New Moon in Pisces

This is the 6th March, around 4 pm GMT.

The sun and moon will be tightly conjunct Neptune in Pisces. Neptune rules the sign, so this is an extra-heavy dose of Pisces. Beautiful, dreamy, magical, mystical Pisces – which has a shadow-side that is all about addiction, delusion, deception and disappointment.

Here is Kermit the Frog singing a Pisces theme song:

“Have you been half asleep, and have you heard voices? I've heard them calling my name. Is this the sweet sound that lured the young sailors? The voice might be one and the same.” Yes, Kermit you dear little frog, you're singing wistfully about the mythical sirens: half-human monster birds who lured sailors to shipwreck so they could tear them apart and eat them.

And there you have Pisces in a nutshell. At best, this sign is about the highest spirituality, transcendent art, dissolution of the self. At worst, it tries to blur out the difficulty and harshness of life with self-deceiving songs about rainbows – or with fairytale romance, victim-saviour fantasies, drink, drugs – whatever works. Except nothing works permanently. Every mechanism to escape reality only magnifies the harshness of that reality when the inevitable reckoning comes.

So I always advocate caution when approaching Pisces-heavy skies like this one. I don't mean to be a downer, but this is a matter of simple self-preservation. Whenever you hear someone (or yourself) gushing about how perfect and fantastic and amazing and gorgeous something is, that is a signal to make sure your bullshit detector is switched on. Remember if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Especially under a sky like this.

For this new moon, fortunately, the sun, moon and Neptune are beneficially aspecting Saturn in Capricorn, which should hopefully provide some grounding in reality, and the ability to manifest your dreams. Still, it's unlikely to be an easy month. We have Mercury stationing retrograde in Pisces the day before the new moon (5th March). Mercury retrogrades are always frustrating, full of travel and communication glitches. But in this case, Mercury is retrograding through Pisces, a sign he doesn't function well in when he's moving direct, let alone retrograde. Expect plenty of confusion, obfuscation and head-fuckery, and be skeptical about the information you're given. Fake news will abound. Also be careful around drink and drugs. Things are going to get pretty weird, and boundary-dissolving substances will magnify that weirdness and any potential unpleasantness as well. They certainly won't help. (As to what will help: art, spiritual work, and finding something larger than the demands of your ego to serve.)

Uranus also re-enters Taurus for the long haul on the same day as the new moon, and this is a biggie. Expect big shifts – earthquakes really – in love and money scenarios, and to your values. What you thought was worthwhile yesterday may abruptly not mean a damn to you tomorrow, and what you didn't like might suddenly seem attractive. Sudden reversals of fortune are also likely. And the physical structures and routines of our existence – the ground under our feet – is going to be much more prone to sudden ruptures and upheavals. This is something to get used to for the next 7 years roughly. If you think the weather's been weird lately, you ain't seen nothing yet.

You put it all together and it looks like some real WTFuckery will be going down this month. It's the start of something big, but there's no telling what it is as yet! Major, groundbreaking changes will be surrounded by a fog of confusion, misinformation and outright delusion. This fog should clear a bit around the spring equinox on the 21st March, lit up by a full moon in the rational and fairness-seeking sign of Libra.

But overall, it's going to be weird. Try to keep your head firmly screwed on. To quote Kermit: "rainbows are visions, but only illusions". They are only a trick of the light, there is nothing real at the end of them. Be careful you're not chasing illusion instead of engaging with reality.

Full Moon in Virgo

This is exact later today, the 19th February, just before 4 pm GMT.

The moon and sun will be at 0 degrees of Virgo and Pisces, respectively. 0 degrees of any sign is very concentrated and potent energy. In addition, the rulers of Virgo and Pisces – Mercury and Neptune – are nearly exactly conjunct in Pisces at this time.

It's a beneficial melding of Virgo and Pisces themes. Virgo is about cleanliness, order, health, routine and painstaking attention to detail, and Pisces is about spirituality and ego loss. So under this full moon we should be trying to find the holiness in the everyday – ordinary tasks like washing the dishes and taking out the garbage are inherently spiritual. Instead of hating and avoiding these everyday chores, you can approach them with attention, care and mindfulness. Getting your external house in order is a prerequisite to making internal spiritual progress – these things aren't separate.

There's a very transformational vibe to this full moon -- recall that we are still under the influence of the new moon in Aquarius two weeks ago, which was all about breaking free. It's no accident that Marie Kondo's show about decluttering is one of the most-watched things on Netflix at this time, and it fits the symbolism of this full moon precisely.

Now is a perfect time for internal or external spring cleaning and you can make great progress in whatever you set out to do. The full moon is beneficially aspecting Mars and Uranus, which are conjunct. This is like having some rocket fuel behind you, and as Mars is in Taurus, it's a slow and steady burn. Once you get started, you can carry through to the end and achieve a transformation, however enormous the task looks at the beginning. Just start.

We also have Venus, Saturn and Pluto conjunct in Capricorn at this time, which is about solid value in love and money matters. It's not an easy or feel-good influence, but it's definitely something you can use. All this Capricorn can be pretty ruthless about weeding out what is not essential, be it a possession, a situation, a habit or a relationship. Focus on keeping and maintaining only what supports your constructive growth. Remove your energy from what you know to be toxic or stagnant, and if that means allowing certain relationships to die, so be it.

At this full moon, it's important to remember that the motto of the Virgo-Pisces axis is “serve or suffer” - both signs need to serve something larger than the ego or they're prey to a lot of self-involved angst. With Virgo, the angst takes the form of endless worrying and nitpicking; with Pisces it's emotional turmoil and addiction. The way out of this angst is to do something practical and/or to help someone else. It's a pretty foolproof formula.

We are heading into some heavy Pisces influence over the next month, so please keep this formula in mind. Also, it's a good idea to avoid boundary-dissolving substances such as drugs, alcohol and fairy-tale romance. We'll have a new moon in Pisces on the 6th of March, with Uranus re-entering Taurus on the same day for extra weirdness. We'll also have a Mercury retrograde in Pisces beginning the day before the new moon, and running till the end of March. The Mercury retrograde will end on the 28th March, with Mercury exactly conjunct Neptune as he is now.

I think you put it all together and March looks like a real head-melting scenario, with a lot of weirdness going down around Mercury themes especially (that's thought, communication, travel, vehicles, appliances, trade, infrastructure, Brexit talks, etc). So the more you can get things streamlined, clear and functional at this time, the better prepared you'll be for the topsy-turvy weirdness ahead.

Lunar Eclipse in Leo

This is early tomorrow morning, the 21st January, exact at 5:12 am GMT.

It's a total eclipse and a supermoon, meaning the moon is at a near point in her orbit and will appear larger than usual.

Even without all that though, it'd be super intense. The moon is at 0 degrees Leo, and facing off against the sun at 0 degrees Aquarius. Uranus in Aries is squaring these poles tightly. This is a fixed t-square – a tense and uncomfortable aspect pattern, where change is demanded and yet resisted fiercely. You can expect the unexpected, and crazy drama is likely – you're probably seeing it already. People are going to be stubborn as hell even when they're heading in the exact wrong direction, and explosively angry when challenged. The Brexit mess and the American government shutdown are perfect examples of the energy: big attention-seeking egos (Leo) vs. the future of the collective  (Aquarius), with a Molotov cocktail of inflammatory anger and rebellion (Uranus in Aries) thrown into the mix, and no plausible way out because no one is willing to give an inch.

So I'm aware all that doesn't sound so great. But wait, there's more! Mars in his home sign of Aries (where he can be extra aggro and impatient, raring to go) is exactly squaring Saturn in his home sign of Capricorn (where reality is cold, hard and inflexible). Mars square Saturn is not a nice aspect. It's often compared to driving with the brakes on – intense forward momentum hitting a wall, leading to vicious frustration and rage. It's associated with cruelty.

So that definitely doesn't sound so great. You put together the fixed t-square and Mars square Saturn, and it's not the most pleasant picture that's emerging. It's quite harsh - a battle of egos vs. each other and more importantly, vs. a harsh reality that cannot be evaded indefinitely.

But we do have something soothing and lovely in the form of Venus conjunct Jupiter in Sagittarius. Jupiter, like Mars and Saturn, is in his home sign (as is Neptune). That alone is helpful – there's a lot of cosmic backup right now with all these planets in their home signs. But Venus conjunct Jupiter is especially lucky, as these are the two benefic planets coming together. So it's a bright, hopeful prospect, especially for relationship and money matters. The conjunction is squaring Neptune, meaning that hopeful prospect may be utterly delusive, but still – it's nice to have, considering everything else.

The way out of the impasse we face at this eclipse is suggested by the north node in Cancer, disposited by the moon in Leo: get in touch with your heart and your feelings. Not your feelings of outrage, wounded ego and righteous indignation – we've all had quite enough of that stuff, it won't get us anywhere. But your feelings of love and compassion and generosity. Chiron in Pisces also sends beneficial aspects to the eclipse, meaning there is a big existential woundedness underlying all the fixed, opposing positions and gridlock – the deep, impersonal pain of Being. If you can get in touch with that, you might just be able to see your opponent as no different to yourself deep down. It's a long shot, but there doesn't seem to be any other way out.

Rhetoric and analysis and ideology are not going to help – these are functions of the south node in Aquarius, meaning they'll come easy, but they're not what's called for. Cathartic tears, kindness and a change of heart are what's called for.

Also creative self-expression  - being fully authentic to yourself, no matter how zany it seems to the collective. It's great for artists, so if you can make art with it, you're using it well. The wierder the better.

New Moon Eclipse in Capricorn

This is on the 6th January 2019, 1:30 am GMT.

So here we are the first new moon of 2019, and it's an eclipse, which means it's a supercharged new beginning. We also had Mars changing signs on New Year's Eve, from Pisces to 0 degrees Aries, the “Aries point” or birthplace of the whole zodiac. So all signs point to 2019 being a doozy of a year. It's certainly starting off with a lot of heavy, dramatic symbolism.

This solar eclipse is heavy and dramatic for sure – but in a very cold, stark way. It's like being stuck between a rock and a hard place: the sun and moon are wedged between Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn. Saturn is about hardship and karma and Pluto is about death, depth psychology and transformation – so neither of these are fun planets. They are especially not fun in Capricorn, a grimly realistic sign. We also have thought-and-communication planet Mercury in Capricorn, meaning communication will be terse and factual.

So all in all, it's a lot of Capricorn, and Capricorn is about structure, authority, rules and slow, dogged achievement. The Neptune-fueled excesses of the holiday season are over, and we're back on planet Earth. It should feel sobering and real and grounded - depressing even. There isn't a lot of fun to be had here. Instead, there are responsibilities to be attended to and hard realities to be faced.

Shirking your duties / trying to avoid your demons is inadvisable here – Saturn and Pluto reward focus, commitment and going deep.  They do not look kindly on escapism and self-delusion, and if that's what you've been doing, you can expect this eclipse to feel harsh: a stark, painful wake-up call. Time to grow the hell up.

This energy is not a fleeting influence. The eclipse is a lead-up to the big event of next year, when Saturn and Pluto will be exactly conjunct in Capricorn. They will be approaching that conjunction all this year, so this harsh, hardcore energy is something we should all get used to working with.

With Saturn and Capricorn, you get back what you've put in. And with Pluto involved, this is so to an extreme degree, and it applies to the psychological work you do as well as to your outward life. Achievement and progress come from hard work, there will be no magical windfalls here.

So whatever you're starting this new year, commit yourself to it as much as you can and devote serious time and effort to it. The payoff for hard work and seriousness is great under this sky. The payback for frivolity and slacking is also great.

This eclipse is also defined by Uranus stationing direct later on the same day. What this means is it's a big shift in tone – an upheaval really. Change is afoot, and the structure of your life is going to be altered, for good or ill. And you might as well get with the program.

It's not all harsh drill-sergeant stuff though: we also have a beautiful grand water trine in effect between Venus in Scorpio, Chiron in Pisces and the north node in Cancer. This is about healing of psychic wounds via emotional honesty and compassion. Again though, it's not light. It's deep and painful stuff, potentially cathartic.

So this new moon eclipse is a pretty heavy dose. It opens up a heavy month and a heavy year. We'll have Uranus re-entering Taurus in March, where he will disrupt the stable structures of our lives. We'll have Saturn and Pluto moving toward full conjunction in Capricorn all year, and both conjunct the south node of the moon into November – a situation that means the default tone will be stressful, harsh and punitive as established structures fall apart and we all have to pick up the slack.

Remember the north node is in Cancer, so however bitter and emotionally guarded you may feel, the way forward this year is about opening your heart and being gentle and nurturing toward yourself and others.

That might be hard this month, as frustrations abound. January culminates with a shocking and disruptive full moon eclipse in Leo on the 21st. I'll write about it closer to the time, but I think the main thing to do with this new moon eclipse energy is get yourself grounded in reality and commit yourself to the road ahead, even if it looks like an uphill battle.

The longing to escape reality is present in the form of a square from Jupiter to Neptune, exact on the 12th January. This is the first of three: the others come on the 16th June and the 21st September, so it's an influence we'll be dealing with all year. Given the harshness of this year's astrology, I can't blame anyone for wanting to escape into some kind of internal or external Shangri-La. But with the Saturn-Pluto stuff happening in Capricorn, there's really no way out of difficulty but through.

Full Moon in Taurus

This happens today, the 24th October, around 4:30 pm GMT.

Taurus is comfortable, habitual, slow to change. This full moon is not at all like that though. Prepare to be zapped out of your comfort zone.

The moon will be conjunct Uranus at zero degrees Taurus, so this full moon is really all about Uranus. And Uranus is about revolution. Uranus in Taurus, the sign of stability and physical reality, portends a radical shake-up to the structures of our lives: our habits and routines, our values, our possessions, our relationships. It's unsettling.

In this case, the earthquake is likely to come from the depths of your psyche, as you realise that you no longer value things or relationships you used to cling to for self-worth. The sun entered Scorpio yesterday, so we're at the start of Scorpio season, and Scorpio is about depth psychology and death-and-rebirth type transformation. We have a stellium in Scorpio for this full moon: the sun is conjunct Venus in Scorpio, and we also have Jupiter and Mercury conjunct in the later degrees of the sign. That's a lot of psychologically probing and intense energy, geared toward letting go of what's no longer viable in our lives.

The sun and Venus in Scorpio oppose the moon and Uranus in Taurus, and this is all about shocks and abrupt endings, in relationships especially. But Venus also has to do with money and values, so expect lightning shifts in those areas as well. As Scorpio is involved and both Uranus and Venus are retrograde, it's likely that the shifts will be deep internal realisations – sudden “ah-ha” moments that have you re-assessing the structure of your life and what caused you to build it this way.

With the Venus-Uranus opposition, relationships can also start up quite suddenly, but as Venus is retrograde till the 16th November, it's inadvisable to begin anything new – what's begun under Venus retrograde is likely to fizzle out when she resumes direct motion. Old relationships can also come back from the grave to haunt you, and this full moon can be the moment you see those dynamics for what they were and finally let them go. Flux and upheaval around Venus themes (love, money and values) will continue into early December, as the Venus-Uranus opposition will be in play till then.

Uranus is headed backward into Aries, sign of the self, for a final four months (6th November 2018 – 6th March 2019), so we'll have some time to assimilate outer changes into our self-concepts. And Venus will move backward into Libra this Halloween, staying there till the 2nd December – so we'll also be re-assessing our relationships.

This full moon is fateful and has long-range effect, as it squares the north node in Leo and the south node in Aquarius. Anything involving the moon's nodes like this involves a heavy dose of karma: the road ahead is defined by the choices you make now. The way forward is shown by the north node in Leo, which is all about living from your heart, with courage, playfulness, generosity and creativity. The way backward is about shadow Aquarius: a cold, theoretical dogmatism, or using an ideology to justify destructive rebelliousness.

The full moon also beneficially aspects Saturn in Capricorn – again, this is about karma, getting back what you've put in. It also suggests that if you're willing to work slowly and put the necessary groundwork in, beneficial changes can be made, lasting new relationship and money situations can be built.

We'll have a new moon in Scorpio coming up on the 7th November, and it's a big one. Uranus and the north node both shift signs the day before – Uranus into Aries and the north node into Cancer. Jupiter shifts signs the day after, moving from dark, intense Scorpio into sunny, freewheeling Sagittarius. All this represents an abrupt shift in tone – things are going to feel very different, very suddenly. The Venus-Uranus opposition will be heavily in play, sparking sudden shifts in relationships – you could meet the love of your life under this sky, or break up with someone you thought was that. Or both! It's just very volatile. But I think overall it looks pretty good. I'll write more about it closer to the time.

New Moon in Libra

This is on the 9th October, 4:45 am GMT.

Libra is about relationships, aesthetics and social graces. It also has to do with justice, fairness and equality, as for relationships to work harmoniously, the balances of interpersonal give and take have to be roughly equal.

As new moons signify new beginnings, a new moon in Libra can be about new artistic projects or beauty regimens. Primarily though, we are looking at new beginnings in the realm of relationships. And the relationships being addressed here are deep, intense ones. The sign is known for wanting to keep things light and pleasant, but this new moon looks quite heavy and dark and obsessive – potentially uncomfortable. This is some Libra noir.

The sun and moon are squaring Pluto, king of hell, newly direct in the no-nonsense sign of Capricorn. That aspect makes for plenty of psychodrama in relationships. In addition, Libra's ruler (and dispositor of the new moon) Venus has just stationed retrograde in Scorpio.

Scorpio is an obsessive and intense sign, and Venus doesn't function very well here – you get a lot of toxic power dynamics, hidden corruption, betrayal, jealousy, triangles, emotional manipulation etc. You can also get fanatical loyalty and love unto death – it's either the best or the worst of relationship, with no grey areas. But the ugly stuff is unfortunately more common.

And with Venus retrograde till the 16th November, you're likely to have old lovers or friends popping up from the grave, messaging you on facebook or whatever. Or old relationships may reappear in your head for re-assessment. You might gain some clarity on why dead relationships had to end, and understand how to avoid making the same mistakes and enacting the same pathologies again.

Suffice it to say, relationship karma will be hitting hard this month, and it's inadvisable to start any new relationships until after Venus stations direct on the 16th November. (The same goes for making luxury purchases and investments, or re-vamping your look drastically.)

It may be hard to hold off, because we'll also have a square between Venus and Mars in Aquarius which speaks of hotted up romantic urgency and frustration, but if you want more than a fling, wait. If a fling is all you're after, go ahead – but don't be surprised if things get complicated and punishing under this sky. With Saturn and Pluto now both direct in Capricorn, sobriety, integrity, hard work, realism and limits are very important. These grim gods do not look kindly on flightiness or flings. They reward focus and commitment.

We are headed for an explosive full moon in Taurus on the 24th October, the culmination of a very intense month. Aaargh, let's see what happens. It should be interesting. Try not to get your knickers too twisted up before then. Sublimation of sexual angst into some kind of creative work might help.

Full Moon in Aries

This is early tomorrow, the 25th September, around 4 am GMT.

The moon in impulsive, warlike, self-focused Aries is facing off against the sun and Mercury in polite, diplomatic, harmony-seeking Libra. Aries is all about ME and what I want, while Libra is about WE, and the balancing act that is required to achieve harmony between different people and perspectives. So a full moon in Aries is always going to involve the tension between following our own emotional impulses and acting on our desires, vs. restraining ourselves and keeping the the peace.

In this case, the tension is really amped up, because the Aries moon is conjunct Chiron in Aries. This is about a fired-up sense of grievance, hurt and outrage. The full moon is also squaring Saturn in Capricorn, which means there are hard limits, rules and realities to be accepted, and actions have heavy consequences. So no matter how much you might want to throw a temper tantrum, you can't. You have to be a grown-up, abide by the social rules, restrain yourself, and accept reality – OR ELSE.

It's interesting that this full moon comes just after the equinox on the 23rd September, which is a fulcrum or balance-point between light and darkness in the year. There is definitely some re-balancing going on here, especially in the realm of relationships. Something important and binding has to be carefully negotiated, despite our personal outrage and hurt. As Saturn is about karma, expect the relational chickens to come home to roost: there are heavy consequences for our prior selfishness and heedlessness toward others.

As full moons signify culminations or endings, this looks a lot like a very fraught divorce to me. Teresa May and her difficulties in negotiating Brexit with the EU come to mind.

Reality is harsh, and though it may be emotionally wounding to admit you're on the weaker side of the negotiation, facts are facts. All the highly publicised outrage in the world won't change them. Demanding respect when your own actions have been inherently disrespectful is stupid. So is storming out of a negotiation and declaring “no deal is better than a bad deal.” There are times when capitulation to a harsh deal is a matter of necessity, and this is just one of those times.

Unfortunately, there's also a grand cross happening between planets in fixed signs at this full moon: Venus in Scorpio square Mars in Aquarius square Uranus in Taurus square the north node in Leo. Meaning this is a standoff, people are not likely to budge. And with Mars approaching his final conjunction to the Aquarius south node (exact 26th September), there is a real danger of violence at this full moon. Given the tension between irresistible forces, immovable objects, wounded egos and emotional intensity – something's gotta give.  (Please be careful driving, operating machinery, etc, as  the risk of sudden accidents in heightened.)

There are beneficial ways this can play out, though! The full moon is also bound up in a mystic rectangle formation involving Mars in Aquarius and the north node in Leo, meaning things can work harmoniously, you can use the tension to break with the past and move forward into a different kind of future. The north node in Leo, disposited by the sun in Libra is your key. Leo is playful, generous and creative; Libra is diplomatic, tactful and peace-seeking. It's a good idea to try to act from those qualities! Think about whether there are creative ways to get what you want that don't involve blowing up everyone who disagrees with you, or following unworkable tactics off a cliff.

Pluto resumes direct motion in Capricorn on the 30th, which represents a surfacing and purgation of all the dark psychological stuff we've been mulling over for the past five months of his retrograde - like a big zit full of unconscious toxicities coming to the surface to be popped.

And then Venus stations retrograde in Scorpio on the 5th October. Her retrograde will last till mid-November, and will bring her back into the late degrees of Libra. It's inadvisable to begin new relationships during Venus retrograde, or to make major aesthetic changes to your home or your person. But it's the perfect time to review and a re-think your relationships, with a ruthless eye toward the bottom line: the energy return you're getting on your relational energy investments. The balance should be as equal as possible.

We'll have a new moon in Libra on the 9th October. It comes during Venus retrograde and after the turbulent re-balancings of this Aries full moon, and it looks like a relationship re-set.

Full Moon in Pisces

This today, the 26th August, at around 1 pm GMT.

We are past eclipse season now, and this beautiful full moon in dreamy Pisces should feel like a soothing antidote to all that intensity. I really like the look of it.

Pisces can represent a strong undertow into addiction and delusion, but I'm not seeing that here. This full moon is backed up by a steadying grand trine of planets in earth signs: the sun in Virgo, Saturn in Capricorn and Uranus in Taurus. This is very practical and grounding, but because of the Uranian influence it's also full of potential for brilliant innovation.

So it's a beautiful melding of creativity, intuition and dreams (Pisces) with pragmatism, hard work and long-term vision. It should be easy to see which of your plans are workable in the real world under this full moon, as reality will be sharply delineated from fantasy. But the great thing is, there's nothing grim or dull about reality here. It's possible to be wildly innovative and realistic at the same time, and that's what we're aiming for.

In fact, what's unrealistic – and even delusional – under this sky is to think you can stay stuck in a rut and have that work out for you. We are meant to be developing new operating systems for our lives this year. This is not about playing it safe and doing what we've always done, or expecting our lives to follow “normal” trajectories. Those no longer exist, if they ever did. This is about dreaming up a better, more authentic life for ourselves, and then figuring out how to turn those dreams into actualities in our brave new world. It will probably involve being unconventional, but who the hell cares about convention anymore?

Because Pisces is involved, please remember we are adapting ourselves to the flow, not pushing against the current. You'll know what's actually workable because it won't feel like a grinding, teeth-clenched trial, but a natural, effortless flow.

And because full moons signify culminations and endings and this one is in Pisces, a sign concerned with endings – you may have to let go of something before you can move forward. I would say if your plans require huge pushing against resistance (ie, swimming against the current), you should just drop them and focus on what is actually flowing for you. It's not about achieving something grandiose, but using what you have at hand in a creative way: building a tiny house out of salvaged materials in your mom's backyard as opposed to taking out a mortgage on Trump Tower.

Anyway, at this full moon it should be clear what's actually practical for you and what isn't. And then you can get to work building your new life. As of the 19th August, we are finished with Mercury retrograde. As of tomorrow (27th August), we are finished with Mars retrograde. And then, as of the 5th September, we are finished with Saturn retrograde. Things will be moving again! We won't be facing the kind of blockage and delay we've been dealing with all summer. So you no longer have an excuse for slacking - get to work!

We'll have a new moon in practical, detail-oriented Virgo on the 9th September, which should move things along some more. I'll write about it closer to the time. Best wishes for this lovely full moon, and may all your dreams be workable in reality!

Full Moon in Capricorn

This is exact on the 28th of June, about 6 am UTC.

It's not a feel-good kind of moon. It's in Capricorn, a sign which is about authority, sobriety, responsibility. Not only is it in Capricorn, but it is also conjunct Saturn, the ruler of Capricorn.

Saturn is about maturity and earning your keep. He is also about karmic payback – he can reward, but only in proportion to the work you've put in. Not a penny more and not a penny less. There are no sudden lottery windfalls with Saturn – you have to pull yourself up by your bootstraps, inch by inch.

So if you've been staying on the right side of Saturn – being a grown-up, doing your work, living within your means and taking good care of what you're responsible for – you might just be rewarded here, in exact proportion to what you deserve. It's not a fun or light moon, but for you it should feel pretty OK! You'll have a sense of solid backup and you'll know you're on the right track, even if progress is a bit stalled at the moment. (Mars just stationed retrograde a couple days ago, on the 26th, so you can't expect to be barrelling ahead with anything at this time – blockages and delays are to be expected.)

If you're on the wrong side of Saturn I would expect this full moon to be a conclusive wake-up call and to feel kind of shitty. Look to where you've been evading responsibility, behaving childishly or selfishly, or enabling the bad behaviour of others. That's the stuff you have to work on.

The full moon squares Chiron in Aries, which means it could feel painful and wounding to your sense of self. Whether you're on the right or wrong side of Saturn, it's likely that you'll have to absorb a loss of some kind. The necessity of it will be clear and you're just going to have to deal with it, though it may feel like a punch in the gut.

Whenever we have a full moon in Capricorn, the sun is in Cancer. The Cancer-Capricorn polarity is about emotions (Cancer) vs reason (Capricorn), emotional needs vs. duty and responsibility, being the child vs. being the adult. Issues of work-life balance often come up: the domestic sphere vs. the world of work; private self vs public persona. Family issues also come up. So I'd expect some of that stuff here.

The way forward is shown by the north node in Leo, which is about living with creativity, heart, integrity, pride in yourself and joy. These qualities may be feel hard to access under this sober, austere full moon, but please try to remember they're your goal. And to reach that goal, your heart and your sense of responsibility have to be working in concert, not at cross-purposes. Otherwise you get this:

--The current furore in the US over separation of asylum-seeker families is a good illustration of the energy at work this full moon, by the way: heartless authority (Capricon) vs. families and children (Cancer), and a wound to America's sense of national identity (Chiron in Aries). What you're dealing with in your life is hopefully less extreme, but the themes will be similar: an identity crisis of sorts, involving the conflict between your heart and your head.

We are headed into eclipse season now, a time of intensity and accelerated change. With Uranus shaking up the status quo in Taurus, it promises to be a doozy, so be ready for a bumpy ride. (It's worth noting that Melania Trump is a Taurus, and we can expect to see bizarre and rebellious behaviour coming from Taurus folk with Uranus in their sign. That weird jacket was very Uranian.)

We have a partial solar eclipse in Cancer on the 13th July, where the themes of rules vs. emotions will be revisited and intensified. We have a total lunar eclipse in Leo on the 27th July, which looks like a game-changer and a profound shock to the system. And we have a partial solar eclipse in Leo on the 11th August which looks like a proud, inflexible ego kind of vibe. There's a lot of fixed energy in the sky at the moment, meaning people aren't likely to compromise or back down, even if they're demonstrably on the wrong track. I'd avoid waving the red rag at the bull if you can help it!

It's just a harsh, strange time and people are going to be prone to unpredictable aggression. Acting with integrity and real caring are not the easy path right now, but they're the way through.

Full Moon in Sagittarius

This is on the 29th May, 3:21 pm UTC.

It looks kinda mentally jangled and all-over-the-place, but pretty nice overall! Things will feel lively, to say the least. It's an upbeat, sociable time.

We'll have the moon in expansive, optimistic Sagittarius opposite the sun in thinky, hyperactive Gemini. The Gemini-Sagittarius axis is all about information and communication (Gemini), and how we draw the disparate bits of information into a guiding narrative (Sagittarius). It can also be about alternate interpretations, misinformation, and truth vs. lies. When we get a lunation along this axis, we usually see a lot of issues around information and communication coming up, and knowing what's true and what's false can be challenging. So it's fitting that we have the European General Data Protection Act coming into effect at this time, nobody seems to exactly understand what it's about, and there are a lot of scams connected with it. We also have weird reversals in international diplomacy – the US-North Korea summit is cancelled, oh wait, maybe it's back on, WTF is happening?

There's just a lot going on and it's confusing. And recall that this full moon comes on the heels of Uranus moving into Taurus at the new moon on the 15th May, which symbolises a thorough shake-up of the status quo, with long-term effect. Things are in mega-flux, you're probably coping with enormous change in some area of your life, and it's entirely appropriate that your mind should be reeling a bit.

Aside from the fried neurons, this full moon looks pretty nice and beneficial. It's part of a harmonius aspect pattern called a mystic rectangle – this one features Mars in Aquarius and the north node in Leo, as well as the sun in Gemini and moon in Sagittarius, which all together is a lot of air and fire. Air is thought and communication, fire is energy and inspiration, and they work well together. So this is clearly a time of revolutionary new thinking, progressive ideas, excited communication, blazing creativity.

And compounding this theme of accelerated mental shift, Mercury (planet of thought and communication) shifts signs on the day of the full moon. He moves from slow, conservative Taurus to the sign he rules: frenetic, free-associating Gemini. And he'll be moving into a trine with revolutionary Mars in Aquarius (exact 1st June). This means fired-up mental agility and a drive to think outside the box.

At the same time though, we'll be dealing with a yod, which is a tense aspect pattern that speaks of mutual irreconcilables. The focus of the yod will be Saturn in Capricorn, a force for structure, order, authority and conservatism. It looks like the weight of the past and of tradition will sit uncomfortably with the drive for new, creative, progressive thinking. Also, the task this year is to build a whole new operating system for some aspect of your life, from the ground up – and this is tough when things are feeling so unsettled.

Helpfully, we have a grand trine in the water signs forming at this time, as Venus moves into middle degrees of Cancer. It'll be exact from the 1st to the 2nd of June, and it looks really lovely and lucky. It involves Venus and Jupiter, the two “benefic” planets, and also Neptune in his home sign of Pisces.  This speaks of a great flow of intuition, compassion, healing and love. It should feel pretty good.

So if you find yourself confused and unable to make sense of anything mentally, you can use your heart and your intuition as a guide at this time. These will tell you what to put your faith in and which way to flow.

Full Moon in Scorpio

This is on the 30th April, 2 am UTC.

The sun in Taurus will be facing off against a Scorpio moon.

Taurus wants to hold on to comfort and possessions. It's a rooted, habitual kind of energy. Scorpio, in contrast, wants purgation, intensity and transformation. So there's a conflict at work every Scorpio full moon, between holding on to the past and letting go. It's like a cicada leaving its old, flightless shell to take up a new airbourne existence – not a comfortable or easy process, but necessary. You can't move into the future if you've one foot stuck in the past. Something has to be shed and left behind for good.

This full moon, the Scorpio side of the equation – purgation, intensity and transformation – are definitely the way to go. It's all about letting go of the past in order to have space for a different, more authentic future. There is a theme of ruthless, extremely pragmatic culling going on. Whatever in your life is superfluous or non-viable has got to go, so you can channel your energy toward what you really value and want. Building and maintaining something of real, solid value in your life will take all the energy and commitment you have, and you can't afford to waste energy on people, things or situations that drain your resources. You have to erect boundaries around what you care about and defend those boundaries.

Scorpio is all about energy exchanges, particularly psychological ones. These dynamics are hard to quantify, but easy enough to discern on a physical, gut level: if an exchange leaves you feeling depleted or queasy, something is off. The energy balance has to be righted or the dynamic won't be tenable long-term.

It's very useful to do a cost-benefit analysis of relationships and situations at this time: what kind of energy do you get back for the energy you invest (and this applies to work, as money is a form of energy); is it an equal exchange or does it leave you feeling consistently drained and used? If a draining, parasitic situation can be transformed, this is your moon for trying to put the energy balance right. If it can't be transformed, it must be amputated from your life – and this is your moon for amputating. You'll know in your gut what needs to be done, and it will be all-or-nothing. Trust that instinct, cut cleanly and don't look back. There isn't a lot of room for sentimentality here, and odds are, you won't be feeling sentimental.

The cost-benefit analysis can be done on your bad habits, addictions and internal pathologies as well. That stuff is non-viable by definition, and this is a great time for getting to the root of it and cutting it out.

Scorpio's rulers, Mars and Pluto are conjunct in Capricorn at the time of this full moon. This is a very violent, ruthless, dangerous energy, and caution is advised, especially around conflict scenarios. An argument can escalate into a fight to the death under this aspect. Fortunately, it's in beneficial aspect to Jupiter in Scorpio, which rewards deep psychological excavation work. I think this is the best use of the energy, but you can definitely use it to achieve big in whatever area of your life you want to focus on.

We'll also have the Scorpio moon beneficially aspecting Saturn in Capricorn - so all in all, we are looking at a lot of helpful Saturn-Pluto action. It means that what's been hidden under the surface will come to light in all its ugliness and corruption, but that unearthing will feel necessary and beneficial - even cathartic. It will be very hard for us to lie to ourselves about what's actually going on in our lives, or to cover shitty situations in a haze of pretty sentiment. The truth will be laid bare, and uncomfortable as this may feel, the truth is what will set you free.

I think this is a fantastic scenario – very liberating. But if you're heavily invested in your ego, it's sure to be painful. In fact I think being too heavily invested in anything is not a good strategy at this time, because we're in for a thoroughgoing shake-up where fortunes can reverse in an instant. If you have all your eggs in one basket and that basket gets knocked over, what then?

The shake-up is fast approaching. Uranus will move into Taurus at the new moon in Taurus in two weeks' time. A few hours later, Mars will move into Aquarius, in exact square to Uranus in Taurus – this presages sudden, blitzkreig shocks and accidents, so please drive carefully and be careful around machines and electrical wiring.

On a more internal level, the stage is set for sudden, life changing insights into the nature of reality; lightning mental revolutions and breakthroughs; sudden reversals of stuck mental ruts; brilliant discoveries. It looks exciting, but we should all be prepared for some unexpected, and maybe unwelcome, shock and awe. Uranus in Taurus will shake our stolid certainties and complacencies right out from under us.

So I think it's a good idea to get on board with this energy in advance, and use this uncomfortable, powerful full moon to cull what's no longer viable in your life. If you're actively moving toward transformation, you're less likely to feel victimized by sudden change. It'll be easier to maneuver.

New Moon in Aries

This is early tomorrow, the 16th April – around 3 am UTC.

A new moon in Aries is a slate-clearing event and a rebirth. New moons symbolise new beginnings, and Aries, as the start of the astrological year, is about birth. This is the time we see the new spring growth zooming up out of the ground in the Northern hemisphere. It's always a bit of a shock to me how fast it happens.

Shock and surprise are big factors in this particular Aries new moon. It's more zingy with sudden born-again energy than usual.

For one thing, we have Mercury in Aries stationing direct the day before the new moon on the 15th April. This represents a release of pent-up mental energy. There are still blocks on communication, as Mercury will be squaring Saturn in Capricorn for the rest of April. There will be an imperative to be very clear and correct in the way you express yourself, and to rein in your hotheadedness. But it's definitely an improvement on the Mercury retrograde scenario, which involved a ton of frustration and pent-up violence.

The most important thing about this new moon, though, is that it is tightly conjunct Uranus in Aries. And Uranus is known as “the awakener” - a planet symbolising revolution, upheaval and lightning insight. Combine that with the urgency and self-starting drive of Aries, and you get a burst of pure autonomy and bravery.

So the month this new moon ushers in is all about YOU and what you want, going forward – and it's not supposed to be the same old stuff you've always wanted. This is the time to make space for something radically new to enter your life – something which, compared to what's gone before, might look quite weird and unlikely.

To that end, I'd advise a bit of ruthless spring-cleaning – internal and external. You have to get rid of your useless old garbage before you have the space for the new and weird. I think stripping down to the essentials is the way to go here.

This is the last new moon in Aries where Uranus is also in Aries until the 2090s, so it's a big deal. On the 15th May, Uranus will enter Taurus, the sign of physical stability and possessions – at nearly the exact time of the new moon in Taurus, no less. The roughly 7-year transit of Uranus through Taurus is likely to bring a lot of turbulence to the physical structure of our lives: to our money, our possessions, and our values. If you're very attached to your possessions, your physical/emotional comfort, your habits – I think this transit will be pretty distressing for you. You won't be able to hold on to these things. We are in for a bumpy ride, and the bedrock solidities we rely on are not going to hold up so well.

This is why I think it's so important to get rid of what's inessential at this time. It's practice for Uranus in Taurus – the point is to get skilled at letting go of things.

The autonomy and go-it-alone spirit of this new moon is also good preparation for Uranus in Taurus. It's important to get very clear in yourself as to what you want and where you want to go. Having a strong core of self and being unafraid to strike out alone is crucial when the external solidities are no longer reliable.

To that end, I'd advise you to make some sort of artefact about what you want at this time. Aries is visual, so a drawing is good, or a collage made of images cut out of magazines. Put your desire (and it has to be about what YOU want, not what you think you should want or what you want for others) into some sort of concrete, visual form, and then put it away for a a few months. It's surprising how well this exercise works in clarifying what you want and opening up the paths for it to happen, and it is potent magic at a new moon in Aries.

We have a lot going on this month. Chiron shifts signs the day after the new moon, on the 17th April – he's moving from Pisces into Aries, so it's more Aries action. Chiron in Aries is about a wound to our sense of self, a feeling that we have no right to exist – and the consequent need to build the strength to be ourselves and occupy our own space in the world. I think this ties into the symbolism of the Aries new moon pretty well. It can be hard to muster up the bravery to do your own thing in spite of your insecurities. But it's what we'll be learning to do over the next 9 years of Chiron's transit through Aries.

On the same day as Chiron moves into Aries, Saturn stations retrograde. And then a few days later on the 21st April, Pluto stations retrograde. Both these planets are in Capricorn, the sign of worldly status and achievement. I think this denotes blockage and delay in our ability to forge ahead and get things done. Don't be discouraged if you hit roadblocks; use the delay to refine your plans.

We'll have a Mars-Pluto conjunction on the 26th April, and this is a bit troubling. Mars and Pluto together make a focused, brutal energy – a kind of blood lust or killer instinct. It is utterly ruthless in going after what it wants, and you can use this to your advantage, but I'd be careful and avoid angry people and conflict scenarios at this time. Violence can escalate fast, and with Pluto involved it's all-or-nothing, a fight to the death.

Mercury in Aries will square Saturn in Capricorn exactly on the same day, and it looks quite tense – it may be necessary to bite your tongue hard to avoid saying something that will trigger violence.

On the same day, though (26th April), the moon in Virgo will trine the Mars-Pluto conjunction and sextile retrograde Jupiter in Scorpio. This looks very beneficial for internal excavation work: getting to the root of your pathologies and cutting them out.

So it really looks like the best use of this month's Mars-Pluto energy (and retrograde Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto) is to focus on your internal work. Mars-Pluto allows for focused intensity and ruthlessness, and you can put this to work in culling anything in your life that needs to die – relationships, habits, addictions, attachments, whatever.

This leads in to the full moon in Scorpio on the 30th April, where the tension between holding on to our security, staying habit-bound and comfortable (Taurus) will be facing off against an uncomfortable drive for intensity and transformation (Scorpio). I'll write about it closer to the time, but it looks like more preparation for Uranus in Taurus: it's all about holding on vs. letting go.

I think the things to learn this month are: how to let go of what's inessential, which is most things. And how to be centered in yourself in the midst of instability. Both are qualities Uranus in Taurus will demand of us.

Full Moon in Libra

Venus in Aries has had it up to here.

This is on the 31st March, 1:40 pm UTC.

This full moon is the culmination of a particularly sensitive and painful Pisces lunar cycle, and it looks like a doozy – very emotionally raw and harsh. If you can get through it without killing anyone, you'll be doing well.

The moon will be in Libra, where she craves interpersonal harmony and niceness, but things are not set up so she can get it. She'll be part of a cardinal t-square: a tense, uncomfortable aspect pattern that necessitates movement and change.

The opposite pole of this t-square will be in fiery, warlike Aries, where the sun and Mercury will be conjunct. This represents a fierce, aggressive drive for self-expression – but with Mercury retrograde till mid-April, communication is likely to be frustrated or blocked.

The other part of the triangle is Mars conjunct Saturn in Capricorn (exact on the 2nd April). This is a tough aspect. Mars is about forward drive, and Saturn is about blocks and delays – so it's like momentum hitting a wall. Fortunately, both planets are well placed in Capricorn, so you could read this positively, as representing a rock-solid work ethic: an enduring (Saturn) drive (Mars) to achieve (Capricorn).

But however positive a spin you try to put on it, it's part of a cardinal t-square involving the moon (emotions), and it's unlikely to feel good. Jagged, frustrated and angry, more like. And as Libra is all about relationships, whatever happens this full moon is likely to play out as interpersonal conflict.

Libra is ruled by love and money planet Venus, and Venus has been stressed over the past month. She entered fiery, impulsive Aries on the 6th March, only to run into a frustrating square with Saturn (exact 13th March). This was about blockage of desire, and stagnation in love and money matters – very testing and dour. But worse was to come: Venus moved from that loveless square into a square with Pluto in Capricorn (exact 23rd March) – and this is some truly nasty stuff, full of the potential for manipulation, betrayal and power games.

And then just ahead of the full moon, we saw Venus conjunct Uranus (exact 29th March), which is about bright new doors opening – but also other doors shutting abruptly. The Venus symbolism over the past month couldn't be clearer – first a lack of fulfillment (Venus square Saturn), then an eruption of ugliness (Venus square Pluto), then she's out the door (Venus conjunct Uranus). And then the culmination: this Venus-ruled full moon which is all about love and war – very angry and raw.

So to say the past month has been rough on relationships is probably an understatement. But after this full moon, we are hopefully past the worst of the rapids. Venus has already moved into Taurus, where she calms down and stops associating love with fighting. And we'll have a new moon in Aries on the 16th April, which marks the start of the astrological year - it looks like a radical re-boot, the start of a whole new chapter. Change is coming!

So whatever rottenness is happening in your life, rest assured things are going to get better – and probably weirder too, which is not a bad thing. And if something you value or want is being taken away from you at this time, wait a bit. A little further down the road, you might just realize it was something holding you back.

Full Moon in Virgo

This is tonight, the 2nd March, about 12:50 am UTC

Virgo is the sign of fact-checking, order and discrimination, and we are really going to need that focused attention to reality here, because we have a big stellium in sensitive, dreamy Pisces: the sun, Neptune, Mercury, Venus and Chiron – and this is very foggy, and potentially delusive and self-defeating. It's going to be hard to know what's true and what's false at this time – reality is blanked out. (This is literally true where I live. We are having a freak snowstorm, with white-out conditions predicted for tonight.)

With all these planets in Pisces, it'll be a task to see clearly and not be carried away by emotion. Thankfully, we have the moon in Virgo, which is organized, grounded, nitpicky and analytical. This can help us sort out fact from fiction.

We also have Jupiter in Scorpio beneficially aspecting this Pisces stellium, and this is really helpful. Jupiter in Scorpio is an intuitive bullshit detector, so you can rely on your intuition and “gut feeling” as a guide at this time.

Often when you have this many planets in Pisces, it feels like a mess: swampy and muddled. But the outlook at this full moon is much better than that. This is partly because of the involvement of Jupiter, the great benefic, and partly because of helpful aspects from Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn. Saturn is serious, Pluto is deep, and Capricorn is all about structure and stability – so having these planets supporting the Pisces stellium is a stabilising influence.

All in all, I think this full moon should feel lovely, in a huge, swirling, ethereal way. Like a big romantic snowstorm. It's a nice influence for artists especially - very inspired. And having faith in the larger design will be beneficial: magic is real, and things can come together in ways you can't predict or control. You can trust that going with the flow will take you somewhere interesting.

That said, it's very important to hold onto your grip on reality and pay attention to the details. Don't go overboard with enthusiasm. Pisces always carries the potential for disappointment, delusion and loss, so it's imperative to stay clear-headed and realistic as much as you can. And it's probably a good idea to avoid alcohol and drugs as well, because it's easy to get swept away by addictive impulses at this time. Do your healthy Virgo stuff instead: clean the house, organise your stuff, drink some carrot juice.

We'll have a new moon in Pisces on the 17th March, and it ushers in a sensitive, touchy month, where it looks like it will be easy to wound or be wounded, so caution is advised. I'll write more about that closer to the date.

New Moon in Capricorn

This is early tomorrow, the 17th January. It's exact at 2:15 am UTC.

We have a big stellium in Capricorn for this: the sun, moon,Venus and Pluto are conjunct in the later part of the sign, and Mercury, Lilith and Saturn are conjunct at the beginning. It's a serious dose of a very serious, work-and-achievement focused sign. We are at the start of a long uphill climb.

New moons represent new beginnings, and this is our first new moon of 2018, and the first with Saturn in his home sign of Capricorn. The symbolism is of a sober, intensely pragmatic new start, especially as regards love and money matters. This is the right time to begin something – but it has to be something grounded in the real world, not fantasy. Capricorn works with the world as it is, not as we'd like it to be. What's valuable to this sign is what's solid, tangible and secure, and what's built slowly and carefully, step by step. Rome wasn't built in a day.

With Saturn in Capricorn, we are working to create solid foundations for future security. And I mean WORKING – Saturn rewards effort. You get back what you put in and there's no such thing as a free lunch.

Mars and Jupiter in Scorpio beneficially aspect this new moon, meaning there's a lot of very focused energy to be poured into new projects, and big potential gains to be had.

But Uranus squares the new moon from the end of Aries, and this denotes disruption. Don't expect things to run easily – there will be blockages, shocks and setbacks. But if you're willing to work with them, they can lead to beneficial adaptations to changed circumstances.

The point of the Uranus square is innovation, which can be difficult for traditionalist Capricorn. But doing the same old thing the same old way will not work anymore – we are rewriting the rule-book.

We saw this breakaway Uranian influence at the full moon in Cancer two weeks ago, and it continues for this new moon. We'll be dealing with the conflict between following established rules vs. creating an entirely new operating system all this year.

As at the Cancer full moon, this applies to women especially. We have Venus and the moon squaring Uranus, and Lilith conjunct Mercury and Saturn in Capricorn. That's a lot of fed-up, enraged female energy – but it's also articulate, independent, authoritative and decisive. There is a theme of women examining their relationship with authority and power, and taking responsibility for their own security.

Mary Beard is my mascot for this new moon – she embodies this energy. She's a classical scholar – very Capricorn – who has brought the world of ancient Rome to life in documentaries aimed at a popular audience, and with an emphasis on the lives of ordinary people – very innovative and Uranian. She is also a Lilith figure, a target of vicious misogynist bullying and derision because of her refusal to conform to societal beauty standards – and she has made a point of standing up to the bullies and exposing them. She also published a book on women and power last year. More power to her.

The stellium in Capricorn at this new moon gives a serious emotional tone to the month ahead – but the moon, Venus and the sun will be moving into Uranus-ruled Aquarius over the next week. Also Mars shifts signs on the 26th January, from dark Scorpio to happy-go-lucky Sagittarius. So it's not all heaviness and gloom. Things should start to feel lighter and zingier as we move toward the full moon in Leo on the 31st January, which looks a bit revelatory and surprising! I'll write about it closer to the time.

Full Moon in Cancer

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_of_Baza

This is on the 2nd January, 2:25 am UTC.

It's the first lunation of 2018, and a beautiful, strong start to the year.

The moon in her own sign of Cancer will be part of a grand trine in the water signs involving Mars and Jupiter in Scorpio and Neptune in Pisces. This represents some profound, cathartic emotional stuff.

If that were all, it'd be nice but unfocused – just kind of turbulently emotional and sentimental. But this grand water trine is also part of a kite formation involving the sun, Venus and Pluto – in Capricorn, sign of structure, rules and authority. So clearly, this is emotion that can be powerfully directed toward achieving something of great practical value for yourself.

And it involves a changing of the guard – an internal revolution. Uranus stations direct in Aries, sign of bravery and raw selfhood, 12 hours later on the same day as the full moon is exact.

We are still in the lunar cycle opened by the new moon in Sagittarius two weeks ago, and it's a humdinger. It's all about graduating to another level – and this full moon represents the moment where things click internally. Emotional clarity about the road ahead is at hand – you'll get a feeling for what will be required of you.

It's definitely not about repeating the same old played-out stories (especially re. love and money). It's about setting solid foundations for a different, truer kind of life. There is a breakout energy to this - in addition to Uranus shifting direction, we also have Lilith, representing female rage and rebellion conjunct the sun and Venus in Capricorn. So this is an important full moon for women especially, and it's about breaking out of stereotypical female roles (nurturer, mother, nurse etc), reclaiming power, standing up for what YOU want for a change, and not caring if you're called a bitch for it!

Recall that Saturn switched signs just after the new moon – and now at the full moon, we have Uranus stationing direct. Saturn is about structure and rules, and Uranus is about novelty and rebellion – so these shifts signify the start of a new order. It's a big theme of 2018, and Uranus and Saturn will be working in tandem through the year to ground the (potentially shocking and uncomfortable) changes.

With Saturn now in Capricorn, it's time to stop pontificating and start building. It's not about your philosophy or your dreams anymore – it's about what works in the real world. It's time to act like a grown up and get real about what you desire, what you actually need for security at the most basic level, and what you can realistically achieve. No frippery or dreamy bullshit – we are not in pie-in-the-sky land anymore.

And given the turbulent emotionalism of a full moon in Cancer, please remember that you're not a child. You're an adult with responsibilities, and your first responsibility is to take care of yourself, because you're no good to anyone else otherwise.

Boundaries, standards, realism, independence, integrity and WORK. These are your Saturn in Capricorn keywords. The sky is emphasising these themes right now, and it's going to get even more stripped-down and real in the months ahead. We have four planets in Capricorn now (Saturn, Venus, the sun and Pluto), but for the new moon in Capricorn on the 17th January, Mercury and the moon will be there as well. That's a very heavy dose of a very heavy sign.

Things might feel harsh and dull for the next couple of months, as reality sets in. Keep your nose to the grindstone and your eyes on the prize. Saturn will help you achieve whatever you're looking to achieve – provided it's realistic, and provided you work for it. Progress may be slow and full of setbacks, but it'll happen.

Happy new year!!

New Moon in Sagittarius

Eugenia Loli

This is tomorrow morning, 6:30 am UTC.

So here we are: crunch time.  This is a make-or-break moment and a turning point. We are shifting levels here, especially re. relationship and money matters, and there are great opportunities. It's like graduating from college and entering the real world. But before you graduate, you have to pass your final exams – and this month we're taking the exams. You're not going to pass them if you haven't studied. Some kind of commitment or sacrifice is required in order to move forward.

This new moon happens a few days before the winter solstice, the turning-point of the year. And it is happening conjunct the galactic center, the turning-point of the Milky Way. Make of that what you will, but I'd say the symbolism is pretty profound: this is a pivotal moment. And for further symbolism: there's thought to be a super-massive black hole at the center of the galaxy, and around every black hole is thought to be a zone of no return called the event horizon. You can dawdle around a black hole for a good while, but once you reach the event horizon there is no possible escape. Your path from that point on is set – you're committed, like it or not.

That's kinda what we're dealing with here, only it's maybe not as extreme as being sucked into a black hole. There are important decisions to be made, especially around love and money. And those decisions may involve sacrifices, hardship and limits. But either you commit yourself to what you truly love and value and accept the difficulty involved, or the choices will be made for you, outside of your control – and it won't be so great.

This new moon is conjunct Saturn at the very last degree of Sagittarius. He'll move into Capricorn, his own sign, on the 23rd December. This is the last lunation involving Saturn in Sagittarius until 2044, so galactic center aside, this is a pretty big deal. Saturn has been in Sagittarius for the past two and a half years. Sagittarius is a free-wheeling, freedom-loving sign, but Saturn is all about blockages and limits, so it hasn't been easy – like reining in a wild horse.

Sagittarius is also about your perspective, your ideology, your philosophy. Saturn is pragmatic and reality-based, so the transit has demanded of us that we walk our talk, behave with integrity, make sure our words and philosophies match up.

 So hopefully we've been studying diligently, behaving like good workhorses and practicing what we preach for the past couple years, and setting down foundations for the kind of lives we want to live. Saturn is now moving into Capricorn, his own sign, and what we've been working toward is bound to solidify now – the road ahead will become clear, along with the difficulties and limitations it will entail.

Capricorn is the sign of structure, authority and responsibility. With Saturn in his home sign, there'll be real opportunities for success and advancement, as long as you're willing to work for them. Saturn rewards effort. You get back what you've put in – no more and no less.

So all in all, I think this shift is great. But to get the benefit of it, you have to keep steady and not shy away from commitment and responsibility. Remember, this is like going from college (Sagittarius) to the real world (Capricorn) – from theory to practice. Your high ideals are worth nothing if you can't make them work in reality.

We have a big stellium in Sagittarius for this new moon: Saturn, sun, moon, Venus and retrograde Mercury. Sagittarius is a happy, buoyant, over-the-top sign, but the Saturnine influence should keep things feeling pretty sober and grounded this holiday season, which may not be a bad thing when you're dealing with your crazy family!

Venus and Saturn will both bookend the sun and moon. Venus is about love, money and values, and in Sagittarius, she doesn't like to be restricted to one field. But Saturn's influence here means she's stuck – she can't roam freely. Venus-Saturn contacts have to do with commitment and the fear of it. So it's kind of heavy. I'd advise going toward the commitment side of the equation – it might feel scary and hard, but there's absolutely nothing to be gained here by running away. (Recall that Sagittarius's ruler, Jupiter, is in Scorpio – depth and intensity are favoured. Staying in the shallows and avoiding what frightens you are definitely not favoured.)

Uranus in Aries is beneficially aspecting the new moon, meaning it's possible to find new, innovative ways of doing things - you don't have to stay stuck in the same old ruts. You can try something different, and it has a good chance of succeeding. So this new moon really can signify an exciting new start, provided you're willing to commit to it.

Mercury in Sagittarius will be retrograde till the 23rd December, so it's best to hold off on important decisions till then. But by then, the sun and Saturn in Capricorn will be conjunct Venus in Sagittarius, and the right decision should be a lot clearer. Communication should flow more easily as well.

We'll have a full moon in Cancer on the 2nd January, and it looks very emotionally intense but favorable overall. I'll write more nearer the time. Happy super-massive black hole holidays, everybody!

Full Moon in Gemini

This is tomorrow, 3rd December at 3:45 pm UTC.

It's in the shifty, communicative sign of Gemini, which is ruled by messenger planet Mercury. And it happens roughly 8 hours after Mercury stations retrograde in Sagittarius. So this full moon in all about the Mercury retrograde (3rd – 23rd December).

And this Mercury retrograde is all about Saturn in Sagittarius. Saturn, the harsh taskmaster, has spent the past 2.5 years in Sagittarius, the sign of ideology, philosophy and higher education, where he has highlighted hypocrisy and challenged us all to walk our talk – and to know what the hell we're talking about in the first place. He's leaving Sagittarius for Capricorn on the 20th December. This is like graduating from college and entering the “real world”, where no one cares about your feelings, only your efficacy on the job.

But before you can graduate, you have to sit your final exams. You have to go over everything you've learnt and prove you understand it, and you have to see where you've been deluded or mistaken. That's what this Mercury retrograde is about: getting the story straight before you move forward into the realm of commitments and responsibilities. Mercury is stationing retrograde conjunct Saturn in Sagittarius, and he will station direct just as Saturn moves into Capricorn. By then, you've either learnt the lesson of the past couple of years, or you haven't.

We are moving from a time of debate and ideological rancour to a time of strict pragmatism and consequences. From the 20th December, it's no longer about what we believe or why. It's about dealing with the consequences we have made for ourselves via our belief systems. And if our belief systems have been founded on bullshit, we are going to know about it.

This full moon in Gemini – sign of tricksters, lawyers and thieves – looks like a very confusing scenario: bullshit's last stand. It looks like a bunch of mental chaos, sentimentality, superficial cleverness and distraction being spun out to cover up difficult realities.

I don't think the distraction tactics will work. Recall, we are still in Scorpio lunar cycle, which is all about uncovering the truth, no matter how dark and ugly it may be. And Jupiter is in Scorpio, meaning ruthless honesty and a willingness to look deeper are favoured. And retrograde Mercury is conjunct Saturn, shutting down inauthentic communication.

So the truth will out, I think. The Brexit negotiations are underway as I write, with harsh consequences for UK voters who were promised they could “have their cake and eat it” by leaving Europe. The Russia investigation is closing in on the Trump administration, even as Republicans prepare to push tax “reforms” that have obviously been crafted to benefit the wealthy. Sooner rather than later, all the bullshit that's been flying around is going to hit the fan. And then the responsible grownups (if any are left) will have to deal with the mess of fan-flung shit as best they can.

That period of consequences starts when Saturn enters Capricorn later this month. But now, at this full moon, we can expect to see some frantic evasions of personal and collective responsibility. The rats will be leaping onto every passing bit of flotsam in their haste to get off the sinking ship.

You can be on the right side of this by striving to be a grownup and fact-checking what comes out of your mouth before speaking. And walking your talk: meaning what you say and behaving with integrity.

Be careful what you put your faith in, because there's a lot of bullshit on the wing out there. Beware of distraction tactics, shifting emotional states, trickery, appeals to sentimentality, smokescreens and outright lies. Try to hunt out the deeper story. Go with your gut – Jupiter is trining Neptune exactly, meaning your intuition is your best guide at this time.