The New Moon in Sagittarius hits its perfection today at 5:43pm PST. It takes place at 28° Sagittarius and is Conjunct Venus in Sagittarius just 3° away and Mars already in Capricorn. Mercury is not at the party yet, but he’s just running late at 11° Sag, close enough to be part of the proceedings. Let’s start with this, as one of the hallmarks of the recent lunar cycles have all of the personal planets traveling together, creating stelium after stelium. As this parade left Scorpio, they brought into Sagittarius a greater capacity for expansion because we visited the shadow (Scorpio) first, hopefully releasing some unconscious fears and wounds that keep you small.
Mars moved into Capricorn on Monday, so our bodies may be chomping at the bit to get started building what we want to create next. The Sun will follow suit in just two days with the winter solstice on Sunday. Venus and Mercury are next, and at the first New Moon of next year, the whole parade will gather in Capricorn as a group. I get a little ahead of myself here, but I want you to understand how this New Moon connects to that one. This theme of this lunation is about cash and prizes, and the joy that might be coming your way. But it also demands that we do some more work on unconscious limits, power struggles, and the way shame can still color everything you do.
Consider the number of Sextiles right now, the geometry of productivity and potential. Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune/Saturn, and Pluto are all holding this 60° pattern. When a planet or luminary moves to the opposite side of the sky, it triggers Inconjuncts to each of these bodies, activating the Great Eliminator angle. When two Inconjuncts converge from the same point, we call it a Yod, or Finger of Fate, an exit-strategy geometry that redirects us toward a new path. This one has the Sun and Moon forming this navigating mechanism with Jupiter and Uranus. The promise of this New Moon is to slowly guide us into new territory. Jupiter pulls us toward more abundance and prosperity if we allow Uranus to show us where we must pivot when life suddenly tells us we must.
The New Moon is also in a Trine with Chiron, and I’ll point out that both Sagittarius and Chiron are Centaurs. Half human half horse, these mysterious creatures guide us through the woods of our psyche. Chiron focuses on the magic that lives in the mystery, and Sagittarius is the archer who takes that magic and helps us create a life of joy. Chiron holding a Trine with all of the folks in Sag means that magic is in our tool bag as we set intentions today. It’s as if we are wound free, which is actually contradicted by other elements of this New Moon, but access to all the tools we could need is built into the lunar cycle ahead.
But this is only half the story. The New Moon, Venus, and Mars are in a tight Square with Saturn and Neptune. The Square to Neptune is the fog machine being turned on full blast. When you don’t see things as they are, you are freer to use fantasy to construct your sense of what is “real.” If there is anything you are not seeing with complete transparency, this New Moon has the potential to cut through denial.
A Saturn Square makes this a lesson. This is certainly a New Moon to set intentions for lots of cash and prizes in full Sagittarius abundance. But if you aren’t capable of the vision you have, or if you still feel unworthy of your own magnificence, you will be bumping into those lessons now, and in the entire cycle ahead. Both Saturn and Neptune have more power right now to generate big shifts because they are both in Pisces, the inventor of the unconscious mind.
Unworthiness is a shadow consciousness. We are worthy of all the love there is, just by virtue of being alive. The point in Astrology that knows this better than any other, is Black Moon Lilith; a shadow consciousness that tells us where the juicy shadow work is. For the last nine months this point has been traversing Scorpio, so the inner work has been deep af. She is now at the final, mastery degree of Scorpio, so we are being asked to surrender completely to exploring every hidden corner of our psyche in this New Moon. She moves into Sagittarius tomorrow, kicking off the next nine month shadow work assignment.
But before we get to that, we must commit to a lunar cycle of more surrender. Imprinted in today’s lunation is the last vestige of the Grand Water Trine that began with the New Moon in Libra in October. At the mastery degree of Scorpio, it’s go time for some death/rebirth mojo, and in a Trine with Neptune also at this fated degree of Pisces, the surrender we are being asked to submit to has the love of the Divine pouring into us. And as we release more unconscious resistance, Jupiter in Cancer ups our capacity for manifestation at a higher level.
You can see that there are two very different opportunities in this New Moon, one that gets us perfectly aligned with our path toward expansion and manifestation, and the other that demands a lot more work on our selves (yes, it’s relentless). We don’t get one without the other, so keep in mind that the bigger you go, the more responsibility you have to keep your instrument clean. This New Moon address both sides of that equation.
Rounding things out is Mercury in a perfect T-Square with the Nodes of the Moon. Mercury is pulling into the degree point where the Sun was in the Full Moon two weeks ago that rocked our world. In this way, our perceptions have been broadened because of thought forms and patterns we released in the lunar cycle we are putting behind us. Now this T-Square puts us at a junction between letting go of the past, while facing a future we know will be difficult. T-Squares force change, so try and be as graceful as you can while your mind may still be debating where to go next.
This New Moon makes it clear that expansion and inner work are not separate tracks, they are the same path. The invitation is to aim high, set intentions for joy, prosperity, and forward movement, while staying rigorously honest about what still needs tending inside. The more you are willing to surrender outdated defenses, unconscious limits, and inherited shame, the more capacity you create to receive what is genuinely trying to reach you. Let this lunation be about aligning desire with responsibility, vision with discipline, and faith with follow-through. What you commit to now has real momentum, but only if you are willing to meet it with your whole self. Have at it!
