On Dec 19, at 7:43 pm CST, the Moon makes an exact conjunction with the Sun in the 29th degree of Sagittarius. Sagittarius is associated with expansiveness and adventure, both physically and intellectually. Like an archer's arrow in flight, Sagittarius creates connections across vast spans. Interactions with foreign people and cultures, and the exchange of philosophical ideas (by traveling abroad or at universities) are decidedly in the domain of Sagittarius.
The gas-giant Jupiter is the planetary ruler of Sagittarius, and fittingly embodies the expansive quality which the sign of mutable-fire has been known to express. There is optimism and a sense of benevolence, a willingness to reach-out and to grow, however that growth can also become exaggeration, reckless belief ("delulu", to borrow the modern parlance), or material excess. Jupiter, and the Sagittarian impulse, can bolster hope in trying times but can also increase unwanted phenomena. Undesired weight-gain, delusions of grandeur, doubling-down on a lie, gambling away resources to cover debts accrued through gambling. There is no shortage of potentially problematic expressions of this energy which is often portrayed as inherently positive.
Interestingly, at the time of this New Moon, both Neptune and Saturn are forming tense square aspects to the Sun and Moon from the sign of Pisces. Neptune is the planetary ruler of Pisces, and these two are associated with dreams and fantasies, illusions, delusions, and the ephemeral. Left to their most positive expressions, Jupiter and Neptune are powerful allies. Neptune giving glimpses of idyllic possibilities, and Jupiter providing the optimism and expansive striving to believe in them. Yet it is easy to see how this pairing could be problematic as well.
Enter Saturn, the most taciturn of the planets. Saturn has an affinity for restriction, restraint, and limitation. It is a decidedly pragmatic, realistic, and even fatalistic energy. It is, in many ways, the perfect complement or foil to the expansive and optimistic nature of Jupiter. Similarly, it is a natural counter to the Neptunian impulses. While Neptune may be intoxicating and ill-defined, Saturn is distinctly sober and painstakingly clear.
The squaring of these forces highlights the tension between our experiences of limitation and growth, our sense of in-groups and out-groups, and our capacity to balance being realistic or pessimistic with our capacity for maintaining hope or indulging in problematic excesses.
Adding to these dynamics is the arrival of the Winter Solstice on Dec 21 at 9:03 am CST. The Winter Solstice comes with the Sun entering the sign of Capricorn, the sign of cardinal-earth energy, which is ruled by none other than planet Saturn. It is fitting that Capricorn is associated with the most limited period of daylight annually, but also with the beginning of the persistent climb toward the longer days of Spring and Summer. Capricorn carries with it the qualities of industriousness, perseverance, and discipline, and is symbolized as a mountain goat with an aquatic tail. Capricorn is built for striving upward, for the long and arduous climb, yet it is also equipped for life below sea-level. The potentially oppressive quality of Saturn gives Capricorn the opportunity to swim, and the sturdy and firm quality of Saturn gives Capricorn the audacity to reach the summit.
Mars entered the sign of Capricorn on Dec 15, and Venus will follow suit on Dec 24, bringing a trifecta of Capricorn and Saturnian energy onto the scene for much of the Sun's sojourn through this tenth sign of the Zodiac. The shift from the exploratory and grandiose energy of Sagittarius to Capricorn can feel stifling, but can also be stabilizing and centering. The influence of Pisces and Neptune can both undermine efforts at consistency and tangible progress, but also may afford the opportunity to soften and dream, to give the Saturnian impulse something worth standing upon and striving for.
The movement of the Tao consists in returning. (40)
Without going out your door, you can know the ways of the world. (47)
Learning consists in daily accumulating;
the practice of Tao consists in daily diminishing. (48)
To know when to stop is to be preserved from perils. (44)
-Tao Te Ching
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Tag: full-moon
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New Moon in Sagittarius (Dec 19, 2025) + The Winter Solstice
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Full Moon in Gemini (Dec 4, 2025)
On December 4, at 5:14 CST, the Moon will come into precise opposition with the Sun and be fully illumined in the 14th degree of Gemini. Gemini is associated with information, movement, communication, and all manner of duality and polarity. The symbolism of twins is apt, but another useful representation of Gemini energy is the pair of dramatic masks, suggesting both tragedy and comedy. Gemini signifies the richness of our perceptual experiences, and the thrill of expressing and communicating these with others.
In a purely physiological sense, Gemini is present in the bilateral branching of the shoulders, arms, hands, and the five-fold branching of the fingers (it would be fair to extend this to the legs as well). Furthermore, the systems of communication which coordinate and make use of these is also an expression of Gemini. The nerves, and the signals they carry, are quintessential Gemini. The dualistic nature of these features as both input and output functions make the connection with the messenger between realms in Greek mythology (Hermes, aka Mercury) exeedingly fitting.
There is a profound need for stimulation where Gemini and Mercury are concerned. Despite having the basic needs of shelter and food met, infants which are not provided with sufficient sensation can literally die. Insufficient input is problematic, and it is quite clear that insufficient output is problematic as well. Somewhere it has been said that the opposite of depression is not happiness, but expression. The rise in popularity of both talk-therapy and therapeutic use of arts and craft, as well as other creative endeavor, is surely an indicator that ample release is no less vital to overall well-being.
Interestingly, at the time of this Full Moon in Gemini, Mercury has recently stationed out of its retrograde motion (a notably Mercurial feature of planeatry motion in general) in the latter decan of Scorpio. What's more, the Full Moon energy of opposition between the Sun and Moon may be enhanced by Mercury forming an opposition with Uranus (a planet which some consider to be a "higher octave" of Mercury) in the coming days. Uranus itself is in a retrograde cycle, navigating the late degrees of Taurus after having briefly poked its proverbial-head into Gemini.
There is something particularly noteworthy about Mercury carrying some of the Scorpio quality into Sagittarius season. The theme of power, both covert and overt, feels especially significant given the nature of the signs, planets, and the phenomena they indicate, involved in this astrological climate.
Mercury is a reminder that we are ALWAYS on-boarding information. Perception rarely, if ever, stops during the span of a lifetime. In the so-called Information Age, it is more important than ever to consider what kind of information you are consuming, both proactively and in a passive manner. Social Media "feeds" unfurling an endless supply of stimulus, selected specifically to keep you enraptured and engorged, is the norm. Are you paying attention to what you are consuming, and are you aware of the information that payment is causing you to miss?
Mercury is a reminder that we are ALWAYS broadcasting information. To exist is to be impactful. In a culture which is increasingly centered on the role of "consumer", it is very easy to neglect the coexisting and inherent role of "contributor". Are you paying attention to what you are contributing in a given moment with any sincerity? Are you flexing your agency and free-will in how you impact your surroundings? Does being angry at the latest breaking news during your nephews birthday party make sense?
There is room for being Human. This is not meant to finger-wag or demonize difficult emotions. It is merely a reminder that we have tremendous power and agency in deciding what kind of information we will consume and what kind of information we will create and contribute. The input and the output are constants. There is no "turning it off". There is only the potential for being present with these processes, and using discernment and agency to the degree we are able."You are what you eat" -Unknown
"You excrete what you eat" -AnonymousIf you would like support in exploring how this Full Moon or other transits might affect you, please schedule a reading HERE
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New Moon in Scorpio (Nov 20, 2025)
On November 20, at 12:47 CST, the Moon reaches its exact conjunction with the Sun in the 29th degree of Scorpio. Scorpio carries associations with the mysterious, the taboo, even the occult. It carries the symbolism of the scorpion, venomous and clawed with exoskeletal armor. However, Scorpio is also symbolized by the eagle and the phoenix.
In particular, the phoenix represents the profundity of the Scorpio archetype. The basic connotations of Scorpio- power, sex, the unseen- never lose their relevance, but can be transmuted or alchemized into something far beyond the obvious base-nature of these. The basic sexual and generative urge can be expressed through all forms of art, craft, and creativity. The egoic desire for control and domination, once surrendered to forces of a higher magnitude, becomes a far more profound relationship to, and experience of, power-as-such.
It is this sense of transformation through which Scorpio, as the Phoenix, offers its most aspirational and profound wisdom.
Given that New Moons are inherently of similar transformational ilk (the closing of what-was, the pregnant pause, and the subtle rumblings of what-will-be), it is not unfair to suggest that this New Moon may be especially potent.
With a number of planets cycling through periods of retrograde motion (Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune) during the New Moon, the potential for introspective inclination is high. Dreamwork (via the influence of Pisces, currently hosting its ruling planet Neptune as well as Saturn) might be especially potent. Our capacity to navigate surprise and change may be in the spotlight through the well-publicized influence of Mercury retrograde, but also through its opposition to Uranus, a planet which has been described as a "higher-octave" of Mercury.
On November 21, the day after the New Moon, the Sun shifts into the Sign of Sagittarius, and in doing so sets the stage for several marked shifts to take place. Saturn will halt its retrograde motion through Pisces in the 26th degree on November 27, and begin to move direct, traveling toward an alignment with the degree of the New Moon in Scorpio. On November 29, Mercury will station and begin its return to direct motion in the 21st degree of Scorpio, creating alignment with Saturn and the degree of the New Moon as it makes a second opposition to Uranus and heads toward a conjunction with the Sun in Sagittarius. Venus will enter Sagittarius on November 30, adding some more dynamism to the climate, and also will form a conjunction with the Sun in the early degrees of this Mutable-Fire Sign. Then on December 10, Neptune will pause its retrograde journey and begin to turn toward direct motion in the 30th and final (or anaretic) degree of Pisces. A New Moon in the 29th degree of Sagittarius follows close behind, with the Sun shifting into Capricorn quickly thereafter.
All this to say, Time and Space may be feeling stretched in awkward and multi-coordinated manner through the end of the calendar year 2025. With so many planets running retrograde, there may have been a sense of stalling, or conversely, of long-awaited things coming to fruition. In any case, whatever the retrograde phases have entailed, now there may be an influx of motion and activity as Neptune and Saturn prepare to move back into Aries, the Cardinal-Fire and original spark of the Zodiac.
Most interestingly, to my mind, is the fact that these final New Moon phases of the year all occur in the very late degrees of their given Sign, so out of the typically deep and inward-oriented transformational energy of these New Moons, we are quickly met with a shift into the next Sign of the Zodiac. Powerful moments of deep transformation, which very rapidly give way to new and profound ways of being.
asato ma Sat gamaya/
tamaso ma Jyotir gamaya/
mrityor ma Amritam gamaya/
AUM Shantih, Shantih, Shantih...If you would like support in exploring how this New Moon or other transits might affect you, please schedule a reading HERE
Yin-Yang-Yoga 