The New Moon at 9-degrees Sagittarius builds all day and peaks this evening at 10:20pm PST, a Black Moon as the second New Moon in the month of November. Besides putting a rather intense lunar cycle to bed, it also establishes a direct connection to all things Sag, which means expansion, abundance, travel, education, spiritual seeking – all the things that the Archer that is this sign’s avatar wants to shoot with his arrows. This mutable fire sign – think changeable activation – is where we really get to dance through life.
I have always loved that this is the mansion that leads us to the darkest day in the northern hemisphere, so while the outer light is dimming, we are asked to find the bright light of expansion within. This helps us create more beauty in the outside world when the light returns once we pass the Solstice. The crop has been sewn, we settle down for winter and focus on internal joy, such that our spring harvest might be truly bountiful; this is the perfect image to describe a New Moon in Sagittarius with Mercury and Mars in retrograde cycles.
This lunation is touching our direct boots-on-the-ground experience by connecting with the two social planets, as well as the North Node of the Moon. Saturn and Jupiter reflect the day-to-day mechanics of the world at large moving and shifting as we move through it. Saturn represents the structure, responsibility, lessons, and wisdom we need to build solid foundations underneath our feet. Jupiter is the energy of expansion and abundance that we get to experience when we have done this well. An Opposition from the New Moon to Jupiter reflects our urge to grow and expand in all sorts of ways, but in the tension of a 180-degree Opposition means we are likely to go too far, and ride on a wave of exuberance that might not actually be sustainable.
Then a Square with Saturn makes this New Moon and the lunar cycle ahead one of facing problems, obstacles, limitations, inhibitions and delays with what you are intending. So, Jupiter is likely to have us over-reaching, and this Square with the Great Teacher is a guarantee that if this moment has you overextending yourself, or seeing possibilities for your future that are not for you or not within your actual capabilities, this lunar cycle will bring that to you like a shiny new curriculum for your next big lesson. Both the top of the wheel of exuberant joy from Jupiter and the drag of lessons that Saturn may bring are equally important to helping us navigate into our next steps.
A Trine from the New Moon to the North Node indicates a lunar cycle that is guaranteed to help us get to where we are meant to go next. Now that sounds good, but we have to consider it all as one picture. Yes, we are getting to move forward, but the other hits described above tell us clearly there will be challenges; mistakes will be made, and plans will go awry. A double retrograde cycle with both Mercury and Mars moving backward will incorporate lots of delays and rewrites in the weeks and months to come. There may be more bumps than flow in this cycle, but there is assistance to take advantage of opportunities to do some inner work to help your outer desires come to fruition. Which is a good thing because the outside world right now is offering far more questions about the future than answers.
There is a tremendous amount of healing available in this New Moon, but really because of Mercury and Mars and their double retrograde, more than Chiron directly. Mercury just turned around, and Mars is not moving and will start its retrograde in less than a week. Because Mars is slowing down, Mercury will actually interact with Mars three times, reflecting that our walk and our talk are out of harmony thanks to an agitating 135-degree Sesqui-Square. One of those hits is exact today, so this walk/talk conundrum is dialed directly into this New Moon. Interestingly, both of these planets will work with Chiron in their cycles: Mercury by Trine and Mars by Square.
Mars Squaring Chiron is highlighting difficult experiences that require a healing approach, and this was first triggered back on October 13th. Mercury in a Trine with Chiron allows our minds to work well with the embodied wound being activated, and there may have been a hint about this back on November 19th. This New Moon will Trine Mars, and Mercury is right there near the Sun in Sagittarius, getting ready to explore more unconscious material over the next three weeks. Because of all this connection, Mercury is helping us to work some things out below the surface that will help us free up some space in our psyche. This in turn makes more room for expansion that may be currently held back by wounds of unworthiness. Mars can fill that space with things in the world of form as he finishes his cycle next spring.
There will be some drag on the system with both Mercury and Mars retrograde simultaneously for most of this lunar cycle and beyond, as things we intend now may bump into delays and reformatting in the month to come. With retrogrades, expect delays. Also, Mars’s cycle is months long, and we will be revisiting some wounds that may have been triggered this past autumn in the spring. As a final note, there is a lovely thread in today’s lunation that will help us all month long. The heart is grounded and stable with Venus in Capricorn. A Trine with Uranus brings some real emotional excitement into this moment, and the entire lunar cycle ahead.
This focused heart stimulated by Uranus is what will allow us to move through this lunar cycle emotionally prepared for sudden changes and pivots. Give yourself the gift right now of being excited about the future, as Venus in Capricorn gets us in touch with what we desire to build, and Uranus tells us all things are possible. Try not to let the emotional excitement in the atmosphere turn into anxiety about next year. Jupiter rules this lunar cycle, and right now he is in Gemini, the land of ideas, and the sharing of them. Take the time to set powerful intentions for your own ideas to expand and be shared, and then allow the journey to take some time, and know that personal healing and reworking things a few times over are part of the recipe. Have at it!
