‘Partying’ for a purpose

New Moon in Sagittarius - our annual invitation to party! Except, this year Sun and Moon are connecting, in a positive way, to Saturn, who is representing the energy of responsibility of kindness in community. The parties, then, will be carefully set up and very community oriented, whether that community is the town you live in, or your street, or your family. The Sagittarian side of this planetary connection suggests we could try new reasons for getting together - planned or impromptu, all will work better if there is a purpose behind the gathering - ‘letting go of negativity’ at the Winter Solstice, or singing carols and giving presents at Christmas, or meeting and getting up-to-date with one’s neighbours!

Take judgement out of it

Saturn is in Libra for a couple of years, so we are being called to be aware of how our relationships are working - or not. With Libra’s ruling planet, Venus, in Scorpio until 8 January, we are still focussed on the bits that tend to go wrong from deeper programming, and the Sagittarian flavour helps us to get things in perspective. It’s important to be able to reconsider what may have seemed like criticism, in order to discover a wise truth within it when heard without judgement. Taking in all strands of any situation gives us a sense of clarity, as long as we don’t expect to know immediately exactly what to do.

A suggestion for this month is to try out what appeals to you, get excited about possibilities that are to hand. This month is well set to float some really good ideas for transforming our relationship with the material world. Mercury (our thought and communication) is together with Pluto in Capricorn (scrap the old to make room for what will work), and all this is on the Moon’s North Node (becoming conscious of the best way).

We may well find ourselves obsessing about whatever has disturbed us, or makes us anxious, because it feels so very important (Mercury on Pluto). If we allow this intense focus to take us right in and through a problem, we can discover, and so see past, assumptions we have been making that have blocked part of the truth. The situation can come to look quite different from one’s original take. Rather than going round and round, the obsessing needs to become a process, finally allowing new ideas to arise that bring beneficial changes to the important area. What makes the changes do’able, is being prepared to address the underlying reasons for the difficulty from a loving place, rather than fearful, bitter or vengeful (Venus in Scorpio sextile North Node) - and some Sagittarian humour would be a good thing, too, to stop taking ourselves so seriously! We can be working on this in a personal situation, a relationship, or a projected activity, and hopefully our policy makers will be working on it globally.

Venus - the planet of relatedness

A lovely exercise this month would be to remember Venus in whatever we do or say. The principle of Venus is acceptance of people as they are, reassurance. These are the words we needed to hear from our parents when we were small and growing, about being OK and being loved for ourself and not for what we do. Venus holds the sad and suffering in loving arms,

rocking them till they are soothed. Love is the Great Healer. Love allows strength and courage to come naturally. Love supports us when we doubt. Love laughs gently at our anger and our railing at life, ourselves and others. Love gives us the space to reconnect with our inner source.

A few years ago, I went on a meditative planetary journey through space, and met Venus: it seemed full of beings but spoke with one voice, "Our purpose is to heal the pains of disappointment and regret, of loss, of separation. We smooth the way with our hands, and turn discords into music with our added notes. We move unseen among the other planets (love flowing through our energy system), reaching even as far as Saturn (our foundations in the past), to bring comfort to the suffering, company to the lonely. Linking, joining others together. We have no sadness, for we are sufficient to ourselves in our own togetherness (when we feel loving, we cannot feel lonely)."

Assimilation before change

In the days before this New Moon, we may have overdone our activities a bit - too many arrangements for our comfort (Mars in Sagittarius squaring Jupiter and Uranus). We made choices, and now need to choose (accept positively) the results!

In the days following this New Moon, we find ourselves ready to do what is necessary to adjust the balance (Mars into Capricorn over that problem-solving Pluto/Mercury). This may require a total change of attitude and/or activity, but it will feel good to make it, and it will very probably succeed because the time is right.

We are still in the emotional marshes (Jupiter with Uranus in Pisces), and if you’ve been feeling a bit sluggish, and wondering when you’ll feel like tackling something new, bear in mind that Jupiter enters Aries on 22 January. We have a tendency, when in the doldrums, to imagine how it will be when . . . (something you’re fed-up with now, is completed) . . . and the danger of living in the future like that is that you miss the opportunities on offer now. Aries is about activity, and doing your own thing and, while Jupiter rushes through it, you may not have much time or inclination for peaceful contemplation. So make the most of this time for being in touch with your inner movement and flow, complete old tasks, rest and recuperate.

Lunar Eclipse at the Winter Solstice

This year the Full Moon happens to fall on 21 December, and it’s a total eclipse (the Earth exactly in-between the Sun and Moon). So, if you have the Moon in your sky during the hours of the eclipse (from approximately 6:30am till 10am Universal Time), you will be able to see the change in the Moon’s face. In the UK, where the Sun rises at 8:15am on that day, we should be able to see the beginning of the eclipse as the Moon is setting in the Northwest - clouds permitting. For more information online, check Wikipedia - Lunar Eclipse December 10.

As to what that means astrologically for the Winter Solstice, I’m not sure. The Moon will be in the last degree of Gemini, just before the Sun goes into Capricorn - so it’s more about the end of this last year, rather than the beginning of the next. It feels to me like that moment when you’ve been thinking and thinking for ages (Gemini), and suddenly something changes and you become aware without thought, aware of your body sitting there breathing, in the midst of life’s enormity. That is a moment open for sweet inspiration. If that awareness starts us into next year, it can only be good!