Musings on the Capricorn Full Moon

Happy full moon (with a lunar eclipse) in Capricorn everyone! 

If it’s felt a while since you’ve received a musing, you’re not wrong :) I took a pause for the last new moon but I'm back baby!
I have a sneaky suspicion that pause will actually play out in the next musing, which happens to be a second new moon in Cancer. But for now, let's muse about all things Capricorn. 

Capricorn, and its ruling planet Saturn, has been a major player in the astrology of 2020 and whether you’ve been aware of it or not, Capricorn has been making itself known in a myriad of ways, both collectively and most likely in your personal lives as well. You may have heard astrological rumblings of Saturn, Pluto and Jupiter all being in Capricorn this year - the destruction (Pluto) of structures (Saturn) that are no longer sustainable or relevant in a new and emerging world.  Seem a bit fitting for this year? 

I was all set to write about the various forms structures can take and what happens when they begin to be dismantled - structures in our society, structures that support us in our daily lives (i.e. family and community), the structure of our bodies (Saturn rules bones and the spine)  - until I read this quote that really made me pause and contemplate the virtues of Capricorn. 

“Nothing in all civilisation has been as productive as ludicrous ambition. Whatever its ills, nothing has created more. Cathedrals, sonatas, encyclopaedias..."(1) 

When I first read this, I hated this sentiment haha! Especially the first line. Is productivity the only end goal that matters? Isn’t that how we’ve gotten ourselves into living in societies that value work, being equated with productivity, above all else? Even our own health and wellbeing?

After I went on an internal rant about just how much that first line bothered me and "that's exactly what's wrong with the world!!", I then stopped and focused on the second part - “whatever its ills, nothing has created more.” 

Ooof! That one made me stop and think. It forced me really musing about what ambition, an attribute I associated with Capricorn, is at its core. 

I have always slightly recoiled at the word ‘ambition’. Someone once told me that they didn’t see me as ambitious and at the time I took it as a compliment (now, not so much ;) ). I conflated ambition with greed. Someone who was willing to trample over anyone and anything to get ahead, so focused on their own ambitions there was little room for anything else. And yet with reading the line ‘nothing has created more.. cathedrals, sonatas, encyclopaedias’ I began to see ambition in a new light. 

I pictured visiting La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona and the sheer awe and reverence I felt upon seeing this structure for the first time. I didn’t initially put together what an apt representation of Capricorn and Saturn it is (which rules over physical structures, as well as the church), but I was completely speechless as to what a fucking feat of creation it is!

It wasn’t just some fleeting thought Gaudi had, it was the creative baby of his ambition. Of what is possible with focus, determination and an end vision. Even the fact that it has been under construction for 136 years (and is still not complete!) is a perfect reminder of one of the gifts Saturn, who is referred to as "Father Time," tries to instil in us - that of the importance of patience and what I have now come to see ambition as a representation of…

Perseverance. 

Isn’t that what ambition is at the end of the day? The ability to persevere through setbacks, blocks and one’s own self-criticism (all Saturn's domain too)? To keep striving towards the end goal, the ultimate dream, even if what’s immediately in front of you is making you think otherwise? How one chooses to go about accomplishing that goal, well that’s up to the individual and when the shadow side of ambition may make its appearance. 

But without ambition, without perseverance, without being able to commit to the long haul and bring in the Capricorn quality of laser focus, our dreams and visions may stay scribbled on a piece of paper. Lost in the ether of ‘wouldn’t it be nice…’ rather than the remembrance that they can come to fruition. But that it takes time. And not just the will to persevere, but the desire to do so. 

I am 100% writing this as a reminder to myself during these times. To persevere through the uncertainty of the current world we’re living in, to persevere through my own self-doubts and criticisms that want to derail me from believing that my wildest dreams can come true. It takes commitment to oneself, one’s dreams, to continue to venture forward in what sometimes feels like stumbling around in the great, black abyss. 

But now when I waiver, I can envision La Sagrada Familia, a feat of architecture that continues to persevere despite the time, money and setbacks it has encountered. It can remind me that to be ambitious is to be determined, focused and committed to what one holds dear. To commit to being in it for the long haul if it’s what makes my heart feel full. That we would have been robbed of some of the most awe-inspiring, jaw-dropping pieces of architecture, music and art without the "ludicrous ambition" of others.

So let this full moon in Capricorn remind you that you have a well of strength inside of you to persevere through any blocks or setbacks you may be feeling right now. Whether that's how you make your relationship thrive, your business succeed or figuring out how to get the rabbits to stop eating the veggies in your garden. It can feel overwhelming, it can feel like the tallest mountain lies between us and our goal, but this is when we can take our cue from Capricorn's symbol of the mountain goat - 

One. 

   Step. 

      At. 

         A. 

            Time. 

With that, with patience, with the will to persevere, we can all be ludicrously ambitious and revel in our own awe-someness. 

Much love always,

Xx Faye 

(1) Tom Rachman, The Imperfectionists, (Canada: Random House Inc., 2010), p. 38.