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Astrology for Nov. 28-Dec. 4, 2022: Moving Parts

Moving parts

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

Conviction

Mars makes its second in a series of three trines to Saturn this week (Nov. 28, 2022, 9:56 am PST; the first was on Sep. 27) at 19º42’ Gemini, on the Sabian symbol A cafeteria. Gemini is a sign that favors unlimited variety, and Mars here (since Aug. 20) has presented each of us with an embarrassment of choices – and a desire to keep our options open.

This week, we revisit a recent choice or decision and evaluate it through fresh eyes. Mars connecting with Saturn lends focus, determination, and a sense of total conviction in our beliefs. Now is the time to make sure we’re really on the right track and finalize a decision once and for all – so that we’ll be able to bring at least one choice to fruition when Mars makes it final trine to Saturn in March.

The Story and the Point

I listen to a lot of podcasts. I’m partial to the ones that feature two hosts engaged in rambling discussions peppered with a lot of storytelling. Often, the alleged topic of the episode isn’t even mentioned in the first hour, and I don’t care a bit, because I’m there for the process, the story.

Not everyone loves that approach, as evidenced by many reviews and comments urging the hosts to “just get to the point! Hurry it up, already!”

That sums up the tension in the opposition between Mercury in storytelling Sagittarius and Mars in fact-finding Gemini this week (Nov. 29, 2022, 12:30 pm PST): Which is more important – facts and details, or what we can learn from them, and create with them?

Any planets in opposition are trying to find in each other what they need, what they lack. Neither is right or wrong. They want the same outcome, but can’t get there without developing something of the other planet. Mercury in Sagittarius wants to tell a story, but that’s impossible without the building blocks of language. Mars in Gemini is in a hurry to get to the point, but having gotten the information it wants, what will we do with it?

Moving Parts

I love to travel, but whenever I do, I feel vaguely as though I’m under siege. It’s wonderful to get a change of scenery, yet I live in constant fear of losing things or leaving them behind, as though I’m moving too fast in unfamiliar surroundings and would lose my head if it wasn’t fastened on.

Sagittarius is the sign of the wanderer, the traveler, and the Sun’s annual passage here is suited to leaps of faith and exploration. But as the Moon moves into its First Quarter, in the easily-distracted sign of Pisces, too many moving parts – too many things changing at once – can knock us off our pins.

The Pisces First Quarter Moon (Nov. 30, 2022, 6:36 am PST, 8º21’ Pisces) falls on the Sabian symbol 9 Pisces, A jockey. There’s an urge to move ahead swiftly, confidently. But the Sun on 9 Sagittarius gives quite a different message: A mother and her child on the stairs, with its vision of a mother carefully instructing her child on how to navigate this tricky climb without getting hurt.

The First Quarter Moon always gives the urge to move ahead, instinctively, to take a step forward. This particular one comes with a warning, though – to err on the side of caution, and to avoid doing what can’t be undone.

Nothing Blocking Our View

Venus-Mars cycles are connected to relationship dynamics, and the opposition is inherently a relationship aspect. As Venus opposes Mars (Nov. 30, 2022, 9:28 pm PST), we’re able to observe significant others with nothing blocking our view. What are you seeing about important people in your life that you may not have noticed before? With Mars currently retrograde, this could be a time of reviewing past relationships in particular for clues to how they impact current ones.

Venus is also related to money matters, and Mars to work – so this could be an examination of the role of money in your life; Venus in Sagittarius tends to value freedom over money, or values money to the extend it provides freedom. Mars in Gemini retrograde looks to past work situations and skills learned there to make current work more interesting and fulfilling.

Deep Relaxation

I ran across a headline from (…I want to say…?) the New York Times about psychologists who are reporting a dramatic uptick in patients who are troubled by memory loss and the inability to retrieve names and common words. As it happens, stress and anxiety can also have a profound effect on memory (and tend to be a bit more common than dementia among people in their 40’s and 50’s).

I found this a relief, because in recent months, I’ve been finding it really tough to focus. I move rapidly from one task to another, only to freeze in my tracks with no memory of what I was on my way to do. I’ve found that if I sit for a few seconds and take a deep breath, by the time I release it I can feel myself relax, and I immediately remember what I was going to do.

This week, Mercury, the planet of cognition, squares Neptune, the planet of forgetfulness (Dec. 1, 2022, 5:08 pm PST) – but also, of deep relaxation. So this week, if you find yourself struggling to retrieve details from your brain’s hard drive, the answer might just be to stop trying so hard.

The Tide Comes In

Neptune, when it’s retrograde (as it’s been through June 27), is like the beach when the tide is out. The landscape looks a little stark, littered with ropes of kelp, chunks of driftwood, and birds scavenging for something to eat..

It’s easier to walk on the compacted sand at the waterline, though. And Neptune’s retrograde times seem, to me, to be a time when we walk on more solid ground, with a clearer view of the inner and outer landscapes. And then, when Neptune turns direct again (Dec. 3, 2022, 4:15 pm PST), the tide comes in and we’re pushed back to the shifting sands of the shore – to sit, spellbound, lulled by the sounds of the waves.

Shadow Puppets

Picture yourself in a forest, making camp for the night. You’re luxuriating in the beauty of nature, looking forward to a little stargazing and a quiet dinner by the bonfire.

But it’s cloudy, so you can’t see the stars. And just as you get your bonfire roaring, the skies open up and dump rain on it. You crawl inside your tent and indulge in a moment or two of self-pity. But then you catch a glimpse of your shadow on the wall of the tent, illuminated by your lantern. You remember something your family used to do on camping trips – and you spend a happy hour entertaining yourself by making shadow puppets by lantern light, listening to the patter of rain on the roof of your tent.

When Venus in Sagittarius squares Neptune in Pisces (Dec. 3, 2022, 11:12 pm PST), a particular, fiery pleasure risks being extinguished by disappointment. The challenge lies in finding enjoyment in whatever happens – and fortunately that’s a talent that Sagittarius and Pisces, both ruled by Jupiter, share in common.

Writing and collages © 2017-2022 April Elliott Kent

More about this week’s highlights in the latest episode of my podcast!

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