This year has been an intense ride of retrogrades and heavy planets moving through big energy. The sky is pretty dark these days, and this New Moon in Sagittarius cast a bit of a shadow on the big energy of both the Sun and Jupiter (planet of expansion, excess, and hope, also Sag’s ruler). The New Moon is always a great time to begin new projects and look to the future and to set goals for the cycle. This particular transit reminded me of Disney’s Hercules, specifically the plot point that when all the planets line up, Hades will be able to unleash the Titans and get revenge on Zeus. Some challenging vibes were stacked up over the last few weeks, with Venus then Mercury retrograde hitting close to home for many. In the movie, though the power of the planets alignment causes chaos to ensue, their transit also enabled Hercules’ coming-of-age, the challenge that would ultimately transform him from mortal to God. The intensity of the moment, if embraced, can lead to transformation, new opportunities, and a better understanding of the self. If you opened one more door into your own mind this month, consider it victory.

ARIES
Two of Swords

Growth demands awareness and decisiveness. Setting and honouring the boundaries that protect your heart and your sense of self. When the house is on fire, you quickly learn what is most important to you, only plunging your hands into flames for the things you can’t live without. Against a night sky, let the burning house light your way deeper into the forest of yourself carrying only the things that are absolutely essential to your wholeness.

TAURUS
Six of Pentacles

The only way to get what you need is to ask for it, otherwise love extended to you can feel like an empty action. Be wary of people who take care of you only because they enjoy being congratulated for it. Each time you want to do something for a beloved, like giving a gift or doing the dishes, ask yourself if you are doing that thing because you want this person to feel loved, or if you are doing it so that they will love you more. You never have to prove your worth.

GEMINI
The High Priestess

Transformation is imminent. Remember that a caterpillar turns to goop inside the chrysalis. Remember that shards of you fall off every time you slip out of your clothes, when you shower, when you brush up against others. And new shards grow and grow. Summer child, the winter is your best time to go inside of yourself and dig up the light. Use this time when days are shortest to get deep into the darkest parts of yourself.

CANCER
Five of Wands

You love having people you care about gathered around you, but you also like your space. This season is constantly about discovering social balance/imbalance. There might not be a right answer, you will feel overwhelmed/underwhelmed. You will feel connection/disconnection and affection/repulsion. Let that be. Sleep when you can, check in with your feelings; but also dance through the night, listen to the hearts of the people you are most grateful to have in your life.

LEO
Two of Wands

At the beginning of a new calendar year, the light of the Sun shines through your opposite sign, Aquarius, and you’re looking at its reflection like a landscape in a lake. It might illuminate everything you are about to become. Now is the time to expand and plan, to dream. What is beyond the walls of yourself you have yet to discover? Who are the people you want to meet? Where are the places you want to travel? Get it all down, and get ready.

VIRGO
The Hierophant

Imagine opening the top of your mind like the lid of a box and connecting with the Universe, a direct line to the Divine. Everyday life demands we keep our heads down, watching our feet on the train platform or our fingers on a keyboard. You’re good at hunkering down and getting things done on the physical plane, but something bigger and unseen is calling for your attention. Get rid of the middleman between you and your soul trying to push the deepest longings of the truest version of you to the surface.

LIBRA
Ace of Cups

Try to see things with your heart. Anything can evoke emotion: the way the rain slides over the darkened bus window, the sound of the elevator beginning to move, a familiar name called over a crowd. Let every feeling happen to you. Water takes the shape of its container and so does your mood. When security and peace flow away, create a dam. When fear and anxiety overflow, siphon some off. We are all at the mercy of changing tides, so we’ll have to learn to swim with them.

SCORPIO
The Moon

All of the internal shifts happening through Scorpio these last few months have made for difficult but rewarding work. Luckily, you’ve never been afraid to go inward. The darkness of the Moon and these long nights are asking you to move into the deepest parts of yourself. Whatever came up from the depths is waiting at a table for you inside your subconscious, it wants to have a good, long talk, it wants you to look it in the eye. This is a party you won’t want to miss.

SAGITTARIUS
Judgement

You are being called to become, to expand, to heal, to fill in all the cracks of yourself, to fill out the you-shaped space in the world that is your birthright. It’s a time for listening to signs and signals and your highest truth. There’s something asking you what you want out of your life, and you need to answer it with conviction and discernment. Your voice is powerful, you can call in what you need, you can let others know the best way to love you. Not speaking your truth is the only liability, each risk will be rewarded.

CAPRICORN
Seven of Swords

All great escapes take a team. When you feel that you need to carry the goods on your own shoulders, the heist falls apart. Your problems are better shouldered by your ride-or-dies these days. It only feels like you have a huge burden to unload because you’re under it, when you lay it down and sort it out, you’ll find it’s more manageable. Any plans you make now should be well thought out, talk to your trusted council and avoid impulsively cutting yourself off from opportunities because of your fear.

AQUARIUS
The Chariot

Forward motion can be frightening, like making your way along a dark hallway or sending out your portfolio, or voicing your opinion. How does the sightless plant find the sun? It feels and senses, and takes a very calculated chance. This chance is so routine that we perceive this great risk as a banal reality. Try to see your own growth through the same lens: growth is happening and will happen. Each chance you take is a miracle, but it is also just a part of the nature of things.

PISCES
Three of Pentacles

Love is something you make and maintain. Once the castle is built, someone has to sweep the halls and keep the vines from growing over the entrance. You can’t let new castles become excuses for not doing the housekeeping at the ones that have stood through the rain and the mud these last few months or years. You are the contractor, plumber, roofer, cleaner, and dishwasher of your own relationships, and your friend/lover/family member should have their own maintenance team, too. If an eastern tower has finally collapsed, you’re going to have to decide whether to make some repairs, or do some demolition.