At every Full Moon there is a set of polarizations taking place. Astronomically, the Sun is opposite the Moon, and astrologically, always they are in opposite signs of the zodiac. With the Sun in Sagittarius, the Full Moon is in Gemini, highlighting the opposition between the gathering of facts to perceive an inherent pattern (Gemini), and the Sagittarius impulse to interpret the patterns according to its own experience and philosophy.

Of course, interpretation and philosophy and making distinctions, is when, as the third Zen patriarch says, heaven and earth are set infinitely apart. When we begin to place meaning upon events, we need to remember we are in a zone of relativity. Astrology is, as Richard Grossinger says, a “language for speaking the impossible, a yardstick for measuring the immeasurable.” And yet we know that the planets are mathematically timed in cycles, the math of which enables us to land a spacecraft on an asteroid, for example. And astrologers know that the designs of the Universe are inherently meaningful. When these planetary cycles are studied and applied to a human lifetime as well as the historical patterns of generations, (which astrologers have been doing for thousands of years), we can predict the overall tendencies and their effects. Gemini perceives the patterns, Sagittarius looks for the larger meanings and beliefs.  

In this present Full Moon phase, the power of our beliefs is being held in front of us, and exhibited to us in plain view.   Some of those beliefs may be silently holding us back, preventing us from showing our light, or doing adequate self-care. Some beliefs may be ancestral in origin and these also will become more visible. Chiron, the holder of ancient wounds, will be stationing and going direct the day after this Full Moon, having been retrograde since July 8^th. This has been a strongly internal time for many of us, especially those with planets at the very end of mutable or very beginning of cardinal signs in their charts which form aspects to Chiron, now in the early degrees of Aries. Chiron’s direct motion may ask us now to integrate and act upon that which we’ve become aware of internally in the period since Chiron went retrograde in July.

Venus in this chart is exactly in between Saturn and Pluto, forming a kind of bridge between Saturn’s karmic callings and Pluto’s breakdown-and-transform energies. Since her movement into Capricorn, she has become slightly more serious about issues around how we spend our money, and our materialism, both personally and globally. She adds a sense of refinement to the otherwise rather brash Saturn/Pluto combination, reminding us that no matter what we are dealing with, respect for the Earth and all beings must be held uppermost in mind.

We’re gearing up for a seminal year, 2020. As many planets now are moving into that important sign of Capricorn, the rumblings of change are becoming more and more visible. As we’ve been noting, the upcoming conjunction of Sun, Ceres, Pluto, Saturn and Mercury on Jan 12^th of 2020 is marking a new level of transformation worldwide. Jupiter has also joined Capricorn recently, which will characterize the 2020 year as one in which the very foundations of our societal institutions will be transformed by Pluto/Saturn.

December 21^st this year at 8:19 pm PST will be the exact moment of Winter Solstice in the Northern hemisphere. It is called “solstice” (sun-stopped) because the Sun will remain fairly close in its same position for a few days, before starting back toward the Tropic of Cancer. In ancient times, this day was thought to be a beginning of the year, a time of death and rebirth, as Solstice held the promise of the dark days finally begin to lengthen. Fires were built to welcome the light, and also to stave off the presence of dark spirits that were said to roam the Earth at that time. This would be a night in which stories were told until late at night. During Solstice, the Earth’s magnetic field tends to weaken, which means we can feel more in touch with the more interstellar energies, reaching for a larger horizon, one’s inner self, which helps us transcend our personality and bring insight. With Mars in Scorpio in a trine (forms a 120˚ angle) to Neptune in Pisces in this Full Moon chart, our psychic fields are energized. Use the tidal pull of the Moon in Gemini to communicate with the deeper realms of your awareness, noticing the patterns that formulate your beliefs, in order to prepare for the birth of a New Year.