Capricorn New Moon: Step by Step
In 2014, a mountain knocked on my door, and took up residence in my life.
A crush injury, they called it. And what a fitting term - I have been crushed, quite literally. (Quite metaphorically, too, if we’re being honest.)
I recall back on that autumn day, I looked to the future with enthusiastic anticipation: Two days prior, I had resigned from the nonprofit that I’d cofounded in order to pursue other dreams. But that mountain had other ideas for me, and although I didn’t realize it at the time, a long road to recovery would follow.
Some mountains seem insurmountable.
Take, for example, a long pandemic with no end in sight. Or the loss of a loved one, and navigating forward in the ensuing void. Or – for me – walking without aid.
We are tired. We are grieving.
We face a new year and wonder what it holds.
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The New Moon on January 2nd (12:33pm CST) occurs at 12 degrees Capricorn.
New Moons always occur when the Sun and Moon stand together in the sky, urging us to start something fresh. All New Moons begin a 4-week, 6-month, and 2.5-year cycle – so they’re important times for planting seeds for the future.
The sign of Capricorn, represented by the ever-climbing mountain goat, reminds us to be mature, work hard, and persist. I like to think of Cap as the school principal of the zodiac: In this sign, we are asked to do our homework, be responsible, have practical goals, and put structures and plans in place to support our calling.
Although Capricorn is an outward-directed, high-reaching, initiating sign, as we begin 2022 it seems we are also being reminded that some mountains are personal, an internal journey: Venus (symbolizing our relationships, finances, and values, among other things) is retrograde in hard-working Capricorn. And Mercury (our communications and how we think) is in the same sensible sign, also gearing up to move backward* in a couple of weeks. Retrograde periods are internal times; they invite us to pause for review and reflection.
Ask yourself: What supports can you put in place in pursuit of your goals? What structures in your life are working, and which are inadequate? What values, relationships, and plans feed your soul? Who are the people that show up for you and treat you well? How can you better align your finances with your values? What and who do you want to bring with you into 2022?
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“You do not rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems.”
~James Clear
In the years after that life-altering injury to my foot, I struggled with walking more than 50 steps per day. Eventually, I began walking on an anti-gravity treadmill, which was not only as cool as it sounds, but was helping. But then the pandemic closed the clinic, and I found myself stymied at about 200 steps per day.
My big dream is walking around the lake by our house, unaided. I remember wondering, “How is that going to happen now?”
So last year during Capricorn season, I took a new approach and created a new walking plan for myself: First, I listed every helpful thing that I had learned in the previous six years. From this list, I put as many external supports in place as I could (e.g., doctors, physical therapist, acupuncturist, vitamins, etc.). I figured that the rest was an inside job.
I knew from experience that doing too much too soon wouldn’t work, and so I hatched an audacious plan to increase my steps a mere 5% every 2-3 weeks. In other words, as the old expression goes: The slower I went, the faster I’d get there.
Imagine it: My first increase went only from 200 to 210 steps per day. I did that for two weeks. It seemed so small. So minuscule. So insignificant.
But week by week, I carried on with these microscopic increases. I tried not to focus on the mountain (or in this case, the lake!). I kept my head down and did my work. I looked at the tiny steps in front of me and not what hovered over me. Little by little, I took my baby steps. Despite my Virgo planets screaming at me, I didn’t do math on how far I “should” be by the end of 2021. I just kept at it.
It’s now been about a year since I began my Audacious Walking Plan. Am I winning races? I am not. But I am clocking in well over 500 steps per day. And to me, that feels like a small miracle.
Some mountains seem insurmountable.
And yet.
We are determined. We are hopeful.
We face a new year and wonder what it holds.
We climb.
Step by step, we climb.
Writing and photo ©2022 Jen Braun, JJ Boots Productions LLC
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*Of course, planets don’t really move backward! But from our perspective here on Earth, retrograde motion makes it appear as if they do.
If you’d like to read more essays about my adventures in learning to walk again, hit the “WalkStrong” tag below.
