The Capricorn Convergence: Slow, Deep, and Earthy
Venus retrograde in Capricorn, and Mercury’s impending retrograde to join Pluto in the Underworld, have served to make the start of 2022 slow and fraught with heavier energies than usual.
The grave influence of Venus’ underworld descent, and Mercury’s impending retrograde into Capricorn, have served to make the start of 2022 slow and fraught with heavier energies than usual. What is remarkable about this time is the continuing, relentless influence of Pluto in Capricorn, which conjoins with the Capricorn Sun at this time.
Pluto, ruler of the underworld, transforms us in the deepest, darkest depths of our personal and collective psyches. This is shadow territory. Whatever we’ve wanted to ignore, whatever we’ve thought was off-limits, unacceptable, impossible-to-face is being shown to us.
We would do well to step willingly and consciously into the murkier realms these days, to tell ourselves the truth, even when it’s unpalatable. In no other time in our shared history have we had to do this so intensely. Most of us have come to admit that there simply is no returning to the old days of denial, of getting back to normal, of putting on a false façade that everything is fine and dandy. It’s not. Many worldly structures are broken, sick, unhealthy under the surface, in the very root system.
Venus, planet of relationships, is in her long retrograde period in Capricorn, submerged in the underworld with Pluto; she will not emerge aboveground, fully out of the shadows, until March. Mercury, our messenger and business manager, turns retrograde on January 14; he joins with Pluto in Capricorn in conjunction January 30.
Our collective psyches are asked to examine that which we value and it’s rather confusing if we try to use our old modes and ways of knowing. Venus asks us to look at our relationship and money patterns; Mercury the trickster will give us lot of tricks and trips in order to test it all – plans are going belly up and nothing is reliable quite yet. Policies and procedures are implemented, pulled back again, then pushed again. To say that it’s a crazy-making time is accurate. How are we supposed to move forward at all?
Earth Time
We have to be willing to go deeper. Capricorn is an earth sign, fixated on the tried-and-true and can sometimes be control-mongering. It slows everything down. The highest vibration of Capricorn is Nature herself. And we are learning to navigate the darkest caverns of our earth walk.
Nothing in the world makes “sense” the way it once did. Haven’t you noticed? Concepts and structures that for many centuries seemed to be collectively understood and agreed upon, are melting away. Time and calendaring; administration and planning; money and finances; cryptocurrency and bank accounts; virtual reality and brick and mortar. We are shooting in the dark every time we schedule an event in “the future.” It’s a wonder we can plan for the afternoon, let alone the next few months. Time is revealing itself as the fluid and illusory thing that it is.
We would do well to drop deeper into Earth Time. Earth Time doesn’t pretend to abide by a mandate, or a manmade system or idea of what is supposed to occur. Mother Nature ultimately determines where we go, and when; whether the blizzard snows us in, or we find a pass through the mountains. Are we pushing an agenda out of old conditioning, are we attempting to control the tides? We’re starting to get the joke.
Capricorn is related to the god Pan, lord of Nature. Half goat, half human. Pan is the root of pandemic, as well as pandemonium. When we forget that Nature is ultimately in charge, pandemonium ensues. When pandemonium ensues, we are controlled by fear, whether arising within or imposed from without. In sum, defying our true Nature is a surefire way to make us feel nuts.
Venus retrograde is rubbing our noses in relationships and agreements to force us to get clear on what we absolutely cherish and value. We can make good use of this time if we allow her to show us the truth. No need to fear – the truth will feel good when it sinks in. Why? Because it’s natural, and truly in alignment with Reality.
Because Venus is in the underworld with Pluto, we will be stripped of our outer appearances and persona, our sexy clothes and jewels and happy faces; everything is being taken away so we can learn humility, so we can reconnect to the Earth. The preponderance of Capricorn energies implores us to get back in touch with Earth Time, which is not egoic time, man-made, or based on an agenda.
Before one studies Zen, mountains are mountains and waters are waters; after a first glimpse into the truth of Zen, mountains are no longer mountains and waters are no longer waters; after enlightenment, mountains are once again mountains and waters once again waters.
- Dōgen, 13th C. Zen Master
Put Your Ear to the Ground
Once upon a time, I accepted the images presented to me of what was occurring in the world, and the delivered narrative of cause and effect. Yet, also once upon a time, I grew up in a post-Vietnam, post-Watergate era and a household that openly discussed deception. Baby boomer adults around me modeled questioning authority, and critical thinking when it came to corporate and government interests and the policies implemented. I was taught to ask, Does this actually make sense? I also learned to pay close attention to other ways of knowing – and to dig under the surface.
Raised by a Capricorn single mother in a wild, rural area, the environment itself invited a deeper listening – to the rivers, mountains, winds, animals and trees. I learned to listen and look carefully. Pay attention. . . hear that? There’s a rattlesnake. Pay attention. . . three leaves and glistening. . . that’s poison oak.
Spending hours outdoors by myself, swimming in streams or playing in the dirt, a wild woman archetype must have whispered to me.
She, the one who feels, senses, smells, and puts her ear to the ground.
The one who listens to her dreams. Who heeds the tides. Who answers the calls of crow, raven, hawk, eagle, sparrow and flicker.
She, as old as the hills.
Older. Timeless.
She is Nature. She doesn’t need an institution or calendar or diploma to validate her knowing. Just as a mother doesn’t need to explain why she knows what she knows about her child’s needs or health or sensitivities. She is connected to her-self, she not separate from the seasons and cycles. The wilder woman lives in each of us, regardless of gender. She lives on Earth Time.
In times when outer world events feel dry, pinched, upsetting. . . in times when the inner world feels like we are trapped, when joy is hard to feel, when it feels dark and heavy and our soul feels crunched. . . try dropping your taproot deeper so you can truly listen. Put your ear to the ground.
When our bodies are gone, the mountains will live on. As this New Year begins with more energetic drag than thrust, we can take the longer view. Feeling ancient? We’re not yet done with the Pluto, Venus, Mercury, Sun in Capricorn imperative. Yes, it’s Pleistocene pace. Settle in, and move with Earth Time.
Honoring the wilder feminine: Mari Boine is an idigenous folk singer from the northern tip of Norway Sámi peoples. Her singing is shamanic and deeply connected to the Earth, combining traditional chants with modern sounds. Here she is singing “Jearrat Biekkas,” which means “listen to the winds” in a live performance in Switzerland:
Holy holy holy. thank you ever and again and again. shedding some light on the deep terrain.
"Capricorn is related to the god Pan, lord of Nature. Half goat, half human. Pan is the root of pandemic, as well as pandemonium. When we forget that Nature is ultimately in charge, pandemonium ensues. When pandemonium ensues, we are controlled by fear, whether arising within or imposed from without. In sum, defying our true Nature is a surefire way to make us feel nuts." thankyou. this is exactly how i feel about this pandemic. listen to the mother and look to your own houses.