I do not want
to get to the end
of my life
and find that I just
lived the length of it.
I want to have lived
the width of it as well.
Diane Ackerman
The New Moon on December 1, 2024, at 9 Sagittarius
sparks our desire for adventure. There is an itch to step away from routine and give ourself to experiences that expands our horizons. We are looking to grow and discover something we don't already know.
Spontaneity may need to be curbed (Mercury Retrograde) and our impulses tempered with a dose of reason (Jupiter square Saturn). Yet, all in all, there is a buoyancy to the New Moon. Opening ourselves to new people and new conversations can uplift and inspire us (Venus trine Uranus). It is beneficial to find ways to laugh, tell jokes, and share stories. We are invited to be less serious and more optimistic as we give ourselves permission to reach for something that grabs our interest. We can look for ways to employ earned wisdom and lightness to actions we take.
Fire Grand Trine: New Moon, Mars and North Node
New Moon Ruler: Jupiter in a T-square with Mercury and Saturn
Venus trine Uranus
The New Moon is the optimal time each month to set an intention for what we want to manifest over the next month. There is 24-hour window after the exact moment of the New Moon when the Moon is still dark and not yet visible in our night sky. This is the time to plant the seed that we will nurture and grow in the weeks that follow.
The house in our natal chart where 9 Sagittarius resides offers us clues as to the area of life where we are ready adventure, and where we can find the opportunity to grow, learn, and rekindle our hope for the future.
The purpose of life,
after all, is to live it,
to taste experience to the utmost,
to reach out eagerly
and without fear
for a newer
and richer experience.
Eleanor Roosevelt
Sagittarius is an adventurer. The Sagittarius spirit is naturally optimistic, values freedom to explore and expand their horizons. The Sagittarius New Moon sparks our desire to learn, to grow, and to travel. Whether we get on an airplane, introduce ourselves to a new type of cuisine, or disappear inside the pages of a book, we are looking to discover and be enriched by something we did not previously know. The New Moon helps us to feel hope for in the future and a joy in meeting what we will encounter in the days ahead. There is a ‘can do’ attitude and a belief that things will work out even if we don’t know how they will.
The holiday season coincides with the Sagittarius season each year. There is a lightheartedness and a joy that grips the collective at this time. People travel more, purchase more, engage in more social activities, put up decorations, drink more, and eat in excess. It is a time to laugh and make merry. The New Moon helps to make the next few weeks sparkle and supports us in stepping away from our routines to enjoy something different.
Harness and Direct the Enthusiasm
New Moon Ruler: Jupiter
Mutable T Square: Saturn at apex square Jupiter and Sun, Moon, Mercury
Jupiter is about growth and expansion. In Gemini (May 2024 – Jun 2025) there will be growth in the way we think, how we learn, and the ways we communicate. We will be challenged to discern truth from deception, facts from spin. We look to receive new information and open to new avenues for obtaining information.
Jupiter oppose Mercury amplifies our opinions and the amount of information we may be taking in. Our minds can become overstimulated to the point of mental overload. We can counter this by bringing focus to our heart and not letting our mind ride rough shod over the messages coming from our feelings and body
Jupiter entangled in a Mutable T Square. Our enthusiasm may need to be curbed. Expectations may need to be adjusted, and our game plane modified. We can remain optimistic while also take into account various factors that will guide us to employ the wisdom we have honed through previous lessons we learned while launching something new.
Saturn at the apex of the Mutable T Square. To relieve the tension of the T Square, we are to act in a mature and responsible manner that embraces patience and strategy. Saturn in Pisces (2023 – 2025) attunes us to the bigger picture that is in operation and to the recognition of how we have grown and matured over recent years. As we make decisions and take action, we are cautioned to marry enthusiasm, optimism or big expectations we may be feeling with the earned wisdom of our experience.
Jupiter/Saturn square (August 2024 – June 2025). There is a tug of war happening between the urge to expand (Jupiter) and the urge stabilize (Saturn); between optimism (Jupiter) and realistic thinking (Saturn). With Saturn, we are expected to roll up our sleeves and get the job done and to act with integrity and trustworthiness. Jupiter would have us lose sight of the shore so we can discover new lands and put our faith in the winds that will fill our sails and carry us to destinations unknown. Jupiter looks to explore the unexplored, and Saturn finds strength in what is verifiable and solid. In the end, it’s not about one force overpowering the other. We are to let the natural friction of these two urges within us to jointly work together to establish the values, work, and plan for how we will engage the future.
Saturn square The New Moon tempers our enthusiasm. The Sagittarius New Moon is much like a horse that wishes to gallop freely across the landscape. Saturn's presence is akin to putting the reins on the horse. Saturn wishes to harness and guide the enthusiasm and not have it run wild. Saturn is looking for results, not the thrill of the moment. When our enthusiasm surges, we are to employ patience, steadfastness and discipline to have the enthusiasm channeled into good action that bears favorable results.
Wisdom is not a product
of schooling
but the lifelong attempt
to acquire it.
Albert Einstein
Big Thinking, Big Words
Mercury Retrograde (November 26 – December 15, 2024
Mercury, like the New Moon, is in Sagittarius. There is an intellectual curiosity, a desire to discover truths and expand our horizons. It can be accompanied by a lightheartedness where we don’t’ take ourselves so seriously. For instance, if the heroine who volunteered to go slay the dragon and save the village, tends to be optimistic about the outcome. We typically do not see her quest weighing heavy on her. She is confident even if she has no plan beyond 'find, then slay the dragon'. Likewise, we may be feeling enthusiastic about something we are ready to engage. However, with Mercury is Retrograde, it is prudent to first gather intel on the dragon, gather firsthand accounts of the terrain will encounter, and identify resources need to secure to be successful.
Mercury trine Chiron brings awareness to how we have been healing trust in ourselves. We may feel inclined to put words to this, to define it, tell the story of it, either in writing or in sharing it with others. There is a new confidence and inner strength emerging, where we can believe in ourselves and what we want to do.
Mercury oppose Jupiter will last most of December. Jupiter amplifies what it touches, so our thoughts and communications amplified. Jupiter represents our beliefs and sacred oaths, and we may be looking at how to live up to them. We may engage in or be on the receiving end of a lot of Big Talk. We may be the one to tell a big story. Details of a story can become exaggerated, and we may find ourself needing to make good on an empty boast. Saying the wrong thing can create unwanted consequences and we may make big corrections to offset mistakes. Whether it is at a family holiday meal or pitching an idea to a potential investor, it is beneficial to discern what we want to express that is all in good fun, and where we need to be more exacting in the truth we are wanting to communicate.
Mercury square Saturn follows on the heels of its opposition to Jupiter. This will occur the last week of December. It dovetails nicely with the annual time when the holiday buzz has worn off, the credit card statement arrives on the doorstep, and we wonder how things got away from us over the course of the holidays. We will look to clean up, resolve and take care of the details and specifics that will bring our life into good order.
Adventure isn’t hanging off a rope
on the side of a mountain.
Adventure is an attitude we must apply
to the day to day obstacles of life.
John Amat
Patience and Persistence
Mars Retrograde (December 6, 2024 – February 24, 2025)
Mars in Leo typically inspires passionate and bold expression. But Mars has slowed down and will be turning Retrograde in a few days, so our boldness may feel a bit wobbly. There may be an obstacle, a delay, a challenge that is now crossing our path that requires we slow down and not get ahead of ourselves or just push on.
Mars is not a patient planet, and so we will need to counter the impulse to be impatient and behave rashly. Typically, we feel frustrated while Mars is Retrograde. Life is not going at the pace or in the timeline we have decided. We are not being thwarted for no reason. There are adjustments that need to be made that we can only do if we take things a step at a time, re-evaluate something, go back over things, and apply a disciplined, focused approach to resolving the issue that frustrates.
We may find that the adventure that the New Moon and Mercury Retrograde spark in us is what carries us into the journey of the Mars Retrograde. Mars in Leo is heroic. The hero’s journey is not a rosy one but full challenges and trials. When Mars turns Retrograde on December 6, the journey is launched to encounter the dragon of our making in order to secure the gold the dragon guards. The riches we discover in the process will be applied to life when Mars moves direct the end of February.
Believe in What Lights us Up
Fire Grand Trine: New Moon, Mars and North Node
The Fire Grand Trine enhances and adds some glitter to the New Moon invitation to heed the call to adventure. Fire stokes enthusiasm and creativity. It offsets the New Moon's mental and intellectual energies and brings the focus to our heart. We are to be guided by what lights us up and to our heart’s desire.
The North Node points us in the direction of our future. In Aries, the North Node prods us to clear away whatever stands in the way of our confidence and capacity to stand strong in our convictions. We are to lower the volume on what others expect of us so we can hear and align with what we truly value and believe.
There is a vigor, a boost of vitality that the Fire Grand Trine offers us as we engage the adventure we are to take now. Adventures can be found in each interaction, in accepting a holiday invitation, in deciding to call someone we haven’t spoken to for a while. If we reach to engage what is unknown and not the habitual, enthusiasm and delight are likely to increase.
In the context of the larger planetary movements, the New Moon offers some levity. There are seismic changes that we will experience in the coming two years. In these preparatory months, we are like surfers who have paddled out and are hanging out in the ocean waiting to catch the big wave. We are attuning to the water, to the swells. There is a pervasive feeling of anticipation, even anxiety, about catching the right wave and not being left behind or eaten by the wave. The New Moon tells us that the best way to prepare right now is to not take ourselves too seriously and to reach for the experience that is out of character for us, but will have us feel alive and hopeful.
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