This January we are promised a lot of wonderful activity in the
skies above us, which may have an impact on what we do and how we are feeling.
Firstly we have a New Moon occurring on New Year’s day. This will
make the 1st January 2014 a particularly auspicious time to plan any
changes you want to take place in your life. A New Moon is all about new
beginnings and this coupled with it being the start of a new Calendar year
means many of us will be looking toward changes we wish to make and projects we
wish to start. Try and make any promises to yourself easily achievable, it is
not good for our soul to promise to do something that we only stick to for
January. Try and word your goals in a positive manner, for example rather than
‘I want to lose weight’ try ‘I am going to eat a healthier diet this January
New Moon’ Any New Years resolutions that you do set in motion will be much more
likely to reach fruition than previous years due to the added advantage of the
New Moon.
This January New Moon will have even more impact in our lives due
to the fact that it is a Supermoon or Perigree Moon. A Supermoon or Perigree
Moon occurs when the moon is closer to our earth than usual. The moon appears
bigger to us at the time of a supermoon. Obviously this is much more prominent
at the time of a full moon as we will be more able to see the increase in size.
However we will be affected at this New Moon by the fact that it is a super new
moon! Super moons are known to bring higher tides than usual and the effect that
they have on human and animal behaviour is heightened at the time of a
Supermoon.
“The moon may seem bigger although the
difference in its distance from Earth is only a few percent at such times,”
says Dr. James Garvin, chief scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight
Center on the space agency’s website. “It is called a supermoon because this is
a very noticeable alignment that at first glance would seem to have an effect.
The ‘super’ in supermoon is really just the appearance of being closer.”
Supermoons can appear as much as
14% larger in the sky and 30% brighter to our eyes than at their smallest size
and brightness.
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| Diagram from earth sky.org |
Richard
Nolle, the astrologer, is credited with coining the term supermoon. He
defines them as:
“a new or
full moon which occurs with the moon at or near (within 90% of) its closest
approach to Earth.
“By this
definition, a new moon or full moon has to come within
361,863 kilometers (224,851 miles) of our planet, as measured from the
centers of the moon and Earth, in order to be a super moon”
“Each month,
on the day of the new moon, the Earth, moon and sun are aligned, with the moon
in between. This line-up creates wide-ranging tides, known as spring tides.
High spring tides climb up especially high, and on the same day low tides
plunge especially low.
The January 1 and 30
extra-close new moons will accentuate the spring tide, giving rise to what’s
called a perigean spring
tide. If you live along an ocean coastline, watch for high tides
caused by the two January 2014 new moons – or supermoons.” Earthsky.org
With the amount of rain we
are having at the moment it is worth keeping an eye on the weather in case of
flooding at the perigrean high tide.
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| Around each new moon (left) and full moon (right) – when the sun, Earth, and moon are located more or less on a line in space – the range between high and low tides is greatest. These are called spring tides. Earthsky.org |
You won’t be able to see
the new super moon on January 1 or January 30. At the time of the new moon, the moon
hides in the glare of the sun all day long, rising with the sun at sunrise and
setting with the sun at sunset. Just because you can’t see this new supermoon
doesn’t mean you won’t be able to feel the effects. However in the days
following the new moon you will be able to see a small sliver of the moon at
dusk in the Western sky.
We have actually got two Supermoons in
January as the next new moon will be a supermoon too. This makes January 2014
the only month with two supermoons until January 2018! The second new supermoon
occurs on 30th January, only just making it into the month of
January! In addition to having super
moons in July, two weeks after the year’s nearest new moon on January 1, it’ll
be the year’s farthest and smallest full moon on January 16, 2014. This sort of
moon is often termed a micro moon.
We will have five supermoons in total
during 2014, the latter three moons will be full moons so we will enjoy their
full ‘super’ effect! The other supermoons in 2014 will be on July 12, on August
10, and on September 9. The
full moon on August 10, 2014, will be the closest supermoon of the year
(356,896 kilometers or 221,765 miles from our earth to the moon). The two super new moons on January 1 and
January 30 will not be all that far behind, featuring the year’s second-closest
and third-closest supermoons, respectively.
The New Moon on
1st January will be at 10degrees in Capricorn. It will line up with
Pluto and Mercury (in Capricorn) whilst squaring Mars in Libra, and Uranus in
Aries.
The New Moon in
Capricorn may cause feelings to run pretty high and emotions to be a little on
the turbulent side. This will be an an energetic new moon, a perfect time for
taking action on things that have been lying dormant for a while!
The fabulous Simone Butler from Mooncircles.com
has the following to say regarding our Capricorn new super moon.
“The Capricorn New Moon (Jan. 1,
3:14 a.m. PST) catalyzes a grand cross between Mars in Libra, Jupiter in
Cancer, Uranus in Aries and Pluto in Capricorn.
“The
planets involved represent strong yang forces,
intensified by their presence in action-oriented cardinal signs. Do-or-die
Pluto conjuncts the Sun, Moon and Mercury and exactly squares headstrong Mars.
This forceful call for evolutionary change can prompt a fresh start, but it can
also trigger antagonism and impatience if we’re not careful to channel it
wisely.
“Because this powerful energy colors the
entire year ahead, we can expect
2014 to be a magnificent, make-it-or-break-it year.
“The good news is, if you’re inclined to
cut ties with the past, launch new projects or begin running marathons, this
alignment will give you the push you need. The bad news is, if you persist in
clinging to old patterns or being less than your authentic self, you’re apt to
suffer.
“Complicating the planetary picture, Venus is
currently retrograde in Capricorn (Dec. 21 – Jan. 31).
Pleasure-loving Venus can feel weighed down in that serious earth sign, but
she’s also able to devise effective plans for change, and cement healthy habits
in existing relationships (not a great time to start new ones, though).
“Don’t rely overmuch on others’ financial
or emotional support during this retrograde, as it’s meant to guide you into
your own depths to reclaim your talents, power and self-esteem (although it is
a good time to recoup losses or receive money owed to you).
“Through the end of January, you may have
to dig deep to find the softer side of love, to unconditionally accept yourself and others—but your efforts will
be richly rewarded.”
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| www.yourdictionary.com |
The new
supermoon isn’t all that is happening in our skies during January 2014. Our
earth will come the closest to the sun for the year on Jan 4th. At
this point we willl be about 91.4 million miles
away, this is called perihelion. On average, the distance between the sun and
ourselves is about 93 million miles. During this time therefore we may find
ourselves more influenced by the male Sun energy. This would be a fabulous time
to make some super charged sun water.
Earth reaches aphelion (the farthest distance from the sun) in July.
We will also experience the wonder of
a meteor shower in January. The quadrantid meteors reach their peak on January
3rd and will be easily visible as our moon will still be relatively
new at this point. At their peak the quadrantids are expected to reach 120
shooting stars an hours so they should make an amazing spectacle.
All in all then January 2014 should
be an amazing time. There will be a lot of high energy around so it’s important
to channel that energy in ways that are useful to us. As the moon waxes during January we can tune into the energy that is emanating from this source and use it to ensure our thoughts and inspirations started at the new super moon in January reach their fruition.
There are a number of really good books around you can get to find out more information about moon cycles and living in harmony with the moon. One I like is Thomas Poppe:
Planting "by the signs" is an ancient tradition carried on by millions of people. This book explains the logic of gardening by the signs of the moon and shows how it works, giving clear and complete instructions for calculating the moon's effect on every aspect of gardening--preparing the soil, cultivating, planting, fertilizing, transplanting, pruning, crafting, controlling weeds and pests, and harvesting. It also explains how the moon effects many other areas of life. No almanac user should be without this comprehensive one-source reference.
