DREAMS AND ASPIRATIONS WITH A NEW MOON IN SAGITTARIUS

Horoscopes for the last New Moon of 2023

As Sagittarius season barrels at cruising speed toward the end of the traditional Western year, we get to partake in all the holiday tropes we associate with The Archer; various halls will undergo bedecking, twinkly little lights will sprout up on chilly gardenscapes, and a dreamy, retrospective new moon in Sagittarius will ask us to examine ourselves with a new, philosophical lens. On Tuesday, December 12th, our moon has some interesting exchanges with several other celestial personalities. New moons are simply conjunctions with our sun, which is why they always occur in the same sign as Sol; this gives us a double dose of the current sun sign’s energy, which in this moment is the exploratory, down-for-anything zest of Sagittarius and his insatiable, fortunate ruler, Jupiter. Concurrently, our moon will be forming a square with Neptune in Pisces, a mild conjunction with Mars in Sagittarius, and a quincunx with Uranus in Taurus, which might allow us to recognize areas of instability in our lives, as well as the creative bandwidth to envision a new way of approaching things. This moon wants us to examine ourselves in a circumspect, non-judgemental way so that we can remove the obstacles to our most grandiose dreams and take small, practical steps towards achieving them, and the intellectually expansive sign of The Archer is the perfect vehicle for a fresh, optimistic approach. 

Read your sun and rising sign to see where exactly this internal examination (and hopefully, a grand, new beginning) will land for you.

Aries/Aries Rising (3.20.23 - 4.20.23)

I’m just going to go ahead and say it Aries…you need to get the fuck out of the house. The word ‘house’ denotes quite a bit here - you might be living in your own head more than anything, remaining safe and comfortable instead of threatening your existence with anything new and frightening. What happens, then, when the familiar takes a turn to the unsatisfying or downright difficult? We need new experiences to continue reviving ourselves, whether that is a new country, class, hobby, profession, or acquaintance, and fellow fire sign Sagittarius is challenging you to expand both your mind and your options. Review the places that felt a bit stale over the past few months and investigate ways to change it up, even if that change might be scary. Nevermind, you’re an Aries - nothing is scary to you. This means you have no excuses. 

Taurus/Taurus Rising (4.20.23 - 5.21.23)

It is possible that your laser focus on self-sufficiency has kept you from expanding your financial and material dreams, Taurus. Your very nature often means that you only let other people get close to you who are just as hawkish, if not more so, about acquiring prosperity and security throughout their lives, so what’s the harm in joining forces? Don’t act like you haven’t envisioned this yourself - merging your power to build and create with someone equally as adept, either in a personal or professional capacity. The Bull often considers asking for help or sharing resources taboo, but it is exactly that mentality that might be keeping you from ascension. Do some reflecting on the last year and consider the people whose habits, fiscal or otherwise, make them attractive allies. Supersizing your abilities with a partner could lead to Bezos-style world domination. 

Gemini/Gemini Rising (5.21.23 - 6.21.23)

Issues of interpersonal communication and trust might rear their head this week, Gemini, thanks to some Neptunian shake-ups in your 7th house of partnership and justice. There could be a lot of double-speak, or perhaps it’s that you are examining past interactions and realizing that some of those were teeming with disingenuous discourse on the parts of other people. Gemini finds it hard to settle on conclusions, of course, especially when they involve the motives of other people, but a reconciliation of someone else’s desires with your own is necessary and inevitable. The imminent retrograde of your ruler, Mercury, is upping the stakes even higher and increasing the probability that you will uncover dishonest or questionable motivations within your inner circle, causing you to autopsy many past interactions. Let this be a lesson to you that what comes out of other people’s mouths is just as important as what you emit from yours. 

Cancer/Cancer Rising (6.21.23 - 7.22.23)

It can be hard for anyone to observe themselves objectively, and it can be particularly difficult for water signs, but that is what you are being challenged to embrace, my moody crustacean. Looking back in time and observing your habits as logically as possible may reveal the need for updates, particularly when it comes to health and daily discipline. (And no, sitting on the couch for 8 hours at a time and only leaving the house once a week does not count as discipline to anyone, other than perhaps the aforementioned couch.) Take this moon as an opportunity to imagine your ideal self - the one who is always punctual, reads all the study material, and still has time at the end of the day to make an impressive, nourishing dinner and get to bed early. What would it take to embody that archetype?

Leo/Leo Rising (7.22.23 - 8.23.23)

People love you, Leo, of that there is little doubt. Your flamboyant confidence and affectionate charisma are a steady source of joy for romantic partners, family members, and co-creators, but there are still avenues to explore that would strengthen both your relationships and your expressive output. It’s not that people don’t have fun when everything revolves around you, they do…but must every endeavor service the ego? Your fellow fire buddy, Sagittarius, wants you to consider new approaches to love and creativity with an open mind that allows a bit more room for other perspectives than you typically allow. By releasing some control and indulging in other people’s whims, desires and fantasies this week, there may be unexpected benefits to your own ego and experience of love.

Virgo/Virgo Rising (8.23.23 - 9.22.23)

You’ve settled into a strict and stable routine at home, Virgo, and it may be engendering a bit of stagnation. Don’t get me wrong, your routines are typically top-notch and the state of your living space is always impeccable, but is that all you want out of life? To check a box of lived experience so that you may never examine it again? Is life on earth simply one long to-do list that sees you having coffee, kissing your spouse, going to work, having dinner, and lightly socializing at the same time and in the same way every day for the rest of your conscious experience? Before you hiss a forceful YES at me, consider that things can always be improved,  but that improvement might require a little imagination and spirit for adventure. Change something up, goddammit. It’ll be good for you.

Libra/Libra Rising (9.22.23 - 10.23.23)

As social as you can be, my judicious air sign, you do have a propensity for becoming a bit too complacent with your current cultural scene. Much like Old Faithful, we could set a watch by the kinds of friends you collect and the social situations in which you settle comfortably, but that means you might be missing out on the fresh activities and perspectives that mingling with total strangers and loose acquaintances can bring. Make a pledge to yourself to stop pooh-poohing any invites or activities that make you uncomfortable, and think about expanding your horizons the next time that total weirdo from work invites you to a clambake, or a distant sibling randomly breezes into town. If anybody can smooth the rough edges of an uncomfortable new interaction, Libra, it’s you.

Scorpio/Scorpio Rising (10.23.23 - 11.22.23)

Scorpio spent much of 2023 examining what wasn’t working and doing the sticky labor of extraction when it came to passion, profession, and people. You’ve eliminated a lot, Scorpio, so consider this an opportunity to switch gears and dream about the things you want to create and add to your life, as well as the ways to make your wildest professional dreams your eventual reality. If prosperity took a hit over the past year, what avenues have yet to be explored as a way to get that money mojo back? Uranus is asking to update your approach, and his transit through Taurus plays well with your need for more greenbacks, so it might be time to overcome your careful reticence and take the plunge into a new, possibly lucrative endeavor. 

Sagittarius/Sagittarius Rising (11.22.23 - 12.21.23)

Exalt in the glory that is you, dear centaur, and allow yourself to dream big when it comes to how you wish to operate and be perceived going into 2024. Your naturally open mind is your most powerful asset, particularly when it is trained on what you wish to eliminate altogether or improve about yourself. If you’ve been toying with changing your look, or taking on a new professional or intellectual pursuit, this moon offers the perfect time to build an inspirational mood board, investigate job opportunities, or sign-up for a class in a field in which you are completely unfamiliar. Resist the urge to jump into any of this action blindly, though - use your grandest dreams as inspiration for more grounded planning, not as a concrete roadmap. Without the appropriate reconciliation of fantasy and reality, you are in danger of running off half-cocked toward some unworkable scheme that will inevitably undermine real progress. (Don’t scoff…you know it’s happened before.) 

Capricorn/Capricorn Rising (12.21.23 - 1.20.24)

It’s all well and good to have the practical matters buttoned up, Capricorn - you are a master of structure, stability, and professionalism. You may start to feel inklings of dissatisfaction with the status quo, however, and desire an exploration of something more profound, more spiritual, even primordial, as you look ahead to 2024. It may be that the closing of a life chapter is imminent, requiring some introspection and future plotting on your part, and an uncertain future always leaves Capricorn with murky feelings of instability. Broaden your horizons when it comes to next steps and try to incorporate just as much intuition and spirituality into the decision-making as you normally do with practicality and consistency. Not everything has a concrete explanation, and the most courageous step you could take right now is the one that has no predetermined outcome.

Aquarius/Aquarius Rising (1.20.24 - 2.18.24)

2024 is already looking novel for Aquarius; for the first time in a long time, numbers will be on your side as large swaths of the culture begin to imagine improving systems and structures in order to serve humanity and elevate the greater good. For you, this new moon marks a preparation period, one for which you have been focused on your entire life, with some successes as well as some failures. Look logically at both and try to unearth the details that made the difference - are there specific areas or techniques in which you are particularly persuasive? How can you present your vision to others in a way that inspires them instead of confusing them? And finally, how can you take your ideas bigger, make them better, and positively affect more people? There is a pretty big brain in that head of yours, Aquarius. Use it.

Pisces/Pisces Rising (2.18.24 - 3.19.24)

Pisces doesn’t normally concern themself with other people’s expectations or opinions, often because they are too busy exploring their own murky depths and ideas, but this new moon has you investigating career options and professional goals that open your personality to increased public perception. Maybe someone said something about your degree at a party once, and now you’re thinking, “Wait, should I have gone to school for marine biology? Was that person right?”  Maybe they are and maybe they aren’t, but it never hurts to honestly interrogate ourselves about our chosen path, or at least try to improve the manner in which we traverse it. This isn’t something you will solve overnight - rather, this is a notion that will continue to pupate over the next month or so as a myriad of possibilities for change wash up onto your shore. Don’t dismiss any of them until you gather more information, even if they are super left-field and weird. Let’s be real, Pisces; the weird ones are probably the ones to which you will be most attracted.