New moon in Sagittarius

This is on Saturday, the 22nd November, around 12:30 pm (GMT).

The sun and moon will be conjunct at 0 degrees Sagittarius – this is the second in our series of four new moons at zero degrees of their signs. It should be a bit of a jolt!

We're moving from Scorpionic depth, intensity and psychodrama to the sign of freedom and open vistas... So it might feel like walking out of a dark, hot, stifling little room and finding yourself on the open range with the wind in your hair.

As the sun and moon will be conjunct Venus in Sagittarius, the new terrain we are headed into likely has to do with relationships, money, personal values, art. And really it's a wild frontier, uncharted and free. Very exhilarating – but this is the kind of freedom that can make you feel dizzy and dazed - or lost. There are no signposts in a wild frontier. There are no roads to follow - you have to make your own. You may have no pre-existing model for what you're trying to create in your life now, and this can feel disorienting and dangerous. And it can be hard to tell if what you're envisioning is real or a mirage...

“I'm set free to find a new illusion...”

Overall, the tone of this new moon is exuberant and exciting - but the scenario it describes doesn't look particularly easy or light. Saturn and Mercury in Scorpio are also conjunct the sun and moon, holding us in thrall to the past. Jupiter in Leo is squaring these planets, magnifying the tension and intensity of this backward pull. And Neptune, newly direct in Pisces, is squaring Venus, the sun and moon, and Saturn – and this is about siren songs and disorientation.

It's like: OK, you've left your stifling little room and you're walking on the open prairie, dazed by all this sudden light and air. Everything seems perfect and magical, and you're utterly amazed. But your mind is still preoccupied with whatever happened back in the room. You haven't quite left it yet, however giddy with new freedom you may feel.

And therefore, you're in a somewhat dangerous and vulnerable situation – unsteady as a newborn foal. It's going to take some time to settle into the new reality, and you'd better not go galloping off after any exciting possibilities until you've adjusted properly. You could easily trip and hurt yourself.

OK, so how long is this shaky foal stage going to last? What kind of adjustment period are we looking at?

Saturn, lord of time and form, will take another month to grind his way through the last degrees of Scorpio. The last part of this transit could be fairly tough and wrenching, coinciding with the 6th exact square between Uranus and Pluto on the 15th December. He moves into Sagittarius on the 23rd December, the day after the new moon in Capricorn, which is Saturn's own sign. Capricorn is about structure and stability – so this is when you should see your dreams taking on a concrete form. Plans and possibilities should begin to solidify into something real.

Until that solidification begins, hold your horses and don't rush into anything, however much you might want to. People can be very vulnerable to hotheadedness and delusion under these influences - so much Jupiter (inflation) and Neptune (delusion) action going on - and it is imperative to COOL IT and stay grounded.

I think the weeks ahead are for weighing possibilities and dreaming up new ones, and also for working through past issues. It's a good time for drawing blueprints and making sure the designs are workable in the real world. There'll be plenty of inspiration and energy on tap... But the actual construction phase starts later, with the new moon in Capricorn on the 22nd December.

On dreams and plans: we've had two years of sifting through our psychological garbage with Saturn in Scorpio, culminating in an intensely purgative Scorpio season this past month...and with all this behind us, plus these transformative Uranus-Pluto squares going on, you must understand that your old status quo just will not cut it anymore. There is absolutely no point in trying to make it work, or in re-creating scenarios that used to work for you in the past. These times are about radical change, so you have to try something new – maybe something you might never have dreamed of doing.

Dreaming up something new is the best way to roll with this new moon, I think. Sagittarius is about future possibilities, inspiration, conviction, enthusiasm. It's not a pragmatic sign, but a visionary one.  It can easily be misled by enthusiasm, and that is something this new moon is clearly warning against – don't go overboard! Step carefully! Look at where you're putting your feet!

OK, speaking of folly, I want to talk about Neptune for a bit, because Neptune is very caught up with this new moon.  And also he just went direct on the 16th November, after a retrograde period that started in June. With Neptune, it can be hard to tell the difference between forward and retrograde motion, because Neptunian energy is so dreamy and unclear and diffuse. It is inherently deceptive. And as Neptune is in his own sign (Pisces) – well it's a headfuck on multiple shimmering levels.

Neptune is about high delusion – fairy realms and castles in the air - and the disappointment that follows the return to reality. Addiction is also a useful metaphor for how Neptune works – you have the experience of something intensely sweet and blissful, and diminishing returns as you attempt to recapture that state over and over again.

In everyday life, I think Neptune is mostly about disappointment. But it's the kind of disappointment that leads you to the divine, when you realize that nothing earthly – nothing – is going to satisfy your discontent. You hit some rock bottom of degradation trying to fill up this hole in your heart...and then you give up; you give your life over to the Higher Power like they say in AA.

So anyway, Neptune is all caught up with the new moon and with Venus and Saturn also, and in light of this, it's important to really be careful about over-idealizing any romantic or financial prospects, because the kind of disillusionment that can follow idealization is potentially crushing right now. It's also important to keep your ego in check: to restrain your delusions about how much you're capable of. Look at the fool in the picture above. He's so delighted with himself, he doesn't even notice he's walking off a cliff.

Also, be very careful about alcohol and drugs, because they can throw you way off course about now and for the next couple of weeks.

--One other thing: these squares from Jupiter in Leo to the sun, moon, Saturn and Mercury look potentially pretty ugly. Inflated egos, overboard emotions, death-dealing words. Be careful of what comes out of your mouth and try not to be drawn into disputes, because that stuff is liable to drag you back into the claustrophobic Scorpio territory we're trying to exit.

Full Moon in Taurus

Hasui Kawase - Winter Moon over Toyama Plain

This is the 6th November, 10:15 pm GMT.

The moon in Taurus will be facing off against a stellium of planets in Scorpio: the sun, Venus, and Saturn. Taurus-Scorpio axis issues will be all lit up.

Taurus-Scorpio issues have to do with money, sex, power, personal and shared resources, possessions, values. Taurus is about holding onto things in order to create security and stability, and Scorpio is about letting go of what has become dead or outworn. Acquisition vs. purgation. Or anabolism (the processes that build and grow body tissues in an organism) vs. catabolism (the processes that break tissues down).

Obviously, these polarities require each other. Taurus can become overly materialistic and complacent without Scorpio's drive toward transformation. And Scorpio can be all perpetual upheaval and crisis without a bit of Taurean calm and stoicism to ground it.

The scenario we are looking at with this full moon puts me in mind of clearing a space with a bulldozer and then building something new there, from the ground up. We are nearing the 6th exact Uranus-Pluto square, and this is part of a protracted cycle of change and upheaval. And we just had a new moon at zero degrees Scorpio a couple of weeks back, opening up a focused opportunity for purgation and transformation.

By now if you've been doing your work, you are hopefully opening up a space in your life where all your old shit and garbage used to be. What are you going to grow or build there? That's the question this full moon shines a bright light on. What do you want this open space to become? How do you develop it?

Because Venus is tied up with the full moon, new developments likely have to do with relationships. They could also be about money, investments, possessions, personal values – or art. But relationships really are a big focus right now with the north node in Libra.

Anyway, the message here is: there's no need to rush into anything. Taurus is slow and steady...and realistic. Keep your feet on the ground. Invest your resources carefully and cautiously.

There's definitely a danger of going kinda overboard: the full moon will be forming a t-square with Jupiter in Leo, and Jupiter magnifies anything he's involved with. So beware of drama and over-the-top emotional bombast. Stay calm and let things develop slowly, no matter how urgent it all might feel. Try to curb your enthusiasm.

Here are some I Ching hexagrams relevant to these themes: 53 ('Gradual Development') is about the steadiness and patience you need to build something lasting. The next hexagram (54 – 'the Concubine'), is its opposite: it's about rushing things, skipping stages, letting desire lead you into situations where your integrity is compromised. Becoming a slave to desire. Needless to say, you want to avoid that scenario.

There is a real builder's vibe going on with this full moon - solid and deliberate. We have a Mars-Pluto conjunction in Capricorn harmoniously aspecting the moon and the sun, and this represents an intense drive to construct something step by step, and to get it right. I really like the way it looks – absolute determination to build something real and true.

Mars and Pluto rule Scorpio, and are in a mutual reception with Saturn (Capricorn's ruler) in Scorpio – and I think you could conceivably build the Great Pyramid of Giza in your backyard with this stuff going on.

Or a viable new business, or a relationship that isn't as fucked up as all the others have been...

Or the Death Star...

Kidding! What I mean is, you can use this to really challenge and surpass yourself.

That said, Mars-Pluto can be very violent and destructive - it can be the Death Star all right. War (Mars) plus death (Pluto)... and this conjunction is presently squaring Uranus (shock). Please be very careful and mindful of sudden accidents over the next two weeks – especially around the 11th November, which looks like a really tense day.

Drive defensively. If you start feeling full of murderous rage, try to translate it into physical activity – go run 10 miles or hit a punching bag or break dishes or something. Don't kill anybody if you can avoid it, and try to avoid angry people and sharks and rabid dogs etc.

We have Mercury moving into Scorpio on the 8th November, and heading into a square with Jupiter – and with this aspect, you can blowtorch people with your words. So maybe try to be mindful of what comes out of your mouth.

There's a lot of heaviness and intensity over the next two weeks - the stinging tail end of Scorpio season. It doesn't look like the easiest fortnight ever. But it's definitely a huge amount of energy, and I think if you can channel it into constructive activity, you'll be doing well.

We have a new moon at 0 degrees Sagittarius on the 22nd November, and this should lighten things up considerably. It'll be the second in a series of four new moons at 0 degrees of their signs, which is really kind of amazing and exciting. Like a series of magical portals, or phase shifts.

We are doing some focused work in the context of these four successive signs (Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn and Aquarius) over the next few months - moving stepwise from psychological purgation and clearing-out (Scorpio) toward the establishment of a new status quo - something radically new and hopeful (Aquarius).

The overall theme echoes the theme of this full moon: catabolism (breakdown) and anabolism (building). Getting rid of what's outworn, dreaming up a new kind of life, building it in stages. Razed earth and the blueprint for something new, and the will to make it a reality.

I would advise going as deeply as possible into the themes of these signs while each is in ascendancy. Doing your Scorpio work as fully as possible over the next two weeks - however heavy and dark it might feel - will clear the ground for the next phase.

(That means dealing with your shit in a ruthless, focused way. Getting rid of whatever drains and devitalises you.)