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 Aries 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 (even a day 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.
To begin with...
The Sagittarius New Moon typically initiates a new sub-cycle of personal growth, building momentum, now that we are 2/3 of the way through the yearly New Moon cycle that started with the Aries New Moon last March.
After an inward and emotional Scorpio period, Sagittarius moves us outward again toward more personal expansion. We may feel more gregarious than last month, especially now that the festive season begins with St Nickolas’ day just a few days into December, followed by the Capricorn Solstice, Yule and Christmas.
Whatever depths we may have mined last month, the cycle now moves us to look at the bigger picture in our own lives, and think about our dreams and aspirations more, as we progress toward the end of the year. This may be a time of heightened intuition as Higher-Self impulses drive us toward greater understanding about pertinent issues, a need to learn something new in order to make better sense of things, or even a stronger than usual push to take a leap of faith on something. Either way the energy will tend to lighten up after the intensity of the last Scorpio lunation, and that will certainly feel welcome; there has been a lot of energy activation and subsequent processing and integration over the last few months, and for many, the US election outcome has stimulated acute emotional crisis and challenge, or a metamorphosis of worldview and a spark of hope moving forward.
Remember that most of us have limited real information on world events; we are dependent on curated media information sources for the most part, and in addition our way of making sense of the world is highly personal and nuanced - rooted in social conditioning factors, patterns of belief and ancestral biases; truth is a valuable asset in an information ecology that is weaponised, propagandised, censored and distorted by plutocrats with their own agendas, and the subsequent domino effect within the collective field. It behoves us to consider how we know what we know is true. The issue of truth versus patterns of belief is very much energised this Sagittarius New Moon. It is worth remembering that most of the time our fears don't manifest.
From an astrology perspective, regardless of personal bias, we can safely assume that Donald Trump and his team are tasked with carrying the Aquarian torch forward, now that the US Pluto Return has completed, and the energy now moves into rebirth and renewal.
(It is striking that the new Trump administration is a coalition of people with varied political orientations e.g. RFK Jr has been a long standing democrat from a strong lineage of democrats, and arguably still stands true to the values of democracy and personal freedom, despite affiliating with the 'opposing' team. Elon Musk was also a staunch democrat until just recently, as was Tulsi Gabbard. This unexpected development has an aquarian feel to it - a sort of unity in diversity generating a unique synergy in a way that is breaking from patterns of the past and potentially forging something quite new)
We can only wait and see what this means in the grand scheme of things, but with a Pluto-Mars opposition in play, this is still a volatile window of time for the next few months, where the risk of conflict and misuse of power is amplified. Pluto will always have the winning say, so despite the actions of selfish egotistic people, collective humanitarian energy will ultimately prevail. By mid Jan, the Pluto-Mars opposition will have dissipated, at least for the time being (until next April 2025).
I would like to say that the energy is going to be calmer and easier to surf this month, but there is a lot of activity in the New Moon chart, with numerous oppositions, a Grand Square, 2 Grand Trines and 3 Yods, not to mention 9 conjunctions! Let’s take a deeper look at the emergent archetypal themes on offer this month as we approach the December Solstice…
Chart cast for the Sagittarius New Moon - 1 Dec 2024 06.25 GMT / 01.25 EST
For a guide to the astrological symbols click here
Astro technicals:
Conjunctions:
Quaoar and Pholus conjunct in Capricorn
Manwë conjunct the North Node in Aries
Salacia conjunct the North Node in Aries
Hygeia conjunct Eris in Aries
Sedna conjunct Mors Somnus in Gemini
Mars conjunct Varuna in Leo
Saturn Conjunct Nessus in Pisces
Vesta conjunct Logos-Zoë in Libra
Oppositions:
Mercury opposing Jupiter
Mars opposing Pluto
Uranus opposing Typhon
Orcus opposing Nessus
Vesta opposing Chiron
Squares:
A Grand Mutable Square featuring Jupiter opposing Mercury, square Nessus, Saturn, and Orcus a
Varda square Neptune
Pluto square Haumea
Typhon square Praamzius
Inconjuncts:
A Yod featuring Manwë sextile Sedna and Mors Somnus with Haumea at the apex
A Yod featuring Venus sextile Neptune with Praamzius at the apex
A Yod featuring Quaoar & Pholus sextile Saturn with Varuna at the apex
Trines:
A Grand Fire Trine featuring Varuna, Mars, Salacia, the North Node, and the New Moon
A Grand Fire Trine featuring Praamzius, Eris, Hygeia and Varda
Pluto trine Sedna and Mors Somnus
Typhon trine Neptune
Sedna trine the South Node
Pluto enters Aquarius
Pluto is now at 0˚ Aquarius, officially initiating a deep and powerful evolutionary change that will last from now until 2043! We have been transitioning to the Aquarian frequency over the last year or so, but now Pluto is finally in Aquarius full-time, and will be steadily building evolutionary momentum within the collective field toward a more humanitarian era; “people power” is on the rise!
We are also entering a 20 year period of accelerated evolution, both personally and collectively, and this will add more speed to the awakening of humanity; many will be deeply impulsed to liberate from whatever is perceived to be too limiting.
(For a deeper dive on this - see an earlier post: Pluto in Aquarius - A new era)
Mars in Leo is currently in opposition to Pluto, while in a conjunction to Varuna: this alignment generates quite a bit of energy to move forward in life in some way, especially toward personal creative dreams and projects. It also provides strong energy for the self-realisation journey, which is imbued with the desire to become more self-mastered via Varuna, which I think will serve to seed new desire impulses toward greater self-fulfilment, to be carried forward into the new Aquarian era. It makes for an optimistic first archetypal statement, as Pluto enters Aquarius, perhaps giving us a hint as to where we are all heading.
Mars in Leo, in and of itself, can in the lower expression be overbearing, self-aggrandising and arrogant, and Mars is at the apex of a Yod with Quaoar & Pholus both sextile Gonggong: for those on a lower frequency octave, the new higher energies coming in are going to generate some strong lessons in humility. I imagine for those in power, used to getting their own way, things are going to get much harder, as the evolutionary climate shifts toward more equality and freedom.
The collective imperative is to move forward
The North Node in Aries, representing our collective evolutionary future, is currently joined by 2 elevated archetypes: Manwë and Salacia. Both represent aspects of our higher nature - Manwë in Aries is the spiritual warrior; our potential capacity to stand for the greater good against adverse forces, and Salacia in Aries activates curiosity and courage to move beyond what we already know, in order to find the answers to our current questions and challenges.
While the North Node transits through Aries, the general collective motivation is toward breaking from the past and initiating new pathways of growth and development, in order to embrace new experiences; we are less inclined to repeat the same old patterns, fuelled by a growing sense of frustration and boredom that will only abate if we do something different!
The New Moon makes a harmonious trine to the North Node this month, highlighting the role of intuitive Higher-Self impulses and aspirations, in relation to the ongoing drive to move forward in new ways. So we can expect some of our guiding themes and messages to pertain to potential futures, and how we can best initiate new beginnings.
The New Moon itself is also in an exact Grand Fire Trine with Salacia and Varuna, with support energies coming from Mars. The higher-frequency archetypes of Salacia and Varuna will no doubt influence any emergent aspirations and sudden inner-knowing, toward a clearer vision of where we each next need to go, and with Mars in the picture, these more altruistic motivations can be put into some kind of creative action this month. Remember that most things develop step by step, so for most of us this will probably amount to a manageable step forward, while for some, what was only a vague feeling may suddenly coalesce into greater clarity of vision.
The Grand Mutable Square: pressure to learn and adapt
Jupiter and Mercury are opposing each other in each others signs - Mercury in Sagittarius (ruled by Jupiter) and Jupiter in Gemini (ruled my Mercury). This sets up a rather elegant and nuanced integration challenge, inviting us to become more ‘whole-brained’. Mercury and Jupiter represent the left-brain mode and the right-brain mode respectively, and we are being asked to bring these apparently opposing reality perceptions into a unified 'whole vision' of what is. If we allow the intuition to inform our linear left-brain habitual ways of seeing things, we may see greater truth and understand the patterns unfolding and how best to align with natural law.
How we make sense of things and communicate our personal truth is going to be a pivotal characteristic of this lunation wave. The Jupiter/Mercury opposition makes a T-Square with Saturn in Pisces and another T-Square with Orcus in Virgo, which in turn forms a Grand Square. The Grand Square aspect is perhaps the most challenging and stimulating, since it involves opposing energies combined with obstructed energies, and the mutable nature of the Grand Square tells us that the best way to work with this opportunity is to yield; we must learn and adapt to what is moving us from the unseen; we must learn and adapt in order to expand our way of understanding the world.
Because Saturn is involved, we can expect new vision, understanding, and insight, to clash with an old version of who we think we are, based on persona, ego and identity.
How do we move on from an old way of being?
What illusions must fall away for real change to happen?
What parts of our current life structures do we need to release in order to feel alive again?
With Orcus involved with the mix, if we are already on an active spiritual path of growth, then most likely the new visions and understanding arising will pertain to a call to be of service in some new way in the world, whether great or small. Since a Grand Square is effectively 4 T-Squares with 4 apex archetypes, all the archetypes need to be worked on at the same time. There is a sense of crisis involved; the crisis over a loss of meaning, together with the crisis over a need to take some form of action, and the inevitable insecurity that goes with stepping into new experiences.
The Orcus-Saturn opposition, which has been ongoing for some time now, challenges the budding spiritual initiate to establish greater self-authorship and somehow bring the manifest part of life into an alignment with our deepest spiritual callings.
Are we willing or daring enough to take action on our intuitions?
Are we afraid to embody our truth in the world?
Are we finding the consensus world exhausting and more and more meaningless?
Are we willing to communicate our spiritual truth in ways that help others?
Are we comfortable moving beyond society and its conventions in order to find our answers?
All the above capture some of this Grand Square dynamic for the spiritual journeyer. Above all we may feel energised toward some type of action as we approach years end, either to step up in the world, or to leave some of the world behind and the roles we play in it.
The 3 Yods generate internal crisis toward adjustment and more alignment
The appearance of 3 Yods adds further evolutionary stimulus toward more internal adjustment and humility. All three will add greater nuance to the primary challenge highlighted by the Grand Square this month. Remember that crisis serves evolution by motivating us to question and alter course.
Gonggong and Saturn make a sextile to Quaoar and Pholus, with Mars and Varuna at the apex.
Gonggong in conjunction to Saturn speaks to a shake up in our structure of reality, probably caused by the high-frequency transmission from the Galactic Logos, symbolised by a sextile to Quaoar and Pholus in Capricorn. The issue is how we act on the breakdown and dissolution of old habitual ways of being in the world.
With so much going on these days, and so little coherent sense in the media, what quality of crisis are we experiencing through disillusionment and uncertainty over what is real and what is really happening in the world?
What new alignment are we as individuals going to make as a response?
What internal changes will we need to make in order to feel renewed meaning and purpose again?
2. Venus sextile Neptune with Praamzius in Leo at the apex.
A call to greater personal sovereignty guided by the Higher-Self puts pressure on us to take greater responsibility with regard to core needs and values, as we align our spiritual values with natural law principles. The more we do this, the more we become the centre of our personal co-creative life journey
3. The North Node and Manwë in Aries sextile Sedna and Mors-Somnus in Gemini, with Haumea in Scorpio at the apex. This is a collective dynamic influencing evolution via the North Node.
Haumea’s recent ingress into Scorpio marks a significant collective shift toward personal empowerment and regeneration through the Divine Feminine. As Sedna enters Gemini, she is activated by Manwë, adding more elevated light and protection, as we collectively begin to understand the connection between collective trauma and awareness shut-down. This in turn will generate powerful new healing modalities that can bring a collective renewal in the years ahead. During this month we can expect the issue of trauma to feature in our personal and collective processes. For example, we are already seeing the psychotherapeutic community beginning to highlight racial trauma as a key factor within the current war in the Middle-East and a call to heal.
The Grand Fire Trine boosts intuitive awareness this month
The New Moon itself is part of a Grand Fire Trine with Salacia and Varuna all at 9˚ of a sign, and Mars and the North Node are also close enough to add their energy to this dynamic. Its always good to see a Grand Trine together with a Grand Square because trines on their own can be too lazy and we fail to make use of them, while a Grand Square can feel too difficult and thus be resisted. With a Grand Square giving us some evolutionary pressure pertaining to meaning and life direction, this Grand Trine will energise a much clearer and heightened intuition, making guiding insights, dreams, visions and signals easier to take notice of. With both Mars and the North Node involved, we can safely expect these intuitive insights to relate to how we can move forward in our lives, and how we might take creative action toward future forward impulses.
Finally…
General personal themes for this month centre around intuitive guiding insights nourishing a personal sense of where we are headed, and in what areas of life we need to break free from the past and move forward into new experiences; universal forces do not tolerate evolutionary stagnation for too long; there is little to be gained at the soul level if we keep repeating the past.
While we may build more intuitive vision in relation to creative self expression, life purpose, and spiritual direction, this month there will also be a sense of tension and crisis building, and something will have to give; more than likely this will come about through a widening perspective and deeper understanding of our life situation, which in turn will help us adapt and let go of old ideas and old images about who we think we are or wanted to be. For some of us this will tie into a stronger calling to be of service to the world in new ways.
Chiron, Hygeia and Eris continue to hang together in Aries, highlighting healing through holistic practices as an additional collective theme, especially with regard to healing the wounded feminine aspect. A key story reflecting this energy dynamic is the recent emergence of more than 20 allegations of sexual assault or rape by ex Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed (now deceased) - another is the recent arrest of rapper Sean Combs aka Diddy for racketeering, sex trafficking, forced labour, kidnapping and arson - the old distorted patriarchal dominance is no longer acceptable, and yet the patterns still linger.
This healing theme is part of a second Grand Fire Trine with Varda and Praamzius (both high frequency collective archetypes), indicating that the need for healing dovetails with a collective movement towards re-alignment with natural universal laws, and an opposition to Logos-Zoë and Vesta in Libra links this process to ascension and the cultivation of Christ-Sophia Consciousness.
The energy continues to drive us all to evolve faster than perhaps we are used to, and an upcoming Ceres alignment on Dec 7th, which I cover in detail in a post of its own, invites us to elevate the feminine principle in our own lives by giving more attention to self-care during these intense times. There is so much going on for everyone in the world on so many levels, and we will be best served when we acknowledge our own needs and attend to them; we can no longer wing it and bypass self-care without detrimental consequences. Be kind to yourself, and be patient too.
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