It’s a delicate walk
to balance hope with chaos.
Stacie Martin
The New Moon on December 12, 2023, at 20 Sagittarius
catalyzes hope and inspiration. We look to expand our horizons to explore something beyond what we already know or have. Optimism is renewed and we are willing to trust the journey, the adventure of life as we look to move towards a vision for what we want to see happen.
As we approach the darkest day of the year, the sun sets earlier and earlier. For millennia, people have met the dark days by celebrating the light. Across the U.S. and in many parts of the world, town squares and neighborhood yards are lit up with seasonal decorations. In our homes, we may have a fire in the fireplace, lit some candles, or perhaps have set up a Christmas tree with twinkle lights and ornaments. During the darkest days, we naturally seek the light. In the darkest of days, the promise of light returns. The Sagittarian New Moon just preceding the Winter Solstice sparks a new light, and a renewed belief in ourselves and gives us the enthusiasm to move towards what we desire most.
The New Moon is:
Conjunct Mars
Square Neptune
Trine the North Node
Quincunx Uranus
Trine Chiron
New Moon Ruler: Jupiter trine Mercury
Mercury stations Retrograde
Just as the darkest day of the year gives birth to a new light and a new year, each month has its darkest night on the night preceding each New Moon. A dark night sky offers a moment of pure potential where we can ask ourselves: What do I want to create in the next month? Within 24 hours after the New Moon is the optimal time to set an intention for what we want initiate and grow for the coming month. The area of our life that is primed for a new beginning is revealed by the nature of the house in our natal charts where 20 Sagittarius resides.
Hope begins in the dark,
the stubborn hope
that if you just show up and
try to do the right thing,
the dawn will come.
Anne Lamott
Sagittarius is the Archer: feet planted firmly on the ground as his head is turned up towards the sky, towards a select point on a distant horizon. His arrow is drawn back in his bow. The Archer’s keen eye is lining the arrow up with the desired target, the Galactic Center. Likewise, we are to look up, look higher, look beyond the confines of how our life is currently defined and line ourselves up with a desired target and let this target be our guiding star. We are ready to commit to what we envision and launch that arrow, that vision, which will carry us in a new direction, a new adventure. Enthusiasm quiets self-judgement as we trust the potential in what we are seeing and feeling. We may not know the outcome of this effort, but satisfaction and assurance can be found in setting a new course of action for ourselves.
5 Planets are in Mutable Signs (Sun, Moon, Mars, Neptune, Saturn) indicate that life is less fixed at this time, more malleable, more open to be shaped or reshaped. We have greater flexibility and a inclination to make changes or adjustments.
Fire and Earth. The three planets in fiery Sagittarius (Sun, Moon, Mars) have incredible potency. Yet, they are countered by Mercury turning Retrograde in earthy Capricorn. Earth subdues the enthusiasm of fire but it need not snuff it out. Earth can easily put out fire, but it can also provide a container that helps to sustain the fire (the passion, inspiration and enthusiasm), so that it doesn’t just burn itself out. If we think of a fire pit, then we can appreciate the boundaries and the support that the fire pit offers to not only contain the fire but to allow its heat to build with an intensity over time. Mercury Retrograde (December 13 - January 1) will have us contemplating logistics and strategies which can put a damper on the spontaneity and eagerness to jump into something and figure it out as we go. The key is not overthink things but to have the informtation we need and the basic shape of a plan that will support and encourage the growth and sustainability of our enthusiasm for what we are ready to pursue.
The Shadow Side of the New Moon can occur if we are fixated on the outcome or need something to look or show up a particular way. Being rigid in our beliefs, or believing we have the answers and we know how things should be, will have us miss the great new adventure. There are things we know and so much more that we don’t. Sagittarius is not so interested in the predictability of life where we move from the known to the known. A Sagittarian new Moon invites us to expand our horizons, to push off from the known and head into the unknown so that we can learn, expand and discover something new. What we do know is how to begin - the starting point and the direction to take. We can trust ourselves to move with the belief in the inherent potential of what the new adventure can offer us.
Faith is the bird
That feels the light
And sings
When the dawn
Is still dark.
Rabindranath Tagore
Following A North Star, A Guiding Light
The Sagittarius New Moon is awakening us to the next movement in our life that holds the promise of new life and new growth. We are to validate our optimism and believe in what we envision, then hold it as our guiding light, our North Star.
The New Moon is further shaped, enhanced, and fueled by the multiple relationships it forms with other planets:
Mars conjunct the New Moon: Added Vigor. Mars is just behind the New Moon, turbo-charging and energizing the New Moon potentials. We are invigorated. We need only to remember that we are ready to discover something new and not become dogmatic and simply reinforce our bullheaded opinions about what we already know.
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North Node trine the New Moon: Alignment with our Future Self. We feel a magnetic pull towards the future and the next steps to take towards fulfilling our soul’s longing and what we incarnated to do.
Neptune Square New the Moon: Dreams and Visions. This aspect can go two ways. We can open to true inspiration and spiritual insight or we may enter into a kind of fog where we become confused or disillusioned. Neptune is calling us to something higher, something that has us feel connected to and serving something beyond ourselves. With either scenario, this is a powerful time to receive messages in our night dreams, experience a deepening in our meditations if we meditate, or have a heart opening experience.
Neptune is pressing us to envision our future within a spiritual context. Neptune is lifting our vision from the mundane, from the business of life, so we can attune to a higher purpose that we can devote ourselves to. It doesn’t need to be grandiose. It can be the desire to be kind to others and to ourselves; to be an expression of love. Simultaneously, we are to develop the spiritual discipline and responsibility to walk our talk. This may come in the form of committing to a spiritual practice like meditation or yoga. Or it can look like being mindful of ourselves in interactions so that we recognize the divine spark in each person we engage.
Uranus quincunx New Moon: Aha Moments. Uranus is the wild card planet that brings the unexpected. We may receive a sudden piece of information through an email or a communication or event that surprises us and ultimately expands our perspective or understanding of something. If we remain fluid and open to receiving, we may be delighted by what emerges seemingly from out of the blue. If we are rigid in our beliefs and only want to reinforce what we already know, then the sudden revelation or information can be upsetting.
Do not be dismayed
by the brokenness of the world.
All things break.
And all things can be mended.
Not with time, as they say,
but with intention. So go.
Love intentionally, extravagantly,
unconditionally.
The broken world waits
in darkness for the light
that is you.
L.R. Knost
Value Increases
New Moon Ruler: Jupiter
Jupiter is the planet of growth, vision, and expansion. It is called The Great Benefic because it brings an ease, an optimism, a 'can do' spirit to all it touches. In Taurus, Jupiter is helping to bring in the resources and options we need to address issues related to our material lives so that we feel more grounded, secure, and comfortable in our bodies. With Jupiter inhabiting the sign of the Earth (Taurus) until the spring of 2025, new ways may open to us for how to better partner with the earth in how we work with and use material resources so that our lives are more sustainable.
Our capacity to stick with something and be steadfast in our commitments is being strengthened. Rather than looking for instant results, we are developing the patience needed to tend to some plan or dream that will yield results over time.
Because Jupiter is retrograde preparing to go direct the end of December, there may be some delay or a slowing down around the flow of resources. There may be easier movement in this arena come the beginning of the year.
As the Ruler of the New Moon, Jupiter is supporting the growth of what we value most. Money has become the predominant value in modern culture to the degree that it has overshadowed all other values. “If I only had more money…” is something I hear many of us say. There may very well be financial decisions or investments that we are ready to enact that Jupiter’s current position will support. At the same time, we are ready to grow what we value most so that our personal value increases. We can look to what this might be if we keep in mind the Native American saying: When the last tree is cut down, the last fish eaten, and the last stream poisoned, you will realize that you cannot eat money. It doesn’t necessarily mean we must grow our own food or join a Green lobbying group, but it does have us consider what brings true value to our life.
Clear and Expansive Thinking
Jupiter Trine Mercury
Mercury is stationing Retrograde and will go direct again on January 1. The New Moon gives us the confidence to move forward, to believe in ourself and begin some new adventure that may have been taking shape for some time. Mercury on the other hand is asking us to do our due diligence, to take the last weeks of December to work through the ins and outs of what we plan to do and be ready to launch ourselves forward at the end of the holiday season when the New Year begins. Perhaps there is a way to do both. We can begin to take steps but also look ahead and begin to work out potential kinks or issues that are likely to come up. We can trust our thinking to grasp the big picture and give a concrete shape to our vision and plans (Mercury trine Jupiter).
Mercury turns retrograde at 8 Capricorn shortly after the New Moon. We are assessing some scenario or situation in a responsible, clear headed way. Capricorn is the sign of strategy, structure, organization, and management. We are looking at how to take responsibility for what we are about to do and how to manage it in the best possible way. For instance, if we have a sudden inspiration to take a ride on a river, Mercury in Capricorn will have us assessing whether we have the right craft and gear and if we have the necessary skill and if we need more training or need to hire a guide. We will look at the weather report for what to pack, talking to others who have previously navigated the rither, and charting the best way to get down the river. The New Moon may give us the impulse to just jump in the river and figure it out as we go, but the Mercury Retrograde supports us to slow down a little, look ahead, anticipate variables and plan accordingly so that our efforts will be successful.
After the Winter Solstice, the Mercury Retrograde will venture back into Sagittarius, and we will be looking at how to further stand in what we believe, stoke our optimism, and feed the fire for what we are pursuing next. Overall the Mercury Retrograde will provide the riverbanks for the inspiration to be held and flow in a good way. Or, to return to the analogy of the fire pit - the reflections and information found in the Mercury Retrograde will help us to create the infrastructure to hold and sustain the fire, the enthusiasm, that is surging through us during this time.
Keeping Some Things Close to the Chest
Venus conjuct Pallas Athena in Scorpio
We may not yet be ready to be forthcoming with others about what we are thinking or planning…just yet. There is something we are deeply pondering and need privacy and a sense of secrecy to do this. If we think of a seed taking root in the soil, we don’t want to pull away the soil to expose it to the elements before it is ready to break through on its own. We are supported in moving forward but perhaps keeping some things close to the chest for now until we have worked some things out.
January 1 is a New Day and is Truly the Mark of a New Year
There is a tremendous forward movement in January. On New Year’s Day, all planets will be moving direct, except Uranus which will turn direct later in January. There are big energies at play at the beginning of the year and the flow of life will be moving more rapidly. So, it will serve us to take the time now to contemplate what we want to do, stoke the fire of it, shape the plan, take the initial steps, and be ready to be ‘all in’ come the New Year.
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