By coming together in precisely the same degree of Capricorn for a New Moon shortly after 1:53 am EDT (06:53 UTC) on Thursday, the luminaries (Sun and Moon) will begin a new synodic cycle. Following their brief meeting, the fleeter Moon will gradually separate from the Sun to begin the monthly succession of lunar phases you can see with your own eyes.

Weather permitting, by sundown on New Year’s Day you should be able to see the Moon again as a thin but waxing crescent low in the western sky. With each consecutive night, the Moon’s illuminated portion (and its separation from the setting Sun) will gradually grow.

Halfway through the cycle, the Cancer Full Moon of Jan. 12 will rise on the opposite side of the sky. It will be on the opposite side of the the zodiac relative to what will still be a Capricorn setting Sun. After that (and until their next meeting in Aquarius on Jan. 27) the Moon will appear later and later in the night, as it gradually wanes back to a crescent and closes in on the rising Sun.

Planets, as it turns out, have synodic cycles of their own. Just as with the luminaries, each of those cycles begin with a conjunction aspect (two planets sharing the same degree of the same sign). In a manner similar to the Sun and Moon, the faster of the two planets gradually separates from the other. Over time, the pair reach opposition at the midpoint of their cycle. Then they begin the long process of moving to meet up once again.

Because the Sun and Moon are the most prominent objects in our sky, their monthly cycle (seen in the lunar phases) serves as a template through which the longer synods of the planets are interpreted. Just as with a New Moon, two planets in conjunction are thought of as a seed — or perhaps an egg — containing the essence of what is to emerge and gradually grow. Similarly, a planetary opposition is thought to emulate the blooming or maturation with which a Full Moon is often said to correspond.

Interestingly, the context of Thursday’s New Moon will include a major planetary opposition. Just as the luminaries are conjoining in Capricorn, Jupiter will be precisely (to the degree) opposing Uranus in Aries.

To say the least, Jupiter and Uranus are quite a pair to draw to. Unlike the Sun and Moon (or Venus and Mars, or even Jupiter paired up with Saturn), Jupiter and Uranus really cannot be thought of as complementary energies that balance each other out. At the very least, expansive Jupiter and galvanizing Uranus are a combination with a potential for exceeding the sum of their parts.

Both Jupiter and Uranus are moving very slowly right now. Their first precise opposition was yesterday, but they have been opposed to the degree since Sept. 22, and will remain so until 2017 is underway. In addition, because of an upcoming Jupiter retrograde (starting on Feb. 6, 2017) yesterday’s exact opposition will repeat twice next year.

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Hence, part of what we will implicitly seed with Thursday’s New Moon is the beginning of the culmination of the three Jupiter-Uranus conjunctions that started on June 8, 2010, in the first degree of Aries, and ended on Jan. 4, 2011, in the 28th degree of Pisces.

What initiated for you over that six month period is now beginning an implied fruition of sorts. It will continue until after the third and final opposition from Jupiter to Uranus on Sept. 28 next year.

In sum, you have some time to work with, and you can take Thursday’s New Moon as the beginning of your own timeframe to get that work done. What may have started as a bit of a crazy scene when Jupiter and Uranus merged six years ago is now presenting itself for a gradual and probably more mature completion over the next nine months. If anything, all of that should be welcome news — and (thanks to astrology), you can now get off to a walking start.

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