Tag Archives: Sagittarius

Rosehips in ice; photo by Amanda Painter.

Of Retrogrades and Gratitude

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Dear Friend and Reader:

Mercury is stationing retrograde in Pisces on Sunday (early Monday in some time zones), which puts us in its ‘storm’ phase now. That’s the big astro-news you need to be most aware of. Yet perhaps apropos of Mercury’s stationary status — as it hovers seemingly in one place before appearing to reverse direction — I think I need to begin where I was originally planning to end this essay.

This will be my last weekly column for Planet Waves, at least for the foreseeable future. After 10 years of working for this incredible little astrology-website-that-could, and growing in immeasurable ways in the process, it is time for me to seek new adventures.

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Photo by Amanda Painter.

Not Your Typical Aquarius New Moon

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By Amanda Painter

Tomorrow is the Aquarius New Moon, exact at 4:42 pm EST (21:41:52 UTC). Aquarius is a curious sign, at its best when blending the structuring abilities of Saturn with the liberating impulses of Uranus.

Photo by Amanda Painter.

Photo by Amanda Painter.

In that sense, it seems a perfect sign to host the first lunation after the Jan. 10 eclipse: eclipse periods generally feature a process of liberating oneself from some facet of the past, in order to take greater authority in directing the next steps forward.

The slowly separating Saturn-Pluto conjunction underscores these themes, connecting them to long-term processes. Whatever ‘new start’ Friday’s New Moon represents for you should be familiar, perhaps even expected.

Chances are you’ve been involved with some form of drawing something to a close this week, or resolving one phase of a process. Today and the first part of tomorrow still carry that signature.

Yet life is not simply ‘business as usual’ right now, thanks to a couple of factors. The first is that the Aquarius Sun is square Uranus in Taurus, exact today.

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Onward into 2020

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By Amanda Painter

I don’t know about you, but I’ve found this to be an especially contemplative transition to a new year. I guess that’s true each time we end a decade, as we assess just how much has changed in those ten years. Yet, in moving from 2019 to 2020, I’m aware of just how much extra gravitas, pressure, awareness and restlessness I’m feeling, and its correlation to the Saturn-Pluto conjunction in Capricorn.

Photo by Amanda Painter

Photo by Amanda Painter

Ten or so years ago, roughly corresponding to Pluto’s ingress into Capricorn, marked some highly pivotal events in my life.

Tracing the growth I’ve experienced in this last decade — and contrasting it to the general trajectory of the previous ten years — is offering confirmation that the processes of Pluto, daunting as they are, do offer gifts.

Even so, the lessons of Pluto and Saturn tend to be hard-won.

While the lessons of Jupiter (and even Uranus) can seem to fling the doors of one’s life wide open — simply leaving it up to us to stride through (not always easy, depending on one’s circumstances and baggage) — Saturn and Pluto demand more. They ask us to work for what we want. They insist that we make the difficult choice to undo so much that has always appeared solid, or a given, so that we can build anew in ways that afford us more space for who we’re becoming.

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Boy in a funeral procession flashes the peace sign; the Balinese do not mind strangers witnessing their ceremonies. Karma and dharma are a strong part of their Hindu beliefs. Photo by Amanda Painter.

Ringing in the Eclipses

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By Amanda Painter

When this column publishes, it’ll be within a couple minutes of the Capricorn New Moon and annular (not total) solar eclipse. The New Moon is exact at 12:13 am EST (5:13:00 UTC), with the eclipse peaking about four minutes later. You likely have some idea already what the event signifies for you.

Boy in a funeral procession; the Balinese do not mind strangers witnessing their ceremonies, and funerals are a big celebration. Karma and dharma are a strong part of their Hindu beliefs. Photo by Amanda Painter.

Boy in a Hindu funeral procession at Pura Goa Lawah; the Balinese do not mind strangers witnessing their ceremonies, and funerals celebrate reincarnation. Photo by Amanda Painter.

Yet even if you were not sent a bright star in the east last night to follow — or some other massive, impossible-to-ignore sign from god — chances are you can look back over the past year to gather some clues. After all, this eclipse is happening in Capricorn, the same sign as the year-defining Saturn-Pluto conjunction that’s exact in a few weeks.

Saturn-Pluto has been the long game: the gradual building of pressure, the progressive dismantling, the ever-increasing awareness of a need to restructure. Its manifestations on the world stage have been obvious and dramatic. Possibly it’s been showing up in your life more subtly — kind of like insistent, repeated nudges in a particular direction, or something coming apart in stages.

Eclipses, on the other hand, tend to be a more focused process. Usually there’s one solar and one lunar eclipse bracketing a two-week span. (The corresponding partial lunar eclipse of this pair arrives Jan. 10, almost aligning with the 12 Days of Christmas and the arrival of the three Magi with their gifts.)

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Aurora Borealis, or northern lights, shines above Bear Lake, Alaska. Photo by Senior Airman Joshua Strang, U.S. Air Force, via Wikimedia Commons.

The Cosmic Breath that Quickens Capricorn

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By Amanda Painter

I was thinking recently about how, each year, the Sun moves from its alignment with the Galactic Core in late Sagittarius (today) to its ingress of Capricorn (Saturday) within the span of a couple of days. I’m fascinated by this juxtaposition of energies, and what it might mean.

Aurora Borealis, or northern lights, shines above Bear Lake, Alaska. Photo by Senior Airman Joshua Strang, U.S. Air Force, via Wikimedia Commons.

Aurora Borealis (northern lights) above Bear Lake, Alaska. Photo by Senior Airman Joshua Strang, U.S. Air Force, via Wikimedia Commons.

Even though our Milky Way galaxy and its center are far from the most massive things in space, they’re still too huge and too far away for most of us to comprehend.

How do you relate something like that to your job or your breakfast, or your life’s goals, or even how long it takes you to fly on a plane from one continent to another? You can’t. And yet we’re part of the Milky Way.

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Male dancers performing the Tedung Agung, a dance evoking a protective umbrella, in Ubud, Bali. Photo by Amanda Painte

Body and Soul, After the Full Moon

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By Amanda Painter

By the time you read this, the restless Gemini Full Moon will be separating. However, I’m writing this piece in the thick of it, and it’s been a challenge for me to stay focused on the Sagittarian arrow of the Sun and not get mixed up in the less-conscious mental chatter of the Gemini Moon. Thankfully, today you may notice certain interpersonal situations begin resolving, even if other feelings are intensifying.

Male dancers performing the Tedung Agung, a dance evoking a protective umbrella, in Ubud, Bali. Photo by Amanda Painte

Dancers performing the Tedung Agung, which evokes a protective umbrella, in Ubud, Bali. Photo by Amanda Painter.

Mental activity should ease this evening, after the Moon enters Cancer at 6:23 pm EST (23:22:58 UTC). With the Moon in its home sign, emotions are more likely to be felt for what they are.

Yet they might get verbalized less, as the Moon opposes the impressive collection of objects in Capricorn over Friday and Saturday.

While the Moon oppositions act as mini tidal shifts (either with people you encounter or entirely within you), you’ll want to notice whether there’s anything deeper going on for you.

Emotions that intensified during the recent Full Moon likely still have depths calling for exploration — or excavation. Venus makes its exact conjunction to Pluto tomorrow. Venus is the planet of feelings and the senses. Pluto represents not only change, but also all that exists ‘below’ — such as below consciousness, below the Earth’s surface (as in Capricorn), or below the proverbial belt.

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The Day of Inner Fervor: Birthdays and Planet News

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If Your Birthday is Dec. 10
The Day of Inner Fervor | 2019-20 Sagittarius Astrology Studio | All Other Signs

The intrepid quest for truth is a core motivation for Sagittarians of any stripe. Truth and freedom are inseparable, yet to live in terms of those ideals requires hard-won self-awareness and self-acceptance. Your path this year calls for honestly addressing mounting tension in some area of your relationships or support systems. Fortunately, you’re well equipped to tap your highest capacity for insight, objectivity and skillful communication. Take the reins on your busy mind and steer with intent.
— by Victoria Emory

If you have a Sagittarius Sun, rising sign or Moon and could use some insights on such real-life matters as work, relationships and career, your 2019-2020 Sagittarius Astrology Studio reading by Eric Francis will cover your ruling planet Jupiter’s conjunction to the Galactic Core, a preview of Jupiter in Capricorn, and many other potentially life-changing facets of your astrology.

Written in the Planets

Emotions will be running deep as Venus in Capricorn aligns with Pluto and Saturn. The planet of feelings, sensory experiences and pleasure makes contact first with Saturn, then with Pluto. Venus to Saturn describes a potential sense of loss, longing or a limit placed on a relationship. That can lead to a breakthrough of depth: of discovery of your real feelings.

This aspect peaks at the same time as the Gemini Full Moon on the 11th. The Full Moon is a high tide emotionally, which will accentuate the poignancy of Venus-Pluto. Yet the Moon’s full phase in Gemini can be about talking a lot but not really saying anything. Avoid chatting away your feelings; rather, stay with yourself and what you’re experiencing, whatever it may be.

Almanac: Moon enters Gemini at 11:47 am EST today. The Full Moon in Gemini is exact at 12:12:12 am EST Thursday, 12/12. That’s a lot of 12s!

— by Eric Francis

Would you appreciate a resource to help guide your personal review of 2019? We’ve compiled all 12 of your monthly horoscopes by Eric for this year.

 

The Saturn-Pluto conjunction is upon us, just weeks away. While this event will happen two or three times in the lives of most people, this particular event is a moment of convergence and reckoning for the world and for us as individuals.

I’m underway recording RESPECT, the 2020-2021 Planet Waves annual readings, to cover the momentous astrology of the coming year-plus. You can read more about the project, and pre-order the readings, here.

The Day of Flamboyance: Birthdays and Planet News

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If Your Birthday is Dec. 9
The Day of Flamboyance | 2019-20 Sagittarius Astrology Studio | All Other Signs

Let your touchstone in the coming year be an enhanced ability to perceive yourself objectively. Work-related demands and building financial security will require sustained effort. Yet opportunities seized now can lead to substantial, long-lasting results. If commitments trigger resentment, or the balance of power in relationships impacts your self-esteem, analyze underlying issues. With awareness and focus, you can initiate effective and necessary communication about sensitive topics.
— by Victoria Emory

If you have a Sagittarius Sun, rising sign or Moon and could use some insights on such real-life matters as work, relationships and career, your 2019-2020 Sagittarius Astrology Studio reading by Eric Francis will cover your ruling planet Jupiter’s conjunction to the Galactic Core, a preview of Jupiter in Capricorn, and many other potentially life-changing facets of your astrology.

Written in the Planets

Mercury enters Sagittarius today at 4:41 am EST (9:41:26 UTC). Mercury being the planet of the mind, this activates awareness of what else is happening in Sagittarius: namely, the Sun moving between the Great Attractor (a deep-space phenomenon toward which our region of the universe is moving) and the Galactic Core (the center of our Milky Way galaxy). At this time of year, the Earth and the Sun are facing into the galaxy and into a larger galactic structure, focusing us on the Big Questions of Existence. Can you feel them tugging at the edges of your consciousness?

The natal placement of Mercury in Sagittarius tends to describe focusing on what is far-off and/or broad in scope, sometimes to the detriment of the details. Yet people with this Mercury are apt to be direct and sincere, even if they sometimes speak more candidly than others are prepared to hear.

Jupiter, ruler of Sagittarius, is making a conjunction to Pholus in Capricorn and a square to Chiron in Aries. Action is the name of the game with squares; in this case, putting your knowledge and spiritual theory to the test with some actual experimentation. How does it measure up against what you’ve learned previously? Notice if someone seems to be meeting you where you are in your experiment, or is showing you something about how to hold space for such a process in tangible ways.
— by Amanda Painter

In 2020 we have not one but two conjunctions that mark the turn of a generation, and of an era in history. On Jan. 12, Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn form their once per 33-year conjunction. Then on Dec. 21. 2020, Jupiter and Saturn, both now in Aquarius, form a conjunction in the first degree of that sign. Read more here…