Insights for Sagittarius

November 22:
Sun enters Sagittarius: 09:59 AM EST
Sagittarius is a complicated sign, as it searches, desperately at times, for light in the darkest and longest nights of the year. That’s why it’s about excess and faith, preaching and teaching, opinions and wisdom. A human life is seasonal, just like a year. Interesting insights arise about Sagittarius from contemplating the paradoxes inherent in these things. It’s dark and getting darker. It’s a melancholic season as the end is happening all around us and yet we are assured of a new beginning. We confuse ourselves by eating drinking and making merry all month long (rather than saving up for the huge celebration after the winter solstice). We benefit by spending time in reflection and therefor, preparation. It’s a paradox. Sagittarius can overdo just about anything as it grapples with the deep desire within us all to find light in darkness. Just one little candle can do the trick!
This year the Sun enters Sagittarius while Jupiter, its ruling planet, is still strong in its own sign. By the time the Sun leaves in December, Jupiter will have moved into Capricorn. It’s a turning point; away from fire into earth. The piper always will get paid. Which might be another way of saying that Sagittarius always becomes Capricorn.

November 23
Sun trine Chrion
The wisest teachers, the ones to seek out and listen to, are generally the ones who  have suffered  in ways that have made them wiser which brings them closer to all human experience. Experience has always been and will always be the best teacher, no matter how new the world is, no matter  how much it changes.

November 24
Venus conjunct Jupiter
Mars opposite Uranus
Think back, if you can, to the intention you made at the last  new moon at the end of October. We are completing that cycle and it matters how far you’ve come, what changes have thrust themselves upon you, which ones you have chosen. The challenges are great. The playing field is not level. But look around. Hiding in plain sight is a promise of things to come. Like a rainbow. Reminding us that one light is made of all color.

November 25
Venus enters Capricorn
Venus entering Capricorn is a harbinger of Jupiter doing the same next week. Our values matter. If something is not going to last, if it isn’t sustainable it’s not really worth investing time, money, love or effort on it. There really is no place to get rid of the garbage any more.  

November 26
New Moon: 4 degrees of Sagittarius: 10:06 AM EST
See if you can feel the shift from old moon to new: Something clicking into place, the engine starting up. This is the season and particularly, these days of the darkest and longest nights. Just as the solstice awakens the light of the Sun for the year, the New Moon awakens the light of the Moon, the night, for the year as well. This is a time to light that one little candle and to strengthen your beliefs with intention. Not because you are special but because life is so real, so close, and you are alive in it.
If you need some keywords to think about whilst setting your intention try, ‘dharma not dogma’.

November 27
Venus square Chiron
Neptune stationery direct
The body is a fragile, temporal thing. It takes the hits. In  honor of this and because Neptune is making a statement, here is a poem to read out loud to yourself: (by Gregory Orr from Concerning the Book that is the Body of the Beloved)

I want to go back
To the beginning
We all do.
         I think
Hurt won’t be there.
But I’m wrong.
Where the water
Bubbles up
At the spring:
Isn’t that a wound?

November 28
Mercury trine Neptune
Venus trine Uranus
Dreams that seemed impossible when Mercury was retrograde (October 31 – November 20) are not so far fetched if you’re willing to put your best effort into changing your world. We were tired and weary then, but now we can find the flow and swim with it.

November 30
Mercury sextile Saturn
It’s annoying when someone who lacks empathy gives you advice, even if it’s good advice. Empathy between people opens more doors, reveals more opportunities than information about the very same things.

December 2
Jupiter enters Capricorn
Big news in the Astrology Times. We now have three major planets in Capricorn until March 22 and again after July 2^nd until the end of 2020. Capricorn is the Sign of the Year! It’s a kind of culminating moment which began at least in 2008. We all know what happened then. Jupiter will show us how we are doing on the Capricorn issues of the day such as climate change and the greed factor in government and corporations. These are problems we all see and know about already but Jupiter brings out the issues of right and wrong. Given how hard it is to tell truth from lies these days it should be “interesting”.

December 3
Mercury sextile Pluto
Venus sextile Mars
How do you meet fear? Do you push it away in denial? Do you fan the flames and hit the edges of panic? Harness your ability to combine realism with strategy. Our interdependence can empower us. Even when it feels that circumstances are beyond our control our ability to make choices about how we handle things, is not.

December 8
Sun square Neptune
Venus sextile Neptune
It is possible to want something and remain free of grasping but this requires practice, discipline and awareness. Apply some restraint to your longings. Consider the myriad of ways you are encouraged to consume things as well as experiences. Navigate your way, knowing you can make choices that you won’t regret.

December 9   
Mercury enters Sagittarius
It’s important to have vision, to see the farther shore. It’s also a good idea not to trip over the dropped threads, the things you neglected to consider, the details. Keep this in the background of awareness between now and the 19^th when Mercury squares Neptune.

December 11   
Venus conjunct Saturn
All love is not unconditional. You could argue and say that if it is not unconditional it isn’t love. And those who already agree would nod their heads. If this is difficult, think about R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

December 12
Full Moon: 19 degrees Gemini: 00:12 AM EST
What did you plant two weeks ago at the New Moon? Whether you thought about it or not, here it is, coming to fulfillment. How you see your life in this moment, particularly in the light of the distractions you allow or even welcome, bears scrutiny. Don’t lie to yourself.  Monkey Mind is afoot! Watch out for things that are ‘too clever by half’. 

December 13
Mars trine Neptune
Venus conjunct Pluto
To be a materialist implies that you don’t think the universe is alive or conscious. All of manifest reality seems like a bunch of things. To at least allow for the possibility that the universe is alive allows us to meet life even as it meets us.

December 19
Mars sextile Saturn
Mercury square Neptune
The opportunity is there, to make a difference, even in just one little life. This means a lot. Beware the insidious distractions that pull you away from life lived.

December 20
Venus enters Aquarius
Human beings are a collective species but are we meant to be food for the Algorithm Monster who keeps score on us? What it means to be human is a worthy topic for consideration as we approach the solstice: A time to gather tools and enjoy your people. The time to start organizing for real comes after the New Moon on 26^th. For now let the string roll out from your hand. Be awed by endings and beginnings, the interplay of dark and light.