The Moon and Sun join at 20 degrees of the mutable fire sign Sagittarius on December 12 at 6:32 p.m. EST. Entering the final ten degrees of Sagittarius before the winter solstice, we are seeking understanding while bearing the baffling pressure of every worldview preoccupying our minds and hearts. Occurring in a degree associated with Mercury, this New Moon reminds us that just when we think we have “it” figured out, another perspective or barrage of real-life events flip the scales and we are left to make sense of reality over and over again. The laws of our universe are not necessarily written in stone, books, or headlines. Neither are they held on parchment in archival tanks below the ground. Rather the mysterious wizard or all-seeing eye behind the curtain of existence is a life and novelty-seeking shapeshifter evident in our natural world of which we are a part of.
Mercury in Capricorn will station retrograde a day after on December 13 for the final time this year. It will join the Sun on December 22 and re-enter Sagittarius a day later making its only retrograde in a fire sign for this year. Heeding the status quo, constructive critique and the things we say to maintain rank, even among circles we are not clearly attuned, are some of the operatives of Mercury retrograde in Capricorn. As Mercury re-enters Sagittarius we resolve to never cease tending to the temple of collective knowledge and processing our sense of inherent purpose. At the moment what comes to mind is our relationship with assumption. Mercury retrograde in Sagittarius may symbolize hasty presumptions and our inability to listen well. This retrograde in Sagittarius is an opportune time to observe closely our assumptions large and small and consider their adverse effects the world over.
Aries
During this month of celebrations you may be consumed by wanderlust. The Sun who guides your sense of pleasure will join the Moon in spirited Sagittarius who cares for your awareness of home in your ninth house of voyages and mystical matters. Mars, your personal planetary guide is there as well who keeps your debts in check. It may be tempting this month to indulge on all fronts, desiring the comforts of home away from home. But good times may be better spent in familiar surroundings among kindred spirits or lapping in the luxury of quiet reflective time. If you must travel, consider the journey as your destination; ideally a place that defines your reason for the season.
Taurus
As we enter the darkest days of the year you are stirring like a waking volcano. Venus, your planetary guide, is transiting brooding Scorpio in your seventh house of connection, as Jupiter retrograde in your first house of self has you idling within possibility. Specifically over an interest you abandoned albeit prematurely as Mercury, who guides your soul feeding activities, is about to station retrograde in your ninth house of profound focus, in a portion of Capricorn associated with your visibility. Approaching the home stretch of the year you’re in a make it or break it moment where your loving attention would be most abundantly poured into talents and passions you placed in storage for the past year or so.
Gemini
Your feathers were ruffled recently as the Moon passed Mars in your seventh house of partnerships. If love is a muscle, you have been left sore. Mercury, your guiding planet, is about to station retrograde in your eighth house where you compulsively process the profound contradictions in relationships that are not in tune with your rational self. It is also difficult to control how you are perceived in relationships. Sensitive conversations addressing how you value commitment may emerge with unanticipated complexity. But as Mercury, once retrograde perfects an ineffable aspect with Jupiter, also retrograde in Taurus in your twelfth house, a hidden mystery will unravel recasting your love with the sublime power of well considered language.
Cancer
As the Moon in aspiring Sagittarius joins the Sun in your sixth house you’re resetting your relationship to efforts made with little return with hope and sober optimism. Mars, who guides your tenth house of career and calling, is present and comfortable here as well applying the right amount of heat to burn off any fevers of stress that could flare up this month. It is an auspicious month to assess and strengthen your work ethic while being conscious of its effects on your welfare and those around you who appear to be temporarily peripheral. As the year narrows to a fine point, develop a sustainable pace threaded with the faith you have in the concentrated work you’re currently engaged in.
Leo
What drove ancient people to leave silhouettes of their hands on the walls of caves and cliff sides all over the planet? As the Moon and Sun in Sagittarius join in your fifth house you’ll feel reverence for all of Earth’s creation and where you recognize yourself in that story. New Moons, like a fingerprint, leave a trace that is unique and irreplaceable. The creative process is relatively speculative with no proven formula or reason. As Mars is also present, and soon clearing the obfuscating rays of the Sun, this month is an invitation to experiment with equal parts curiosity, interpretation, and nerve. Wonder and dare to create for the sake of understanding the effects of your presence within our world, if only to see what that would look like.
Virgo
Your ideal home is gracious and dignified: an internal cathedral housing all you hold aspirational and holy. Otherwise lucid in your approaches to anything, the realm of home can at times become an obstacle course of upkeep laden with ambitious but incomplete projects. The New Moon in Sagittarius occurs in your fourth house of the home in a portion of the sign associated with maestro Mercury, your guiding planet. About to station retrograde, Mercury in Capricorn is determined to refocus on unfinished business around the house. While in a harmonious aspect with retrograde Jupiter in Taurus as winter approaches, use this divine time to reassess, list, and make concrete plans with renewed motivation to finish what you started.
Libra
This month will open insight into the outcomes of spending habits that although may have felt comfortable at the time come with hidden premiums. Jupiter who hosts this new Moon in Sagittarius is retrograde in Taurus in your eight house of debts owed. Jupiter here is a forgiving reminder that until it leaves Taurus on May 25, 2024 it is wise to keep an honest eye on the fluctuation of income earned and borrowed. Debts accrued will have a more pronounced effect on your stress levels thus a hindrance on your confidence, workflow and inclination to socialize. Be careful not to let the buzz of instant gratification overwhelm and divert your more meaningful long term goals and relationships.
Scorpio
Taste is relative, esteemed by culture within a pyramid of subjectivity, held by an obscure web of authority. Wholesale, good taste can become remarkably tedious. As the Moon who guides our hunger and the clarifying Sun join in having-your-mind-blown Jupiter’s sign Sagittarius in your second house, you are wooing your distinct sense of taste. What novel flavors do you seek in love, faith, food, and wine? What emotional qualities expressed within ingredients and materials shepherd you far away from the familiar? And what sole characteristics possessed by the material world induce an unfading admiration within yourself that appears to improve with time? Taste is a sensual, lifelong exploration within possibility and desire.
Sagittarius
Balanced and deliberate processing is a recurring theme for you as autumn makes its final descent and we await the advent of new light at winter solstice. The new Moon in Sagittarius occurs in your first house of body and mind, or what the ancients referred to as the “helm of your ship.” As Mars is also involved, driving a wholehearted yet overzealous enthusiasm, consider balancing your ship with ballast. Unload unnecessary burdens as you grapple to preserve your will and integrity, take on only the amount of responsibility and know-all necessary. Clear mental and physical space ensuring your propeller and rudder are properly submerged and you are steering resolute with wise and sincere conviction.
Capricorn
Mercury is stationing retrograde in Capricorn in your first house of self realization while the Moon joins the Sun in your twelfth house of suffering in silence. Mercury has a hidden rapport with this portion of the zodiac where the new Moon takes place. Relationships, whether romantic, platonic, or professional that have created a debt of spirit and emotional weight are under the microscope this Moon cycle. Focus and center the oblique and complicated aspects of your personality as fodder for creative expression. Embrace your eccentric manner and graciously pardon the entanglements that have become obstacles and detractors of your tender and overlooked sensitivities. At this moment in time especially you are your best mentor and advocate.
Aquarius
This month you are concerned with how you impart vulnerability within friendships and towards the community that aid in your common goals. The Moon in Sagittarius joins the Sun in your eleventh house of social circles co-present with Mars who guides your communication style and visibility in the world. It can be difficult to decipher in a culture so taken by transactional relationships what is friend making and what is networking. As Jupiter who cultivates your friendships and shared dreams is retrograde in Taurus in your subterranean fourth house, out of sight and more reserved, be aware of where you could provide safe and equal grounds of frank honesty among the compassionate support of those around you.
Pisces
You are a great teacher and mother figure for us all. You move quickly while tending to everyone’s sensitivities with the humble heart of an everyday saint. As the Moon joins the Sun in Sagittarius in your tenth house where you share your fruits of wisdom in its entirety, apparent to all, Jupiter, still retrograde, who nurtures those talents is opposing Venus from your third house of regimes. This month give yourself credit for all the behind the scenes prep work you do when your body and mind is telling you otherwise. Remember that you are seen and that when you feel untethered, you become unrecognizable to yourself but never to those you mother every day of the year.
Story and Imagery by Shane Powers, Enon Valley Astrology
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