Capricorn: Surrender Control

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 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 while simultaneously having a solar orbit of 29 ½ years. Saturn also symbolizes limits, restrictions, opposition, and structure. What this creates for us this month is the energy required for committing to our long-term vision, for unwavering ambition, and impenetrable patience (remember that 29 ½ year orbit?) People born under this sign take naturally to hard work and have incredible discipline; they are responsible, reliable—and love to be in control.

This month is all about control but more specifically about the paradoxical nature of control: to gain control you must relinquish the need for it. Each month brings with it its own unique set of opportunities for us to take advantage of and challenges for us to grow from. The challenge inherent in the month of Capricorn is this: to surrender. This doesn’t come easily to anyone no matter what sign you were born under, but this month is the perfect time to practice.

How perfect that 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? Wondering if you’re “doing it right.” 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 in Shape magazine for 6 million readers, Jill credits all of 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, and all of them start within. Things like letting go of taking things personally, letting go of what others think, of needing to be “perfect,” of trying to be something you’re not, and letting go 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. When we let go of the need to control, and we surrender, we put our trust back in the Creator, and we replace fear with certainty. One of my favorite kabbalistic parables explains how this helps to create miracles in our lives.

One day, a famous kabbalist called 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 he didn’t want to lie to the Baal Shem Tov, yet he wished he had that level of certainty, so he replied, “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. Jill Sherer Murray’s blessings also manifested in her life when she let go of controlling how they arrived.

When we want to awaken miracles big or small, we have to surrender all control; we have to let go of thinking it’s up to us. We will not draw down blessings and miracles this way; it is our certainty and trust in the Creator that create the opening.

Can you imagine the joy of living every day and being completely aware of all the miracles that surround you? You would be the happiest person in the world every single day of your life. Connect with this New Moon by appreciating the blessings you already have and surrendering to the miracles that are trying to find you.