The Sun enters Sagittarius II on December 2, 2023 at 6:16 am EST. Austin Coppock called this decan The Bridle, while T. Susan Chang named it Tensile Strength for its associations with the Tarot card the 9 of Wands (a card that the Golden Dawn and its associated orders called The Lord of Strength. The Sun will be here until December 12.

I wrote about Sagittarius II in 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022.

Sagittarius II is associated with the Moon, and the New Moon in Sagittarius will take place just past this point, just after the Sun has passed into Sagittarius III, on December 12. It’s a bit of a let-down, since it means that the Moon will be in Mansion 21 The City, which is much less favorable to her — promising safe construction sites and profitable transactions, but difficulties between husbands and wives. In her current position at 9° Leo, though, she is in Mansion 11 The Mane of Leo, indicating favorable progress on construction sites, success in the marketplace when finding merchandise for friends and allies (good for present-shopping!), and for making travel plans. If you have holiday flights to book and gift-giving plans, it would be better to resolve these matters early this week.

The Alexandrians assigned this decan to Kore — a name which simply means “The Maiden” — as in, the daughter of Demeter, the goddess of flowers and springtime whom we know today as Persephone. The girl-goddess who goes down into the earth at autumn’s end, as Hades’ bride (willing or unwilling, depending on which myths you hold with)— is not the same being who emerges in the spring as full-fledged Queen of the Underworld taking a victory lap. Should we see her as a scared teenage girl being forced into adult roles too early? Is she a rebellious twenty-year-old abandoning a controlling mother for a golden-retriever of a husband? Is this the youthful but adult woman flirting with a tall dark stranger at the edges of the firelight, or the too-young tween seduced and kidnapped to her own misfortune? How we read the story of Persephone, Hades, and Demeter today tells us a lot of how we should regard this season of the year — and we know this, too, that cuffing season is no modern phenomenon, where both men and women are more likely to want a more stable, serious relationship in the winter, even if it’s a less-than-ideal partnering. We’re left with a problem — it’s easy to see the precursor to Persephone as a victim, or as an initiator of her own abduction, or at least as a co-conspirator in her escape from her mother’s household. The Moon, once again, presents us with many facets to what seems a simplistic story — and The Bridle, the name for this decan, once again reminds us that the horse is strong enough to get her own way, and also skittish and challenged enough to accept the junior role in a somewhat-unequal partnership.

The four dodeks of Sagittarius II are Aries, Taurus, Gemini, and Cancer, representing the way in which long-term lovers come together in a stable partnership. First there is a heart on fire, fully aware of its internal passion to the exclusion of other partners. Then comes the luxurious stability of knowing one is in relationship. Eventually the two people are able to separate into distinct entities while retaining some of the strengths and weaknesses of the whole relationship. Finally comes the stability of a new union that is capable of being emotionally fulfilling internally while remaining armored against the outside world.

Planetary Placements

On December 2, at 6:16 am EST, we’re looking at a Night Chart with the Sun below the horizon in the second house. This puts an eye on money management and personal possessions. With Mars in close proximity, we’re out shopping for presents for other people — but likely far too aware of how many things we see that we would want to keep for ourselves, and how much damage the holiday gift-giving season is likely to do to our wallet and budget. Sadly, this may not be completely avoidable even for those who don’t normally trade presents at winter holidays… the very sales that people hope to take advantage of — 20% off, or get 18% off with a coupon! — are usually possible only after a big markup in prices. To quote Tom Lehrer, God rest ye merry merchants — may ye make the Yuletide pay! The Ascendant in Scorpio’s last degree promises a ferocious and secretive hunt for the goods and gear that will bring all your regular and unusual recipients happiness.

Yet the sudden disconnect between Mars and his night house of Scorpio puts considerable power into the hands of Peacemaker Venus in her own house of Libra. In the chain of dispositors, Mars and the Sun now answer to Jupiter in Taurus, who responds to Venus in Libra; Mercury and Pluto answer to Saturn, while Saturn and Neptune also give Jupiter their allegiance. Uranus, despite his disruptive presence in amiable Taurus, also looks toward the scales of Libra; the Moon in Leo bows to the Sun, who bows to Jupiter, who bows to Venus. Only a few short weeks ago, Mars ruled all, and war seemed explosive on all fronts… now there is a chance for peace to break out. However, in the 12th house, Venus promises a long-range vision of peace with lots of rubble and ruin to stumble over in the short-to-medium term.

It won’t last long. Mars will be back in the driver’s seat by December 12, and we must wait until winter solstice before his furious militancy is curbed by civilian Jupiter’s moderating influence. This is likely to manifest in forms like a cease-fire or truce between Hamas and Israeli security forces that is broken by next weekend, followed by another attempt at diplomacy in the days leading up to Christmas on December 25. A similar pattern may occur in Ukraine, though the disconnect between Catholic Ukrainians and Orthodox Russians may delay hopes for a downgrade in violence over the fiercest winter months. In America, some domestic rapprochement between Republicans and Democrats may occur before Congress’s winter vacation after a lot of posturing in mid-December… and in your own holiday preparations, be aware that there’s likely to be a lot of scheduled events which force a choice… even as those choices put friends and family’s noses out of joint.

Mercury and Pluto both occupy Capricorn in the third house — lots of people will do their shopping close to home, of course, enjoying the celebratory atmosphere of their local shopping district. However, a good many folks will put their Internet connection through its paces, and order online. There’s a genuine risk of overwhelming both public infrastructure like the US Postal Service, as well as private parcel services like FedEx and UPS. Do your shopping early, and get stuff into the mail well before deadlines. At the same time, expect traffic and parking to be difficult, and hold your patience (drop those shoulders! exhale! inhale!) while waiting for a slow wi-fi connection or a little granny to give up her parking spot. No good can come out of road rage.

In the fifth house, dry Saturn and wet Neptune retrograde occupy opposite ends of Pisces, with the Imum Coeli between them. The result is an incoming tide of propaganda, delusions, and misinformation sloshing over your normal routines of the holidays — and a tremendous risk of being swamped by the challenges of finding personal hope and joy in a world afflicted by great turbulence in world affairs. Remember that at least one purpose of “the news” is to deflate your sense of personal power — and the planets here can all too easily make you feel bad about things that are not within your control. Feeling happy, though, is in your control: smile, laugh, enjoy dumb jokes, make your favorite winter foods, live as well as you are able. Find ways to donate to causes you care about, with time or money, and accept that this is all you can do right now. Go to holiday parties and family feasts with as clear a conscience as you can manage.

Jupiter and Uranus are both retrograde in Taurus in the seventh house. In this place, they urge us to judicious and responsible care of others, both in their immediate needs but also for the long haul. However, there’s also a warning here, that we need to care for people in the way that they obviously need, rather than the way that either they want or we would prefer. Get your hands dirty, the planets seem to say… dig in, and remember that work and prayer are the same thing.

The Moon, at 9° Leo, is in the Mansion called The Lion’s Mane. Here, she promises success in the purchasing of items and services as presents for other people; but warns against overindulgence in the things that you might want only for yourself. This time of year, it’s easy to play to your own strengths, which is knowing what you want and long for. However, it’s in the caretaking of others that your reputation and honor are secured — play the “Secret Santa” game well this year, and spend on others first.

Horoscopes by Rising Sign

Decan I of any sign (usually covering the 21st of the month to the first of the following month) is free to all visitors; Decan II is only available to Patreon and Ko-Fi.com subscribers; and Decan III is available to Patreon, Ko-Fi, and MailChimp subscribers.

I recommend reading your Sun sign, Moon sign, and Rising sign for best results. I write them with rising sign in mind, but several people have told me they find that they do better with all three.

Scorpio:

Sagittarius:

Capricorn:

Aquarius:

Pisces:

Aries:

Taurus:

Gemini:

Cancer:

Leo:

Virgo:

Libra:

Colophon

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I have a Patreon account for those who want to support this column as it starts its sixth year. Those funds support artists, artisans and thinkers that I regard as contributing to the well-being of the world. You can also buy me a Ko-fi in $3 increments; any column I write after receiving a Ko-Fi donation will be open to the public). .

If you want to read some of my astrologically-oriented poetry, the largest collection is called A Full Volume of Splendor and Starlight, available through my Etsy shop, and containing poems and hymns to the planets, constellations, decan deities, and Moon Mansion angels. While not astrological, Festae contains hymns to some of the older Roman gods and spirits from the calendar created by Numa Pompilius, the second ancient King of Rome.

I use iPhemeris for my charting software, and screenshot it to make charts. I want to thank the team that develops iPhemeris for the addition of Terms and Decans to their charts. I also use Hugh Tran‘s Physis typeface to craft logos for this blog, as well.

I use Christopher Warnock‘s The Mansions of the Moon as the basis of my Moon placement delineations, and Austin Coppock‘s 36 Faces for much of my planetary delineations. Neither gentleman endorses me.