on capricorn season & the new world

hello, friends. before we dig into capricorn, a reminder that i have some new offerings to support your ongoing tarot journey. if you've been wanting to start a tarot practice of your own but aren't sure where to start, my brand new 3am.tarot foundations lecture series can help. so far i've got three available: 101, which covers the basic structure of the deck, tarot history, and tarot traditions; 201, which offers tips and tricks for how to beginning learning tarot for yourself; and 301, which digs into reading the tarot and explores topics like reversals, tarot spreads, and other reading techniques. i'm currently working on a lecture for court cards and will continue expanding this lecture series in the new year, but the first three lectures are available for purchase right now!

also, if you missed it on instagram, i'm working on two new books! 2024 will be a busy year, but i'm so grateful and excited to start putting these works together.

if you're curious about what your own 2024 may hold, strength & starlight, my new tarot journaling series, begins on january 1st. if you've been struggling with feelings of helplessness, if you're wondering how to step into your power in 2024, or if you could use gentle weekly prompts and spreads to support your transition in to the new year, strength & starlight is for you.

and finally, i am still open for year of eight tarot readings, so if you're craving some one-on-one support around the numerology and themes of your 2024, snag one of these limited edition readings before they're gone at the end of january.

today, the sun makes its way into the cardinal earth of capricorn. and like so many signs of the zodiac that get meme-ified into a superficial role, capricorn too often gets shoved into a capitol-obsessed CEO box, turning this complex and nuanced energy into a vision of a rather boring, stuffy, materialistic workaholic.

but we can do better than that.

with the winter solstice upon us and holiday season in full force, with the new year around the corner while old fears continue to sink deeper into our tender hearts, you may be feeling a lot of different things right now. and if your only tarot-based association with capricorn is the golden dawn's corresponding archetype of the devil, you might feel some kind of way about this new seasonal shift.

let's dig into the heart of capricorn, explore what it means to revel in cardinal earth, and make some space for new discoveries about this powerful, devoted, confident and practical sign.

grab a snack, stretch out any stiff limbs or joints, and let's meet capricorn.

beginning in the back half of december, capricorn is the sign that bridges years: december to january, 12 to 1, 2023 to 2024. with capricorn we are moving into something new, expanding possibility, and making firm and sure-hearted declarations about what we want to pursue, build, expand, discover, and learn.

december as the 12th month (12 // 1+2 = 3) and january as the first month give us one and three to work with through the numerology of the gregorian calendar. and capricorn is also associated with the 10th house in hellenistic astrology, giving us even more one energy. cardinal signs like capricorn like to start things up, set the tone and the course, get things moving in a specific direction. these are signs with big ideas, who can see a vision for the future, which feels entirely in line with the ways that we understand the number one.

remember that one is the spark, the start, the beginning. associated with the magician and minor arcana aces, the wheel and minor arcana tens, and the blazing, clear-eyed sun, one energy is innovative, imaginative, bold, confident, and overflowing with courage. one believes that anything is possible. and paired with capricorn's steady, reliable, patient and purposeful earth, we can see how capricorn earned its reputation for being a badass boss. capricorn knows how to get shit done, and is willing to put in the blood, sweat, and tears required to reach those lofty, ambitious goals.

but what do we do with that pesky three from december's numerological calculations? how do we understand messy, joyful, expressive three in the context of capricorn's focus and ambition?

remember that three isn't only the empress, isn't only represented in the tarot by generosity and creativity and playful communication. (and if you know anyone with a lot of capricorn in their chart, you know that they can be a lot more playful than they tend to get credit for!) three also shows up in the minor arcana threes and knights, as well as the hanged one.

but the card i want to focus on, that so often gets ignored as a three card, is the world.

in rider-waite-smith traditions, not only is the world a three card, but it's also associated with the planet of saturn, which happens to be the ruling planet of capricorn. saturn is associated with time and responsibility, with boundaries and restrictions, with endings.

while the world may technically be the final card in the major arcana, it's not the end of the fool's endlessly cyclical journey. just like capricorn season in the gregorian calendar, each ending flows into the next beginning. we move through a cycle of release and begin to anticipate what may be next, what can grow after the clearing of something that was ready to be discarded. it's here that we have an opportunity to explore discipline and devotion, to recognize what it means to deeply present even as we dream of potential futures.

it's here that we have the chance to start envisioning, planning, and creating a new world.

numbers one and three together capture the possibility and the devotion of capricorn. the having of big ideas, and the willingness to make necessary changes or adjustments or releasings in order to ensure that these ideas have the chance to manifest. this is bigger than the devil's hunger, bigger than the magician's confidence, bigger than the empress' abundance. this is all of it, curling in and branching out, rooting deep and stretching wide.

with so many of us in seasons of grief, with the earth growing cold and still with the coming of winter months in the northern hemisphere, capricorn's solid, steady presence, captured in the numbers of one and three, reminds us that there is more to ambition than just material success. this is also about letting ourselves become who we truly are. this is also about respecting our own needs and dreams in equal measure. this is also about letting our vision fill us up with hope and joy and pleasure, about delighting in the planning, about finding pride and power in our own sense of purpose.

and this is about recognizing our own talents, skills, and magics as resources, assets that we can use to plant the seeds of our own individual and collective futures.

when are you awe-struck by your own ambition? where are you craving both speeding up and slowing down? how are you balancing rest with dreaming, focus with exploration? when you imagine your future, when you consider how it intertwines with the world you live in, what do you dream of?

and as we move into capricorn season, as we prepare for the coming new year, consider: what are you ready to devote yourself to?

a reminder that this series will be retired in the new year. next month i'll send out a reference post with links to past writings, as most of my zodiacal and moon writings are evergreen. if you're craving ongoing astrological content for 2024, i highly recommend you check out some of my favorite tarot-reading astrologers and their content:

jeanna kadlec's astrology for writers newsletter: new and full moon missives as well as creative prompts, writing horoscopes, and detailed weekly astrological forecasts

theresa reed's weekly IG lives & blog: new and full moon tarot pulls, plus weekly live tarot readings with astrological forecasts

tatianna tarot's videos & tarotscopes: seasonal tarot pulls by zodiac sign and in-depth card readings for new and full moons

mecca woods' monthly horoscopes: astrological forecasts by month and astrology courses

diana rose harper's patreon: ongoing astrological writings and lectures, plus live monthly meetings

and for astrologically-minded folks who are looking to go beyond moon and sun cycles, i love the work of amaya rourke (astrologically-informed folk witchcraft), sasha ravich (stellar witchcraft & fixed stars), maeg keane (astrology & herbalism), chloe margarita (artistic & poetic astrology), and pallas k. augustine (relational astrology).

thank you for being here, and wishing you an empowering, steadfast, and purpose-driven capricorn season, as well as a beautiful winter solstice. whatever holidays you may celebrate, i hope they're safe, joyful, and overflowing with hope for the new year.