I'm late this month—my apologies to readers who've checked in expecting to find December's New Moon and were disappointed. At this writing, I'm just back from an astrology conference in New York. I'm having a busy holiday season this year in more ways than one—I'll be leaving for San Diego shortly, to be with my daughter Molly. The holidays this year are secondary to my anticipation of the arrival of my new granddaughter, Molly's first child. She's expected to appear right around the Winter Solstice—we hope a few days before, but babies set their own timetable. More news when I know!

This December there will be two New Moons. The first one, on December 1st, was 9 Sagittarius. In the tropical zodiac of signs, this degree corresponds to the "heart of the Scorpion," Antares, one of the four Royal Stars that were the Watchers of the directions in ancient times. Antares is a red supergiant, four times larger than our Sun. Because of its reddish appearance, it has often been called "anti Ares" or "rival of Mars." Mars is easy to spot in this winter's sky—it's quite bright and distinctively reddish. On December 9th, from our earthly perspective, we'll see it as turning direct again, ending over two months of retrograde motion. Mercury, in retrograde since mid-November, turned direct on December 3. What did we learn from these retrograde periods? If you've experienced difficulties or obstacles lately associated with your expression of either Mars (action, energy, assertiveness, intiative, impulse) or Mercury (communication, logic, decisions), you may be feeling a welcome shift. It's a good time, though, to reflect on what lessons may have presented themselves during the retrogrades, what we learned, and how we might best use that wisdom gained as we go forward. As the planets move direct over the same degrees they recently passed in backward motion, we may find ourselves revisiting some of our recent problems . If so, we could do well to consider them as good opportunities to be an exemplar of lessons well learned. There's no more effective way to teach than by example!

The New Moon in Sagittarius continued the challenge of the grand cross I wrote about in last month's column. It will still be with us, and even a bit closer in aspect, at the December 30 New Moon in Capricorn. A grand cross often reflects major obstacles to overcome in accomplishing goals. It tests how determined you are to accomplish them! This whole period of the grand cross is a dynamic time, but it can also be a stressful one (yes, even more so than the usual holiday season!). Feelings of overwhelm signal the need to ground some of that energy.

Meditation for Grounding
This is good for any time when you feel overly stressed. Just take some time out. You can and must. Insist on it. Go to a room where you can be alone for awhile. Quiet is good, but if sound will help mask interferring sounds, play soft meditation music. Sit or lie down comfortably. Take long, slow inhalations. Notice your abdomen rise with your breath. Exhale slowly and fully. Breathe again, and again. When you are focused on your breath, your mind can stop racing, and calm returns. Begin to visualize that psychic threads grow downward from your body like roots. They reach down through the floor, through the foundation, into the earth, through all its layers of soil, sand, water and rock, feeling slowly but steadily warmer as they approach the heart of Mother Earth. Gather some of her warm, nurturing and abundant energy and slowly bring it up toward you as your "roots" recede back into your body. Feel the energy flow through you as you continue breathing slowly, quietly, calmly. Much better!

Chaos and New Beginnings
In Wiccan lore we call the period between Samhain and Yule a time of chaos. In our modern culture, this season too often seems all too chaotic, as we race around trying to prepare for the holidays, attempting the impossible task of meeting our own expectations and what we perceive as the expectations of family and friends. Again, we can learn from Mother Nature, who here in New Hampshire (as depicted in "Earth Sleeps") is quite clearly at rest beneath a soft blanket of snow. This is the balsamic period of the solar year, the time between the deaths that are change and the visible waxing light of rebirth. So why do we fill it with frenetic activity? If we truly paid attention to Mother, we'd give ourselves time to rest and dream—relax by the fire with a hot cup of cocoa, or take a random walk outdoors. Reminisce on the year past, on the hopes and goals that began it, on what was fulfilled, what fell short, and the extent to which either may now matter to you. Watch the dancing flames or whatever you may encounter on your walk and be alert for signals, for serendipity, for messages from Spirit within. Jupiter of that grand cross trines Uranus, planetary symbol of the unexpected, and Mars is in sextile. From this flow of harmony, plus your openness to see, may come the first glimmerings of what can emerge with the return of waxing light.

On December 20th, the night before Winter Solstice, and/or perhaps on December 29th, the night before New Moon, light a candle of vigil, as you let go of the darkness of whatever is passing away, within and without. The phase of the Moon at Solstice is Disseminating. The Moon is Full on December 15th. At Disseminating Phase, beginning (to be exact, from my Moon Tides report) on December 19 at 10:57 am EST, she still appears almost Full but is losing some of her roundness on the right. This phase, beginning the waning cycle of the Moon, is a time to share what has been learned from the waxing cycle. I'll share with you something of my own celebration of Winter Solstice, also called Yule, which officially occurs this year when the Sun enters Capricorn on Wednesday, Dec. 21, 1:35 pm EST. Spiritually and visually, though, it's the Winter Solstice sunrise that "feels" like rebirth!

Celebrating Winter Solstice, or Yule
My Circle of the Cosmic Muse, because of distances traveled by some, always gathers on the weekend. This year, for the first time in many, I'll be away from my home Circle, and with Molly, her husband and (I hope by then) new baby on the weekend prior to Yule. Even when I'm home, I'm often alone with my husband at the actual time of the Solstice. He took this photo a year or two ago on the night before, of my torchlight vigil in our backyard stone circle. Beyond the center torches, you can faintly see the tall granite monolith that is Watchtower of the East.