Astrology for Dec. 12-18, 2022: Crossing Borders

Crossing Borders

Dates and times are given for U.S. Pacific Time zone.

Borrowed Eyeglasses

Most of us have found ourselves, at some time or another, volunteering our talents and energy to a project or cause that we’ve decided is worthwhile. A sextile between the Sun and Saturn (Dec. 12, 2022, 10:12 am PST, 20º41’ Sagittarius and Aquarius) symbolizes this kind of opportunity, and it can be richly rewarding to devote our whole, true selves to something important.

But it might be prudent to pass on this particular offer. The Sun makes the sextile on Sabian symbol 21 Sagittarius, A child and a dog with borrowed eyeglasses, with Saturn on 21 Aquarius, A woman disappointed and disillusioned. What these symbols have in common, on a practical level, is that they’re connected to seeing and perceiving. If you’re using someone else’s eyeglasses, you’re probably not seeing all that clearly and could be missing some things altogether. And that disappointed and disillusioned woman clearly had something different in mind than what eventually came to pass.

Only two days after this aspect, the Sun makes an eye-opening square to Neptune. At least wait until then to decide whether to take on a new obligation.

Crossing Borders

The Sun in Sagittarius and Neptune in Pisces meet in a square aspect this week (Dec. 14, 2022, 9:10 am PST) in Jupiter-ruled signs, both related in some way to travel. The Sun in Sagittarius is a traveler of the world and of the mind, while Neptune in Pisces voyages through the world of imagination.

Even their Sabian symbols at this square evoke images of moving from space to space. The Sun at 22º40’ Sagittarius is on the symbol 23 Sagittarius, Immigrants entering, a vision of travelers moving from one border to another. Neptune is on 23 Pisces, A materializing medium, a figure carrying messages from one realm to another.

This aspect, which forms twice each year, requires that we somehow breach the divide between who we’ve become and a more ideal version of ourselves. It’s a process that begins with seeing who we truly are and acknowledging the circumstances we’ve chosen for ourselves. It’s a surprisingly exhausting process; connecting with Neptune is a kind of energy leak for the Sun, and we may be particularly weary and vulnerable travelers this week as we trudge toward the border between this year and next. Take time to rest and refuel.

Editing the Draft

People who enjoy reading but are not themselves writers might imagine that the process of spilling words out onto the page is as effortless and enjoyable as it is to read them. But in fact, most writers write big, messy, awful first drafts that you wouldn’t enjoy reading at all. Sometimes it’s hard to imagine what you want to say at all until you see some version of it on the page (or computer screen), complete with every scrap of inspiration or half-formed idea, every half-finished sentence and mixed metaphor.

Now, you don’t hit “publish” on the blog post or send it to a publisher or agent in that desperate condition. You have to go back and knit together something comprehensive, address the punctuation issues, throw out what doesn’t work, and generally tidy things up.

While the Sun is in Sagittarius, we write a big, messy first draft of our big ideas and adventurous schemes for the new year that’s just around the corner. The sky’s the limit for our Sagittarius imaginations; our quivers are filled with arrows that may or may not hit their target.

Sagittarius season’s Last Quarter Moon in Virgo (December 16th at 00:56 AM PST) is when we hand this New Year’s plan over to our inner editor, who breaks it down, decides what’s realistic and essential, excises the excess, and tightens the prose. If you’re a little bit of a Virgo type who is used to playing this role with a Sagittarian type friend, you know the resistance and tension in this process. We don’t want to give up any of our Sagittarian arrows. But our only hope of making any dreams come true is to focus, and to decide which scheme shows the most promise. And in this, Virgo excels.

The Last Days of Jupiter in Pisces

This Last Quarter Moon is also our chance to analyze the work we’ve done during the transit of Jupiter – Sagittarius’ planetary ruler – through Pisces. Jupiter first entered Pisces in May of 2021 and since then, has toggled back and forth between Aquarius, Pisces, and Aries. As it prepares to enter Aries for good on December 20th, these are the last days of Jupiter in Pisces until April 2033.

How well have we done with this transit? How well have we achieved the promise of growing in kindness and compassion, of opening our minds to other philosophies, of surrendering the small, mean judgements that tether us hopelessly to earth?

It’s all of a piece with that Sun-Neptune aspect earlier in the week. This is a week of lower energy than usual, made for sitting in front of the fire with an obliging cat and a comforting beverage. Next week, Jupiter returns to Aries, and the Sun reaches its Solstice point and enters the ambitious Capricorn season; we need to gather our strength and gird our loins in advance of those energetic shifts toward dynamic new adventures, and the return of the light.