Monday morning we find ourselves in the shadowy realm of the New Moon and total solar eclipse in Sagittarius. We might feel more lost than found, though, as eclipses are chancy times.
During a solar eclipse, the light that fuels our world is dimmed. Even though we now understand the science, predicting the whens and wheres and how longs of eclipses, we still feel the wrongness of the actual event: The sky darkens, the temperature falls, birds are silent. The Earth seems to hold their breath.
Then the shadow lifts and we breathe again.
Those few minutes of darkness, though, sow seeds of unpredictable upheaval.
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Eclipses are part of the foundation of astrology. The dramatic nature of the visual event and the apparent connection with disaster caused ancient scholars to work out how to calculate and predict eclipses. The Nodes of the Moon, which mark the places where the Moon, Earth, and Sun align, began as markers of where eclipses would occur.
The South, or descending Node, encodes information about the past. Long past, ancestral past, karmic past, our personal past–all can relate to the South Node.
Here we find the things we’re naturally good at. We like these things, yet they don’t get us anywhere. If we stay too long with the South Node, we feel stuck, spinning our wheels, not reaching for our goals.
This New Moon in Sagittarius, conjunct the South Node, will move us beyond the past. Sagittarius wants to move, longs to travel swiftly over great distances, in search of adventure.
In astrology, we look for patterns, but the pieces of the puzzle can fit together in multiple ways. Just because we see a pattern, doesn’t mean we know precisely how it will unfold.
This is always true, but especially during an eclipse, and even more true for this eclipse because of some of the aspects surrounding it. Do we give up? Never! We take the puzzles pieces, study them, and consider different ideas.
To show how this works, let me offer some ways to work out this eclipse puzzle, considering only that the Sun, Moon, and South Node are together in Sagittarius and the North Node is opposite in Gemini:
• We uncover new and important information about our past that shakes up our perception of our life and the world.
• We realize that our obsession with the past is holding us back and resolve to move firmly, decisively forward.
• We see the past differently. This could be anything. We could resolve a family quarrel. We could suddenly grasp a different perspective on our ancestry that shifts how we see ourselves. We could realize a limitation, a lack of generosity, that we’re ready to let go.
• We let go of places where we’ve become dogmatic, too get in our ways, and embrace a youthful curiosity.
These areas are not unrelated and might all be true over the time during which this eclipse plays out. But they’re not the same, although they all include the idea of something changing related to the past.
Let’s layer in more specifics about this New Moon eclipse.
The New Moon is conjunct Mercury, hidden under the beams of the Sun. We are absorbing new information and ideas but will find it challenging to articulate them. So be patient with yourself and the world, even though Sagittarius is not a patient sign, because our thoughts, our minds, are also in shadow now.
Mercury reaches cazimi, the heart of the Sun, on December 19 and then begins to separate. Because this is the direct conjunction, the Sun and Mercury moving in the same direction, it takes longer for Mercury to emerge out from under the beams.
It will be January 13, with the Sun already most of the way through Capricorn and Mercury in Aquarius, before Mercury is free of the Sun.
Neptune continues to square the Nodes of the Moon and is therefore squaring the New Moon as well. This is a long term influence because Neptune is moving very, very slowly after stationing direct. In fact, it will be late January before Neptune reaches her exact square to the Nodes.
Neptune is notorious for creating confusion, leaving us feeling we’re lost in the mist. She also loves open-ended creative expression, and also spiritual connection. If you feel lost in a dreamworld, allow time for freeform creativity, or for spiritual explorations. Practices that keep you grounded and centered can also be helpful.
So we see that even without the eclipse, this New Moon, for all its bright, fiery, Sag energy, is not clear, occluded, hard to grasp.
An eclipse New Moon is not a good time for setting intentions or doing manifestation work. The energy is too unpredictable and chaotic.
Instead, think about purification, cleansing, and releasing. These can be body-focused practices like ritual baths or cleansing aimed at our homes or work spaces. This might not be how we usually think of New Moons, but this is not a ‘usual’ time. We want to honor where we are.
Sagittarius would prefer a clear, open road. But even when the path lies in shadow, the way forward uncertain, Sag is ready to journey. In fact, Sag rises to the challenge undaunted, realizing the toughest adventures are the most memorable.
With Mars and Eris in Aries trining the New Moon, we are definitely hitting the road. Not in the outer world, where travel restrictions must still be observed in many places. This is an inner adventure.
Venus in Scorpio sextiles Jupiter in Capricorn. These are the two benefices, the luck bringers. Neither is especially happy where they are right now, but they are speaking, in communication, sharing what they know.
Pluto connects in too, squaring Mars and Eris, adding weight, gravitas, and alchemical transformation.
This is the stuff of legends. Sagittarius knows all the old tales, reveling in ancient lore.
Tapping into this New Moon, we feel a surge of optimism, or perhaps just the determination to keep going and see this thing through.
If we don’t feel heroic, well, it’s worth remembering that most heroes of legend and history rarely felt heroic in the midst of their own difficult adventures.
Let’s remember that keeping ourselves going in the face of great challenge is exactly what heroes do. It’s not about awards or parades, it’s about completing the task, doing one’s best to reach the goal and make it back again.
The impact of this New Moon eclipse will unfold over variable timelines that extend beyond the current lunar cycle, until we reach the next eclipses in June, and potentially for several years.
So even if you are grabbed by Sagittarian fire and decide to ride off into the sunset, be sure you prepare. It’s going to be a long ride, but we’ll get there. And even if we don’t feel like it right now, we are heroes too.
family photo by Anne Nygård
https://unsplash.com/photos/0ragDalrPpk
book page by Denise Jans
https://unsplash.com/photos/laoBHO09sU0
car trip by averie woodard
https://unsplash.com/photos/5d20kdvFCfA
The astrological charts are my own. The images in this post include the title,
adapted from the sunset ride by Yudi Susilo,
and the following images:
family photo by Anne Nygård,
book page by Denise Jans, and
car trip by averie woodard