Sagittarius New Moon, 2025
Hi friends,
Yesterday, December 19th, at 5:43pm Pacific time, we had this year’s new moon in the sign of Sagittarius.
When I first looked at the chart for this new moon, my eyes were drawn to an aspect between Jupiter and Chiron. Looking closer, I realized that this is the most exact aspect between two bodies in the chart at that moment (other than the conjunction of the sun and moon).
I have never discussed Chiron here before because I have not studied him as deeply as I have studied the other planets. But looking at the chart in preparation for this letter, I felt called to read a little deeper, and to share back with you what I find.
And, to be clear, I would not call what I found a “deep study”, just a read through a couple wikipedia pages and a few astrology websites. I also took a scroll through some astronomy pages, because I do find that the physical nature deepens the archetypal understanding.
So let me tell you a little bit about Chiron, first among centaurs.
Chiron was born to a nymph, fathered by Uranus himself while in the form of a horse. Because of this, he was not related to the other centaurs, and looked significantly different from them. His mother was disgusted by him and rejected him, making him effectively orphaned. But he was taken in and tutored by none other than siblings Apollo and Artemis, and he grew up to be a healer, a diviner, an astrologer, and a hunter. He married Chariclo and they had children together, but he was also a father figure to Achilles and tutor to many other famous figures. As an immortal he never had to meet the end of his life, but he chose to end his life in order to end the suffering of Prometheus. What he is known best for is that though he was a healer, he could not heal himself from the arrow poisoned by the Hydra.
2060 Chiron is a centaur, a designation regarding both the mass of an object and the location of its orbit, created when astronomers realized that they needed more categories (and demoted Pluto to “dwarf planet”). Chiron is the first of this type of body to be located and named. It orbits the sun in a highly eccentric manner relative to the planets. At the point in its orbit where it is closest to the sun, Chiron passes inside of Saturn’s orbit. At the point where it is farthest from the sun, Chiron is in the orbit of Uranus. It has rings like a planet, but is much too small to be a planet. It has a tail like a comet, but is much bigger than what we call a comet. To us mortals, it will be there for time immemorial, but in reality Chiron as we known it will be short-lived, and within the scale of millions of years will be knocked out of orbit and sent elsewhere.
To whom does Chiron belong? He ties together different groups without belonging to any of them. He taught mortals and immortals, he lived with both, and was both. He was not a centaur and yet he was first among centaurs. He is not an outer planet but he moves among them. He is not one of the titans of our solar system, and yet, there he is, in Saturn’s orbit.
In speaking of Chiron, I frequently reference the Leonard Cohen lyric, “there’s a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in”. I think of this lyric because it is clear to me that Chiron was able to blossom even though he experienced hardship. He was able to offer to others the things he was denied. He was rejected by his own mother, but became a nurturer. He could not heal himself, but did heal others.
So right now, with this new moon, Jupiter is very exactly square to Chiron. What does it mean to have this archetype of Chiron be pushed into action by The Generous Benefactor himself? A theme I have been noticing as I work with folks about their experience of Jupiter in Cancer so far (which started this summer and will end next summer) is that this square aspect to Chiron is really making our abundance hard to feel. It seems many of us are having to lose something first, before we can feel ourselves to have everything that we need, before we can experience ourselves as having something beautiful and worthy to offer.
That’s painful. That’s hard. And that’s how the light gets in.
I suspect that as this new moon perfects, we are feeling this signature of Jupiter square Chiron very acutely. In order to be with what’s being asked of us right now, let’s think back to the beginning of this transit of Chiron in Aries. Because Chiron has such an eccentric orbit, he stays in Aries for a pretty long time, a little more than eight years. This is the place where he is farthest from the sun, and he appears to move through the sky very slowly, at about the same rate as Uranus, so he has been in Aries since 2018.
What have you been trying to heal since 2018? What have you been working on nurturing? In what ways have you felt totally alone even as you are surrounded by others?
Aries - there is grief here. I’m sorry, Aries. This is hard. As the sign that gets the most time with Chiron, I have no doubt that you are feeling the effects of this transit personally. As Jupiter shows you what is working and what is not working at home, you are faced with this calling: to become yourself so that others can see how it’s done. Getting knocked down means nothing about who you are, but how you get up and try again, still with your hope and your authenticity intact—that means everything about you. This new moon is asking you to take a moment to pause, to delve into your own self and beliefs and plans before moving onto the next thing. Take a breath now, and allow the moment to supply you with inspiration.
Taurus - something has ended. I’m not sure if you know it yet, but the battle is over now. It’s time to let this go. Something in your close-knit community, something in your neighborhood or your family, something you’ve been asking for is not going to be met. It’s time to release it. If this is a need you have, it’s time to look elsewhere. If this is a boundary that isn’t honored, it’s time to follow through on your ultimatums. This is a wound, and you have the power and the responsibility to move yourself away from this pain. Ask the moon for what you need to help you with this. I’m with you.
Gemini - do you ever feel that you need to buy your way into friendship? Don’t. Be aware of the resources—material or spiritual—that you are spending on your social life. Take a moment to make a plan, to remind yourself of your values, and to be sure that you’re in the right room at the party. This moon is offering you a release of tension, and I want you to direct it towards the place where you need it most. Your partners offer you the needle to pop the balloon. What will you do with it?
Cancer - things are confusing right now. What got miscommunicated this week? Did you have a bright idea at work that blew up? I hope this moon can offer you some reassurance. Maybe even some salve. You’ve been working quite hard, after all, and I know for sure that you need something to come through. Whatever it was you just thought of when I said that—ask the moon for that. Your perseverance will pay off here. Just stay the course, and try to speak plainly.
Leo - there are some deep, long-held beliefs that are terrorizing you lately. And they feel even bigger this week than they did before. But I need to tell you what I told Taurus—you have the power and the responsibility to move yourself away from this pain. This new moon offers you the perspective that you need to escape, and I want you to channel that perspective through a creative process. Meet the moon with a blank canvas, literal or metaphorical, and see what she hands to you as you move through your process.
Virgo - have you put up too many boundaries between yourself and what other people bring to you? Are you missing something that you could be letting in? You have everything on offer from your community right now—can you see that? This is some scary stuff I’m talking about, letting other people in, letting your own feelings out for others to see. But you’re going to need to be brave, because no one else will do it for you, and if you don’t (carefully) take this risk, you’re going to be stuck in here forever. Let this moon nurture you. It shines on you from your roots upward. Let it build your confidence so that you can surprise yourself with what you are capable of.
Libra - the cards are falling in a way that you may not appreciate, but don’t think that you can manipulate them any further than is realistic. They are what they are. Things have changed drastically in your partnerships and in your career. I know it’s tempting, now, to think that further changes could be controlled. They can’t. I hope this moon reminds you of the one thing that is always constant: change. Things can’t stay this hard forever, so let this moon show you how to hold to the good things and the bad things in life loosely.
Scorpio - are you trying to get away with something? Maybe you’re trying to fool yourself about what you can accomplish. Maybe you’re trying to sneak away from some hard work that’s ahead of you, or logic your way out of some responsibilities. But this new moon finds you in a stalemate, caught between two bad choices, and I think it’s likely you will meet someone who is ready to make a really bad decision. I hope that’s not you.
Sagittarius - it is in joining with others, now, that you are most likely to find satisfaction. Of all the prompts I’ve written so far, yours seems the most likely to not be completely miserable in this moment. There’s plenty here for you to enjoy, and plenty of art to be pulled from whatever isn’t bringing you joy. Good for you! Enjoy it! Just try not to get in your own way.
Capricorn - are you letting yourself relax? Or are you still trying to keep up appearances? It’s been a long time for you, trying to make “home” feel right and still having something missing. Relationally you’ve got something expanding this wound for you. They are showing you where you can lean in to a gift. Ask the moon to reveal this secret knowledge to you. Its been hiding away, but it’s ready to turn down the sheets, tuck you in, and send you into the dreamscape. You don’t have to keep going with this big to-do. It’s okay to snip the budget and kick your feet up instead of grinding.
Aquarius - the need to work has hemmed you in. You’re trying to attend to your close-in community, your rituals and prayers, but you’ve got wounds here that have to heal. That’s okay. Your work expands both the good and the bad about your predicament right now. If you need to go be a rebel, go be a rebel. It’s time. Ask the moon how you can move forward from here, with all your authenticity intact.
Pisces - this may be a period when you feel most capable of dealing with the instability you feel in your support system. Your need to express yourself could become your most valuable tool in this quest. This new moon offers you an opportunity to show up so authentically that you can dazzle your peers with your vulnerability. Try it out. See what happens.
Sending you so much love,
Alanna