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agittarius is the simplest and the most complex of signs.  It is the nature of this fire sign to view the big picture.  Let us do so in order to understand it.  The zodiac symbolizes the progressive development of consciousness.  The first four signs, Aries thru Cancer, relate to the development of the individual.  In Leo through Scorpio, the next four, the individual relates to others in their immediate environment.  The last four signs, beginning with Sagittarius, symbolize the growth of expanded social consciousness far beyond the immediate environment.

Sagittarius is complex because it is the last and most advanced of the fire signs.  Here the fiery expression of will must transcend purely personal expression.  An awareness of society as a whole is inherent in this sign.  Sagittarius often takes a simple approach to this new level of awareness, however; for it is the first and therefore the most basic of the final four group of signs.  I suppose many of us have a favorite sign.  If I live a good life this time around, I believe I’ll be born as a Sagittarian next time.

Jupiter ruled Sagittarius is a truly jovial sign.  The root of the word jovial is from the Latin for Jupiter, benevolent big daddy of the gods.  Those of us with planets in Sagittarius have the gift of laughing at and with ourselves, taking personal setbacks with levity.

The Sagittarian mind is broad and high as it seeks to understand the relationship between itself and “all that is.”  Philosophy is embraced, and ethics, religion and natural versus socially made law.  The Archer’s approach however, is simple, lacking in cunning or deception, often without tact.  Sagittarius sets out immediately with a vigorous, humorous, sincerely driven full frontal assault on the truth.

If you want an honest opinion, ask a Sagittarian.  Their opinions are often offered without forethought.  The Centaur’s hoof often ends up in their mouth but they don’t care.  They reveal all the facts, both painful and pleasant, and mumble with a shrug, “Let Capricorn sort them out.”

The sign of Sagittarius hosts some of the shortest days and longest nights of the year.   When we recall that the benefit of electric powered artificial light has been around for only a hundred and some odd years, it’s easy to connect this fire sign to its philosophic nature.  Less daylight for outside work leaves more time for reflecting around the fire inside.   Historically, the crops were harvested and stored away and early sunsets provided time for social gatherings.

Blunt honesty and a straightforward approach combine with open minded, hopeful explorations of new ideas.  Sagittarius is all about the big picture.  Forget the pesky little details.  Let’s unravel all the mysteries of the universe, right here, right now.  Then let’s toast our grand success, laugh about our conclusions, and begin again.  Next time the conclusions will be entirely different; but that’s O.K.; there’s plenty of room here for different points of view.

Sometimes important details can be overlooked.  A typical Sagittarian may stand back proudly looking at the fine, large sky scraper they have just created.  Virgo comes along, taps them on the shoulder and says, “You forgot to put in the plumbing.”

On a deeper level, Sagittarius is about faith.  It’s about the hope in the human heart on a dark cold night.  It’s about the ultimate “big picture”; the real and personal connection between a human and the Universal Mind.  Just who am I and what is my relationship to God?

This sign doesn’t stop here.  Once some idea of spirit is grasped (always implying a leap beyond the normal intellect into the realm of faith) the next concern is to use this wisdom to relate to our fellow humans.  Sagittarius and “sage” come from the same root. 

The Full Moon of December is at 2:30 AM EST on Dec 2.  The Moon is in Gemini while the Sun is in Sagittarius. A broadminded expansion and a general feeling of optimism are likely. In some situations this could lead to overspending and credit card debt. The economy is unlikely to improve before the spring of next year

The tenth of the month will lend an invigorating air to the holiday season. Activities begun now tend towards a successful conclusion and the holiday spirit will increase in happy and healthy ways due to an abundance of healthy feelings among friends and family.

Romance becomes a favored possibility around the 17^th . This is especially true for people born under the fiery signs of Leo, Sagittarius, and Aries. Artistic endeavors are inclined to pan out well for all of us.

The New Moon of the16th, at 7:02 AM EST occurs in Sagittarius. A combination of strong vitality and a desire to expand the heart to include others, forgiving past transgressions and releasing grudges make the next five days good for gatherings and holiday travel (weather permitting).

There are two major alignments this month which demand a close examination.  The first of these involves a very slowly moving fiery warrior Mars which will take a solid stand and turn retrograde at 20 degrees of Leo.  Like many of the well known and insightful minds of astrology (R. Hand, S. Arroyo, H. Sassportas, etc.) I don’t pay a lot of attention to the fact that a planet is retrograde.  However, this particular station of the Red Planet is highly significant in that this is the only time in our lives when Mars will combine it’s forces with the planet Pluto for any length of time for those of us who were born between 1946 and 1952.  

The point at which a planet takes station and appears to turn around, beginning retrograde motion, is a point of power.  The  planet first slows down exponentially before reaching its stopping point and then remains virtually unmoved for some time.  The result is a triple conjunction between Mars and Pluto between now and the middle of May 2010.  Mars backs up from the 20^th degree of Leo to the 1^st degree of this sign before turning forward in direct motion. 

As it moves forward, it covers the same ground it has covered before until finally emerging into the light on the 18^th of this upcoming May.  During this time, Mars is said to be in its shadow period.  People born in the years described, and anyone born between July 22^nd and August 13^th will be very strongly effected.

I’ll try to explain the effects simply.  Let Pluto here be defined as the desire of the Soul to heal from an old wound which may have been suffered repeatedly in previous incarnations.  Let us define “Soul” as that part of us which survives death and continues to send out personalities to experience a series of ever expanding lives here on Earth.  The Soul is not perfect. 

If so, it would be static with no possibility of change.  The Soul seeks to experience everything that life on Earth offers and does not discriminate as we do between good and  bad experiences.  The Soul drinks the bittersweet cup of wine that we have gathered in our life and thereby comes to know more about what it means to be human.  The Soul is multidimensional and its desire is expressed through our personal sub consciousness as a strong, passionate flowing river of desire. 

For each of us the Soul’s desire is different due to the unique quality of human experience.  The planet Mars, in this case, represents the desires and ambitions of our current ego/personality.  The personality is smaller than the Soul and as the flooding river of the Soul’s desire flows through us it is easily bent, sometimes innocently misguided or perverted by our personal repressions.

As Mars aligns with Pluto, our personalities align directly with the subliminal torrent of this river of Soul power.  Our opportunities to create a better world for ourselves; to heal ourselves and move higher into a new level of awareness where joy and vigor propel us toward personal growth, hard work and great achievements are at a peak now. 

We find our true path in life, either for the first time, or again if we have strayed from it.  Great things are possible.  We will most certainly be caught up in personal expressions which, if we are a clear channel, will abide with our life’s purpose.  We’ll know we are on the right track when synchronicity sparkles around us and we find happiness and excitement in our personal endeavors as we make the world a better place for our fellow humans.

If we do not serve as a clear channel for this potent energy, it will be diverted into an egocentric compulsion to gain our desires and will tend to cause us to manipulate those around us “For their own good.”  A period of  power plays will develop and we will find others resisting us.  This resistance can be ruthless at times. 

A few years ago I found myself experiencing a milder form of this alignment in my chart and I ended up forcing my ambitions onto a group of peers, friends and coworkers until they finally banded together and pointed out that I had become a petty tyrant.  I was fortunate enough to be able to see their point of view.  And after some embarrassment and a few good laughs, most of the relationships were mended. 

Today these people are my most loyal and forgiving friends.  I tender this personal note as a classic example of how the ego can be bent and over-expanded by the powerful Plutonian force.

Note that during the time between March 10th and May 18^th of next year, Mars is considered to be in its shadow period.  This will be a time where we will be correcting any imperfections in the changes generated by this alignment.  Mars is retrograde from December 20^th until March 10^th.  Here we may find some delays and apparent setbacks.  Legal situations and personal growth between partners will reflect these qualities quite clearly.

The second strong astrological event comes to be exact on December 21^st.  This is a conjunction between Jupiter and Neptune.  It occurs in the sign of Aquarius and will affect all of us.  This is quite a good event which lasts for a period of several weeks and should leave us changed forever if we respond adequately to its design.  Playing it simple again, Jupiter here is joyful expansion.  Neptune represents our highest ideals and is inclined to be a bit mystical and spiritual. 

What we have is a compelling drive to expand our spiritual horizons.  There will be a thirst to escape the mundane world and to revitalize our methods of personal growth.  Teachers will appear.  Some false teachers may use this period to prey upon our strong thirst for spiritual wisdom.  Keep your head in the clouds, your feet on the ground, and be careful about buying into anyone else’s bucket of bolts. 

Follow your gut, not your heart.  Trust yourself above any other authority and incorporate more efforts associated with personal improvement.  The rewards will make you high.

On a global level, the previously described Mars activity may generate violence in the Middle East or elsewhere with temporary setbacks during the retrograde period and considerable confusion during the shadow phase. It does not bode well for the 50,000 or so troops we will have stationed in the rough country of Afghanistan. 

On the brighter side, initiatives for peace may succeed around the period of the Jupiter/Neptune conjunction.  Life, as usual, will be a mixed bag of tricks.

The Winter Solstice occurs when the Sun enters Capricorn at 12:46 PM EST on December 21^st.  The word “Solstice” combines Latin and Anglo-Saxon roots to mean “when the Sun stands still.”  The day of the Solstice is usually (but not always precisely) the shortest day of the year.  This is the true Festival of Light.  The nights, which have been getting longer and colder, slowly begin to grow just a bit shorter as the days pass.  In primitive societies this was a symbol of hope.  Spring will indeed come again.  There is a balance between day and night.  The increasing darkness does not conquer all. 

Winter Solstice lore is rich throughout history.  The most common thread applies to virtually all cultures which developed through the bronze age in the northern hemisphere.  The birth (or re-birth) of the Sun-King, Giver of Life, Prince of Peace occurs 3 days after the Solstice, on December 24^th or 25^th.  The Winter Solstice is the seasonal root of resurrection religions common the world over.  The Norse God Odin was hung on the tree Yggdrasil; Osiris was dismembered and hidden along the Nile, the Christ was crucified, died and was buried.  All these were resurrected to give peace and goodwill to humankind.

As the Ever Dying One was born 3 days after the darkest night, He is resurrected on the third day after this agony on the tree; bringing new light and life as the Sun returns to make the days grow longer.  This story runs through the temperate zone and arctic cultures where long cold winter nights call for hope for more light and faith in the resurrection of life in the warm spring. 

There’s much more rich Solstice lore available for any student of pre-Christian religion.  I’m personally happy to recommend sources to the curious.

In agricultural societies the Solstice energy gave rise to fertility deities and mystery religions.  The point is the seasonal cycle affects us at our core level.  The Solstice is a crucial point in that cycle.  Hope and renewal of the life force are key concepts.  All things are cyclic.  The world is round, not flat.  Personal growth occurs in a spiral fashion, not in a straight line.

The idea of the dark night of the soul, and that the darkest hour is always right before the dawn, are characteristic of the hopeful nature of the Winter Solstice period. The Solstice affirms that we are all hopeful co-creators as we manifest our beliefs in accord with the ever spiraling seasons of the spirit, of our planet, and of the heart.

Once every year we have a Blue Moon.  A Blue Moon is when we have two Full Moons occurring within the same calendar month and it is a rather arbitrary thing corresponding to the fact that we have 12 months in our calendar year but 13 Lunations occur during each year.  There’s no special astrological significance to the Blue Moon phenomena per se.  However, December’s second Full Moon will accent and focus the issues of the two major transits outlined above.  This Full Moon occurs at 2:12 PM ET on December 31^st.   

There will be a Lunar Eclipse at the time of this Full Moon.  I’ve tried for years to predict the meaning of Eclipses and find that it is very difficult to do so.  Suffice it to say they are a wild card kind of thing which tends to increase the potency of the Lunation, particularly for anyone who has planets (in this particular case) near 10 degrees of Cancer and Capricorn.  Each Full Moon is a culmination as each New Moon represents a new beginning.

Next month:  Low flying USAF F-15 Fighter Jet brought down by angry Afghani camel spit.

Key words for Capricorn are:  ambitious, responsible, practical, efficient, patient.

Full Moon is on December 2 at 2:30 AM EST @ 10 degrees of Sagittarius
New Moon is on December 16^th at 7:01 AM EST @ 24 degrees of Sagittarius
Blue (Full) Moon is on December 31^st at 2:12 PM EST @ 10 degrees of Cancer