Astrology for Nov. 14-20, 2022: Where Magic Awaits

Where Magic Awaits

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

A New Interpretation

It can be so tiring, being human – inhabiting an identity, having a biography, carrying so many memories and grudges and sorrows. What would it be like if we were amnesiacs and had no idea who we were supposed to be? How light it would feel, with none of the emotional burdens and limitations that are part of how we define ourselves.

This week’s trine between the Sun and Neptune (Nov. 14, 2022, 7:43 pm PST) offers a mini-vacation from biographical fact. The Sun’s Sabian symbol, 23 Scorpio, A bunny metamorphed into a fairy, conjures images of Scorpio’s magical side the most magical dimension of Scorpio; and in combination with Neptune, the promise that not only is transformation possible, but that it can be a gentle process. With Neptune on the symbol A materializing medium, here’s a moment to conjure a new interpretation of yourself – and then float, downriver, where magic awaits.

An Enchanting Stranger

You can love someone for a very long time, really think you know everything there is to know about them… and then one day, they surprise you. They use a word you’ve never heard them use, or share an anecdote you’ve never heard. And just like that, it’s like being in love with an entirely different person.

When Venus is in Sagittarius (Nov. 15, 2022, 10:08 pm PST, through Dec. 9), we’re enchanted by anything novel, different, or foreign. Especially as we emerge from the long months of pandemic quarantine, in which we memorized every square inch of our homes and every quirk of the people who share it with us, we may be craving new food, new company, or just a change of scenery. Sagittarius is a vagabond sign, too, and Venus in this sign loves to travel, which is only beginning to return to normal.

While Venus is in Sagittarius, we can still gain enjoyment from the unfamiliar, even if we’re not yet venturing far from home. Try cooking a new dish from an unfamiliar cuisine. Download an app that will help you learn a few phrases in a foreign language. Pore over maps and plan future adventures. And keep your eyes and ears open for those happy little moments when a loved one of many years suddenly becomes an exciting stranger.

Crossing the Desert

Any Last Quarter Moon is an invitation to review, reassess, and come up with a plan. The Leo Last Quarter Moon (Nov. 16, 2022, 5:27 am PST, 24º09’ Leo), in particular, wants to frame our individual journeys in heroic terms. Over the past year, how have you been heroic? Have you shown an example of positivity, continued creating, shone your warm light on others who needed shoring up? Saturn in Aquarius and Uranus in Taurus have made this year rough for the Leo spirit; sunniness and joy have been in short supply, and seem naïve even when we can summon them. Saturn’s hard reception to Leo’s warm creativity has been disheartening, and Uranus in Taurus has continued to destabilize the normally unshakeable lion.

But the Leo Last Quarter Moon, of all the lunar phases in the year, is when we’re asked to decide whether we’re going to give up, demoralized, or whether we’re going to move ahead and live with our whole hearts. The Moon is on the Sabian Symbol, A large camel crossing the desert. A camel can travel far over inhospitable terrain, and with strong planets closely intertwined at this Last Quarter Moon, we’re capable of doing the same.

The Jester and the King

At first glance, Mercury entering Sagittarius (Nov. 17, 00:42 am PST) doesn’t seem like a bad fit. Both planet and sign are talkative, interested in the world and in communication. So why, in traditional astrology, is Mercury considered to be in his detriment in Sagittarius?

It’s Mercury’s job to gather information, which includes remaining open to new ideas. But it’s Sagittarius’ job to make sense of information and formulate opinions. The masters candidate has to stop researching (Mercury) at some point and present her thesis (Sagittarius). The author has to surrender the manuscript to his publisher. The employer, having interviewed the best candidates, has to decide which one is the right fit.

Mercury is happy to adopt Sagittarius’ vivid, enthusiastic, jovial communication style for a few weeks – especially as it makes a trine to Jupiter, Sagittarius’ planetary ruler (Nov. 16, 2022, 7:43 am PST). But secretly, he feels sidelined in Sagittarius’ court, where the king has made up his mind and is not welcoming new information. Mercury in Sagittarius is a jester on the sidelines in a cast… too often allowed only to entertain, and not to inform.

Changing into Something That Fits

On Nov. 18, the Sun sextiles Pluto (1:38 pm PST). Normally, the Sun is focused on being ever more strongly itself, while Pluto is insistent on becoming something else, something more. At this aspect, they can find a compromise. What if we make the kinds of Pluto changes that actually make us more fully ourselves – like getting rid of anything that’s false or no longer suits us? Maybe going through your closet and getting rid of what no longer fits our body or our personality? That kind of streamlining is empowering, and that’s just what Pluto wants.

Passion and Persuasion

At this time of year, members of the Salvation Army appear outside our local supermarket, ringing a bell and collecting donations in a big, red bucket. Somehow, they don’t annoy me quite as much as other solicitors. Part of it is the gentleness of demeanor, the happy smile of the Salvationists. Another part is that I number one of them among my friends, and a jollier, more sincere, altruistic person would be hard to find.

It’s a sort of magic trick, isn’t it, to promote or defend one’s faith in a way that invites rather than provokes? That’s our challenge as Mars in Gemini makes the second of three squares to Neptune (Nov. 19, 2022, 7:43 am PST). In the throes of Mars, we may be passionate about something yet lack the skill of persuasion.

Mars’ instinct is to shove petitions in your face as it pleads its case with heated rhetoric. But Mars’ connection with Neptune brings out Gemini’s birdsong and wit, and Mars’ retrograde condition helps blunt (or at least obscure) its aggressive urgency. What looks like a negative transit might actually be the saving grace of this long Mars transit through Gemini – gentling our combative tongues, even while Neptune urges us to promote and defend whatever is most important to us.

Making Our Own Luck

Why do some people seem to be so lucky? Astrologers associate Jupiter with luck, and certainly there seems to be an element of good fortune in the lives of those who have Jupiter or its signs, Sagittarius and Pisces, prominent at their birth.

I don’t particularly believe in fate, but I do believe in luck. There are some people who seem to have a miraculous ability to deflect bad fortune and attract wealth and support. And honestly, I think that’s a function of a positive mindset rather than divine intervention.

As the Sun in Scorpio trines Jupiter in Pisces (Nov. 20, 2022, 8:07 pm PST), on the Sabian symbol 29 Pisces, A prism, luck is in the air, and takes a thousand different forms. Those who look for it will have no problem finding it, even if it doesn’t look exactly as we expected it to; see if you can grab a piece as it goes by.