posted December 18, 2006 04:06 PM            

"December 20: New Moon in Sagittarius

The symbol for Sagittarius is the centaur, who shoots his arrow toward the stars and, when it lands, retrieves it to take aim once again. What are you aiming for? Where do you want to travel? Tune into your need for freedom, movement and exploration. Enthusiasm and an optimistic outlook will help you move beyond the familiar, which in turn will create success. On this journey, change your beliefs if necessary to reflect who you are now. Because Pluto sits right next to this new Moon, intensity and power issues are ratcheted up and you may feel that there is a lot at stake. Although this intensity can drive people to extremes, take a deep breath and let go of what you can't control. Beginning something during a new Moon gives energy and power to whatever you are striving for. This is the time to put extra energy and intention into whatever you want to grow or become stronger and more important in your life. The power of the new Moon phase is in effect until the full Moon."

posted December 18, 2006 04:16 PM            

quote:

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New Moon in Sagittarius
Wednesday, December 20, 2006 6:01am PST, 9:01am EST, 14:01 GMT/UT
28º Sag 32"

Life sure is better on the other side of a Jupiter in Scorpio year. And just to put some very sweet icing on the Jupiter in Sagittarius cake, this New Moon is a Sagittarius feast: (hold onto your hats!) a Jupiter/Mars conjunction, Mercury, Pluto/Sun/Moon conjunction all in Sagittarius. Yes, Venus in Capricorn and a retrograde Saturn in Leo dampen the party a bit, but nevertheless, sure signs of renewed optimism, faith, joy, and generosity, are busting out all over. Even bipartisanship has risen from the grave!

So, let's get right to the point of the New Moon in Sagittarius. Sagittarius represents idealism, faith, enthusiasm, the quest for meaning, and a generosity of spirit. These are the qualities one needs to gracefully meet this darkest time of the year when the days shorten, the nights lengthen, and cold descends upon the Earth. Even the slanting sun shines with a brightness that is tentative and not quite warming enough.

As the earth retreats into its annual death cycle, so must we also turn within, and seek the wisdom of the dark time. This darkness calls out to our souls, asking us to face the fallibility of human life and its connection to the death of all things in the natural world. Mortality, something we fear and deny more than anything else in life, shows us our intimate connection with all things in nature; we are, after all, just another species. In an effort to negate this fact, humans created the Sagittarian endeavors of religion, cosmology, and philosophy.

This is the time of year when we move our activities indoors, creating more time to contemplate the deeper meaning of life. Most of us live over-committed, complicated lives, with guilt and/or income-generation as our primary motivator. Though we have precious little time in our current incarnation, it is still hard to say no to work, family or group activities that we don't find personally meaningful. There are so many "shoulds" planning our daily schedule. With truth-seeking Pluto sitting right on the Sun and Moon, this is the New Moon to work on the shoulds and guilt trips that keep us from questioning what we are expected to do. The Jupiter/Mars conjunction will make it so easy to revision with daring and boldness!

This means turning off your TV (now that's daring and bold!) and tuning into the broadcast channel of existence. This particular part of the Sagittarian spectrum is all about questioning, postulating, and reaching for universal truths that exist outside the boundaries of spiritual/academic dogma and rhetoric. Isn't it interesting that over on the other end of the Sagittarian spectrum are the religious, political, economic, and educational institutions telling us what to believe, what to think, what to do and how to act. This is the paradox of Sagittarius: it seeks meaning, finds what it thinks is the truth, institutionalizes that truth for the masses, and then uses all its energy to stop adherents from searching for deeper truth and meaning.

Sagittarius demands that each of us consider the profound impact of focusing our energies only on activities that enliven our search for deeper meaning. The trine between Pluto/Sun/Moon (truth, self-identity and emotional needs) in Sagittarius (faith, hope, inspiration, meaning, joy) and retrograde Saturn (responsibility) in Leo (creative self-expression) help deepen into a search for our true calling: that which finds its source in inspiration, gifting and joyfulness. Think of your job. For many people, the work they do for money is not the work they do for spiritual enlivenment. We are told from a young age that we cannot support ourselves doing work we love, especially if that work is artistic and/or spiritual. Venus (the artist, lover) in Capricorn (goals, achievement) make this New Moon especially powerful for doing ritual around revisioning your beliefs about work. Use this time to reconsider how to be generous with your time and love, while figuring out a way to fill your life with work and activities that feed your spirit.

This is the New Moon to revolt against the controlling, small-minded institutional part of the Sagittarian spectrum. This New Moon in Sagittarius energizes our quest for real knowledge and truth. Pluto/Sun/Moon/Mars/Jupiter/Mercury in Sagittarius invite us to search beyond our dogmatic restricting beliefs. Look at what you hate outside of yourself, and then look within to find where it lives within you. That is your shadow, the projection onto external reality of the darkness that lives within you. Remind yourself that you have the power to find your own truth, by looking inward with a truthful eye. Find out what house Sagittarius rules in your own natal chart and you will know what part of your beliefs need to be overhauled on this New Moon.

Meaning doesn't live somewhere far away. It is not in heaven, it is not in the words of some channeler, it is not in your guru, it is not in your church, it is not in your school, it is not in your therapist, it is not in your psychic, tarot card reader or astrologer, it is not in your government, it is not in your guides, angels, or other disembodied entities you have chosen to give away your power. The Earth is speaking to you, every minute of every day! The answers you seek are in the wind, the movement of the waves, in the activity in a bee hive or an ant hill, in the intelligence that moves the stars and planets, in the storms and earthquakes, in the songs of birds, in the howl of a wolf, in the grace of a deer, in the smile of your child/spouse/parent/friend, in the sensual embrace of your lover, in the flowing water of a river, in the shape of a cloud, in the cosmic music of the shimmering particles and waves that make up our universe! Go outside, be in nature and tune in to the teachings of Mother Earth. Get your Ego out of spirit's way and open yourself to listening deeply to the existent wisdom of our world. Accepting the animal part of humanity as a source of knowledge will help bring harmony, peace and generosity back to our deadened species. This is why Sagittarius is a Centaur: half animal, half human. Think about it, it will make sense to you!

This New Moon is the right time to initiate a new quest for spiritual knowledge. Is your spiritual path ready for an overhaul? Have you been doing the same practice day in and day out without questioning its effectiveness? Take stock and question your current beliefs, whatever they may be. Be open. Sagittarius seeks knowledge from cultures and spiritual traditions that exist all around the globe. Don't concentrate solely on seeking an intellectual understanding of spirituality through written or spoken words. If you haven't tried to do a ritual yet, this is New Moon to start. Just open up and listen, you will know exactly what to do.

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posted December 18, 2006 11:46 PM              

Sagittarius New Moon – December 20

by Stephanie Austin

The pdf version: http://www.mountainastrologer.com/pdfcontent/1206Lunations.pdf

posted December 19, 2006 04:34 PM              

i decided i needed a break....from everything...and just live in the here and now....so was lying stretched out on my patio enjoying the sun the whole afternoon(its pretty warm down here where i live)....admiring the beauty around me....staring at the sky....relishing the sensation of the warm rays on my skin....totally indulged myself. it was my alone time with God.

then i started to feel this urge to capture all this beauty somehow....fished out my digicam and took some pics. but decided tht wasn't enuf...i had to paint it. so in the evng spent a fortune on paints and brushes and coldpressed paper

lets see whn i will get down to painting some stuff. will post it here if/whn i do.

posted December 19, 2006 04:43 PM            

I am not as how you say........."seasoned" in astrology as many of you all are. Can someone explain how the Moon currently being in Sag affects someone with a Sag Moon?