“Possessions, outward success, publicity, luxury — to me these have always been contemptible. I believe that a simple and unassuming manner of life is best for everyone, best for both the body and the mind” (Albert Einstein). We could add “and best for the planet” to Einstein’s quote, but how many of us lead a simple and unassuming life? How many of us currently swamped in a world of technical complexity, information overload, and mass consumption can proudly proclaim a life that gives at least as much as it takes? How many of us can say that we are truly thriving, feeling consistently well and energized in body, mind, and spirit? How many of us feel at peace and can sleep soundly each night?

I ask these questions because as the year begins, half the zodiac, along with serious Saturn, is squashed into Capricorn (known as the sign of karma and responsibility) along with a solar eclipse in the same sign on January 5. With so much energy in one sign, we can expect an interesting start to the year, perhaps the kind of start that impresses the need for less complexity and more simplicity.

We will be shown in no uncertain terms how we are reaping what we have sown — substandard health, mental instability, growing poverty for certain sections of society, brewing tensions, increased violence and aggression, continued environmental destruction, and additional species bordering on extinction. Capricorn is the sign of the stern but fair parent, the wise authority figure, who says it’s time to sort ourselves out.