If you want to travel or move to another country and speak its language fluently, you must study and practice the language for months or years before you go.
You need to build that practice into your daily routine. It might serve you well to study under a teacher and have someone to practice conversation with.
The vision that you might just wake up speaking the language is idealistic, not realistic. You’ll need a plan, structure, and some discipline to carry it out.
The same goes for any big idea or vision.
In a nutshell, that’s the lesson of this year’s new moon in Sagittarius.
The New Moon in Sagittarius (December 1, 1:21 AM ET) begins a new lunar cycle and a new calendar month with an invitation to expand our vision — and a reminder about what it takes to actually bring that vision into reality.
New Moon in Sagittarius: Optimistic and Expansive
A new moon occurs when, from our perspective on Earth, the Sun and Moon align at the same point in the sky. This generally happens once per calendar month, each time in a different sign of the zodiac.
At a New Moon, the moon is invisible in the sky, blocked by the light of the Sun. This time of darkeness calls us to go inward, to rest, reflect, and plant the seeds of intention that we will water over the coming months.
The “flavor” of any new moon and the way we are called to work with it, is shaped by the sign where the Sun and Moon are meeting up.
The Sagittarius New Moon is infused with Sagittarius’ archetypal optimism and expansiveness. Sagittarius wants to travel to distant lands, explore new horizons, discover new philosophies, receive new wisdom. This is a sign of big visions and big adventure. It sees life through rose-colored glasses; everything is possible, dreams will become reality.
The Sagittarius new moon is always one that invites us to dream our biggest dreams for the coming calendar year, before we refine them and solidify a plan during Capricorn season.
Opposing Jupiter and Square to Saturn: Exuberance Gets a Reality Check
Jupiter, the planet of expansion and blessings, is the ruler of Sagittarius and of this New Moon. It is currently in Gemini, the sign opposite Sagittarius. From its vantage point, it can “see” the new moon, amplifying its expansive qualities.
At the same time, the new moon sits at a square — a 90º angle — to Saturn. Squares are angles of friction; like two people stopped at a Stop sign, they can slow us down in our haste to get to where we are going.
This isn’t “bad” — it just brings a challenge. With Saturn, that challenge comes in the form of a reality check.
Saturn is the planet of structure, limits, and boundaries. While Jupiter says “yes” by default, Saturn says “no.” Saturn represents the discipline and persistence we need to embrace to create our vision into reality.
The friction with Saturn encourages us to create a system for working our big vision into our routine.
Mercury Retrograde: Check the Details and Your Systems
Another signature of this new moon is the presence of Mercury, which just stationed retrograde in Sagittarius.
Sagittarius is a sign that likes to focus on the big picture. Mercury, the messenger, is also the planet that focuses on the details and data. When Mercury is retrograde, it encourages us to review a part of our lives for the details we may have overlooked and the systems that aren’t working.
How to Work With the New Moon in Sagittarius
The New Moon in Sagittarius is perfectly timed for the start of the final month of the year. Sagittarius corresponds to one area of your life; within that area, it’s time for a review of your systems and structures even as you formulate your vision for the coming year.
- What isn’t working?
- What needs to be reimagined or renewed?
- What new structures or systems can you put in place to help you bring that vision into reality?
While Sagittarius can be idealistic, this particular New Moon encourages a reality check on the resources you have available and the time you’ll need to implement your vision.
- What do you have the resources to implement?
- What is practical and realistic for you?
- How can you break down your big vision into smaller, practical actions that you can incorporate into your daily routines and systems?
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