node of Jupiter is between 10-11º Capricorn, while the heliocentric South Node of Saturn is about 23º Capricorn and the heliocentric South Node of Pluto is about 19º Capricorn.

The graphic above containing the planetary nodes of Jupiter shows the four points of dynamic change within its relationship with its own nodes. When Jupiter moved through a conjunction with the North Node of Jupiter in Cancer in 2014, it moved from being in southern latitude into being on the ecliptic when uniting with its North Node. It then moved into northern latitude until reaching its peak elevation in northern latitude when forming a square with its nodes in Libra, another dynamic point of change called the northern bending. Jupiter then descended from northern latitude to where it finds itself now, conjoining its own South Node on the ecliptic. In the years ahead, Jupiter will continue to further descend into southern latitude until reaching its southern bending in Aries and then beginning to head back toward the ecliptic and the North Node of Jupiter in Cancer.

Since Jupiter will be conjoining the South Node of Jupiter, it means by latitude it will be moving south across the ecliptic, inhabiting the point at which our orbit on Earth intersects with the orbit of Jupiter around the Sun. Dane Rudhyar in The Planetary and Lunar Nodes interpreted the alignment of a planet with its South or North Node as more readily saturating and flooding our earth-based consciousness with its influence since it is connecting with the orbital plane of our planet Earth. Rudhyar associated the North Node of planets with absorption of new material and stressed the importance of properly digesting and integrating the new material so it will not lead to negative issues when the planet reaches its South Node. The South Node to Rudhyar involves both a seed-like re-channeling into mental, creative, and spiritual development as well as the disintegration and putrefaction of poisonous, toxic material. What Jupiter related themes are you now facing that have their source in 2013 through 2014 when Jupiter conjoined its North Node in Cancer?

Rudhyar further distinguished between the impact of a planet crossing its north node, which he saw as involving a greater degree of cooperation between the archetypal force of the planet and the Earth, with the impact of a planet crossing its own south node, which he saw as being challenging in terms of an outpouring of the archetypal force descending across the ecliptic. Rudhyar wrote, “At its south node the characteristic quality of a planet is almost forcibly thrown upon the Earth.” Because Jupiter, Saturn, and Pluto will all be conjoining their South Nodes as we enter 2020, it is as if the entire orbital arcs of all three planetary archetypes are demanding assimilation, processing, and release. We can feel their impact acutely in the innumerable crises of civilization erupting across our planet that involve complex knots of intersecting karmic strands reaching far back into the history of civilization.

While Jupiter will not be exactly crossing the ecliptic at zero degrees of latitude until February 2020, it will be close to its own South Node when Jupiter forms a conjunction with the Capricorn Solar Eclipse on December 25 or 26 that is also conjoining the South Node of the Moon. A couple weeks later Jupiter will form an exact conjunction with the true node calculation of the transiting South Node of the Moon in Capricorn on January 8, 2020. Although there is an unexpected quality to the impact of eclipses that makes predicting specific events difficult, the proximity of Jupiter with the eclipse, its own South Node and the South Node of the Moon suggests our experiences will call us to question our beliefs and obligations, shedding what we no longer resonate with and deepening our faith and devotion with whatever feels authentic.

Within the dark forests, barren fields, thorny wilderness, and mountainous landscapes of Capricorn, Jupiter in Capricorn will embark upon an epic journey holding the key for both the downfall of global powers as well as how to mediate division and bring about regenerative recovery. Stripped down from all of its inspirational resources in Sagittarius, Jupiter only has room to focus on the essentials within the Capricorn terrain ruled by Saturn. What old dreams, desires, drama, and other personal issues from the past need to be released from your attachment in order to lighten the load and make space for the new potential that will be arising with the collective changes coming in 2020? Jupiter in Capricorn awaits your engagement and full participation in building and crafting the structural supports needed to not only survive and thrive within the coming changes, but also to uplift and inspire others to do the same.

If you would like to explore the meaning of Jupiter’s transit through Capricorn in greater depth, I will be conducting a webinar on Sunday, December 8 entitled “Pan’s Return: Jupiter in Capricorn” that you can sign up for by clicking here.

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References

Barbault, André. (2014). Planetary Cycles Mundane Astrology. The Astrological Association.

George, Demetra. (2019). Ancient Astrology in Theory and Practice: a Manual of Traditional Techniques. Rubedo Press.

Lilly, William. (2004 edition). Christian Astrology. Astrology Classics.

Porphyry, On the Cave of the Nymphs (1917) English translation by Thomas Taylor.

Rhetorius the Egyptian. (2009). Astrological Compendium Containing His Explanation and Narration of the Whole Art of Astrology. Translated from the Greek by James Holden.

Rudhyar, Dane. (1971). The Planetary and Lunar Nodes. CSA Press.

Pan’s Return: Jupiter in Capricorn Webinar

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Jupiter Capricorn Pan no text

Image cropped from Spring Evening by Arnold Bocklin; Astrology glyphs by Bradley Naragon

Pan’s Return: Jupiter in Capricorn Webinar

Sunday, December 8

1 pm PST

Jupiter leaves its fiery home of Sagittarius to enter the dark forests of Capricorn on 2 December 2019, where it will remain until 19 December 2020. In this webinar we will explore the meaning of Jupiter’s transit through Capricorn in the year ahead in terms of personal lives and collective events. As there is a collective panic around the alignment of Saturn and Pluto in January 2020, we will draw meaning from Pan, the divine source of panic and a deity rooted in the living image of Capricorn. Pan was declared dead by some in the past as an oracular explanation for the rise of Christianity over paganism and magical traditions. Now Jupiter returns to Capricorn during an occult revival in which witchcraft, magic, and astrology have gained increased popularity. We will consider ways we can work effectively with Jupiter in Capricorn as well as its pitfalls we need to be aware of.

In a previous turning of the ages, Pan caused panic to aid the victory of the Olympians and formed the Capricorn constellation through fluidly escaping the onslaught of the Typhon. 2020 brings another turning of the ages and fears of other monstrosities we must face, as Jupiter comes to the end of its cycle with Saturn while being in the home of Saturn. Pan as well as other images of Capricorn will help guide us to discover the meaning of Jupiter being in its fall in Capricorn, as well as Jupiter forming three conjunctions with Pluto, a trine with Uranus, a sextile with Neptune, and a square with Mars retrograde in Aries during the year ahead.

Capricorn is also the South Node of Jupiter, and we will discuss the fact that Jupiter will be aligning with its South Node at the same time that Saturn and Pluto are conjoining their own South Nodes. In particular, we will discuss the Solar Eclipse on December 25 (or December 26 depending upon time zone) that will be conjoining the South Node of the Moon, Jupiter, as well as the South Node of Jupiter.

Use the button below to pay for your ticket. After payment is received, a link to gain entry to the webinar will be sent to you. A recording of the webinar will be sent after the event, so in case you cannot make it live you will have your own copy to rewatch.

Pan’s Return: Jupiter in Capricorn Webinar

Webinar exploring the meaning of Jupiter's transit in Capricorn for the year ahead.

$20.00