Gemini Full Moon, Mercury Direct in Sagittarius
Dear Friend and Reader:
Most of what I have to say will be in STARCAST, though for the next few days we’re in an exciting interchange of the Full Moon in Gemini at 4:01 am EST on Sunday, Dec. 15, and Mercury direct just shy of 12 hours later, at 3:56 pm EST the same day. By the time Mercury moves to direct motion, the Moon has entered Cancer.
One defining feature of the Full Moon is that Moon and Sun meet Neptune at 90-degrees, in what’s called a T-square. In case you’re looking for such a nifty thing, this is the perfect setup for being absolutely certain and totally wrong.
You would be wise to walk away from any arguments Saturday into overnight, and when we get into squares to Neptune I always flag an alcohol warning. Beware of any rationalization grounded in survival needs; at the moment those are a distraction from a more relevant question, which I reckon is spiritual.
And the most crucial spiritual question of our lifetimes is: what is the impact of total digital infiltration on the human spirit or psyche? How do we handle all this disembodied chaos?
The Sun’s alignment to the Galactic Core over the next few days is encouraging of taking the wide and deep scene, which is not a favorite hobby. Most people would rather have pancakes, or check Instagram.
Venus in Aquarius is encouraging a robotic emotional response, which means distant, detached and intellectualized. That’s a cold prickly, not a warm fuzzy. The human realm, your partner, your kids, your kitties and your canine units, need cozy warmth and love, and that means not just your time but your appreciation. There are songs about how hard it is to say “sorry,” but we need a song about why it’s so hard to say “thank you.”
Mars remains retrograde, and is backing into an oppostion with Pluto that is exact early in the new year; until then, it’s tense with anticpated power struggle. Pluto is nascent in its journey across Aquarius, so think for the many while you’re thinking for yourself. The biggest lie of all is that anyone can go it alone. Those are just words; there is no such thing.
More on STARCAST. I’m planning a new Planet Waves FM for Saturday night, which will look into the curious case of the murdered health insurance CEO and introduce you to a radio old-timer named Jean Shepherd.
With love,
Your faithful astrologer,
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Aries (March 20-April 19) — The question of the hour seems to be: what makes someone a friend? Of those you consider as such, what is the essential element of the friendship? Did they save your life? Do they protect your children? Do they speak out on your behalf when you need an advocate? Do they feed your cats and dogs when you go on a journey? I’m thinking there probably needs to be some measurable or observable quality to the friendship for it to be real. Note that often the word friend means someone to whom we are devoted but who may not offer much in return. It’s good to keep those people in a special category — those who count on you and that’s about it. However, it’s vitally important for you to know who you can count on. If that turns out to be slim pickings, now would be a good time to establish relationships that stand on four legs and where the theme is mutual dependability.
Taurus (April 19-May 20) — The Gemini Full Moon of Dec. 15 stretches across a sensitive angle of your solar chart. The essence of the message is self-respect. This will take different forms for different people. You may determine that any negative emotions you feel toward yourself are baseless, though that is usually just a first step toward claiming your inner dignity. You may decide you must make amends with others, and mend your ways. And if you do, that calls for self-respect. Yet in the end, you must make your own assessment of yourself, and to be real, you would need to encounter some inner discomfort. To have peace of mind, forgiveness must be genuine, and at the same time, that implies actual learning. There is a difference between self-understanding and rationalization. These next few days will be rich with personal discovery, especially about what is truly important to you.
Gemini (May 20-June 21) — The key to abundance is to work with limits. That means focusing on the areas where you are striving for success, and working within a time structure and budget. You might be inclined to go for limitlessness, but that’s going to turn to vapor. You want to capture the heat in a balloon that will loft you and help you; you want to harness the wind in a sail that moves the boat in the direction that you want. You don’t need a lot of wind; you just need enough — and you need to have a destination in mind. Jupiter in your sign wants to go forward in all directions. You can really go one direction, though that will include making significant progress on other things that don’t seem to be directly related. Remember: structure your time, your money and your intentions. And then remember to be just flexible enough to adapt to your environment.
Cancer (June 21-July 22) — There is a dichotomy in your chart, along the love-versus-fear line of thinking. The Full Moon in Gemini could be inspiring, and it can also stir up your worst fears. But that is optional. If you keep your awareness focused inward, you will find that you have rather tremendous spiritual resources to draw upon — though this will involve facing your anxiety and then remembering why you’re doing so. The idea is to keep moving inward until you get to the light at the center. And that light will contain an instruction set for correct action, which will not be motivated by fear. It’s more likely to come with a sense of peace and understanding, and some helpful ideas for how to live. You contain all the knowledge you need. Suggestions are likely to provide a distraction rather than guidance toward a solution. If you need help, you will know it.
Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — You may be feeling the pull to get out and be social (the current Full Moon is rather spectacular for you that way) and at the same time be feeling unusually introverted. You might find that if you get out among people, you suddenly come out of your shell, and also express a different side of your nature. You do not need to be the life of the party. You can always hang out with the kids and the dog in the back room. I would issue a caution against consuming any alcohol whatsoever outside of your own home for the next week, which may be a lot to ask this time of year (but when I issue one of my periodic booze warnings, you can be sure I mean it). There are many reasons for this, and if it’s an issue, bring the party to your house, if you want one.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — Worry less about what you want and more about what you do. What you do of your own accord will tell you about your desires and your intentions, yet without the feeling of being imprisoned by them. A sense of ease and free choice is essential to you now. As often as you need to, remind yourself that what you’re doing is optional, or you have a choice when to do it. If neither of those is true, then present yourself with other options that will take off the sense of pressure. Many face a big crisis or drama over the question of what they want. It would be far healthier for you to proceed in the spirit of doing what you can to figure it out. And you will learn this from inference, from studying the patterns of your activity and decisions, and finally, by listening to what you say you want. So if you hear yourself say you want to be a dancer, then book a dance lesson today.
Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — The Gemini New Moon is a picture of you opening the windows of your beliefs and letting a breeze blow through, and the sunshine in. The problem with beliefs is that most people do not recognize them for what they are: opinions that have grounding in limited experience and very little active investigation. In effect, beliefs stand in the place where the search for truth might thrive. I don’t mean the truth about the Deep State or the Rockefellers. I mean the truth of how you experience your existence and what you’re doing here. This is way too much for most, and going down “rabbit holes” (once the purview of presumed lunatics) is the new substitute for therapy. But really it’s like being turned loose in a potato chip factory and thinking you’ve discovered the truth about food. True personal investigation is nourishing. Yes, it’s uncomfortable, like cutting up an onion, and it takes patience, since really, the onion must be peeled one thin layer at a time.
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — Do you present your whole self to partners? By that I mean do they get the whole story of who you are, what you feel, and what you want? Or perhaps ask the question this way: what haven’t you said? Make a list of those things, and then in a second pass, consider why you have withheld those things from someone you’re intimate with. There are two problems with withholds. First is they smother intimacy. That may be their role; if you are in any way a closet case with a partner, there is much of you that you cannot share and that cannot be reached in the relationship. Ask yourself if you’re more comfortable that way. Second, all withholds come out, and when they do, they emerge in a strange, toxified form that reeks of betrayal. And this is all considered a normal way of life, officially sanctioned by the “my partner does not need to know everything about me” school of therapy. But what if the need is yours? What if you are the one craving being understood? You might find, if you honor that truth, it’s like taking a deep breath of fresh air. And I would estimate that someone you love will feel the same way.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — Mercury stations direct in your sign in a few days. The usual caution to not take action or rush decisions with Mercury still retrograde translates to a potential situation of missing or concealed information. Therefore my suggestion is to grouse around and think about what you may not know, and consider where you lack data. It should not be that difficult to figure out. Consider a few things you think you know for sure, and ask yourself how exactly you know them. Once you do the audit, you are likely to come up with gaps in knowledge or understanding, which I suggest you formulate into questions. Of course, what you discover over the next few days is unlikely to have come up on your initial list. This is a good reason to pause and reflect on your situation — and keep your eyes and ears open.
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Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — There are things about yourself that you don’t know, and it’s a good thing, too. Why else would you need to be on the planet? The thing is, most humans get rather uncomfortable entering any space of the unknown or the uncertain within themselves. Yet this is your destination at the moment, as you are standing right in front of the door to a hidden room that’s about to pop open. Information may come to you through your dreams, through intuition, or through a discovery about yourself that you make in the physical world. It will help if you’re open to learning about what exists beneath the surface of your personality and your motives. But this goes deeper than psychology: you may be inspired to think about what humans rarely do (thanks to massive obfuscation by this thing called ‘the ego’) which is to learn something about your relationship to existence. Note, these discoveries are subtle; please don’t juice it like an orange.
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Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — There is an integral relationship between your creativity and your health. And there is a similar relationship between the quality of your relationships and your overall wellness. Mars retrograde and other factors extending well into the new year will teach you about these things. You will be able to learn more effectively if you have time to yourself, in some solitude, apart from partners. I don’t mean for a year; I mean for a whole day, or a couple of nights, or a weekend. However, I’ve noticed that solitude and introspection have a way of threatening (certain) partners. How has this worked out for you in the past? The first principle of any relationship must be self-care rather than care of the other. They are not mutually exclusive, because to offer yourself to someone, it helps if you’re feeling pretty good. Meanwhile, where do your important partners and collaborators stand on these matters?
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — You don’t need all the answers to take meaningful steps toward developing your professional skills. There is a vast experimental terrain from which all success grows, and you will thrive in an environment of exploring your possibilities. Yet I suggest you do this with focus and intention, and work as if you’re developing a concept in a laboratory and taking careful notes on what you learn from each foray. These can be philosophical lessons as well as practical ones. And there is plenty to learn about yourself. The crucial thing is that you take action in tangible ways, and see what happens. Just because something did not work as expected does not make it a failure. Consider many factors, including your environment, your state of mind, and what information may have been missing. You’ve learned more the past few weeks of Mercury retrograde than you may imagine.
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Extraordinary horoscopes, dear Eric – so deep and healing, much needed right now. Bless you <3