New Moon Solar Eclipse in Sagittarius, December 2020
What do you want to say? After a year where you’ve spent more time with yourself than ever before, where you’ve had to shift and adapt with every passing day and where you’ve been forced to reprioritise your values, you’ve changed. You have derived new meaning from your experiences and your belief system has evolved. And now it’s time to spread your message.
This new moon isn’t just an ordinary new moon, but a total solar eclipse to round out the current eclipse season. It’s set to be potent, both astrologically and visually. As we know, solar eclipses bring with them situations and events which help push us into our next phase. It is always best to just roll with eclipse energy and not try to set intentions—it is a moment for us to really surrender and trust that whatever happens is meant to be.
Sagittarius is concerned with truth, wisdom, the search for meaning, travel and teaching. While its counterpart Gemini is concerned with breadth of knowledge, Sagittarius wants depth. Gemini is early education, like school where you learn a little bit about everything; Sagittarius is higher education, where you learn a lot about a few key things.
The North Node in Gemini is opening us up to new ideas, but right now the focus is on the South Node where we take what we have learnt and see where it fits in our personal belief system. Perhaps that means changing your mind about something—with the mutable influence of Sagittarius we can change and adapt where necessary.
The partial full moon eclipse back on June 5/6 was the first taste of what the Sag eclipses have in store for us over the next year or so. For me, it was in my third house which represents communication, early education, neighbourhood, siblings and short journeys. The eclipse coincided with a sudden change of neighbourhood, as well as a change to my business name so that it was more aligned with what I was communicating. After six months of learning and thinking, I have new things I want to share, and I feel like this new moon is offering opportunities for me to do so. Think back to what the start of June was like for you, and find out the part of your chart that this eclipse is playing out in here.
Themes for 2020 have included communication (what we think, what we say, how we interact, who we choose to stay in touch with), relationships and our sense of self. Mercury is getting caught up in the new moon eclipse party, which makes what we think and what we say even more potent. There can be a tendency to lean toward embellishment and exaggeration when Mercury is in Sag (think of the fisherman whose hands grow further apart each time he tells someone how big the fish he caught was) but on the positive side there is an opportunity for us to think big—and bonus!—to feel optimistic about our big thoughts.
Mars is also in an easy trine to Mercury specifically, but also the new moon, adding more drive and desire to get moving. Mars is still in his post-retrograde shadow until January 4, so still not at full capacity but definitely picking up strength and speed. There is a fire starting to burn inside of you about what you want to contribute to the world. This will start to get things moving.
Perhaps the most challenging aspect to all of this is Neptune in Pisces squaring the action in Sagittarius. Neptune can easily lead us down the path of illusion, so conspiracy theories may flare up at this time. Be sure to do your research before you believe.
In astrology, a square is a challenge. But, challenges can be overcome if you work with them. Sagittarius is a fire sign, Pisces a water sign. What happens if you throw water on a fire? It goes out. But if you contain the water in a pot and put it on the fire, the fire boils the water which you can use for cooking. The trick to working with this square is to contain your Neptunian dreams so that all the Mercury/New Moon energy can create the right environment for you to cook up some great things.
Our focus is shifting from what we have to our ideas. Saturn and Jupiter are about to leave Capricorn for Aquarius in the week following the eclipse, and forming what is known as the Great Mutation on December 21/22. Again, this is potent both astrologically and visually.
For the past 200 years we have been in an earth-themed era, seeing the rise in wealth, production of goods and structures both literal and figurative. The Great Mutation marks the beginning of an air-themed era, which will have us moving toward revolutionary new ideas and philosophies, and together as a society defining what we want. The events of 2020 have been pushing us toward this shift. It’s so influential that it deserves more than just a paragraph (edit: check out the post that I have written about it here).
So back to the solar eclipse. The greatest way to embrace this energy is to embrace your sense of adventure. Sure, you might not be able to physically travel too far right now, but your imagination has no limits. Books, TV shows, podcasts, the internet—all offer opportunity for exploration and the pursuit of knowledge. Follow your intuition and let go of the old to make room for the new.
The exact time of the Solar Eclipse is:
AEDT: Tuesday 15 December @ 3.16am
United Kingdom: Monday 14 December @ 4.16pm
US Eastern: Monday 14 December @ 11.16am
US Pacific: Monday 14 December @ 8.16am
Find your timezone here
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