You wanna fly, you got to give up the shit that weighs you down.
~ Toni Morrison, Song of Solomon

Dec. 4 ~ SOLAR ECLIPSE: NEW MOON IN SAGITTARIUS (12:21 Sagittarius)

Say hey to Uranus in Taurus in a tight quincunx aspect to the Sun and Moon! (150°)

In addition, the planetary ruler of the New Moon (and Solar Eclipse) is Jupiter in Aquarius, which by modern rulership has Uranus as a benefactor. So, Uranus makes his presence known in a number of ways, making him a rather dominant energy in the chart.

Jupiter, however, is the true King of Sagittarius. Positioned in rebellious Aquarius, Jupiter glares at dispositor Uranus and bellows "You're not the boss of me! Oh wait—okay maybe you are... But only for now!"

Saturn is the traditional ruler of Aquarius and is sitting strong in that sign. Says he, "Actually I am the real boss of you! In case you forgot our conjunction just a year ago in my sign of Aquarius..."

Saturn remains in a square aspect to Uranus (90°), which has largely defined 2021's prevailing energy. On both a personal and collective level, this transit has brought repeated clashes between authority and rebellion, realism versus imagination, rules versus to-hell-with-rules, and discipline versus spontaneity.

Saturn and Uranus are approaching their final exact pass in just 3 weeks (Dec. 24), and although they don't precisely cross paths in 2022, they do come within just over half a degree in October. So there will likely be more of these themes to play out over the coming year.

The Sun and Moon are sextile Saturn and quincunx Uranus, ironically suggesting that our Sagittarius nature (love of freedom, seeking a higher truth, yearning for hope and faith) may find a better ally in serious Saturn than in do-whatever-you-want Uranus. And visionary Uranus may be more of a disruption than a support to reaching a state of higher consciousness.

Say not, “I have found the truth,”
but rather, “I have found a truth.”
Say not, “I have found the path of the soul.”
Say rather, “I have met the soul walking upon my path.”
For the soul walks upon all paths.
The soul walks not upon a line,
neither does it grow like a reed.
The soul unfolds itself,
like a lotus of countless petals.
~ Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet

The Lunar Nodes play a role in the chart—naturally, since this is an eclipse! An eclipse happens when there's a New Moon or Full Moon that is close to the Nodal axis, usually within about 18°. In this case, the conjoined Sun and Moon are 10:38 from the (true) South Node. The South Node is a place of letting go or moving away from what has been, and therefore it's often associated with something negative, difficult or unwanted.

I think this can also be a place where the object of our focus is ready to be moved from the foreground into the background – it's not so much a bad thing as it is no longer necessary to keep it in focus. In letting go of that focus, we create a space in which something new can move in – a new direction, focus, learning curve, or cutting edge of fresh growth.

Mars in Scorpio is also approaching a conjunction with the South Node (exact on Dec. 15, 2 days after Mars moves into Sagittarius). This suggests we are called upon to shed those things that are holding us back, which may include emotional baggage, obsessive persistence, or defensive paranoia that weigh down our ability to fly free.

And Jupiter is square the Nodes, becoming exact Jan. 3. A square to the Nodes sets up a conflict or challenge to what we see as our path in life, which changes and evolves over time as we grow and expand in our understanding of ourselves and life. Jupiter squaring the Nodes may say, "There's something over here, off your usual path, that you need in order to fulfil your potential along that path. Some knowledge or spiritual wisdom, a different view your opinions, or a lost thread that connects you to hope and belief in life." Or, it could say, "Are you sure this path fits you still? Check out this over here and see if it gives you a different perspective and a change of vision."

The same stream of life that runs through my veins night and day runs through the world and dances in rhythmic measures. It is the same life that shoots in joy through the dust of the earth in numberless blades of grass and breaks into tumultuous waves of leaves and flowers.
~ Rabindranath Tagore

There's also a lot going on by declination in the Solar Eclipse chart, both by parallel aspects and Out of Bounds planets.

Naturally, the Sun and Moon are parallel – there wouldn't be an eclipse if they weren't. However, this eclipse is only visible in Antarctica, and partially in the extreme southern regions of South America, Africa and Australia. The Sun and Moon are 0:58 apart in declination—using a non-parallax measurement. (What does parallax mean?) For the Sun and Moon to be tightly parallel, you would have to measure the Moon's declination from Antarctica where their alignment is the strongest.

There's more to the Sun-Moon parallel though! For one thing, Pluto is also tightly parallel them both, as are Mercury and Venus. In fact there's a kind of "Rolling Parallel" – similar to a Rolling Conjunction in that several planets are aligned in a row, and although the first and last in the bunch aren't close enough to consider them parallel they are connected through the other planets in between.

A rolling configuration acts as a kind of Newton's Cradle or pendulum – when the ball (or planet in this case) at one end is activated, the energy flow is passed down the line so that all of them are connected to that energy, including the one at the other end.

In this case, there is a string of parallel planets: the Sun, Pluto, Moon, Mercury and Venus, and even though the Sun and Venus are too far apart to be parallel on their own, the planets in between provide a bridge.

The primary difference between a Rolling Conjunction and a Rolling Parallel is that parallel planets don't have to be (and often aren't) conjunct. In fact, Pluto has a semisquare aspect to the New Moon – 45° or 8th harmonic: a cousin to the square family and therefore focused on struggle and taking action for problem-solving. And Venus has a very tight novile aspect to the New Moon – 40° or 9th harmonic: a distant cousin to the trine family of aspects, and focused on gaining that which allows us to make our efforts pay off.

Mercury is part of the group parallel and happens to be closely conjunct the New Moon as well as parallel. Mercury is in Sagittarius, so it is in detriment which means it's easy for our minds to struggle trying valiantly but perhaps poorly to take in the whole wide field of what is happening around us. And Mercury's square to Neptune doesn't help.

It's like you can see what's there and you struggle to make sense of it all as a whole, but may worry that you'll fall short of a satisfying grasp of it all. And snuggling up to the Solar Eclipse could feel like you're supposed to solve all the problems of the world in one sweeping grand gesture.

No pressure!

To top it off, Mercury and Venus are both Out of Bounds by declination (seen in the above diagram above the "Ob" line). Venus has been OOB since Oct. 9, reaching her peak on Nov. 6, and coming In-Bounds on Dec. 7. Mercury is OOB from Dec. 2 to 28, peaking on Dec. 15. Being OOB means they are beyond the maximum declination of the Sun (23:26 North or South), and as a result they don't always behave like a good little boy and girl that would gain them approval by society.

As a result, your thinking, ideas, intentions, and understanding of what's going on around you (Mercury), may seem out of sync with what's expected of you. Same with your ability to connect socially with others, or your need to bathe yourself with beauty, or your ability to establish a reliable resource for material security – these too may wander easily off the straight-and-narrow and prefer to play by a different set of rules.

So, don't be surprised if you find yourself seized by a kind of wanderlust in your mental focus or your need for interpersonal connection. You could either be drawn to an unconventional direction (e.g. attracted to people you usually ignore or choose to avoid, or exploring an "out there" topic), or to just wanting to get away from it all (e.g. spending time alone, or planting yourself in front of the TV, a book or video games, to give your brain a rest). A good motto here is to remember that soon or later you need to bring yourself back down to the ground again, so it may help to think in terms of how your out-of-bounds impulses can be integrated into conventional society again.

Freedom is not the absence of commitments, but the ability to choose - and commit myself to - what is best for me.
~ Paulo Coelho, The Zahir

In addition, Venus and Pluto are closely conjunct as well as parallel, and this has far-reaching implications. On their own, their conjunction in Capricorn points to an urge to nail down a committed, solid, reliable form of material resources and/or personal connection with others. For example, you may want to make an investment (material or otherwise) that will carry you through difficult times down the road, or establish a long-term commitment from your partner, or you might feel a bit trapped and want to find a way to loosen the bonds a bit.

The bigger story is that Venus is slowing down and getting ready to go retrograde (Dec. 19 to Jan. 29), and when she turns retrograde she is tightly conjunct Pluto. In fact, Venus and Pluto remain conjunct within a 1° orb from Dec. 8 to 28. Although Venus and Pluto can stir up some passion or turmoil in relationships, material resources, beautifying your life, when Venus turns retrograde at the same time the effect is likely to be quite intense, deep or overwhelming.

As a result, you may need to re-examine how you utilize and express love, beauty, creativity and appreciation in your life. Are you working with these themes in a way that truly reflects your authentic self? Or are you mostly going along with what other expect of you, or what society recommends?

Venus remains in Capricorn throughout her retrograde cycle, so all of this unfolds in the context of manifesting something real on the outside that reflects the real you on the inside. Venus will station retrograde the day after the Full Moon in Gemini. There is more about the long-term Venus-Pluto conjunction below, and there will be a lot more about the Venus retrograde cycle in the next update.

Jumping from boulder to boulder and never falling, with a heavy pack, is easier than it sounds; you just can't fall when you get into the rhythm of the dance.
~ Jack Kerouac, The Dharma Bums

There's a lot going on in this Solar Eclipse! It's a lot to juggle and it could be easy to feel a bit overwhelmed, like you're on the verge of dropping all the balls you're trying to juggle. It can help to relax and put yourself into a Zen-like state where you can go with the flow.

This Solar Eclipse chart is like polyrhythm in music that contains multiple rhythms that are distinct yet blend with each other into a mystical nexus. It reminds me of a song by the alternative rock band Dead Can Dance, called Nierika on their Spiritchaser album. If you listen closely, at the beginning you hear a complex percussion rhythm and it's not clear which is the primary rhythm—

—until the amazing Lisa Gerrard starts to sing! Then the stratified levels of percussion suddenly shift in focus and a different rhythm suddenly rises to the top, so that all others are heard within the context of the primary beat. Then it shifts again, and now she's singing in time with a different rhythm, then the percussion comes in with another rhythm again. Some are 1-2-3, 1-2-3; others are 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4; and so on, yet they all cross paths in such a way that she steps from one to another seamlessly. It may sound a bit confusing but if you go with it, not only does it start to make musical sense, it can feel like a magical experience!

In much the same way, this eclipse spawns a complex polyrhythm of different energies, intentions, purposes and possibilities. It may feel complicated or chaotic at first, but if you pick one of the themes and bring it into focus, you'll probably find that the other themes start to make sense in a different way. Pick a different one and it's a different experience and vision, which may feel more pleasing or more eye-opening, more inspiring or more serious, more healing or more triggering, more overwhelmed or more heart-opening.

The question becomes: Where are you putting your focus? Which of the many layers around you are you bringing into the foreground? What kind of effects do the different rhythms have on your? What kind of "voice" are you using that allows you to keep a certain perspective in focus? What happens if you change your "voice" – your expression of what you see in the world? If you are unhappy with your current focus, try picking a different frequency from the many layers that are around you. Your freedom song can be in any key or rhythm, so lift your voice and sing!

Until next time, stay safe. Stay sane, Stay awesome. The world needs you.

Stay tuned! I'm hoping to have a surprise for you this month!!!

Abandon the urge to simplify everything, to look for formulas and easy answers, and to begin to think multidimensionally, to glory in the mystery and paradoxes of life, not to be dismayed by the multitude of causes and consequences that are inherent in each experience – to appreciate the fact that life is complex.
~ M. Scott Peck

© 2021 Wendy Guy. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or used without the author's written permission. Astrology diagrams © Wendy Guy unless otherwise noted. OTHER CREDITS: Most or all of the quotes on this page were found at GoodReads.com. Illustration of current Zodiac Sign based on illustration by iiuliawhite, via 123rf.com. Divider made by artist Gordon Johnson via Pixabay.com. Sabian Symbol painting of The Return of Persephone by Frederick Leighton, via WikiArt.org.