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This week, the astrological transits remind us that the bigger we dream, the more life seems to meet us in this bigness. The more we say yes to living, the more life says yes to us.
New Moon in Sagittarius
As the Sun shifts through the hopeful and adventurous fire sign of Sagittarius, the Moon comes to align with it on December 12, 2023. It is in this moment that, from our view on the Earth, the Moon is nowhere to be seen. There is darkness, emptiness, quiet, and space. There is also potential. As if we were beginning anew on a blank canvas and can go in any direction, choose any colors, and invoke any feelings. It’s all available to us. Welcome to the new Moon in Sagittarius.
As an archetype, Sagittarius invites us to step back and into a space where we are offered a widened view. Where we are taken beyond the narratives, the stories, the beliefs that say our life must, or can only, be a certain way. It encourages us to think bigger, to open to higher possibility and vaster realities, to expand our perception so that possibilities previously beyond our sight may be revealed.
It’s a widely hopeful new Moon. A loving new Moon. A divine and opportune-rich new Moon. An invitation to expand our visioning, our idea of possibility, and our dreams for ourselves. The dreams that land within our awareness under this lunation are ones that are here to stretch us. They may feel outside of what we believe to be possible, they may seem bigger than us, too far away, or for everyone else but us. But it is on this night that we let ourselves simply open to the possibility with the two little words “what if?”
It is this opening, this moment, this “what if,” that creates the space for all the rest to expand and for us to stretch to meet it. It allows us to notice and reframe the inner narratives that sit in the way, and for the needed details, plans, and practicalities to then drop in at the right time.
It’s our final new Moon of the year, and not surprisingly, it’s a lunation that invites us to think about the chapter that lies ahead. What could the next year look like? What could it feel like? What doorways might open for you in the year ahead? Or perhaps, what doorways do you choose to open for yourself?
Mercury Retrograde in Capricorn
Hours after the new Moon, Mercury begins its final backward spin of the year on December 13, 2023.
Retrogrades, in astrology, are opportunities for “re” words such as review, revise, reframe, retrace, renew, and realign. They are a sacred pause to return to our awareness, our inner guidance, our truth. They offer a moment in time to reconnect with what matters to us amid the outer movement, noise, activity, and guidance. And they invite us to look back on the path recently walked, reminding us that there is always more to see, more perspectives to experience, and more wisdom waiting to be gained through reflection.
While Mercury represents our mental processing, perspectives, inner narratives, and communication, Capricorn is a zodiac that invites us to become all that we can be. Ruled by the earth element it lives within the tangible realm, speaking to practical, grounded, productive, and disciplined action.
As we begin to approach the final weeks of the year, Mercury retrograde in Capricorn asks us to reflect on the path we have taken to arrive here. What felt good, aligned, real, or meaningful? What narratives have I been carrying in my mind and allowing them to shape who I am and how I show up in the world? What goals have I been holding and are they still what I desire?
This is our review before beginning 2024 on the same path, trajectory, and direction that we have already been walking – reviewing first, if it is the path, trajectory, and direction that we desire to continue or if there is some tweaking waiting to be made. It is our opportunity to begin the next year with purpose, intention, clarity, and direction as Mercury moves forward again on 1 January 2024.
Your Invitation
It’s no coincidence that Capricorn follows Sagittarius in the order of the zodiac. Sagittarius, the ninth zodiac, invites vast potential and outsize dreaming. Capricorn, the tenth zodiac, represents the process of turning those dreams into tangible reality.
This week’s new Moon is deeply supportive. It’s here for your dreams—the ones you are aware of as well as the ones waiting beyond your current narratives. It asks you to widen the lens for what you believe to be possible and set your intentions for these new visions to come true.
As Mercury shifts into retrograde in Capricorn the day after the new Moon, it is through stretching what we believe to be possible for ourselves that we are offered alternative perspectives. It delivers information that supports the building of these dreams in the year to come. It asks us to take a moment and reflect on our inner talk—what narratives within you, like not deserving this life or the life you desire. Do you believe in yourself? What reframes are needed for you to become the person who can live your desired life?
The week invites a different way of seeing the way toward your imaginings, offering alternative resources, ideas, and opportunities for you to move forward within the new year. It’s a week that seems to hold the space for visioning into the new year. May you, too, hold the same space so that you may find purpose, fulfillment, and happiness in the year to come.
RELATED: What the New Moon in Sagittarius Means for You
About Our Contributor
Jordane Maree is the founder of Girl and Her Moon, a platform and community exploring Soul through the lens of astrology, tarot, and energy healing. She is a writer, intuitive astrologer, energy and soul guide, and host of Girl and Her Moon, The Podcast. She is inspired, every single day, to be the mirror for you to see all that you truly are, you in all your infinite abilities, in total expansion, in infinite opportunity and love.