As the last new moon of 2018, this Sagittarius lunar phase unites us with optimism, faith, and our sense of celebration. It comes just in time for the holiday season, right after the start of Hanukkah and just weeks before the 12 Days of Christmas. For people on the West Coast the new moon occurs on Thursday, December 6 at 11:20 PM and for the East Coast on Friday, December 7 at 2:20 AM.
Healthy Sagittarius energy fills us with faith and adventure and highlights the human desire for expansion and adventure. It inspires us to attune to our own truth while discovering more of what we stand for and the epitome of a North Star connection. Every new moon creates another opportunity to restart. This one, however, may invigorate our intentions with more vision and a firm sense of conviction. Of important astrological note, for the past week the planet Jupiter, ruler of Sagittarius and the heart chakra, has been hanging out with the Sun adding to the build-up of this heart-centered inspiration.
Often considered the “luckiest” sign of the zodiac, Sagittarius, like all signs, has a shadow side. A healthy Sagittarius vibe has faith and vision, while the shadow leans more towards bravado and arrogance. Things feel abundant with Sagittarius, as it wants to have its cake and eat it too (as well as an appetizer, entrée, and a drink). This yearning to “have it all” also lends itself to over-consumption and wastefulness.
The beautiful aspect of Sagittarius that seeks morality and truth can easily become moral righteousness and superiority. It’s also no surprise that Jupiter and Sagittarius are closely tied to religion. Either way, this new moon offers us expansion as well as a warning against our own Messiah complexes.
Harness the abundant and adventurous energies of this Sagittarius New Moon through practices on and off the mat.
Grounding and Physical Postures
Honor Sagittarius and Jupiter by including heart opening postures in your practice on or around this new moon. Suggestions such as Bow Pose/Dhanurasana (Sagittarius is a half-horse and half-man drawing his bow after all) or Horse Pose/Vatayanasana with hands clasped behind the back.
Reaching and Social Involvement
Sagittarius is the ultimate humanitarian, with a large-scale vision to “save the world.” Take time this new moon to sit with or meditate on ways to think bigger and perhaps become more involved in your community that supports your truth.
Stretching and Philosophical Edges
A surefire way to reach beyond our beliefs can be reading about something we know nothing about. In the spirit of celebration and building bridges, exploring a religion or reading religious text such as the The Quran (Islam), Talmud (Jewish), Bible (Christianity), Vedas (Hindu), or the Sutras (Buddhism) could offer new insights.
Though I’m suspicious of building up this Sagittarius new moon too much, the planetary combinations beyond the Sun and Moon alignment also indicate that this new moon seeks a new truth. The new moon squares both Mars and Neptune, and perhaps implies an archetypal energy of the spiritual warrior. When the planet of action (Mars) meets transcendence (Neptune), we come into contact with ego dissolution and a desire to connect with spirit. This planetary combination has close union with the physical practice of yoga. Many with this in their natal chart will likely be pulled to yoga at one time or another.
With the more religious tones of Sagittarius, Mars and Neptune in this new moon could make things interesting for the magnification of the spiritual realm. During this phase, we may rely more heavily on intuition when it comes to action, or feel we get confused about which action to take. On the same day as the new moon, Mercury, the planet of communication and analyzing, begins its motion forward again after three weeks in retrograde.
Other astrological happenings to keep an eye on during this next new moon phase:
December 9: Chiron, the Centaur and a hybrid asteroid and meteor, moves forward after five months in retrograde.
December 21: Sun moves into Capricorn and Winter Solstice
December 22: Cancer Full Moon
December 23: Juno asteroid of business and romantic partnership moves forward again after two and a half months in retrograde
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Rebecca Farrar completed her M.A. at the California Institute of Integral Studies in the Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness (PCC) program. Her thesis was titled “Stargazing: Re-enchantment Through Language,” combining philology, consciousness studies, and enchantment with the stars. She has studied with archetypal astrologer Rick Tarnas, cosmologist Brian Swimme, activist Joanna Macy, and psychotherapist Stan Grof. Other influences include C.G. Jung, Owen Barfield, Bill Plotkin, Marianne Woodman, Thomas Berry, and Clarissa Pinkola Estes. I was also a founding member of Burning Man’s first astrological camp, Cosmicopia. Most recently I am featured in an upcoming documentary Conscious: Fulfilling Our Higher Evolutionary Potential and the She Wolfe Tarot deck. She is a member of the International Society for Astrological Research (ISAR), the San Francisco Astrological Society (SFAS), the Association for the Study of Women and Mythology (ASWM), and the Depth Psychology Alliance (DPA). Follow her on Instagram.