New Year 2023

New Year 2023 - New Dispensation

"The shallow consider liberty a release from all law, from every constraint. The wise man sees in it, on the contrary, the potent Law of Laws."

— Walt Whitman

Each New Year represents a new beginning — a new dispensation — and New Year 2023 is certainly an especially potent example. We leave the '6' year of 2022, which suggests that we have been required to respond spontaneously to unexpected, activating events throughout this year. But to a great extent we are emerging from even more than just this past year. We are actually, finally emerging from the past three years, which have been dominated by Saturn's conjunction with Pluto in 2020 and the subsequent Saturn-Uranus square which dominated 2021 and most of 2022. Pluto's deconstruction of Saturn's structures has required a rebuilding process that has seemed at times to be stalled — or at least insistently arduous — under the Saturn-Uranus square. That square has finally separated and begun to allow us to aim our focus squarely on the future. 2023 is a '7' year, suggesting that we can begin to see the 'bare bones' of a new structure emerging. As we begin this New Year, there are important reminders of the work that it has taken to put in place a new 'bare bones' framework upon which to build our future.

Venus continues to 'set the tone' this week as it leaves the constraint of Capricorn for the inventive freedom of Aquarius. We can begin to feel that the gears are turning, providing the energy we need to take initiative and move beyond past restrictions. Individual power is highlighted. Intuition is blending with initiative in ways that allow plenty of room for growth and expansion into brand new territory. However, Mercury is still retrograding back through Capricorn, reminding us of the value and importance of both our past successes and our past failures. The urge to break with the past is strong this week, building to a crescendo at Friday's Cancer Full Moon (3:07 PM PST 16° Cancer/Capricorn), which finds the Sun just past a trine to Uranus and the Moon making a square to Chiron and a potent sextile to Uranus. The Cancer Full Moon warms our feelings towards those around us without distracting us from the imperative to break free and take individual initiative. Outdated methods, attitudes, and approaches are clearly crumbling as we begin this New Year. Nonetheless, we are encouraged to remind ourselves of where we have come from and the lessons that we have learned from the past that we are leaving behind. By the end of the week, Mercury reaches the inferior conjunction with the Sun and begins to provide us with a steadiness of purpose. We can begin to take tangible first steps — baby steps — towards what, until now, we have only been envisioning. However, It is important to stay humble and allow ourselves plenty of room for falls and setbacks. Venus is approaching a trine to the stationing Mars in Gemini which will complete next week just as Mars finally turns direct. The value of the Venus-Mars trine can be found in an enhanced ability to directly communicate our vision and insight to others, laying important foundations for future cooperation. While we may struggle with complications and obstacles this week that seem to block our progress, the imperative to free ourselves from the past is intensely powerful and certain to propel us forward. Any slowdowns are actually there to remind us how far we have already come and what we have already learned.

Direct action and initiative is limited on Sunday. However, a Mercury-Neptune sextile — with Saturn at the midpoint — allows for imaginative but productive day-dreaming and reflection. There is some tendency to keep our activity under wraps on Monday. If we are trying to 'get away with something' we may find ourselves exposed in the evening. We should pay close attention to how we are directing the energy that we are beginning to find 'at our fingertips'. There is a newfound sense of freedom on Tuesday. We should be careful to recognize the lessons of the past that we may be trying to escape. Complications may be 'blessings in disguise' on Wednesday. While we may feel frustration, making adjustments will help us to lay the groundwork for progress later in the week. Intuition and initiative blend nicely on Thursday. There is gracious magnanimity in the atmosphere but any sudden need to break free of old ideas or attitudes will bring decisive aggressiveness. Individual power is highlighted under the Cancer Full Moon on Friday. New ideas and approaches gain significant traction. There is a steadiness of purpose finally beginning to emerge on Saturday. We can finally take tangible steps towards what we have, until now, only been able to envision.