Preamble:
The new moon can be thought of as a window in time when the Higher-Self initiates specific lessons or personal growth intentions for the coming month, and we can use the lunar cycle as a way of decoding evolutionary forces at a more granular level than the solar cycle or the transits of the slower moving planets.
For the spiritually minded person, the new moon is a time to receive the seed impulses for one’s personal evolution, and specifically those impulses toward bringing something new into conscious awareness. Each moon cycle fits into a larger cycle, which begins at the Aires new moon, and if you seriously want to track the unfolding pattern of higher-self guidance, it is a really good idea to record a log or journal of key messages and impressions received in the few hours before and after the new moon, roughly 4-5 hours on either side. During this window of time, make space to be more meditative and pay attention to your thoughts, inspirations, psychic messages and so on, as these will tend to correspond to the archetype the new moon is birthing in at the time, and correlate to the growth themes we are meant to work with during the month.
At some point in time (after a few months) you can look through your log and begin to see a key pattern unfolding, which can stimulate further insight in terms of life purpose.
The Sagittarius New Moon is the time of the year when Higher Self impulses guide us toward expanding personal awareness in key areas. It’s a month where intuitive insights are energised and inspiration is amplified. It’s also a time when we might feel inclined to take more risks, feel lucky, overindulgent, or overconfident, with an inflated view of what is possible, sometimes with detrimental consequences.
Following on from any depth work we may have been doing, during the previous Scorpio New Moon lunation period, energy now moves outward again toward piecing things together into a more coherent pattern of meaning. Natural law principles and immersion into the natural world could be key attractors this lunation.
In what ways do we need to expand our understanding beyond what we already know, as we continue to evolve?
The chart for the Sagittarius New Moon is highly charged with both energy and tension adding evolutionary pressure and speed this month, so lets take a deeper look at the core themes…
Chart cast for the new moon on Dec 12th 23.32 GMT/18.32 EST
For a guide to the astrological symbols click here
Astro technicals:
Conjunctions:
Eris conjunct the North Node in Aries
Saturn conjunct Gonggong in Pisces
Icarus conjunct Pluto in Capricorn
Mercury conjunct Quaoar and Pholus in Capricorn
Pallas conjunct Venus in Scorpio
Oppositions:
Jupiter opposing Pallas and Venus
Salacia opposing Makemake
Chariklo opposing Varuna
Orcus opposing Nessus
Squares:
Uranus square Hygeia and Dark Moon Lilith
Jupiter square Chariklo
Eris square Pluto and Icarus
Neptune square the New Moon
Chariklo square Pallas and Venus
Pluto square the Lunar nodes
Orcus square the New Moon and Mars
Varuna square Pallas and Venus
A Grand Fixed Square featuring Venus and Pallas, Chariklo, Jupiter and Varuna
Trines:
Orcus trine Uranus
Jupiter trine Mercury, Pholus & Quaoar
Eris and the North Node trine the New Moon
Nessus trine Venus and Pallas
Varuna trine Mercury, Pholus and Quaoar
Dark Moon Lilith trine the New Moon
2 Grand Trines featuring Chiron, the North Node, Varuna, Dark Moon Lilith, Mars and the New Moon
Inconjuncts:
Nessus and Jupiter inconjunct Makemake
Pallas and Venus inconjunct Salacia
Orcus inconjunct Chariklo
Varuna inconjunct Nessus and Mercury, Pholus and Quaoar
Collective pressure to let go of an old reality
Pluto continues for a while longer to square the Lunar Nodes, while Gonggong continues to activate Saturn in Pisces, moving into a full conjunction in January 2024 for the second time.
Pluto itself is about to enter Aquarius for the long term in February 2024, ushering in a new evolutionary era with new lessons and growth challenges. Evolutionary energy is stimulating many to review the past, tie up loose ends, make reparation if necessary, and by letting go of an old reality, to step into a new way of seeing the world and being in the world.
With Eris in Aries conjunct the lunar North Node, the new way must align with the true feminine, and we must be willing to follow intuitive guide messages as we move forward. For some of us this might mean surrendering to ‘descent’ processes that bring us into conscious connection with repressed aspects of Self. If this speaks to you, don’t be afraid, because moving forward goes hand in hand with resolution of the past; it will be worth it!
In addition the Sextile between Eris and Hygeia suggests that alternative holistic practises and healing processes are going to be deeply supportive, as we prepare to birth new realities at both the personal and collective level.
Deep suffering and victimisation highlighted at the collective level
A Yod aspect featuring Varuna sextile Makemake with Nessus at the apex, indicates that part of the collective process this lunation (and ongoing for some time after), in terms of expanded intuitive understanding, is going to shed light on the profound collective desecration of the Divine Feminine principle and its consequences on our psycho-emotional wellbeing, and its relationship to the fall of Atlantis and our collective deviation from universal law.
With Orcus opposing Nessus, we can expect this energetic influence to have significant bearing on anyone initiated into the Mysteries and a path toward self-realisation. This can happen in at least 2 ways:
We may begin to access our own personal soul suffering in relation to karmic patterns connected to an imbalanced inner-feminine, and in so doing quicken personal awakening and wisdom cultivation
We may find ourselves working more and more with deeply depressed, disillusioned, traumatised or suicidal individuals, helping them awaken to their own true potential through natural law practices.
With Chiron and Chariklo (both Centaurs) in semi-sextile to Nessus (also a Centaur) and both inconjunct Orcus in Virgo, there is strong potential for this type of psycho-spiritual work to resolve deep soul wounds connected with the mis-use of masculine energy, and in particular rape, violence and war (both in the world at large and over past lifetimes). If we are willing to work consciously with our processes, there is real scope this month to re-member and bring together lost or alienated parts of Self. Some of this I sense is playing out in the world through the current wars, which I think are founded on strong distortions of universal truth. Many of us are feeling very deeply the costs to our human family; those brutalised and victimised, and also those driving the war agenda, who themselves are lost and disconnected as human beings.
Personal growth this month
There is a complex energy synergy in play this month: Mars in Sagittarius makes a conjunction with the New Moon, while Mercury in Capricorn inconjunct to Varuna, makes a close conjunction with Pholus and Quaoar. In addition Venus and Pallas conjunct in Scorpio make a square to Varuna, and are opposite Jupiter in Taurus.
The drive to understand the bigger picture, and to act intuitively in accordance with natural law toward higher meaning is now amplified, and Mercury offers us a chance to make more sense of the high-frequency transmissions driving Ascension, and how the Ascension process occurring through ongoing awakening from the ‘trance’ false matrix reality, dovetails with a humble approach to the Higher-Power that can be found deep within. In other words, while we may intuitively sense how higher ‘incoming’ frequencies are activating consciousness, we have the opportunity to grasp this in a new way, linked to a greater surrender to God/Goddess as we become more attuned to natural law principles.
New insights about what is meant to unfold for us as individuals in accordance with a ‘higher plan’ might prove to be a little challenging to fully integrate. Such insights inevitably require us to go deeper into self-inquiry and they typically initiate transformation. The Pallas/Venus conjunction however does provide us with potent inner guidance and a degree of serendipity as long as we are open and willing to trust.
The New Moon itself is trine to the lunar North Node and trine also with Dark Moon Lilith in Leo:
New intuitive understanding about our reality will be guiding us forward to new initiatives, projects, experiences and the seeds of new life journeys, but what might hold us back will be doubts about our ability to meet what is being asked of us, or a lack of confidence in our co-creative capacity: we may need to nourish ourselves with self-loving acts, as a means to oil the ‘engine of change’.
…And change is definitely on the cards; especially the way we relate to ourselves and what we most value.
With Orcus square to the New Moon, we shouldn’t be surprised if expanded understanding stimulates action on our personal awakening journeys. New awareness this month might require us to be more self-reflective or make necessary adjustments.
The Fixed Grand Square
[featuring Jupiter, Chariklo, Varuna, Pallas and Venus]
A fixed Grand Square is probably one of the hardest to work with, due to the fixed ‘unchanging’ nature of the aspect; part of the issue is an inherent resistance to change. It generates substantial evolutionary tension through a sense of crisis. In some sense we are being asked to change in ways that require us to move on from old patterns, in order to see reality in expanded ways and to take action into new growth territory.
Varuna in Leo is perhaps the primary director of this aspect; he is signalling or calling for more personal sovereignty in accordance with universal law. On the personal level, both our values (Venus) and beliefs (Jupiter) are key areas of activity; there is energy driving transformation and empowerment relative to our core values, but any adherence to traditional beliefs and values might cause inner conflict (particularly if they are low frequency). The key will be whether we can give ourselves the support of like-minded others to hold space for us (Chariklo), or if we can generate our own objective container for solo inner-work. Inner changes are now demanding we act accordingly in the outer world, and we might have to divorce ourselves from traditional values and beliefs about life as part of the course. This of course takes courage!
In a collective sense, this Grand Square represents the challenge of awakening to universal law principles, through purging false or distorted beliefs and values that have negative long term consequences. For example what if we deeply and unconsciously believe in scarcity, how will that affect our sense of abundance? Or, what if we have deep desires for sexual union but are plugged into distorted beliefs and values around sexuality itself that have us thinking unconsciously that all sexual pleasures are fundamentally bad? Varuna is signally us to step into our creative power by aligning with universal principles (truth with a large T) in self-loving ways.
We are supported
If all this sounds like a lot of work and not much fun, there are a few beneficial trines, which may mitigate the challenges and even afford us some degree of joy.
For example a Grand Trine featuring Varuna, Mars, and Chiron indicates that if we follow our intuition, it will be easier to act in accordance with self-love, sovereignty and natural law, in ways that facilitate the healing of deep soul wounds connected with the Divine Masculine principle.
Jupiter trine to Mercury (conjunct Pholus and Quaoar) means that intuition will flow easily with rational thinking, leading to optimal insight and understanding.
Uranus trine Orcus (square to the New Moon) suggests that the challenge of walking the talk will be assisted by clear intuitive flashes that can help us on our spiritual path.
Pallas and Venus in Scorpio trine Nessus in Pisces, allows us to channel deep seated patterns of suffering into our personal transformative processes in ways that ultimately liberate us from patterns of powerlessness, in whichever way that shows up for us individually, for example as addiction, control or compulsive behaviour etc.
Summary
This month (like last month) definitely has a challenging quality in regard to the energies in play, at least until the Solstice, when the energies coming in will release some of the tension. Above all there is a real opportunity to expand personal understanding in ways that will open us up to new opportunities, and help us resolve deep seated issues. Perhaps the primary underlying lesson is about finding more sovereignty in ways that challenge us to act differently in the world; to shed negative beliefs and obsolete values if necessary.
We might become more aware of our own sense of suffering, and we may even begin to understand its role in the awakening and self-realisation process. Why do ‘bad’ things happen, if not to afford us the possibility of spiritual growth and greater humility and wisdom?
My sense is that a key lies in the close Pallas/Venus conjunction in Scorpio: whatever transpires for each one of us, if we go within, there will be a strong inner guiding force that can help us navigate step by step toward whatever is needed for our highest good. All we need do is slow down, quieten the mind, and listen for the soft whisper of the guiding innermost Self.
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