What's in the chart for this new moon? This New Moon brings a total Solar Eclipse - which you can see if you're in Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica, the southern tip of South America, or on a boat in the South Pacific Ocean. Everywhere else you may feel it, as a dramatic acceleration or sudden turn of events in the houses it aspects in your chart (where one degree of Sagittarius and Gemini fall). What happened to you during the last solar eclipse at this degree, in November 1984? Lunar eclipses occurred around this degree in May 1993 and May 1994. Previous experiences with this degree can provide a clue to the intensity of this eclipse for you. Since eclipses are often felt in the weeks before they actually occur, you may already know what it's shaking loose! A mere 221,712 miles stretches between us and the Moon now - she's at "perigee," meaning the Moon is closer to Earth now than she's been all year. Tides are high at every New Moon, but given the Moon's proximity, this New Moon could bring the highest tides of the year. I haven't yet verified whether one's emotional tides dutifully follow the swings of the ocean… but if they do, may you ride them well!

Yesterday my dog Jupiter and I had an "eclipse moment." We were walking through the corridor of cottonwood trees along Bear Creek. As we headed home, the sky suddenly darkened, the wind hurried our steps, drops of rain pelted us. Then we heard a loud CRACK… a gunshot? In that slow-motion instant when the body senses danger but the mind remains dumb, the news slowly dawned: a tree was about to fall… which one? Where to run? Would it topple onto our heads? There was a sigh, then a whoosh, and finally a great thud, as the broken tree lumbered down just five feet away. It was huge.

One rarely sees an eclipse moment coming. I examined the felled tree: its trunk appeared two-thirds dead inside. Like most "sudden" events, this one had been in the making for years. But why this moment? I remembered the advice of a friend who once said "Everything in nature wants to tell its story; if you ask carefully, with reverence, attention and offerings, you can learn anything's secret." I placed an offering of leaves upon the tree and asked, "Why?" After awhile the simple answer came: "Because it was time."

The Sagittarius New Moon occurs between what astrologer Gary Goldschneider calls "The Cusp of Revolution" and "The Week of Independence." Even without the added oomph of an eclipse, the latter weeks of November typically churn with a strong chaotic element. Why? Because it's time for that. It's through time's more energetic corridors that we typically shake loose and change. In the month of Sagittarius, it's time to assert your independence, let what's dead fall away. Take new initiative as you gather your spirit towards a personally significant adventure. What time is it for-for you? Your inner spirit wants to tell this story. Ask carefully, with reverence, attention and offerings this New Moon, and if you don't already know the answer, you'll surely learn it by this month's Full Moon.

Your greatest challenge during November, according to Goldschneider, is to focus your energies on a single subject or endeavor-and keep it there. This is particularly true this at New Moon. In the New Moon chart, Sagittarius' ruler Jupiter is in a high-energy, mutable T-square involving Mars, Mercury and Pluto. It's likely you'll feel pulled in several directions. But like the archer whose eye never wavers from her target, keep in mind what you're really trying to achieve.

What should you tend this cycle?

Astrology typically answers "what" questions by looking at houses. Look to the house of your birth chart where the New Moon falls: here's your personal seed bed. This is the place you usually "do Sagittarius." Every year at this time, you renew your quest for a more meaningful life. This is the area of experience that keeps returning you to higher truths. This is where you're a seeker and an optimist. Each year, during the Sagittarius New Moon cycle, you have a unique opportunity here… but you must give yourself the space to wander. Freedom, even if it's just a quiet moment drinking tea all alone, can lead you to what you're seeking. (If you'd like to explore this is greater depth, you may enjoy my seasonal/new moon workshop, Twelve Moons. Email me if you'd like more information!)

© 2003 Dana Gerhardt
All rights reserved