December's new moon marks the end of an era. Since Autumn of 2015 the planet Saturn has been in the sign of Sagittarius and in just a few days on the winter solstice Saturn will ingress Capricorn where it will stay until 2020. Saturn, now at the last degree of Sagittarius leads a stellium of planets through the sign. The asteroid Pholus, the sun and moon (forming the new moon,) Venus and Mercury all follow. 

Sagittarius is a potent sign. As mutable fire, Sagittarius represents the kind of fire that spreads: sparks, embers and smoke signals as well as passionate beliefs, fervent ideologies and religious conviction. Sagittarius wants to expand its knowledge and does so through academic and esoteric pursuits, travel, languages and quests of all kinds. Sagittarius is also the location we look towards to find the center of our galaxy, and in this it represents the cosmic question and never-ending stream of consciousness that we are all part of expressing.

As Saturn completes its tour of Sagittarius and prepares to enter its home sign Capricorn we are compelled to take stock of the areas in our lives where we've been honing our capacities and building our fortitude. Saturn works through challenge, and in Sagittarius the challenges we face include our belief structures, unrealistic optimism, ungrounded-ness, fundamentalism and gullibility. Wherever Sagittarius is in your chart is the area of your life that these last few years have tried and tested again and again. It's the area of life where, by this point, you've learned what you can count on. It's an area of life where now you are more capable, confident and courageous because you've faced the challenges and worked through them. Congratulations!

As Saturn changes signs watch for sensations of sobriety, discipline, practicality and professionalism becoming focal points. Depending on your relationship with Capricorn these sensations may be a welcome change or feel like cold confinement. All of us now will be asked to take what we've learned these last few years and apply it materially. Capricorn is nothing if not formal, real and for real. 

Concurrently Mercury is about halfway through its retrograde cycle and will turn direct on the 23rd. Given the timing of its station so close to Saturn's sign change and new moon, these next few weeks should bring ample movement to any places that have been feeling stuck. Regardless of how things are moving my advice to you is to continue to take it slow and be deliberate for the next few weeks. Uranus turns direct on January 2nd and we won't be out of Mercury Retrograde's shadow until the 11th. Between now and then a lot of information will come out that might be surprising enough to change your plans or at least present you with other options. 

There are some strong, significant aspects to the new moon including a trine from Uranus/Pallas/Eris conjunct in Aries and a square from Chiron in Pisces. I discuss these aspects and their meanings at length in this week's podcast so listen here to learn more about the astrology.

With so much stress in the air, all the holidays bring, and yes... the new moon's aspects, I wanted to offer a guided meditation on connecting and replenishing with source. The last few months I've been feeling a need personally and communally to focus on deep healing. Healing of our lineages, ancestors, traumas, core wounds and spiritual disconnections go beyond our physical bodies but will radically change their habits and dis-eases. This new moon guided meditation, Deep Healing – Connecting with Source is good ritual for the solstice and new year or for any times when you need support to stay in your own skin and keep giving what you do. Please listen and share.

Thanks so much for all your support in 2017! I love learning and growing with you all. It makes me sooooo happy to hear from you so please keep commenting on the blog and Soundcloud, follow me on Instagram and stay tuned on Facebook for regular astro updates throughout the week. I'll look forward to catching up with you next on the first full moon of 2018 on the first day of the year. Much love until then – Renee 

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Listen to your horoscopes for sun, moon and rising signs. Print out your affirmations and keep them with you through the new moon cycle, December 17, 2017-January 1, 2018.

ARIES
The moment when the student becomes the teacher is exhilarating, terrifying and completely necessary. I easily walk the line between endless unknown and confident mastery.

TAURUS
Loving and honoring past conditions gives me the grace to move forward and let go. No connection ever ends but they can and do change. I accept the unknown changes ahead of me and trust that they’re what I want to live into.

GEMINI
Being accountable in my relationships includes being accountable to my purpose and path. I easily navigate the tension of conflicting responsibilities. I model relational empowerment and find freedom in release.

CANCER
I continue to refine the structures of my daily experience to make room for the essence I truly desire. The ways I wish to express myself are available now. I trust they’ll open the right doors and reach the right people at the right time.

LEO
I harmonize the spaces between my intimate/emotional capacity and professional capacity. I recognize that one can serve and teach the other. Taking risks requires internal stability. I take the risk of trusting in stability and watch as the world opens before me.

VIRGO
In the midst of terrifying unknowns and chaotic upheaval I locate sweetness and savor it.

LIBRA
All relationships provide opportunities for revelation and growth. It is my choice to see and respond to them.

SCORPIO
When I ask the question of my own value I receive the answer of my own attention. I produce what I perceive.

SAGITTARIUS
I am the synthesis of all my influences. I, in turn, provide influences for the future. The influence I create comes from my longing to expand and capacity to bring together all the useful parts of what has made me.

CAPRICORN
I am like a snake shedding its skin. Becoming a new form and releasing the old. I love and honor those around me and the old iterations of who I have been. The future flows into me.

AQUARIUS
I question who I am and how I am, and how who I am creates the context of my self-understanding. In the questioning I am fully, and unquestioningly myself.

PISCES
I honor my teachers, their teachers and their teachers. I honor my students and their students and their students. In releasing my need to know I discover revolutionary wisdom.