Capricorn New Moon 1/18/26
The Steady Becoming
“Grace grows best in winter.”
— Margaret Atwood
It’s been a long year, and we are only, as I write this, fifteen days in.
Astrologers warned this year would bring intensity and change. But you do not need an astrologer for that. Just turn on the news, read a headline, or notice your own nervous system.
Justice, truth, freedom, power, and responsibility are leading themes now. They are not subtle. They press into our conversations, relationships, institutions, and inner lives.
But here’s the part that matters most:
Just because these themes are activated does not mean we will get them right.
The good news is that change is possible.
The harder news is that it depends on us.
And we are not all on the same page.
This division is not an accident. Polarity comes with instability. Intense emotions narrow our focus. Fear, outrage, and despair make us vulnerable. When flooded with fear or anger, our brains lose curiosity and long-term thinking. In times of toxic polarity we do not get more discerning. We get more reactive.
We cannot be enraged and openly curious at the same time.
Instead, we look for certainty. We look for someone to blame. We crave fast solutions to complex problems. Historically, this is the psychological terrain in which authoritarian movements take root. This is not because people are evil or foolish, but because they are overwhelmed, disoriented, and desperate for relief.
Fear and hate have always been effective tools for consolidating power.
This is why discernment is so crucial right now. It helps us move through intensity without being commandeered by it. In that way, discernment quietly resists authoritarian dynamics by dispersing power and keeping it grounded in thoughtful choice rather than emotional coercion.
Which brings us to Capricorn.
Capricorn, the zodiacs most powerful discerning force, slows things down, assesses, weighs, and observes consequences before acting. It avoids confusing intensity with truth or urgency with wisdom, building what endures with careful attention to structure and long-term impact.
This does not mean the times we are living in will be calm. The astrology is far too dynamic and focused for that (*see below for more on the astrologese). Nor does Capricorn promise comfort or ease. What it offers instead is presence: the ability to stay grounded in what is actually happening, to keep our feet on the ground even when the terrain is unstable, and to choose our responses with care.
This is also not a call to deny our feelings. That would be impossible and unhealthy, right now. Fear, anger, grief, and confusion are not signs that something is wrong with us. They are appropriate responses to injustice, instability, and moral injury. Feeling deeply in a moment like this is not weakness. It is evidence of your humanity.
The work is not to get rid of these feelings. The work is to relate to them wisely. Discernment is critical here too.
Capricorn reminds us to differentiate between using emotion as information and being used by it. When emotions flood us without reflection, they are easily exploited by media, by ideology, by leaders who promise certainty or relief in exchange for our discernment. When emotions are acknowledged, grounded, and metabolized, they become tools rather than triggers.
Anger can clarify boundaries without becoming violent or hateful.
Fear can signal real risk without turning into paralysis or obedience.
Grief can deepen values without collapsing into powerlessness.
This is the emotional maturity of Capricorn: not suppression or indulgence, but thoughtful stewardship of our feelings.
Which brings us to another of Capricorn’s essential gifts: perseverance.
This time is not a sprint. It is a marathon. And more accurately, it is a mountain climb.
Capricorn is symbolized by the mountain goat, steady and sure-footed even when the terrain steepens and the path ahead is unclear. It knows that endurance is not force, but rhythm, pacing, adjusting, and resting when needed, without surrendering the climb.
And still, there will be moments when it feels like too much. Moments when you want to turn back. When the weight feels overwhelming. When the path ahead is unclear, and the effort already expended feels heavy. That’s Capricorn, too, and that is also part of the climb.
The Sabian symbol for this New Moon is “A child of about five with a huge shopping bag.” It’s an image that speaks directly to this moment: someone small carrying something heavy, growth accelerated by responsibility, capacity being stretched in real time.
The question is not whether the load is real. It is. And being in the reality of now matters. What is unfolding cannot be bypassed or wished away. We cannot fix what we cannot fully see.
The deeper question is what we do with what is real. How we carry it, how we respond to it, and whether the weight we bear strengthens us or quietly depletes us. The work is learning how to carry it in ways that do not ask us to abandon ourselves or each other.
Because Capricorn represents the season of winter. The time when we reap what has been sown. When growth slows, light thins, and we are asked to move through a necessary darkness, a symbolic death that makes room for renewal. The magnitude of this reality can feel stark, even bleak at times. It can surface grief, fatigue, and disillusionment. So be gentle with whatever is arising for you.
And yet winter also reminds us of something essential. Life does not disappear. It goes inward. Beneath the surface, roots deepen. Reserves gather. What endures prepares itself quietly for what comes next.
This is where Capricorn’s deeper gifts reveal themselves not as harshness, but as resilience, integrity, discernment, and the capacity to carry responsibility without losing heart.
If you want to explore the Capricorn graces that help us navigate this season with steadiness and care, you can upgrade on substack and continue reading. Upgrade Subscription
This New Moon occurs @ 18° Capricorn.
Photo by Mateusz Klein on Unsplash
Want to better understand what this time is asking of you? Contact me for a reading.
*The Sun, Moon, Mercury, and Venus are tightly conjunct in Capricorn, creating a dense concentration of energy in the sign of responsibility, consequence, and lived reality. That cluster rolls forward into Aquarius, where Venus meets Pluto, signifying innovation through disruption, truth through rupture, and endings that do not ask for permission. Pisces follows close behind with the North Node, Saturn, and Neptune: vision dissolving illusion, spiritual maturity demanded rather than romanticized. Jupiter, the outlier, sits opposite in Cancer, amplifying emotion, memory, grief, and the longing for safety.
We love to hear from you! Feel free to leave a comment.