New Moon in Sagittarius 12*19*25
It's amazing to think we are at the final New Moon of the year, but here we are. On Friday evening, the Sun and Moon will meet at 28 degrees of Sagittarius. New Moons are times of initiation, of new beginnings of things that are under the purview of that sign. For Sagittarius, this includes beliefs, morality, and ethics. Sagittarius is the mutable fire sign. Like its sister fire signs, Aries and Leo, it is oriented towards the "big picture" and motivated by ideals. Like all mutable signs, there is a tendency for restlessness.
The symbol for Sagittarius is the arrow notched in the bow, drawn back and ready to be set free to explore new territory. Sagittarius is here to push boundaries, expand awareness, and grow beyond what is known. The preceding sign, Scorpio, is here to plumb the inner depths of emotions. After all this interior investigation, Sagittarius shifts the focus to the world at large. Sagittarius is not interested so much in having vast amounts of knowledge - that is more in line with its Gemini complement. Gemini likes to have lots of facts at its disposal. Sag wants to deeply understand the world it inhabits by exploring new places, people, and ideas. It is looking for ways to expand its understanding of how the world operates, and more importantly, how it should operate. Sagittarius wants to move beyond the accepted boundaries - what is known - and increase the cache of what is understood in order to inform and enhance the human experience.
Playful and optimistic, Sagittarius is the explorer who extends a friendly hand to build connections. How willing are you to reach out to those outside your normal sphere? Do you hold back because of fear of rejection? Of being labeled "too much" or "not enough" or plain old "weird"? The Sun and Moon are conjuncting Venus at 24 degrees of Sagittarius, which increases the desire to develop relationships right now.
Mercury is at 10 degrees of Sagittarius and is forming a T-square to the Moon's nodes at 11 degrees of Pisces (North Node) and Virgo (South Node). Briefly, the South Node in Virgo shows us the futility of chasing perfection because in that chase, we forget all about connection and compassion for self and others (North Node in Pisces). The opposition between the North and South Nodes is meant to encourage us to find balance between the ability to connect with others on a soul basis (Pisces) and show our love and compassion through small practical acts of service (Virgo). When we focus too much on getting it right, we lose sight of the original purpose of being present with another and sharing our time and talents. Mercury in Sagittarius is bringing our thoughts to our ethics and morals, and encouraging us to express our beliefs honestly and openly. (PSA- Sagittarius energy can sometimes confuse bluntness with honesty. A little care in how you express yourself under this New Moon can avoid the need for damage control later.) If you find yourself falling into the trap of striving for perfection, this is the time to ask what beliefs are behind the quest for perfection? How can we extend the same compassion we offer to others to ourselves?
This New Moon presents the opportunity to take a look at our beliefs, especially those we hold about ourselves. What do your stories reveal about your self concept? Where might you be limiting yourself? Talking yourself out of your own expansion? What version of yourself is asking to be given more expression? To be taken more seriously; to be given a chance? Are you holding back from exploring new paths, new possibilities? What are the potentials that keep coming up for you? That keep drawing your attention, that you continue to come back to in your thoughts or even daydreams? What would happen if you stopped dismissing them and instead, spent some time with them? How do you feel in your body when you think about them? Does your heart open? Does your energy feel lighter? Do you notice the tug of excitement?
Mars, planet of action, is now in Capricorn, having entered the sign on December 15. Mars loves its time in Capricorn. It becomes focused and productive. It motivates us to to take strategic action towards our goals. If you allow it, Mars can assist you in shifting from considering or planning to doing - taking steps to make your dream a reality. Whether you realize it or not, that is a big theme for the remainder of this year and into 2026 - creating the foundation for your dreams, establishing your best, most authentic expression of yourself. That's what is going on. We are, (individually and collectively, but we really care mostly about the individually part because that is where the majority of our influence is) being made aware of the aspects of our lives that no longer work; those relationships we have outgrown, those responsibilities that feel "heavy" and leave us exhausted, those expectations that squelch our creativity and joy. These aspects of life that are founded on self denial are no longer sustainable and this is being clearly shown.
The Sun/Moon are tightly squaring Neptune at 29 degrees of Pisces. Squares are tension aspects that require some sort of adjustment. Neptune is the ruler of Pisces, where it has been transiting for the past 14 years. Neptune is a dreamy, mystical energy. It is the inspired artist, bringing its vision into the world. It is the mystic, connected to something much larger than what is experienced in daily life. Under Neptune, we see what we want to see. Under its shadow expression, we fall in love with potential, over-empathize, and enable behavior that damages us and others. It can wrap us in a world of illusion and dissolve boundaries.
When the outer planets shift signs, there is a period of back and forth, where they move into the new sign, then retrograde back into the previous sign once or twice to tie up loose ends, before moving forward into the new sign to stay for the duration. It's meant to ease the adjustment from one expression of the energy to the next. From April through October, Neptune moved into Aries. In Aries, Neptune's priority shifts to the self. The focus goes from "how can I best explore my oneness with everything?" to "how can I express my spirituality and connection to higher realms in my own way and in my life?"
Since November, Neptune has been at the last degree of Pisces, giving us one last opportunity to complete any patterns that sabotage our experience of connecting to and integrating our spirituality. Under this New Moon, it is challenging us (square) to review and make sure our beliefs are aligned to our awareness of ourselves as spiritual beings as well as human beings. Where might we be acting contrary to our stated beliefs? Are we adopting the beliefs of others in order to be acceptable? Are we bypassing our own spirituality because it brings up uncomfortable realities? Are we sprinkling "love and light" like glitter rather than doing the work to hold a frequency of true, coherent love? Point of order, Saturn is also in the last degrees of Pisces, getting ready to make its entrance into Aries where it will join Neptune. (It will form an exact conjunction to Neptune in February and there will be a separate post on that because it is a very big deal transit.) For now, it's important to understand that any attempts at bypassing or half-assing the truest expression of your whole self - human and soul, will be called out by Saturn, for Saturn demands you show up as your best self and refuses to accept anything less than that. You can, of course, deny, deflect and resist, but to what end? We are being given opportunities to embody our vision of ourselves as the best version we can imagine. Why would we want to deny that to ourselves or the rest of the world?
"The universe is transformation; our life is what our thoughts make it." ~ Marcus Aurelius
