And a very happy Thanksgiving holiday weekend to you! Even with the potential for travel and communication snafus, courtesy of Mercury turning retrograde until December 13th, this suggestion for the day was to enjoy the rose-tinted emotional depth offered by Moon in substantive Scorpio and a peaceful, beautiful connection between loving Venus and nebulous Neptune, which at its best, can take us into the sublime. After a brief Moon void between 6:05PM and 8:57PM ET, suggesting a nap after all that turkey, Moon entered the high-flying, opinionated sign of Sagittarius, where it will roam until 10:04PM ET on Saturday. Already you may be feeling inspired to set an agenda for the New Moon, exact Friday at 1:10AM ET, that broadens your horizons. So let’s talk about the New Moon, which is especially potent because it coincides with a solar eclipse.
Eclipses halt the normal flow of traffic, so that something new can be born. The friendly policeman who stops cars so that Mrs. Mallard and her fluffy brood can make their way to the Boston Public Garden in the children’s classic Make Way for Ducklings is one way to look at an eclipse. Of course while traffic is stopped, it’s also backing up…and when it flows again, it’s possible that some cars may hit the gas a little too hard. So if you have a planet or point at 3 degrees of Sagittarius (the degree of the Sun and New Moon), you may feel the effects of the release of the bottleneck some months afterward — and it can feel like being blindsided. 3 degrees of Gemini, Pisces and Virgo are also sensitive to this cosmic event (many of the folks making news over the summer and early fall had major planets at 11-12 degrees of Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces — impacted by the solar eclipse at 11 Gemini on June1st — Rupert Murdoch is one example). Where does 3 degrees of Sagittarius fall in your horoscope? That’s the area of your life most likely to be affected.
This New Moon challenges us to review — especially with Mercury being retrograde — our collective philosophy. Law, religion, mass media, higher education and the philosophical foundation of political systems. The Sabian Symbol for 3 Sagittarius is intriguing: “Two men playing chess” a.k.a. “the game of kings,” as Sabian Symbol guru Blain Bovee points out in his must-have book on the subject (I encourage you to acquire this book if you are seriously interested in astrology — it’s on Kindle). What are the rules of chess, a game that requires intelligence, creativity and strategy? There are very specific rules for restricting movement of each piece on the board. So long as the pieces move within those limits, the game works. So what happens if the rules are tossed out the window and the chess pieces decide to roam wherever they please? Hmmmmm…. Think about the objective in chess, which is to check (immobilize, neutralize, paralyze) the leader/king of the opposing side. Why play this sort of game? I’m not saying it’s a bad game, I’m saying this New Moon suggests looking at why we play the games we play — and what the rules are. Do we need a new game? Do we need new rules? Consider how games and rules apply in your own personal world. Do you need to break a few?Make a few? Stop playing? Start playing?
A few reminders for Mercury retrograde — even for regular readers. Mercury gets such a bad rap because we are geared, in this crazy modern age, to always be thinking, doing, moving FORWARD. You know what that gets you? BURN OUT. We need our down times, and Mercury retrograde is a perfect time to give our minds a rest from the pressure of moving forward. Why else would your computer, phone and/or car choose THIS time to malfunction? Because you are supposed to be slowing down!
When Mercury is retrograde, be prepared for travel delays, scheduling screw-ups, mechanical breakdowns, computer crashes, having to repeat what you’ve just said, misunderstandings, people from your past turning up out of nowhere and having to repeat what you’ve just said. Avoid signing contracts, making major purchases (especially mechanical ones) and losing patience. I’d wait before acting on the sensational idea that hits you during Mercury retrograde periods. During the last Mercury retrograde, Warren Buffett claimed he was inspired — on a particularly hazy Neptune day, no less — to invest five billion dollars in Bank of America — signed, sealed and delivered — within 24 hours. If you have five billion dollars to invest and Mercury is retrograde, I recommend a more conservative, less impulsive strategy. Do your due diligence.
When Mercury is retrograde, do also plan on RElaxing, REviewing, REsearching, REorganizing, REgenerating, REconnecting and REcreating. Also consider REviewing your life — with your local astrologer. Introspection and planning are highly favored at this time…and besides, I’d love to hear from you.