Stellar Insights: December 11 - 17
New Moon + Mercury Retrograde
Here are some insights about the opportunities and challenges that this week’s astrology may offer. May they help you make the most of this moment. Should you want to see what the current planetary movements are catalyzing for you—what your here/now and near future may be inspiring—based upon your personal astrology chart, we can explore that in a Stellar Guidance Session. (See the section at the bottom for the special holiday program that I’m offering for my sessions, in which I’ll donate a portion of the session proceeds to a non-profit organization.)
The trick to navigating this week resides in balancing an array of directives and directions.
On Tuesday, we have a Sagittarius New Moon. This yearly lunation beckons us to envision what we want our future to look like, connect to a philosophical orientation that allows us to access a bigger-picture view, and discover ways to weave more adventure and exploration into our lives. It often arrives with an invitation for buoyancy, energy, and forward movement.
Here are a few of the Sagittarius New Moon Stellar Reflection Questions I include in my book, The Astrological Self-Care Journal:
How do I want to grow and expand my world?
What role does religion or spirituality play in my life?
If I could design my ideal travel adventure, what would it be?
And yet, this year when it occurs, it does so just before Mercury gets set to begin its retrograde cycle, which begins about seven-plus hours* later. (Mercury will end this current retrograde phase on New Year’s Day.) As such, while we may sense an inner calling for planting seeds for advancement and progress, at the same time it may also feel like we’re unable to fully get—or even want to get—traction in terms of advancing our ideas at this moment. Finding a way to temper the ebullient Sagittarian desire for “Let’s go!” and transforming it into “Let’s go, yet slowly and thoughtfully!” may allow us to open to greater opportunities and sidestep some stress, while also letting us build new horizons that are that more sustainable.
To help you further navigate Mercury Retrograde, I’ve just posted a piece on it that I hope will both demystify it and give you strategies for making the most of it. You can find it here.
A feature of the New Moon, as well as the entire week, is related to the prominent position that the planet Neptune plays, given its square to the Sun and the New Moon. And with this, we may find ourselves sailing the vast oceans of our emotions. And, if we don’t feel we have a solid vessel in which we are sojourning, we could find ourselves steeped in confusion, anxiety and/or worry.
What could serve as a vessel for this journey? Anything from art, to meditation, to journalling, to music, to dialogues with trusted friends, to connecting with nature, to giving ourselves the space to let our feelings wash over us. Neptune invites in the blurring of boundaries, which can be inspirational when it comes to empathy but which can have us give over and away too much of ourselves if we’re not careful.
During this strong Neptune time, follow its waves by turning to your imagination, intuition, and sixth sense. Lose yourself in beauty but not in others. Be compassionate without being enabling. Allow things to dissolve that no longer serve you while also watching for the diffusion of your energy as well as things being proverbially washed away that you would rather still have intact. For a reminder of what Neptune inspires, see this post from last week.
All my very best,
Stephanie
* The window in which the Moon is new/waxing and Mercury, while slowed down in its movement, is not yet retrograde falls between Tuesday at 6:31 pm Eastern and Wednesday 2:09 am Eastern. This feels like an auspicious time to plant a seed of intention for the progress you desire in your life, perhaps something that can take further root after Mercury goes direct on New Year’s Day.
Astrological Highlights
December 11: Mercury/Venus Sextile
December 12: Sagittarius New Moon
December 13: Mercury Retrograde Begins
December 16: Sun/Neptune Square
All days reflect Eastern Standard Time (- 5 hours GMT)
Photos: Jon Tyson and Linus Nylund via Unsplash
Stellar Insights for 2024
Gift yourself or someone on your holiday list a session with me in which we will explore what the stars are inspiring for you for 2024. For any session gift certificate (which you an use for yourself) purchased now through the end of December, I will donate 10% of the proceeds to either Doctors Without Borders, World Central Kitchen, St. Jude’s Research Hospital, ACLU, or the ASPCA (you get to choose). Email me to order a gift certificate (or several) or if you have any questions.