Gemini Full Moon: December 7
The wild ride of Sagittarius season gets toned down when Mercury enters Capricorn on December 6, where it will spend the next two months. Bid adieu to the lofty heights and endless chasm of the Mercury in Sag mind. Capricorn is grounded, pragmatic, and unsparing in its assessment of reality. Whereas Sagittarius is the ultimate proselytizer with its motor mouth, Capricorn is taciturn with a lugubrious speech. Mercury will remain in Capricorn well into Aquarius season, and will be in some phase of its retrograde cycle nearly the entire stretch. Normally it spends only 3 weeks in each sign, but Mercury will not depart for Aquarius until February 10.
Capricorn is the control freak of the zodiac with an unbeatable work ethic. The seagoat prefers to stay low to the ground and toil behind the scenes. Their lack of overt flash can make them appear humble, but Capricorn’s not so secret desire is to erect monuments to their greatness. They’re persistent and are happy to wait for their master plan to come to fruition slowly over time. The build up makes it that much more impressive in the end. Mercury enters its shadow on December 12, and stations retrograde at 24°21 Capricorn on December 29. Mercury retrograde is a defining experience of Capricorn season, but it's also impacting our Sagittarius exploration as well. Capricorn tends to focus on what's not working, and gets depressed easily. We’ll have a less optimistic outlook about what we’re being shown on the Gemini Full Moon on December 7.
We’re in a mutable mess the first week of December thanks to all the Sag planets moving into opposition with Mars retrograde in Gemini and squaring Neptune in Pisces. Mars retrograde in Gemini is invoking difficult conversations and revealing unproductive thought patterns. In its least skillful manifestation, Gemini is the endless chatter of the thinking mind. The Mars retrograde from October 30-January 12, is showing us where we’ve gone astray in our logic and when it's better to just be quiet. Saying nothing is highly preferable to vocalizing whatever pops in your head. That's easier said than done right now, since we collectively have a shorter fuse and are more identified with our thoughts than usual. Most of us base our identity off of who we understand ourselves to be and our beliefs reinforce our sense of self. The opposition of planets in Sagittarius with retrograde Mars in Gemini is causing us to question some of those foundational beliefs. If we're feeling insecure, its easier to get into arguments looking for someone to blame or somewhere to point the finger.
Annoyance runs high in the build up to the super testy Gemini Full Moon on December 7. Gemini is a master of deflection and projection. Beware of people trying to make you responsible for their feelings when Venus at 18°47 Sagittarius opposes Mars in Gemini on December 1. Oppositions bring about a direct confrontation, but there is delusion involved due to the square between Mercury at 22°39 Sagittarius and Neptune in Pisces. Sagittarius season creates a restlessness within us that Mars retrograde has been turning into irritation. The influence of Neptune makes it difficult to distinguish what is ours to own, and when we should ignore finger pointers going through their own stuff.
Sagittarius extols universal truths, but Gemini dwells within the particulars of individual experience. The danger with basing our identity around a position or concepts is that language is always evolving and there is no one correct way. Gemini can help us find different points on the spectrum to inhabit, but if we’re deeply rooted in our need to always be right, then we’re required to constantly make everyone else wrong. We have the opportunity to transcend this binary thinking when Neptune stations direct at 22°39 Pisces on December 3.
Venus at 22°39 Sagittarius squares Neptune on December 4, asking us to move towards the eternal truth of our spiritual nature, rather than temporary forms of the mind. Neptune in Pisces has been helping us to open our hearts in compassion for humanity. It is necessary to extend some of that loving kindness towards ourselves as the Sun at 16°06 Sagittarius moves towards its opposition with Mars at 12:41AM ET on December 8. This difficult energy is lit up like a Christmas tree for all to see at the Gemini Full Moon at 11:08PM ET on December 7.
The Moon waxes to fullness as it reaches retrograde Mars at 16° Gemini, highlighting all the pain points we’ve been grappling with since the end of Summer. Every retrograde cycle has its peak, and the message of this one is being broadcast into the cosmos by the great gossip of the zodiac. Conflict has felt more high stakes since Mars entered Gemini on August 20. Mars is the planet of war but during its retrograde cycle we sheath our swords, and retreat to our tents to puzzle out a different strategy. Mars stationed retrograde on October 30. This lack of direct approach heightened our sense of vulnerability during the Scorpio season eclipse cycle. We’ve been invited to reconsider our entire perspective on self-protection. Mercury in Capricorn asks us to be realistic about our ambitions and plans for the future. After a fair amount of internal struggle, the Gemini Full Moon wonders if there's even anything worth fighting about.
This Moon may highlight our personal errors, but their less scary to witness if we don’t always need to be right. If we’ve been shamed in the past for getting things wrong, this Mars retrograde Moon conjunction is revealing the difference between failure and not winning. No one enjoys making mistakes, but that’s a fundamental method of teaching in earth school. Gemini knows it's our right as children of divinity to continuously grow, and Sagittarius doesn’t take its foibles too seriously. Past instances of suffering can create a fear of pain that leads to avoidance patterns. Most likely we don’t have a reasonable relationship with defeat if we don’t know how to say we’re sorry. Gemini reminds us that we never really lose as long as we’re learning. The best of Mars retrograde in Gemini helps us walk off some hills we were previously willing to die on.
Saturn at 20°20 Aquarius is trining this lunation, supporting us in upholding our boundaries and integrity. If the Mars retrograde has brought battles to your door, the Gemini Full Moon is inviting you to call a truce. That doesn’t mean full compromise, just taking responsibility for your side. The lesson of the Five of Swords from the Rider Waite Smith tarot deck can guide us in navigating this energy. The scene depicts a cruel hearted victor laughing at two injured retreating figures. Compassion is noticeably absent in this vanquishment. Whether you’re currently positioned as the victor or loser, Saturn encourages us to remember the higher ideals of social harmony. Neptune reminds us that those states are temporary anyway, and not to get too attached to any one position. Conduct yourself with integrity and whatever pinpricks Mars retrograde creates, it can serve to bring fresh blood to old wounds and let outmoded ways of thinking die.