New Moon in Sagittarius

Eugenia Loli

This is tomorrow morning, 6:30 am UTC.

So here we are: crunch time.  This is a make-or-break moment and a turning point. We are shifting levels here, especially re. relationship and money matters, and there are great opportunities. It's like graduating from college and entering the real world. But before you graduate, you have to pass your final exams – and this month we're taking the exams. You're not going to pass them if you haven't studied. Some kind of commitment or sacrifice is required in order to move forward.

This new moon happens a few days before the winter solstice, the turning-point of the year. And it is happening conjunct the galactic center, the turning-point of the Milky Way. Make of that what you will, but I'd say the symbolism is pretty profound: this is a pivotal moment. And for further symbolism: there's thought to be a super-massive black hole at the center of the galaxy, and around every black hole is thought to be a zone of no return called the event horizon. You can dawdle around a black hole for a good while, but once you reach the event horizon there is no possible escape. Your path from that point on is set – you're committed, like it or not.

That's kinda what we're dealing with here, only it's maybe not as extreme as being sucked into a black hole. There are important decisions to be made, especially around love and money. And those decisions may involve sacrifices, hardship and limits. But either you commit yourself to what you truly love and value and accept the difficulty involved, or the choices will be made for you, outside of your control – and it won't be so great.

This new moon is conjunct Saturn at the very last degree of Sagittarius. He'll move into Capricorn, his own sign, on the 23rd December. This is the last lunation involving Saturn in Sagittarius until 2044, so galactic center aside, this is a pretty big deal. Saturn has been in Sagittarius for the past two and a half years. Sagittarius is a free-wheeling, freedom-loving sign, but Saturn is all about blockages and limits, so it hasn't been easy – like reining in a wild horse.

Sagittarius is also about your perspective, your ideology, your philosophy. Saturn is pragmatic and reality-based, so the transit has demanded of us that we walk our talk, behave with integrity, make sure our words and philosophies match up.

 So hopefully we've been studying diligently, behaving like good workhorses and practicing what we preach for the past couple years, and setting down foundations for the kind of lives we want to live. Saturn is now moving into Capricorn, his own sign, and what we've been working toward is bound to solidify now – the road ahead will become clear, along with the difficulties and limitations it will entail.

Capricorn is the sign of structure, authority and responsibility. With Saturn in his home sign, there'll be real opportunities for success and advancement, as long as you're willing to work for them. Saturn rewards effort. You get back what you've put in – no more and no less.

So all in all, I think this shift is great. But to get the benefit of it, you have to keep steady and not shy away from commitment and responsibility. Remember, this is like going from college (Sagittarius) to the real world (Capricorn) – from theory to practice. Your high ideals are worth nothing if you can't make them work in reality.

We have a big stellium in Sagittarius for this new moon: Saturn, sun, moon, Venus and retrograde Mercury. Sagittarius is a happy, buoyant, over-the-top sign, but the Saturnine influence should keep things feeling pretty sober and grounded this holiday season, which may not be a bad thing when you're dealing with your crazy family!

Venus and Saturn will both bookend the sun and moon. Venus is about love, money and values, and in Sagittarius, she doesn't like to be restricted to one field. But Saturn's influence here means she's stuck – she can't roam freely. Venus-Saturn contacts have to do with commitment and the fear of it. So it's kind of heavy. I'd advise going toward the commitment side of the equation – it might feel scary and hard, but there's absolutely nothing to be gained here by running away. (Recall that Sagittarius's ruler, Jupiter, is in Scorpio – depth and intensity are favoured. Staying in the shallows and avoiding what frightens you are definitely not favoured.)

Uranus in Aries is beneficially aspecting the new moon, meaning it's possible to find new, innovative ways of doing things - you don't have to stay stuck in the same old ruts. You can try something different, and it has a good chance of succeeding. So this new moon really can signify an exciting new start, provided you're willing to commit to it.

Mercury in Sagittarius will be retrograde till the 23rd December, so it's best to hold off on important decisions till then. But by then, the sun and Saturn in Capricorn will be conjunct Venus in Sagittarius, and the right decision should be a lot clearer. Communication should flow more easily as well.

We'll have a full moon in Cancer on the 2nd January, and it looks very emotionally intense but favorable overall. I'll write more nearer the time. Happy super-massive black hole holidays, everybody!