New moon in Sagittarius

This is on Saturday, the 22nd November, around 12:30 pm (GMT).

The sun and moon will be conjunct at 0 degrees Sagittarius – this is the second in our series of four new moons at zero degrees of their signs. It should be a bit of a jolt!

We're moving from Scorpionic depth, intensity and psychodrama to the sign of freedom and open vistas... So it might feel like walking out of a dark, hot, stifling little room and finding yourself on the open range with the wind in your hair.

As the sun and moon will be conjunct Venus in Sagittarius, the new terrain we are headed into likely has to do with relationships, money, personal values, art. And really it's a wild frontier, uncharted and free. Very exhilarating – but this is the kind of freedom that can make you feel dizzy and dazed - or lost. There are no signposts in a wild frontier. There are no roads to follow - you have to make your own. You may have no pre-existing model for what you're trying to create in your life now, and this can feel disorienting and dangerous. And it can be hard to tell if what you're envisioning is real or a mirage...

“I'm set free to find a new illusion...”

Overall, the tone of this new moon is exuberant and exciting - but the scenario it describes doesn't look particularly easy or light. Saturn and Mercury in Scorpio are also conjunct the sun and moon, holding us in thrall to the past. Jupiter in Leo is squaring these planets, magnifying the tension and intensity of this backward pull. And Neptune, newly direct in Pisces, is squaring Venus, the sun and moon, and Saturn – and this is about siren songs and disorientation.

It's like: OK, you've left your stifling little room and you're walking on the open prairie, dazed by all this sudden light and air. Everything seems perfect and magical, and you're utterly amazed. But your mind is still preoccupied with whatever happened back in the room. You haven't quite left it yet, however giddy with new freedom you may feel.

And therefore, you're in a somewhat dangerous and vulnerable situation – unsteady as a newborn foal. It's going to take some time to settle into the new reality, and you'd better not go galloping off after any exciting possibilities until you've adjusted properly. You could easily trip and hurt yourself.

OK, so how long is this shaky foal stage going to last? What kind of adjustment period are we looking at?

Saturn, lord of time and form, will take another month to grind his way through the last degrees of Scorpio. The last part of this transit could be fairly tough and wrenching, coinciding with the 6th exact square between Uranus and Pluto on the 15th December. He moves into Sagittarius on the 23rd December, the day after the new moon in Capricorn, which is Saturn's own sign. Capricorn is about structure and stability – so this is when you should see your dreams taking on a concrete form. Plans and possibilities should begin to solidify into something real.

Until that solidification begins, hold your horses and don't rush into anything, however much you might want to. People can be very vulnerable to hotheadedness and delusion under these influences - so much Jupiter (inflation) and Neptune (delusion) action going on - and it is imperative to COOL IT and stay grounded.

I think the weeks ahead are for weighing possibilities and dreaming up new ones, and also for working through past issues. It's a good time for drawing blueprints and making sure the designs are workable in the real world. There'll be plenty of inspiration and energy on tap... But the actual construction phase starts later, with the new moon in Capricorn on the 22nd December.

On dreams and plans: we've had two years of sifting through our psychological garbage with Saturn in Scorpio, culminating in an intensely purgative Scorpio season this past month...and with all this behind us, plus these transformative Uranus-Pluto squares going on, you must understand that your old status quo just will not cut it anymore. There is absolutely no point in trying to make it work, or in re-creating scenarios that used to work for you in the past. These times are about radical change, so you have to try something new – maybe something you might never have dreamed of doing.

Dreaming up something new is the best way to roll with this new moon, I think. Sagittarius is about future possibilities, inspiration, conviction, enthusiasm. It's not a pragmatic sign, but a visionary one.  It can easily be misled by enthusiasm, and that is something this new moon is clearly warning against – don't go overboard! Step carefully! Look at where you're putting your feet!

OK, speaking of folly, I want to talk about Neptune for a bit, because Neptune is very caught up with this new moon.  And also he just went direct on the 16th November, after a retrograde period that started in June. With Neptune, it can be hard to tell the difference between forward and retrograde motion, because Neptunian energy is so dreamy and unclear and diffuse. It is inherently deceptive. And as Neptune is in his own sign (Pisces) – well it's a headfuck on multiple shimmering levels.

Neptune is about high delusion – fairy realms and castles in the air - and the disappointment that follows the return to reality. Addiction is also a useful metaphor for how Neptune works – you have the experience of something intensely sweet and blissful, and diminishing returns as you attempt to recapture that state over and over again.

In everyday life, I think Neptune is mostly about disappointment. But it's the kind of disappointment that leads you to the divine, when you realize that nothing earthly – nothing – is going to satisfy your discontent. You hit some rock bottom of degradation trying to fill up this hole in your heart...and then you give up; you give your life over to the Higher Power like they say in AA.

So anyway, Neptune is all caught up with the new moon and with Venus and Saturn also, and in light of this, it's important to really be careful about over-idealizing any romantic or financial prospects, because the kind of disillusionment that can follow idealization is potentially crushing right now. It's also important to keep your ego in check: to restrain your delusions about how much you're capable of. Look at the fool in the picture above. He's so delighted with himself, he doesn't even notice he's walking off a cliff.

Also, be very careful about alcohol and drugs, because they can throw you way off course about now and for the next couple of weeks.

--One other thing: these squares from Jupiter in Leo to the sun, moon, Saturn and Mercury look potentially pretty ugly. Inflated egos, overboard emotions, death-dealing words. Be careful of what comes out of your mouth and try not to be drawn into disputes, because that stuff is liable to drag you back into the claustrophobic Scorpio territory we're trying to exit.