As we welcome the New Moon of Capricorn, we say goodbye to the abundant energy and miraculous light of Sagittarius. This may feel like a bit of a jolt considering there are still three nights left of Chanukah, yet I see it as a supportive shift in the energetic tide.
Capricorn is a sign of determination, stability, and steady growth. It is ruled by Saturn, an icy planet that gives off twice as much energy as it takes in from the Sun. Energetically, Saturn symbolizes limits, restrictions, opposition, and structure—not typically on anyone’s list of favorite things! However, without them, we are unable to grow and evolve, we aren’t able to manifest or create anything and even if we did, we would have trouble finding meaning in it. This is where its power lies…
This month is bringing us the energy required for committing to our long-term vision and seeing it through, for unwavering ambition, and impenetrable patience. People born under this sign take naturally to hard work and have incredible discipline; they are responsible, reliable—and love to be in control.
The challenge of this month is one of control but more specifically about the paradoxical nature of control: to gain control you must relinquish the need for it. How do we meet this challenge? By crafting our plans, dreaming big, getting into action, and then… surrendering it all.
Okay, so, this doesn’t come easily to anyone no matter what sign you were born under. But it also means that anyone can benefit from it which is why this month is the perfect time to practice. I also can’t help but point out the elegance of how this energetic change of the guard comes during the middle of a holiday designed to help us draw down blessings.
As you observe the holiday of Chanukah still sparkling with the abundant Light of Sagittarius, perhaps you have experienced a tinge of expectation about how your blessings will manifest. Maybe you’re hoping to “get it right,” as a means of managing a specific outcome. If so, that’s okay; we’ve all been there. We have all wanted to feel in control of what comes but, regardless, it isn’t our job. Our only real job is to let go and trust.
The idea of letting go is scary, but journalist Jill Sherer Murray insists that letting go actually makes you unstoppable in the pursuit of what you truly desire. From ending a 12-year relationship to documenting her weight loss, Jill credits her successes to letting go. In a TEDx Talk, she explains how letting go created space in her life for the things she truly wanted; it helped her get present and allowed her to show up in every area of her life as her full, authentic self. Suddenly, all of the things she had deeply wanted—a committed partnership, the career of her dreams, physical health—began manifesting in her reality.
The type of letting go she describes isn’t the releasing of outer elements of life. She credits five things she let go and continues to let go of that have created the freedom and joy she currently experiences. Spoiler alert: they all come from within. She lets go of taking things personally, of caring what others think, of needing to be “perfect,” of trying to be something she’s not, and of waiting for the time to be right.
What do these have in common? They are all examples of us trying to be in control of things that are inherently out of our control—especially when, at the end of the day, these concerns are unimportant. When we let go of the need to control, we surrender and put our trust back in the Creator, replacing fear with certainty. I actually have a favorite parable that illuminates the miracles that abound via the magic of letting go.
One day, kabbalist the Baal Shem Tov was walking with one of his students through the middle of a forest. They had been walking for quite some time and still had much further to go. As they walked, the student became increasingly thirsty and said to the Baal Shem Tov, “I am going to faint if I do not get some water very quickly.” The Baal Shem Tov turned to him and said, “Do you have certainty that the Light of the Creator knew forever that this day you were going to become thirsty and were going to need water?” The student had his doubts and though he didn’t want to lie to the Baal Shem Tov he did want to have that level of certainty. So he replied, albeit wishful, “I have complete certainty.”
A few moments later a man with a bucket of water on his shoulders approached from the opposite direction. The Baal Shem Tov called to him and asked the man if he would mind sharing. Curious, the Baal Shem Tov asked, “What are you doing here in the middle of the forest with a bucket of water?” The man replied, “My employer was acting so strangely today. Even though we have a well very nearby, he told me he needed water from a well that is all the way across the forest! So here I am, carrying this water back to him.” The Baal Shem Tov said to his student, “You see? When you have constant certainty in miracles, they will happen to you all the time.”
When the student let go of worrying about “the how,” the miracle manifested before his eyes. You don’t need to be the student of a great kabbalist to experience this, the same thing happened to Jill Murray Sherer.
No miracle is passive, we have to show up. As we say goodbye and thank you to the miraculous energy of Sagittarius, I invite you to welcome the discerning, steadfast energy of Capricorn with open arms. Allow this month to show you all the ways that having a plan, determination, and patience will get you where you really want to go—then surrender and allow the Creator to reveal to you the path, the blessings, and the miracles.
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