‘Tough and funny and a little bit kind: that is as near to perfection as a human being can be.’ Mignon McLaughlin
Following Scorpio (
), the threshold of death and renewal, Sagittarius (
) seeks understanding, meaning and purpose. In the Northern Hemisphere it’s late autumn: the nights grow longer and the trees barer and if you are in tune with nature, you turn inward to reflect on the past and ponder the future. In the Southern Hemisphere, the Sun climbs higher and the end of year draws closer. The questions are the same: what have I learned, where am I headed? It is time once again to explore the spiritual direction that will guide you through the next year.
On the second day of the month, on the day of the Full Moon, Uranus (
), The Cosmic Wild Card ends its five-month-long retrograde period and turns direct at 22° 42’ Pisces (
). Turning direct, Uranus signals that it is time for a quantum leap. Where it stations in your chart is where you need to heed your intuition, be flexible and consider all alternatives: Cosmic Simon says ‘Keep an open mind!’
Actually, the Sabian symbol for the Full Moon (10° 15’ Gemini-Sagittarius 
-) describes it beautifully: Newly opened lands offer the pioneer new opportunities for experience, symbolising the power and joy of new beginnings; keyword RISING TO THE OCCASION.
We are facing the unfamiliar. Anything can happen. Prepare for warp drive: from 2 to 20 December no planet is retrograde and much could come to fruition during this time.
On 21 December, a few hours before the solstice, Mars (
), Our Inner Warrior, turns retrograde (seemingly reversing against the background of the stars) at 19° 41’ Leo (
) and only turns direct on 11 March 2010 at 0° 17’ Leo. This means that Mars traverses the first twenty degrees in Leo three times – meaning a major emphasis.
A few days before and even after Mars turns, tempers flare more easily and frustration surfaces without warning. A good way of dealing with upstream Mars energy is to tackle those tasks you have been putting off: clear out your bottom drawers, do the filing, write your will, is your house insurance up to date, and so on. Have a look-see where Leo is in your chart to gain insight into which matters deserve your attention.
Mars is the first planet outside the orbit of the earth and therefore Mars represents our outward movement towards life and the external world. In Leo, Mars urges you to gear your work on the physical level in the direction that gives you joy: the challenge is to apply your belief system to your daily life: ‘Face what you think you believe and you will be surprised.’ William Hale White
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Often it is your unconscious beliefs that obstruct you (‘If I work hard, I am a good boy’, ’If I never get angry, everyone will love me’, etc.). To discover what in your belief system holds you back, can be painful, but so worthwhile. Stephen Levine likens it to a cramp in your hand when you’ve carried a heavy suitcase: what a relief and how your fingers ache initially!
With the Saturn-Pluto square still very much in evidence in the first degrees of Libra and Capricorn, you need to slow down and gently inhibit redundant thought patterns and replace these with constructive thoughts. (Rather than thinking: ‘I can’t do that’, decide ‘Perhaps I could give it a try.’) The formative energy of Saturn in Libra is focused on how you relate to others: how you move from conflict to cooperation, is equality important to you, are you too selfish or too self-sacrificing, are you looking for intimacy or avoiding being with yourself? The trans-formative process of Pluto opens up the space for consideration and deliberation.
Listen to yourself in silence; witness your thoughts neither judging them nor believing them to be the ‘truth’: given time self-judgment makes way for compassionate self-inquiry.
Jupiter (
), planet of faith and hope, speeds ahead through Aquarius (
) first embracing Chiron (21°) and then hastening past Neptune (24°) – all before Christmas. The development of faith is vital: a firm faith in yourself to try, to risk - without being foolhardy or arrogant. Faith in a Higher Power or an intelligence that underlies all is also important so that you can relax and let the Universe take over once you have done your part.
On 27 December Mercury (
) turns retrograde in the same degree as the North Node (
) - 21° Capricorn (
). Mercury relates to mind and intelligence and the nodes to our karmic connections to others: until 16 January when Mercury turns direct (5° Capricorn) you will be reviewing how to make room for both thinking and feeling, for both helping and being helped and for operating as an equal.
The message from the Universe through the Sabian symbol where Mercury turns on its heel reiterates a completely different, Aquarian way of being: By accepting defeat gracefully, a general reveals nobility of character: the realisation that one may grow through defeat as well as, and perhaps more than, through success – what matters most always is INNER STRENGTH.
To cap it all, the Full Moon on 31 December is a SuperMoon – and a Lunar Eclipse to boot! A SuperMoon, known for its extreme effects, swift course and powerful tides, occurs when the Moon is perigee (closest to Earth) and at New or Full Phase. Our psyches are affected as well: emotions surge, viewpoints change unpredictably and irrevocably.
At a Lunar Eclipse, the Sun, Moon and Earth (which translates into Spirit, Soul and Body) align precisely so that the Moon disappears into the shadow of the Earth. This mama of a Full Moon, a SuperEclipse, occurs at 10° 14’ Cancer-Capricorn (
-): issues relating to home, family, responsibility and emotions will be illumined. Where the Sun at 10° Capricorn falls in your chart is where you are reclaiming your power and your authority; where the Moon at 10° Cancer falls in your chart is where your feelings and longings are demanding more attention.
Reflect on what was happening in your life right at the end of 1982 and 2001 when Lunar Eclipses happened in the same degrees. What did you learn then? How can you do things differently this time? (Both years were marked by economic hardship, especially 1982.)
Use the light of this Full Moon to see your next step, allow yourself to be moved by love rather than by fear. When the path is steep, listen to your heart and know that ‘Courage is not the towering oak that sees storms come and go; it is the fragile blossom that opens in the snow.’ Alice Mackenzie Swaim
