These new and full moon updates are sent as a service to my astrology clients, students, and friends. Stephanie Austin, Box 1745, Port Townsend, WA 98368 Dear Friends, One year ends, another begins. More importantly, we are at the end of an era, and in the midst of an exciting and challenging transition phase, which requires both courage and compassion. Many people are relocating, beginning new careers, ending relationships. Like a child outgrows its clothes and toys, we outgrow jobs, friends, places, beliefs. Whatever is not in resonance or support of our expanded awareness falls away. The next full moon, which peaks on Sunday, January 8 at 11:30 PM PST at 18º Cancer-Capricorn, highlights the gap between our inner and outer realities — where we need to release old forms, and where new ones are required to reflect the inner changes we have made. Cancer represents the feminine principle, the creation matrix, and what is necessary to support and protect new forms until they are capable of being on their own. Sometimes called the Moonchild, Cancer is the first water sign; the ebb and flow of our feelings and needs are akin to the waxing and waning of the Moon. Our body and the Earth are primarily fluid, composed of approximately 75% water, which has several unique properties. Water is called the “universal solvent” because it dissolves more substances than any other liquid. It exists in all three states: gas, liquid, and solid. Water fogs, floods, and freezes. It forms clouds and glaciers, swamps and seas. Water also absorbs, stores, and conveys electromagnetic information. Dr. Masaru Emoto’s research exposing water to various stimuli and then photographing the resulting crystals vividly illustrates how our thoughts and feelings affect physical reality. (For more information, visit http://www.whatthebleep.com/crystals/.) Capricorn, as the third earth sign, represents maturity and mastery of the physical plane. By the tenth sign, we have ideally developed a healthy conscience and concern for others. We are motivated by a desire to give back to the world, offering the skills we have developed and the wisdom we have gained. We understand and work within the limitations of physicality; we shape matter in service of spirit, stewarding rather than dominating, sharing rather than hoarding. We look inwardly for guidance. We walk our talk. There is no split between who we are and what we do. Just as water has surprising abilities, the element of earth is also more than meets the eye. We live in a holographic universe. Matter appears solid but, in reality, is composed primarily of space — 99% of each atom is space; 96% of the universe is invisible to our five senses and current scientific instruments. The illusion of continuity in movies is created because the speed of the images (24 frames per second) is greater than our brain can process individually. For more about the mysterious nature of reality, watch What the Bleep Do We Know? or Through the Wormhole at http://topdocumentaryfilms.com. Mercury, the planet most linked with cognition and perception, has just entered Capricorn and forms aspects to all the outer planets, stretching us to reformulate our ideas and concepts of reality. Saturn, the planet most associated with the physical world, continues its opposition to Jupiter, urging us to balance optimism with pragmatism, vision with commitment, expansion with responsibility. The need to be realistic and conscious of the consequences of our actions is strongly echoed by dwarf planet Eris’ station direct only minutes after the full moon forms. Eris, named for the Greek Goddess of Strife, turned retrograde on July 18, 2011 at 22°29' Aries, and turns direct at 21°23' Aries, emphasizing the need for ingenuity and cooperation rather than intransigency and competition. Take time around this full moon to clarify your goals. What is your real work? What needs to shift in your personal life for your professional life to flourish? For a brilliant and potentially life-changing overview of The Law of Attraction, the Law of Belief, and the Law of Conscious Creation, read James Tyberonn's message at http://www.earth-keeper.com/EKnews_65.htm and don't miss Lee Harris' beautiful video on 2012 at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJJ_AM5C4ns (Many thanks to Patricia Cota-Robles for this link): "2012 will be a year of great power. This word will ripple across the world and your life from different angles and different perspectives. So find the power of your heart, the power of your voice, the power of your spirit and use these in the power of your action. This is how we will create a planet of new human consciousness. We can keep talking about it or we can begin it, become it, do it." (Lee Harris, www.LeeHarrisEnergy.com) Namaste, Stephanie Austin 360-379-3060 www.EcoAstrology.com Box 1745, Port Townsend, WA 98368 Stephanie Austin M.A. is a professional astrologer specializing in life purpose, career, and relationship readings since 1986. She also teaches astrology and writes the New and Full Moon column for the Mountain Astrologer Magazine. Her background includes a bachelor's degree in Psychology, a master's in Consciousness Studies, and a lifelong involvement with meditation, Nature, and healing. For more information on her astrology readings, eBooks, tutorials, and forecasts, please visit www.EcoAstrology.com.