Sagittarius New Moon - December 9, 2007

I've never been one for travel. Fear-inducing Saturn is in my Ninth House of International Expeditions, opposite airline-happy Jupiter. My greatest terror has been of traveling in a country where I can't speak the language, I lose all my belongings and I end up homeless and starving in an alley, tormented by French people who throw snails at me.

However, I've more than made up for my nearly landlocked life through another Sagittarian endeavor, higher education. In fact, I wasted spent most of my twenties completing two masters degrees, neither of which I am using in my current career incarnation. There is just so much to learn ... plus nowadays having an advanced degree helps to get a job.

So how did I end up an astrologer, when I have degrees in both cognitive psychology and counseling psychology? I just find it more fascinating, a better model by which I can understand human behavior. Unfortunately, it has only been recently -- with the founding of Kepler College -- that astrology has been incorporated into the Ivory Tower (although it used to be taken pretty seriously before the scientific method relegated it to the New Age wastebin). Mainstream institutions are very closeminded about astrology, and I dropped out of my first PhD program because I was interested in archetypes -- which don't hold up well when you're measuring how quick a sophomore can hit a button on a computer.

Thank the Gods that I found CIIS, where I studied the art of psychotherapy in a spiritually-informed program. I even took my first astrology course there, under the title Cosmos and Psyche. I have no regrets having spent six years of my early adulthood in academic settings, although I will literally be paying for my education for the next 20-odd years.

What does my story have to do with the New Moon?

This Sunday's lunation occurs in Sagittarius, the sign that seeks to expand one's horizons, whether through travel or study. And the Sun-Moon conjunction is squared by paradigm-shattering Uranus, which is also the planet that rules astrology. During the New Moon, you may feel inspired to take on a course of study, plan a trip to Burma or promote your services. Sag is an inspiring fire sign, giving you the enthusiasm to convert others to your side or to take on the Great Books. Just be aware that any conventional course of study or travel plan will be upset by the planet of surprises and left turns. If you attempt to spread the Word, your message may come across as shocking or jarring ... or maybe you'll try to proselytize a familiar message, only to be disrupted by someone who challenges your belief system.

After all, Uranus is in Pisces. Sagittarius governs world religions, major schools of philosophy, higher education ... the Big Ideas. Sag trades in theories and opinions and belief systems, whereas Pisces chucks it all out the window and goes for direct experience of the Divine. What good are ideas, if they hold you back from connecting directly with the Source? You can talk and write about God, or you can just surrender to Him or Her.

Which would you choose?

The Fine Print: This New Moon falls at 17 Sagittarius, and will impact natives with planets or angles between 15 and 20 degrees of the mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces).