Sagittarius Insights

November 22
Sun enters Sagittarius: 03:20 AM EST
Are we tourists on this planet, hunting for souvenirs to bring back to some other place we can’t remember or return to? Are we pilgrims, here to learn; reaching beyond the grasp of understanding in the hopes that we may grow wise? Is the point of journeying simply to collect memories or to learn that what is assumed as ‘the way’ in one place, by one people is not necessarily true in another?
That could be one Sagittarius theme. Another more specific contemplation might be the link between sport, war and religion. We seem to love sport, believe in religion and abhor war. In the relatively recent past it has become clear for all to see that in each of these realms violation (sexual and otherwise) of the weak, defenseless and trusting simply goes without saying. In the last century after the horror of WWII the notion of crimes against humanity became something we could name, identify and prosecute. Eradicating the energies that give rise to these destructive urges is another thing.

Sagittarius, at its best is visionary: An archetypal invitation to learn from diversity. At worst (every archetypal construct has a best and a worst) it is dogmatic, fundamentalist and exclusive and only considers its followers as fully human. As the Sun moves into Sagittarius, as we descend, here in the north, into the darkest, most troubling and mysterious part of the year we might give some honest consideration to these themes. As a mutable sign Sagittarius is dualistic which is to say incredible paradoxical: Wisdom and vision on one hand, socially sanctioned war and violation on the other.
It might be worth noting at this moment that astrology itself is a north-centric construct for gaining insight into what it means to be human. Its meanings arise from observation of seasons and the rising and setting of the sky at different times of the year. We cannot separate astrology from culture. As the western world, the dominant world, dare we say, the First World? comes apart at the seams astrology must also find new ways to tell it’s stories. This has always been a fascinating and compelling challenge for me. You as well, I imagine, if you are reading this.
As the Sun travels through Sagittarius this year it’s most powerful aspect will be the opposition to Mars at the Full Moon. This is a powerful reminder to question authority (especially the authority inside your own mind) and to refuse to follow the command if you don’t understand or agree with why it has been given. It will also sextile Saturn and square Neptune. Two very different energies. The New Moon will trine Jupiter – a wonderful time to affirm your path in wisdom rather than dogma.      

November 23
New Moon: 01 degree Sagittarius: 05:57 PM EST
Jupiter stationery direct
Jupiter is right at home with the energies of Sagittarius and so a New Moon combined with a change in direction reminds us to make a powerful intention and, at the very least, not to despair. At the very most we might consider sharing our vision for the future with anyone who might gain some strength from it.
As you must upon your visions for the future you might consider what was stirred up as Jupiter journeyed through Pisces, starting at the end of last year (with a dip into Aries between May 10 and December 21st, coming up). Of course Neptune is in Pisces as well and has been on about the same things since spring of 2011. You might consider if and how you have become more aware of the waves of chaos, breaking over the world. And if your heart has been stirred to feelings of compassion as a tool for navigating such extraordinary times. Humanity, which might just include more than humans, is a sea of individuals, each of whom is not more or less deserving than anyone else of food, shelter, freedom, respect and a healthy environment in which to live. As Pluto edges its way toward Aquarius and Saturn to Pisces in March of 2023 this notion of humanity as an ocean of individuals will become more not less important. Some see this as an ocean of resource to exploit for personal gain. That’s old-story. The rest of us either feel like pawns in that game or part of the dawning of a new story, a new age. It doesn’t happen in an instant.

November 25
Mercury and Venus trine Chiron
The stories we tell ourselves matter. Be creative. Pay attention to the story nattering away in your head at any given moment. Give it a tweak toward a new story if you can. A story of wisdom to share that could benefit those around you.

November 27

We have been through a lot in the last while. The days are getting dark in the north where I live, and short. The circumstances of the world are closing in on us as individuals. We are feeling it. As the Moon opens to crescent, look for the impossible sliver of light and remind yourself about faith. Even though this poem is speaking about the waning crescent I offer it because as the Moon waxes and the days wane it’s downright mystical!

I want to write about faith,
about the way the moon rises
over cold snow, night after night,

faithful even as it fades from fullness,
slowly becoming that last curving and impossible
sliver of light before the final darkness.

But I have no faith myself
I refuse it even the smallest entry.

Let this then, my small poem,
like a new moon, slender and barely open,
be the first prayer that opens me to faith.

-David Whyte

November 29
Mercury enters Scorpio
Given that our attention has become a commodity, bought and sold by forces we cannot quite believe are real, now and over the next few weeks, would be a good time to take it back. Own your focus. Pay your attention toward the things that empower you to live your life from the inside out, not the other way around.

December 1
Venus opposite Mars
Mercury square Neptune
Venus sextile Saturn
Today we might begin asking some hard questions even as a fog hangs over our fears for the future. ‘What is the matter and why?’ ‘Whom do I serve (not whom do I work for)?’ That life is meaningful and worthy of our efforts is not the question here.  

December 3
Neptune stationery direct
Neptune on the move, reminding us perhaps that relaxing into all that does matter will allow us to navigate better than thrashing through the frenzied mind of chaos.

December 4
Sun trine Chiron
Venus square Neptune
Imperfection all over the place. Nothing is good enough but for whom? Who is this unwise judge who believes in perfection as if I might be the one and only person who gets it right?

December 6
Mercury square Jupiter
Mercury enter Capricorn
There is a saying, ‘if you sow the wind, you reap the whirlwind’. It seems we are doing just that. Even so there is a still, small point at the center of each and every one of us. You can find it by simply standing still; feet on the ground, imagining the roots of a big tree, head aligned with your guiding star. When we knowingly stand between heaven and earth we are a kind of lightning rod for all that it means to be human.

December 7 & 8
Full Moon: 16 degrees Gemini: 11:08 PM EST
Sun opposite Mars Rx
Questions are more powerful than answers. Ask yourself and anyone who assumes they have answers, the hard questions: Why should I? or maybe, Why shouldn’t I? And maybe even, Who is the boss of me (really)?  To question is to quest.
If you’re following along with Mars retrograde we have come to the exact midpoint of the transit: the most powerful time to grapple with what it means for you, for us. Think back to whatever it was that called to you in September. Evaluate with curiosity the difficulty or ease you have had as you have attempted to accomplish the task. Here we face the challenge of continuing along our path; a time to reach for that pearl of great price: an unruly thing of value. You are indeed the person for the task. Fear not! Speak truth to the power of your will. Be curious regarding all that might seems to block the way.

December 9
Venus square Jupiter
Venus enters Capricorn
Following in Mercury’s footsteps just a few short days ago (December 6th) Venus reminds us that the best strategy when reaping a whirlwind is presence. For Venus this comes through our senses. Don’t just do something. Stand or sit there and smell the moment, taste the tang, feel the sensations of embodiment. Beneath the restlessness: the itching and twitching, is our ability to be present, to sit and know that we are sitting (or standing): A true gift.

December 12  
Sun sextile Saturn   
Settle into the task at hand. Do it simply because it needs doing. Like it or not you are here and now. The more ease you bring to honoring this the more calm you bring to the swirling winds of this world, especially the ones in your mind.  

December 14
Sun square Neptune
Every picture tells a story. Here is a story of ‘lost’: A babe in the woods? A pilgrim seeking a teacher and a teaching? A truth obscured by a lie? Or simply a time to rest from the endless striving of ‘more’ and ‘better’. To float and marvel at the stars in the sky or even the mere anarchy that has been loosed upon the world.

December 17
Mercury square Chiron
Do not turn away from the sufferings you see around you, the immediate ones as well as the ones that overwhelm even as they proliferate out of control. Let this touch you inasmuch as it is real. Notice the impulse that arises when you do. From this you might narrow your focus and do something that is within your power to do.

December 19
Venus square Chiron
Mars sextile Chiron
People in the privileged world are in the habit of thinking that they somehow deserve their good fortune. This often amounts to permission to consume. Of course if we believe we deserve our good fortune this implies that others must deserve their bad. Wisdom teaches us that we are made of conditions that are handed down to us for generations before we are born and continue like waves in water for generations to come. That no one is deserving of cruelty or the grace. What mighty, although perhaps small, action could you take, in the dark of the year when despair is easy to find, feel and step into, that just might shift the legacy for future generations? How might the heartfelt impulse teach to the broken heart above show itself? Not only for the children but for the cosmos. Think big or don’t think at all, simply offer yourself to the only dance there is.  

December 20
Jupiter enters Aries
Tomorrow, just after solstice, Jupiter will square the Sun as it enters Capricorn. Restrain the manic impulse, even as you step into the celebration of what you know to be true: Light is returning: The year will be born anew. But not just yet. On this side of that change is the sacred silence. Quiet. Listen. Remember. A god who only loves his own people is by definition, not God.

These insights, are meant as contemplations of a sort: Each one fashioned using the astrological aspects of the moment. Astrology is a kind of sky writing which invites the muse. No two perceptions are exactly the same. Any of us can find insight through the images if we look. These are mine, happily offered for you to reshape and fashion into something of your own. Follow the links, where you find them for further musings on the planetary aspects.