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New Moon 19 December 2025 It’s In Our Hands

16 Tuesday Dec 2025

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Jacopo Guarana
‘Three Studies of Hands Clasped in Prayer’ {{PD}}

The Sun and Moon meet at 5:42 PM PST of the 19th at 28 Sagittarius 24, and what we find is that the formation of the New Moon proceeds from the recent contact of both bodies to Venus, with each on its way to soon conjoin Mars in Capricorn (the Moon in just under a day, the Sun in about 5 days). What begins now is something arising from the experience of Love (or the awareness of its lack) that we felt (and perhaps had a big ol’ spotlight shined on) as first Sun (awareness) and then Moon (feeling and intuition) touched base with Venusian ideals–and this has a Sagittarian flavor, offering perceptions based on the kind of knowing that arises from sorting belief from fact, at experiencing emotional realities that point out how our ideas of the world differ from (or support) the way we see the Universe and our concepts of what it is, how it treats us, and how it works. It’s a genuine reality check that makes the facts prominent and will show the shortcomings of every institution, belief system, and academic argument we may try to hide behind or use to justify our choices.

We should expect new approaches to present themselves, based on what we discover, what we learn–and after almost a week post-New Moon to consider how we feel, should be ready to take action, serious, controlled, constructive action, when the Sun reaches Mars–or we’ll be faced with a choice, a big one, at least in terms of how this will channel our energy and efforts in the near future. Our awareness may center on what we’ll be turning away from, but we’d do better to base our choice in what we want, and avoid mourning things that, let’s be honest, we may not really want in the first place. We’ll already know how we feel–we’ll have sat with that revelation for several days–and if we aren’t avoiding the world in general (because we’re overwhelmed, tired, or just plain afraid of what we might find), we’ll choose, embrace our choice and all its implications, and know what to do from there.

The New Moon is semi-sextile the Black Moon Lilith point, quincunx Uranus, and square Saturn-Neptune, with Neptune and the BML point at 29 stressful degrees. This suggests that what’s born at the New Moon is forged from imagination, creative efforts, and/ or ideals under stress–the good news is, that stress is Self-created, rooted in anger we’ve not yet dealt with, or in what we are denying or hiding from ourselves–so, though not necessarily easily handled, we hold the keys, and that means no matter what, we could address it. Uncomfortable circumstances bring surprises–or is it that our own discomfort at what’s happening draws erratic responses, unexpected reactions, and revelations that may make us squirm but will also be a treasure-trove of information? We can be the leader in our own lives–don’t squander this chance to call your own shots.

All this finding out, this new knowledge, comes at the expense of living in the reality we’re imagining we’re in–that is, we learn things that prevent us going on telling ourselves fairy tales about our own real-world circumstances. Painful, possibly, disillusioning, definitely–but only the unhealthy among us would seek to live within delusion, so count yourself both healthy and lucky if the veil is lifted. Knowing where we are in life and who we are is the only way to create the world we want to live in; it’s like having a map, knowing where you want to go, but the only way to get there, to plot a course, is to know where you stand now. Connect to reality–it wants to speak to you.

A word about a Cardinal square between Jupiter and Chiron, and a semi-sextile between Mars and Pluto. The square could persuade us our wounds are bigger and more important in the scheme of things than they are; the temptation may be to put on an aggressive armor of optimism and forced positivity. We may mistakenly believe this will shield us from further hurt, but it’s really a guise for our own desire to destroy, punish, or impose our Will, as expressed through Mars-Pluto synergy with no immediate outlet. Beware in ourselves (or in anyone you deal with) the hard smile, the pretense of positive energy wielded like a club, the demand for a happy facade that in reality denies the spectrum of feeling. An easy trap to fall into, if we tell ourselves we’re being cheerful, enforcing the holiday spirit, when we are in fact living in our heads, in our theories about life (Pluto in Aquarius) and angry that things are clearly out of control–or at least, out of our control (Mars in Cappy). The New Moon changes this, puts things in our hands. Merc square the Nodal axis guarantees we’ll be getting a lot of messages in this period, and understanding them will be instrumental in navigating our Path. All we can do is our best.

The Sabian for the New Moon is, ‘A Fat Boy Mowing The Lawn Of His House On An Elegant Suburban Street’. I take this as an image of privilege, comfort, plenty, but where the boy is doing his part to care for his surroundings. I think it’s a symbol of appreciation for what we have, no matter what that is–and yet we can’t deny there’s a hint of the spoiled and indulged, in calling the boy “fat” and the street both “elegant” and “suburban”. I’m not fond of that kind of built-in judgment that certain things are inherently inferior because of their origins, their lifestyle implications, or the privileges they convey. What amounts to a moral pronouncement in the minds of some is just that: it’s within them, not in the scene or the people observed, necessarily. Celebrate what you have, and care for it–gratitude is never wasted.

It’s time to think about astro calendars for the new year! Have a wonderful, wonderful New Moon!

The Current Weather

11 Thursday Dec 2025

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Did you feel that? Over the last 8 hours or so, the Virgo Moon slid over its own South Node point, sending us all on a nostalgia trip–or at least dredging up issues and feelings from the past and framing them in their current forms and contexts–and maybe making us think that now and then are unrelated–but oh they are. Ruler Mercury is poised at 29 stressful degrees of Scorpio, conjoined the Black Moon Lilith point, telling us that what we’ve recently been reminded of is, in some way, on the verge of explosion–or maybe implosion, with Scorpio taking us into a deep, intense, collapsing cave of our own denied or ignored emotions. Add that Neptune is also at 29, trine Mercury from its own sign of Pisces, and we likely feel like it was all a dream, an aberration, or an illusion, not related to the real world–and that would be wrong, too. This interlude has been a preview of major personal stuff that must be addressed. We may tell ourselves we’re done with it (especially if, as it appears we have, we’ve tried to bury it more than once before), but it won’t be put to rest until it’s done with us. Face it as it comes, to minimize trauma and rid ourselves of something that we genuinely need to release.

One other thing I’d like to mention: Mars square Saturn-Neptune and quincunx Uranus. Our energies are hard to handle at this point, as we are prone to both misperceptions and to misunderstandings about actual, real-world situations and circumstances–and it doesn’t help that at the moment we are hair-trigger in our responses. Right now reflexes are faster than brains–they even beat the intuitive and feeling capacities, currently–great for rescues and life-saving quick-thinking, but also priming us to overreact and definitely misinterpret. Take everything with a mountain-size grain of salt, just to be safe.

Full Moon 4 December 2025 A Fated Crossroad

03 Wednesday Dec 2025

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Maybe that’s stated too strongly; this is just a Full Moon, like we have every four weeks, but the way it precisely squares its own Nodal axis resonates and focuses through the Air (Moon in Gemini) and Fire (Sun in Sagittarius), that is, through thought and atmosphere, action and choice. This influence presents us with a compelling dynamic to act based on what we know; that compulsion becomes pressure, when we put it into a personal context of our past (SN) and where we’re headed (NN). In particular, our destined direction (NN in Pisces) calls to our imaginations, showing us every potential we can picture, every possibility we can create–and that means there’s room for tremendous creative efforts, launching things we’d otherwise never try, but also room for fears, for the worst we can imagine, and for confusion arising from not being able to sort real from unreal. The Full Moon may trigger this, through emotional networking, contacts, or knowledge shared (Gemini) that illuminates the facts of the situation, and/ or our own and others’ beliefs (Sagittarius).

The Full Moon perfects on the 4th at 3:13 PM PST at 13 Gemini 03, and makes sparse contact. There’s a rough sesquiquadrate between Pluto and the Moon, and the Sun is loosely conjoined Venus; other than that, it’s all about the Cross. The Sun-Venus pairing suggests the spotlight is on relationships, finances, or our values and again, the facts of the matter (Sagittarius), while Pluto disturbs the emotional equation with the dark, dirty, and threatening disguised as Higher Mind or as a mere academic exercise (Aquarius). Even change and necessary evolution can be perceived as disturbing when delivered through the emotions by Pluto–so, something to remember, the doom scenarios may be exaggerated or merely fears seeping through cracks in the psyche, through the uncertainty of our world as it exists right now.

The Moon’s Sabian symbol is, ‘Bridging Physical Space And Social Distinctions, Two Men Communicate Telepathically’. This certainly fits the atmospheric nature of the Full Moon influence, and keys us in to extent of our own connectedness: we can hear one another think, perhaps whether we want to or not! For the Sun we see this: ‘The Great Pyramid And The Sphinx’. There’s wisdom to be had in this moment, some of it long lost to us, buried under the sands of time. Listen carefully, since it does factor in to our own life direction, and to our own emotional life.

One other thing I’d like to note. We’ve had that ongoing Grand Trine, but currently there’s a very tight one within that larger scenario made up of Water-placed Saturn, Jupiter, and the Part of Fortune. I know, I know–not everyone is okay with use of a Part within a configuration. As Ripley famously said, They can bill me. What I’m seeing is an influence that frames, within the larger reality/ world (Saturn) something of a Scorpionic nature that is fortuitous (Jupiter). I think this serves to warn us off overreacting to the shadowy Plutonic fears or changes we’re faced with; as Jung prompts us, when something bad happens, ask what good will come from it, and when something good happens, look for the bad that can follow. Asking the question alone can help stabilize our reactions, give us purchase on rough, uneven ground.

New Moon in Scorpio 19 November 2025: The Truth Will Out

18 Tuesday Nov 2025

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‘By the Waters of Babylon’ By Arthur Hacker 1888 {{PD}}

The New Moon of 19 November perfects at 10:46 PM PST at 28 Scorpio 11, poised to perfect the Inferior Conjunction with Mercury in hours, and clustered with the Black Moon Lilith point that both Sun and Moon have just passed over. A New Moon is a point of discovery, of revelation, and in Scorpio the energy is one of uncovering the Truth–but as always, we must be careful to parse objective truths (agreed-upon facts or points of shared reality) from what resonates as true to us (which may be both subjective and entirely valid, or may only apply to us). The Inferior Conjunction is a starting point within a minor cycle where the Sun and Mercury ‘converse’–their Inferior meeting birthing and allowing the remaining retrograde to incubate something, typically an idea or way of thinking related to the sign where they meet, with the finished initiative delivered at the Superior Conjunction, when the Sun and Mercury direct meet. Under the Scorpion those ideas may consist of what’s hidden, even from ourselves, things mysterious or primal–but the finished idea, delivered around 19 January, will be Capricornian: crisp, controlled, definitive, consisting of the rules or framework we think necessary as we move forward. That carries the potential for a lot of judgment of the Scorpionic, perhaps rejected out of the belief that it’s in boundaries and institutions, in listening to authorities, our best future lies–which sounds to me like an aberration, desperate, and temporary, at best, arising from fear of what we don’t know, or what we don’t understand, the kinds of things we think linger in the shadows.

Consider how passage over and, at the moment of New Moon, still conjoined, Black Moon Lilith affects our emotional experience. We’ve just been exposed to/ reminded of/ or faced with things we’d rather ignore or deny, or that enrage us–and now we are being given a glimpse of what those things might make us feel. And in Scorpio, those are dark feelings, even if they serve as revelation or purge. Magnified, by the Water trine to Jupiter in Cancer, in the form of imaginings made real, in the Water trine (and so forming a Grand Trine) with Saturn conjoined Neptune in Pisces, the latter at 29 stressed degrees=the dream is at a breaking point, the imagination taxed to its limit, the creative faculties at their peak.

Uranus at 29 Taurus sits in opposition to the New Moon complex=stress like a high-tension wire exposed throws electricity into the air, precipitating upset that forces innovation or a Higher Mind approach in the face of new, unusual, or more advanced intel. It presents as a crisis in identity, but whether that’s individual or in relation to the group is unique to each of us–in any case, our sense is that our stability, safety, prosperity, or well-being is endangered–and naturally, that may prompt any number of radical attempts to re-gain our footing–instability is the last thing the sure-footed bull can take for long.

The New Moon Sabian is, ‘An Indian Squaw Pleading To The Chief For The Lives Of Her Children’. The Moon in Scorpio is pleading with the Sun, bargaining for the emotional life and the things it makes possible, makes live; it reminds me of the way Mercury meets the Sun in Scorpio, then completes the cycle in Capricorn, as if the secrets, hidden matters, emotional truths we discover will be so overwrought, so deep, even taboo, that we may retreat to the clamped down and restrictive just to get a moment to collect ourselves, to get our bearings, so thoroughly will we be knocked out of our familiar emotional orbit. Oh, I hope that’s not the case.

Full Moon in Taurus 5 November: Rock, Meet Hard Place

04 Tuesday Nov 2025

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Waves at sunrise in Corniche (Sète, France) {{PD}}

The Full Moon perfects at 5:19 PST of the 5th at 13 Taurus 22, and some things stand out: the number of ‘clusters’, different energies gathered in small groupings, and the oppositions, the most fleeting being the Full Moon, and the way that Water Grand Trine persists and in doing so ratchets up the need to address emotions to a big fat 11 with it now part of a Kite. A Trine and a Kite–those should be positive, right? Well sometimes the good or easy thing creates less-than-positive circumstances, just like hardship can create, if not blessings, then fortuitous situations of one kind or another. So much depends on how we meet things, and with a Full Moon in Taurus, we expect to be able to draw conclusions around our genuine values, commitments, material situation, and in areas where we dedicate our energies and talents–but with Moon ruler Venus square the Sun ruler Pluto (yet still sharing the same modality, a Fixed status, and element, Air, at this point) what we may find is that opposing forces that we would expect to clash and then hash out their differences are instead like mirrors of each other. Instead of two distinct and unalike matters we get a choice between two versions of, on closer inspection, what proves to be the same thing–and yet there’s still conflict, still a sense that resolution isn’t possible, only choice. Both our emotional conclusions about Lunar events and their origins will be remarkably similar, and if we don’t accept that fact fairly quickly, we could be in for a time where we feel caught, between the proverbial rock and hard place, with no desirable option available.

It doesn’t help that the Moon makes no significant contacts aside from the opposition to the Sun, though it does touch its own Nodal axis by trine to the South end and sextile to the North, suggesting old emotional patterns may be on display–but then awareness of that may be key to, with a modest effort, making headway on our Path.

All the dynamism in play at present lies in the clustered energies and the contacts they make; the Lunar event is just a waypoint, a maximum that ushers in an opportunity to dissipate some of the tension, and perhaps resolve some of the upset. First we see a chain-reaction connection from Black Moon Lilith at 24 Scorpio to Mars at 00 Sagittarius and Mercury at 5 Sag. This grouping suggests there’s impetus to bury a lot of anger, to keep our communications centered on ‘the facts’, and to bury what we find unacceptable. These are all loosely trined Jupiter in Cancer and Saturn-Neptune, with Neptune still lingering in that final, anaretic degree of Pisces (though let’s be honest, was our taste of Neptune in Aries pre-retrograde all that appealing? It had a fish-out-of-water quality that evoked a marine creature gasping to return to its element, rather than a freeing of imagination to take new individual shape). Add the ‘spine’ of the Kite that pulls in Pluto and we have to ask, are we suppressing our creative urge and/ or avoiding confronting unpleasant matters precisely because we derive power and control from not blossoming into our most actualized Self? I think it might; we care too much about what already exists to want to personally thrive and so perhaps lose what we have. Is it a given that what we cherish will disappear if we allow our growth? No, but it would definitely be challenging, and draining, could require us to give up a particular status in the larger scheme, and for many of us now may not be the time to tap our already overtaxed inner resources, much less shake up our social standing.

We also have Uranus at 00 Gemini opposing Mars and company and trining Pluto. This pulls in the possibility of learning something new, the kind of knowing that may easily and with little fanfare dismantle, transform, or resurrect some Higher Mind state or revelatory information. We surprise ourselves, by what we’re willing to do, and what we are (seemingly) willing to sacrifice–and this in the face of all that hesitation over loss. Too, there’s a loose Grand Cross with Jupiter, Venus, Pluto, and Chiron that inserts our primal wound at the very heart of the Lunar tension; what results may see our own fears and hurts asserting themselves and coloring reactions in ways we didn’t anticipate and likely don’t want.

The Sabian for the Full Moon is, ‘On The Beach, Children Play While Shellfish Grope At The Edge Of The Water’. The revelations centered on our feelings, on our emotional stance, that are so vital to understanding our Moon experience, may be found not through the stressful situations that may preoccupy us but through those that allow us to relax and learn without knowing we’re learning. The shellfish represent another kind of learning, the liminal spot between two worlds or states of consciousness or Being that can teach us a great deal about both. The key to accessing what we need may be to play and allow the unconscious to absorb what we need–a less aggressive approach than the problem-filled atmosphere that may confront us, but one that ultimately may be quite effective.

For the Sun the Sabian is, ‘Telephone Lineman At Work Installing New Connections’. And here’s what we’ll get, the benefit of relaxing the conscious mind and Will: ‘New Connections’ that will help answer so much of what we’re facing.

The mirror quality of what occurs in this period alerts us to the need to stop struggling, and allow the unconscious to reach out and do its work. Enjoy for once not having to come up with the answer.

The Word Image is the biggest tree uprooted you’ve ever seen, its bulk hanging precariously over the only road in and out of an isolated place. What major factor have you tried to keep separate from the rest of your life, only to find that it’s not only not staying in place but threatening to cut off your free movement, or your access to the rest of the world?

The Current Mood: Late October 2025

27 Monday Oct 2025

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‘Owl on Grave’ By Caspar David Friedrich c1836

Let’s start with this little cluster in Scorpio, the Black Moon Lilith point and Mars, over which Mercury has just passed; by the time the Sun reaches this area, only the BML point will remain, suggesting that illumination of the meaning hidden in these placements will all be internal, a recognition of our own depths and secrets–but for now we concentrate on the group. BML in Scorpio points to all we’ve truly, deeply buried and all that we vehemently deny; Mars conjoined gives us the energy and the urge to dig. That can be a good thing, if we’re looking for the Truth, but a not-so-good thing if we aim that urge at OPB (Other Peoples’ Business). Mercury recently conjoined BML-Mars implies one of two things: we either ‘get the message’ during our excavations, or that our actions, motivated by what we’ve hidden from ourselves, change the way we’re thinking.

Mercury moves into Sagittarius 28-29 October, and at this point opposes Uranus–brace yourself for the shock, surprise, or revelation–it’s unavoidable and honestly, it looks to me like the level of stress will be so high we’ll barely note this lightning strike amid the high-tension wires. Merc into Sag focuses our minds on ‘the facts’ and their interaction with our philosophy and beliefs, then stations and retrogrades (10 November) with the general mission of causing us to examine what we believe and how that motivates us. During Merc’s retro in Sag we ask ourselves, ‘Are we happy with our actions, our choices, with ‘the facts’ as they exist?’ Overall, experiences over the next couple weeks are best used to be honest with ourselves, to get to the Truth and ‘get right’ with the world–and we’ll need to, considering that retro status and the opposition that will gel around the 31st between Venus in her own sign of Libra and Chiron in Aries.

The opposition pits two kinds of predominant attitudes against each other: those who value others and put others first (sometimes to their own detriment, or even out of selfish reasons, knowing they will receive credit for it), and those who, out of their own woundedness, find they must put themselves first, no matter the effect on others. There’s no side in this equation that’s superior; we all carry a mix of altruistic and Self-oriented intention–it’s just that this opposition requires us to find our dominant viewpoint. Why? Because of the T-square created as the opposing bodies align with Jupiter in Cancer. There’s going to be a lot more of something we care about (in itself this may carry its own connotation of positive or negative–sometimes too much is a kind of curse), and we’ll be challenged to respond to this situation of abundance, or ‘too much’ (and this might be a flood of emotion, considering it’s in Cancer).

There’s been an ongoing Water Grand Trine that sees influences (like fast-moving Moon or Mercury) come and go, but the basic frame has been Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn-Neptune–and we must note Neptune is in the stress-loaded anaretic degree (29) of Pisces. This is the source of the persistent sense of intense emotion and a feeling of being ‘on the verge’ permeating the atmosphere. Knowing the strong possibility that things are not what they seem (Neptune 29 Pisces obscuring Saturn=reality) and that Mars and Jupiter are currently entangled in the previously mentioned scenario, just being aware of the preponderance of illusion (and the potential for deception) should be enough to keep us from assuming what we see is what we get, and so know the score–we don’t–but Merc’s dip into Sag may help, as may the retrograde, which will get our minds out of the way and let our feelings, intuition, and extrasensory perceptions speak.

The Word Image is an owl standing on the shoulder of a fast-traveled highway. The owl is Athena’s animal, a symbol of wisdom and Warrior-courage; a highway is a conduit to take us from one place to another–but we need the right vehicle. To travel a highway on roller skates or a bicycle is to take one’s life in one’s hands, and we’re in an appropriate conveyance (a car). So what smart thing, what knowledge, or courageous action or approach, are we speeding past, in our hurry to get from one point to the next? What wisdom would be accessible to us, if we’d only slow down for a minute?

New Moon in Libra 21 October 2025 Sensitive Change

20 Monday Oct 2025

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The New Moon perfects at 5:24 AM PDT of the 21st, filling in a T-square with Moon-Sun opposed Chiron in Aries and all squared by Jupiter in Cancer; with generous assessment, we could even call this a Grand Square by including Pluto from its spot very early in Aquarius–and maybe we should, considering Pluto and the New Moon both occupy Air signs. It’s a statement: what begins here brings conflict between personal hurt and expanded sensitivities (especially on the social front) and results in transformation or destruction of a way of thinking, and possibly of a way into the future that we’d anticipated–that is, our wounds and our caring about the wider world require change, and that change may alter both our thinking and our tomorrows.

A New Moon in Libra urges us to look at whom and what we partner with, prompting awareness of both cooperative circumstances and aesthetic ones; Luna’s contacts tell us that the ways in which we are injured will be front and center as we assess our emotional state (the Libra Moon) and our identity (the Libra Sun) in relationships. The Other looms large, and we’re likely to be hyper-focused on how we feel about others–and they will be looking at us through the same, Self-focused lens. That should give us pause; we’re not the only one feeling alone in the midst of all those closest to us.

Remember too that Chiron is also our unique gift, something original and useful we’ve synthesized from all our knowledge and experience, something that literally no one else can do, see, or understand in quite the same way we do. If we can manage to avoid being distracted with our own deep hurts, we could bring that gift forward with the New Moon, likely to help others (Libra) or to heal our own relationships, or to create necessary change in thought or theory (Pluto in Aquarius) or within the social arena or in faith or philosophy, specifically in how these guide us to care for others (Jupiter in Cancer). As usual, it’s a choice: use our energy to make things better, or distract ourselves reviewing a litany of our wounds.

The Moon and Sun are also apex to a Finger of God with base of Neptune in early Aries and Uranus in early Gemini. This suggests that if we can get our uniquely original ideas to mesh with our individual ideals (these are creative, pioneering, in some way), we can apply that to our New Moon fresh start with others. A Finger is all about making the best of the base energies; the apex describes what we get, if we get it right.

The New Moon is also sesquiquadrate the North Node in Pisces=we’ll need to adjust our vision of the Path forward, and that’s whether we use the NM energy positively or negatively (I hate to use those words–I’d rather think of them as electrical charges, with the energy either pushing out, or pulling in, the difference between engagement with others, so important under a Libra Moon, and stubbornly remaining focused on the Self, despite what’s around us).

Also of note, and probably the most prominent thing in our consciousness at present, is a Water Grand Trine, Mars, Mercury, and the Black Moon Lilith point all together in Scorpio, Saturn in Pisces, and Jupiter in Cancer=hidden anger and ‘buried’ realities motivate us and drive our reasoning; we believe we and others should care about the wider world, and we think reality is as we imagine it to be–we mistake feelings for facts. Wow, the possibility of missteps in those combined factors is huge. Traps lie in the Trine’s components each carrying a high degree of subjectivity, a propensity to be viewed through one’s inner reality rather than through fact or real world-based perceptions. This is certainly what I’ve been seeing around me for a while now, and I bet you are, too: people charging forward in the belief that they see things correctly, and you need to agree. Let’s redefine this Trine, substituting externals for that inner reality. What we get then is Self-awareness that understands our own aggressive tendencies and those ways we can deceive ourselves by refusing what we’re uncomfortable with (Mars, Merc, BML), a way to look at how ideals can shape the real world, as well as spot them when we come across circumstances that meet those ideals (Saturn), and a viewpoint that centers not on feelings but facts, and the ways we can be sensitive to these realities and so can move to expand both our understanding and our efforts to help (Jupiter).

The New Moon Sabian is, ‘Mankind’s Vast And Enduring Effort To Reach For Knowledge Transferable From Generation To Generation’. If we don’t learn from the past, then we’re doomed to repeat it–and doomed is the word specifically because there’s something truly awful about retracing our steps when we should know better. Understand what came before–look at how it turned out–don’t think you’re the exception for whom a repeat of choices will somehow magically end differently than they did before.

What Fresh Hell Is This? Full Moon in Aries 6 October 2025

04 Saturday Oct 2025

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Believe me, the last thing I want to do is add to the current stressful atmosphere, but I have to acknowledge the axiom ‘As Above, So Below’; the Zeitgeist is reflected in the Full Moon situation, and the Lunar picture conveys some specifics about what’s coming at us–and we may find out the disturbing factors aren’t necessarily what we think they are. Just being alive means we can’t avoid the mess of modern life; might as well check the skies for guidance (and if we’re really connecting with the Universe, inspiration).

The Full Moon perfects on 6 October 2025 at 8:47 PM PDT at 14 Aries 08 and makes no major contacts–so let’s start with the atmosphere into which the Aries Full Moon makes its statement. Notable will be Mercury’s quincunx to Neptune and Uranus, forming a Finger of God; Mercury’s also square Pluto. This can take many forms, but the essence will be sudden revelation about hard Truths or reality vs deception that reveals what’s beneath the surface (Merc in Scorpio)–and we likely won’t like what we hear, especially as it might create power struggles. Uranus is trine Pluto=change, transformation, or destruction may be (relatively) easy, because of its sudden or surprising nature, or because it’s relentlessly modern, crowding out the old. And Venus, current ruler of the Sun, sits at the midpoint of Jupiter and the Black Moon Lilith point=what stands in the way of getting to the good stuff? Requirements levied by the current social order, as well as those matters we’ve buried, ignored, denied. As long as we worry what others will think, and as long as we lie to ourselves, we won’t reach the payoff–it’s both that difficult, and that straightforward. Remember that Jupiter is on its way to trine with Saturn, in about one month; that means we’re heading toward reaping the results (‘the facts’) around reality and manifestation of what’s at present ethereal rather than material. We’re (probably overly) optimistic at this point–it would be better to see reality unvarnished and truly be willing to examine where the current path actually leads.

Now to the Lunar event itself. The Moon is semi-square Uranus, and is apex to a loose Finger of God with base of South Node and Mars (though the latter is very wide–4 degrees–we’re dealing with the fast-moving Moon, so I’m willing to count this). So we get an emotional shock or surprise, too, a personal one, that stems from a mixture of the past and our own actions and choices. The Sun, giver of light and author of this entire show, is sesquiquadrate Uranus and quincunx the Moon’s North Node, reinforcing the difficulty of the shock/ surprise/ modern times energy and also pointing to the adjustments that will need to be made in future, if we stay the present course.

Now let’s look to contact with smaller bodies; these help define the Moon’s contacts to major players, as well as help describe the character of the energies involved. In this case I think they fall into two broad categories: Power expression, and Trouble. On the positive side, we have the Moon’s trine to Vesta=no matter what the Full Moon brings, we know our priorities and values, what we honor, and we stick to it. That’s reassuring, descriptive of a strong core that won’t be overly swayed by externals. The Moon is also trine a pairing of Amor and Icarus in Sagittarius=uh-oh, our first trouble spot: Love, in its purest and least ‘judgmental’ state (not romantic, but encompassing of many kinds of regard and affection), will tempt us not to respect realities, such as boundaries, limits, our own vulnerabilities, and what’s wise in the moment.

Then there are two squares the Moon makes to bodies in Cancer, one consisting of Hades and Kronos, one of Circe and Isis (though these pairings are about 5 degrees from each other). The first two are ‘hellish’ in nature, representing torments of the individual, and with Kronos’ attempts to control the future arising out of fear; the latter two are energies of controlling others, to the point of reassembling them! That, as we know, can make for a Frankenstein. These suggest tough interactions, with everybody believing they know what everyone else deserves, and an extreme lack of boundaries within those interactions, such that we may feel subject to others’ choices no matter what. And finally, there’s the Moon’s quincunx to Nemesis, which only reinforces the confrontational energies in play–and that others don’t necessarily have our best interests at heart.

The Sabian symbol for the Full Moon is, ‘An Indian Weaving A Ceremonial Blanket’. The Sun’s Sabian, which should help illuminate the Moon meaning, is ‘Circular Paths’. This suggests to me that too much distance from what’s happening (that is, trying to treat it objectively, rather than personally) might make our actions nothing but ceremonial–that is, not having an impact on the real world picture, but instead sending us in circles–in effect, distracting us. And that’s the last thing we need to be to navigate what’s ahead.

A Full Moon in Aries is about bringing to full power who we are, what we choose, and how we act, and this one may prove exceptionally challenging, as what we accept and support now gives shape and contours to our future. As long as we remember that, we’ll choose and act in ways that are best for us–and that’s what counts. Yes, the Lunar event may bring us a fresh hell, but it’ll be our fresh hell, unique to our situation, but ultimately solvable by us, too, as we remember our values, our priorities, and what we truly care about.

Notes on the Solar Eclipse: 21 September 2025 The Spark

18 Thursday Sep 2025

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This is just what we need, a New Moon new start, except what we’re getting is more tense and more fraught than we might think a new thing can be; it arrives with a sense of history, in spite of its newness: the event is a meeting of the Moon and Sun at 29 Virgo 05 where they’re part of a Kite that echoes the Kite present at the Full Moon of 8 August–but this time, the Moon is involved in the configuration (it wasn’t those few weeks ago) and the meeting of the Lights occurs at the maximum stressful degree. Of course, the August event was a scenario of conclusions, in the sense that we needed to find equilibrium across the Aquarius/ Leo/ I vs. Them axis–and find how being ourselves, fully and without societal distortions, affects our relationships, groups to which we belong, and all those with whom we interact. Now for the current Solar eclipse we’re looking at inception energy, generative, not in the bloody way of the end of a 9 month process, a delivery of a brand new but long-in-the-works project (that’s much more like Full Moon energy), but in the way of suddenly, almost magically, sparking something to life, out of what seems like thin air, but is actually the energetic material of the spiritual, mental, physical, or emotional resulting from the convergence of accumulated energy ‘threads’ as they weave together and become a ‘something’–conception, then, not birth. The difference is that one process is a new beginning, but only because another stage is ending; with this New Moon, something is coming from nothing–or at least, it’s ideas or events that come together to present us with a result we might classify as ‘never before’.

There are a number of contacts made by the Partial Solar eclipse; I’ll list each one separately, then (try to) fit them into the bigger picture. The basic New Moon energy is the Sun and Moon together in that final critical degree of Virgo, and they’re widely conjoined Mercury in Libra=the critiques, assessments, accountings, analyses, and commentary we give and receive will be the conduits for the eclipse ‘message’. The eclipse is also semi-sextile Mars at 29 Libra=stress again! In relationships, in artistic ventures, in partnerships, in relation to ‘the audience’. It’s notable that Mars was a component in the August Kite, but here is less potent, off to the side and subdued, suggesting temper and the ‘I Am’ will influence, but not drive, those eclipse communications. There’s also a wide (for a quincunx) aspect of Chiron in Aries to the New Moon=this implies we may be sensitive enough to our own and others’ wounds that we are careful to avoid them, and promises our interactions will be shared with a certain level of sensitivity (though there will be some who adjust in the opposite direction, intending to wound).

Then there’s the Kite. The base involves a Grand Trine where two of the placements, the Sun and Moon, are in Earth, with Pluto, Uranus, and Mercury in Air. This describes a material, real world event that fuels the communications as well as the inclinations to innovation, spontaneity, change, and sharing of the Truth. Through the middle of the Kite runs a ‘spine’, an opposition to the eclipse, to Saturn in Pisces-Neptune in Aries, with this combo sextile both Pluto and Uranus. I look at this and think of the ‘lift’ this configuration will give to the eclipse message. It will likely carry big themes, big change and ideas and creative expression, even as we find ourselves trying to balance, trying to straddle the need for transformation of some life area and the need to be responsive in the moment, open to that very new, original thing the eclipse promises.

Two factors in the Kite, Pluto sextile Neptune, act as base for a Finger of God with apex Venus in Virgo=this feels like a set of influences we can control, more so than what’s presented by the eclipse. An embrace of the nitty-gritty, a willingness to change, even to change to extremes, if called for, can deliver Higher Mind (Aquarius) in service to the creative Will (Neptune in Aries), and result in positives: rewards, payoffs, Art, or Love to the individual (Venus in Aries).

The Sabian for the eclipse is, ‘Totally Intent Upon Completing An Immediate Task, A Man Is Deaf To Any Allurement’. This suggests that whatever message we receive will draw our complete attention; that’s a good thing, in terms of our accomplishment, but possibly not so good if it means we miss the Bigger Picture. The key may be never to lose sight of the fact that there are other people in the world, and that what we do affects them. A simple concept but an important one, when we’re trying to make the most of our own potentials, our own possibilities.

Notes on Personal Eclipse Effects

04 Thursday Sep 2025

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Think of an eclipse as a specific energy matrix that comes along and, no matter what else is happening in your chart at the moment, POW! this energy pattern is superimposed like a lightning strike. If an eclipse makes close contact to a natal planet or point, it’s important you read this as a Universal energy (the eclipse) affecting personal ones, meaning the shape the eclipse energy takes in your life will be highly unique, in terms of your experience and your response. The nature of the contacted natal energy becomes vital in understanding how the event will play out. For example, if it contacts the Moon, you may not be consciously aware of what’s happening, or with something like Saturn, the effects may come from interaction with authorities, or some form of external oppression, or some real-world event or consequences. In any case, we don’t want to miss the energy wave we can ride in our destined direction, even as we must proceed with caution in terms of what changes we institute; changes can be not just long lasting, but irrevocable, so choices should be examined to the point of tedium before we commit.

Don’t forget: an eclipse is just a New or Full Moon where, from our point of view here on Earth, it seems one body occults another, but that appears so only because the bodies (Earth, Sun, Moon) are aligned. In a Solar eclipse the Moon comes between the Earth and the Sun, blocking our view of the Sun (we’re in the Moon’s shadow), and in a Lunar eclipse, Earth comes between the Moon and Sun, throwing our shadow on the Moon. Now back to the astrology of it.

An eclipse to a natal body doesn’t seem to energize/ set into motion the natal planet and its aspects in their natal manifestations, as we might normally expect, at least, not strongly; instead it seems to bring to life Archetypal and/ or Mythological energies of the body in question. It’s like the legends and stories for which the entity is known or named come to life in some form. This seems to be true for all the planets and for the commonly watched asteroids (Chiron, Pallas, Vesta, Juno), but the impact is less direct on points in the chart (the Nodes, the Midheaven, the Ascendant, the Part of Fortune, and so on), as they don’t seem to be as responsive to the ‘lighting up’ to which the planets, lights, and asteroids are sensitive. Keep a very tight orb when looking for eclipse effects. I typically use a 1 degree maximum either side of the eclipse degree and minute in determining aspects to natal placements, with these important exceptions: contact to the Ascendant, Sun, Moon, or chart ruler, to which I allow a 2 degree orb.

A few observed effects from previous eclipses: falling on the natal Moon an eclipse ushers in a period of extreme sensitivity, and sometimes confusion and mystery–it seems as if ‘the details’ are just unobtainable, or that they are as changeable as the Moon itself. To the natal Sun, look for major change in how others perceive you, and/ or in how you perceive yourself–there might also be a surge in personal confidence, a kind of ‘Apollo Effect,’ and a possible protective effect in situations where you might otherwise expect physical injury or in changes to the body or life situation that normally would strike at the Self-concept. When an eclipse hits Mercury the Trickster may rear its head in all manner of chaos or disguises–brace for disruption and, with openness to input, illumination. Venus conveys an aura of protection, a certain grace to move through difficulties–watch closely how the values, relationships, and what you ‘love’ changes between the hit by the eclipse and the next eclipse set six months after–and sometimes contact to Venus brings a ‘Midas Touch,’ while Mars seems to trigger situations that, while not exactly negative, require the mustering of the Self-defense mechanisms and the pushing forward of the Will, generally for positive results if one can avoid a loss of temper.

Jupiter seems to bring opportunity, though this can have positive or negative consequences, depending on the personal capacity for Self-discipline and the ability to discern true possibilities from hype; the sudden ‘opening up’ of one’s world or opportunities can be enlivening or threatening, and can send the life careening off its previous course. With Saturn one may face the usual unexplained restriction to efforts, and the slowing down of that which seemed to be proceeding well, even a sudden graying of the hair or physical deterioration, a clear manifestation of Saturn as time’s representative, though some will see the manifestation of a long-held and worked for goal.

Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto all seem to bring varying degrees of upset, uncertainty, and upheaval (not necessarily negative) to associated circumstances, particularly to the house where the natal planet is posited, or to affairs of the House it rules. I can only guess that this is generally disruptive simply because so few of us have a solid, conscious handle on the majority of these heavier energies, though Neptune can usher in, until the next eclipse set, a period of extraordinary creativity for those so inclined, Uranus can bring enhanced capacities to the functioning of the Higher Mind, and Pluto can signal a re-birth, phoenix-like, from the ashes. With Chiron, a period of personal crisis centered on the wound, or on manifesting the gift is promised–a life changing choice may be presented between contact and the next eclipse set. With Vesta, crisis in sexuality or in commitment of some kind (such as to the family, within a sexual relationship, or to a particular domestic role), also usually forcing a choice, while with Pallas the effects I’ve seen have been relatively mild and similar to the calling forth of strength that we observe with Mars activation. Ceres often requires a ‘letting go,’ and possibly an appropriate period of mourning after, while Juno may bring crisis in marriage or with the mate, centered on fidelity and/ or the sharing of power within the relationship, or Juno configured with an eclipse can bring tremendous Self-empowerment, a loss of same, or possibly a power balance showdown with the partner. To the Ascendant or Midheaven: unavoidable change change change! Not necessarily under your control, and not necessarily something we have a choice about.

Don’t neglect the Houses these contacted natal bodies rule in interpreting the eclipse effects for yourself; they can be vital clues as to what part of your life may be affected.

Commentary on the eclipse will follow.