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Alexandra Blair is an astrologer, artist, and dark moon sorceress living in the American south. Astrologically, she blends traditional Hellenistic methods with contemporary interpretive techniques. She is a lifelong student with special interests in art, esoterica, and ruthless self-development.
A Time For Daring to Dream
As the calendar month of November draws to a close, so does much of the anxiety, turbulence, and exhaustion that has colored the astrology of the past 8 weeks.
Jupiter and Neptune both station direct in the coming days, resurfacing big ideas and big dreams. It will feel like once again, anything is possible–but don’t lose sight of what you’ve learned in retrograde! Leverage the excitement and optimism of Jupiter and Sagittarius season and combine it with the pragmatism and initiative of the Capricorn transits to make plans that you can put into action when Mars stations direct in mid-January.
This time of the year is great for shadow work, planning the coming year, and using those blueprints to manifest when the time for action is upon us once more. This cycle is not a great one for actions like starting a business, launching a new project, taking decisive actions, but it will be a great time to try new things, chase your curiosity intellectually, and dive deep inside your own psyche to add nuance to your deepest dreams.
20-23 November: Relief At Last
While the air is still fraught with retrogrades, the close of November will bring a genuine shift in mood for the first time in several weeks. Unlike the difficult and turbulent astrology of October, the close of November and our swing into Sagittarius season will mark a wave of fresh, vibrant, and exciting energy.
The Sun in Scorpio will trine Jupiter in Pisces on 20 November at 22:06 (chart), illuminating a preview of what’s to come when Jupiter stations direct just a few days later. This looks to be a realization or deep new understanding of an issue you’ve been wrestling with since March/April 2022. The next day, Mercury and Venus will also form an exact conjunction in Sagittarius on 21 November at 16:54 (chart) and will usher in new perspectives and modes of thinking and communicating. This is a fortunate day for a bold new declaration in love and/or the realm of your life that aligns with Sagittarius in your natal chart.
Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius heavy natives in particular should expect a feeling of major relief from a situation that’s been demanding an unrealistic amount of flexibility and change.
22-23 November - Jupiter Ascending
When the Sun enters Sagittarius on 22 November at 2:21 (chart) it will do so with fortunate aspects to Jupiter, Neptune, and Uranus. Less than 24 hours later the moon cycle will begin anew in Sagittarius. The New Moon in Sagittarius on 23 November at 16:57 (chart) will have us embarking on an energized new beginning that will feel totally novel and horizon-broadening. Allow yourself to be excited! This lunation will be made effervescent as Jupiter stations direct (on 23 November at 17:03 (chart)) in its domicile of Pisces. Because Sagittarius is also ruled by Jupiter, this period will bring out the prominent traits of the greater benefic.
Traditionally, New Moons are favored cosmic new beginnings that are well served by workings along those lines. Jupiter is a planet of fortune, benevolence, and expansion, so this lunation will be particularly well-suited for manifesting something new. This will also be a great time for cosmic initiations–ask your guides or favored deities to teach you new lessons or make new paths clear for you to walk.
Look to the area of your chart governed by Sagittarius for clues to the realm of your life that will be lit up by this lunation.
28 November - 3 December - Productive Restriction
The close of the calendar month will bring a flurry of strange aspects that will remind us of the power of slowing down and turning inward before Neptune stations direct in early December.
Mars retrograde in Gemini will trine Saturn in Aquarius on 28 November at 11:55 (chart) followed by Mercury in Sagittarius opposing retrograde Mars in Gemini (29 November at 14:30 (chart)) and Mercury in Sagittarius sextiling Saturn in Aquarius the following day (29 November at 22:17 (chart)). These placements suggest a constructive sort of opposition to fast, thoughtless action. This continues the theme from mid-October through January 12 as Mars retrograde asks us to slow down and look inside. This is underscored as Venus in Sagittarius opposes Mars retrograde in Gemini on 30 November at 23:27 (chart).
These transits look to be a sort of productive restriction to our goals in the Gemini-ruled area of our lives. Whatever it is we think we're wanting to do or say in that realm doesn't actually serve our greater good and this may be a time of denial, restriction, and rejection around those events that actually serves our highest good in the long run. Look to where Gemini rules in your chart for clues.
These transits and this period are the perfect time to turn inward and do some shadow work. Look to where Sagittarius falls in your natal chart to see where your horizons will be expanding and to your natal Gemini to see where you are likely already experiencing a major slowing down and rethinking.
While in retrograde, Neptune asks us to rethink our delusions of grandeur. When Neptune stations Direct in Pisces on 3 December at 18:15 (chart), it will bring a renewed optimism and big-picture thought that will surely be fueled by the easily excited Sagittarius transits taking place throughout the month. Neptune stationing direct in its modern domicile of Pisces suggests a surge of exciting new feelings of optimism and big picture thinking (perhaps delusional, but perhaps constructively so) in the realm of your life governed by Pisces.
Put together, this period looks to yield a renewed interest in a large-scale goal or dream (probably one you were thinking about during March/April 2022) that, for a while there, seemed unattainable and impractical. Expect that dream to loom large and exciting once more by the close of November.
6-12 December - Shifting Energies
Shifting energies in the middle of December will have us expressing our dark creativity. When Mercury enters Capricorn on 6 December at 16:08 (chart) it will be the harbinger of deeper understanding. Capricorn is a dark, cardinal sign and is a great initiator of work that others might prefer to leave undone. This months’ themes of shadow work, slowing down, and reconsidering our dreams and how we’ll achieve them. This shift is echoed as Mercury in Capricorn will square Jupiter in Pisces on 6 December at 1:04 (chart) followed by the Sun in Sagittarius opposing Mars retrograde in Gemini on 7 December at 23:41 (chart). Now that we’ve used the first few weeks of the cycle to define our dreams and drum up some excitement, these transits will ask us how we can accomplish those big dreams and help us break them down into manageable steps.
The Full Moon in Gemini on 7 December at 22:07 (chart) or, so-called Cold Moon, will elevate the natural tensions between our big picture plans, our grand designs of exploration and novelty, our bubbling excitement and the real steps required to make it all happen.
This lunation features Mars conjunct with the Moon both in Gemini opposing the Sun in Sagittarius, suggesting a powerful intuitive and internal resistance to the ardent, driving vitality of the Sagittarian excitement and novelty. This lunation also features square aspects between Mercury in Capricorn, Venus in Sagittarius, and Jupiter and Neptune in Pisces suggesting temperance and practicality at war with unbridled optimism and excitement.
As a cardinal sign, Capricorn is a great initiator and both Sagittarius and Gemini’s mutable natures will shift to accommodate the pragmatist within us that is yearning to get what it wants. Cardinal signs are notoriously poor at seeing their plans through to the end, but Capricorns know that making detailed plans is more than half the work of manifesting what you want. Lean into the Gemini spirit and use your intellectual curiosity to investigate creative new ways to get to where you’d like to go.
Full moons are natural climaxes to the cycles of life and this one is no exception. Use this lunation to charge your body and your tools with the energy you’ll need to take action in January. Ritualized research, offerings to deities of information, communication, or wisdom will be well suited for this Full Moon.
Closing out this mid-period of the moon cycle, on her way out of Sagittarius, Venus will square Jupiter in Pisces on 9 December at 6:54 (chart). Later that same day, Venus enters Capricorn (on 9 December at 21:54 (chart)). Venus in Capricorn brings a tempered edge to that in which we are finding sensual pleasure. Though Capricorn is a sign of planning and pragmatism, it’s also a sign of luxury with a keen sense for material and sensual pleasure.
Finally, the Sun in Sagittarius sextiles Saturn in Aquarius on 12 December at 12:11 (chart). This indicates a productive sort of restriction that will have us thinking about how our exciting new pursuits benefit the greater good.
Next month, we’ll see Jupiter re-entering Aries anew, the Sun entering Capricorn, the Winter Solstice, and a brilliant new Moon in Capricorn. Time for some action!
Notes on process:
All referenced times are CST (but will be relevant within an hour or two for anyone in North America); Find exact times for your location by using a Transit calendar like this.
I use traditional Hellenistic and modern techniques within a Western/Tropical astrological framework and calculate using Whole Sign Houses.
See which areas of your life these transits will illuminate and activate by calculating your own natal chart. Astrologer Chani Nicholas has a fantastic and equitably made tool to generate your whole sign house (different than some other apps) natal chart with Whole Sign/Fixed houses that is free to use here.
For more information about astrology, witchcraft, and other pagan paths, visit the Pathways of the Pagan discord channel here.
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