An end to the madness!?

I don’t know about anyone else, but this New Moon in Sagittarius offers me a ray of hope that the madness of the past few weeks, or perhaps months, may finally ease. As much of a cliche as it might be, Mercury retrograde lives up to its annoying reputation in my experience. Website glitches, e-mails sent to the wrong people, missed appointments, last-minute cancellations, all are classic symptoms of the frequent yet short reversals of the planet ruling communications and electronics.

Three times per year, the smallest planet in our solar system appears to move backwards in its journey through the ecliptic. When it does, we are advised to not sign contracts, begin new ventures, buy electronics, and to brace ourselves for communication snafus. What I have noticed as I’ve paid closer attention the past couple of years is that I become ensnared in my thoughts about how things are or should be during these periods. The unhappy result is that I often miss signals as to what is really happening.

In one simple example, I met a woman the other day with the same name as another woman whom I have met a few times. They are in the same age bracket and I met them both in the company of the same people. So, I sent an e-mail to one thinking she was the other. If I had been paying attention to all the information I had available, it would have been clear I was mixing them up. But alas, I powered through any doubts. In this case there was no real harm done and I have given up, mostly, being embarrassed for silly mistakes. And perhaps I am more sensitive to Mercury’s backwards shenanigans because of my somewhat organized, plodding Capricornian mental processes. Once in motion, my thoughts seem to want to continue on their paths.

There are other reasons to celebrate today’s New Moon in Sagittarius, beginning with the blessed relief of passing out of Scorpio season. This New Moon closes out the Scorpio New Moon cycle, and the dark, murky, emotional Scorpio energy of the past month. In contrast, fire sign Sagittarius offers us meaning, optimism and hope at the darkest time of the year. And for the first time in twelve years, ruling planet Jupiter is back home in this sign. Bright and expansive, Jupiter represents the part of ourselves that wants to learn, to grow, to be all that we can be and perhaps a little more. Jupiter is the explorer, guru, adventurer, and storyteller.

This next year – the time it takes for Jupiter to traverse the sign of Sagittarius – offers us opportunities in the area of our lives touched by this transit. It also promises opportunities on a collective scale. One way to see and grasp the opportunities is by telling our own stories and re-writing them where they are holding us back from fully living our lives.

One of the benefits of Mercury retrograde, as well as all the other inner planet retrogrades of the past several months, has been a chance to slow down and re-examine our thoughts (Mercury), our actions and deep desires (Mars), even our relationships (Venus). All this looking back gave us time and space to reframe and revise the stories we tell ourselves about our lives. Maybe our biggest mistakes have paved the way for our greatest blessings. Or the job we lost made space for a whole new career. At the very least, we can be kind to ourselves – and the others who might have played various roles in our dramas – in the re-telling.

Best of all, in the wake of all this reflection we can now move forward with our new stories. Each of us is on a hero’s or heroine’s journey, with our share of trials and triumphs and unique waypoints. Where are you in your epic drama?

In the next few weeks, I’ll be offering again my mentorship for women who want to reframe their own stories, claim their sovereignty, and commit to service and embodiment.

In the meantime, perhaps simply take some time with journal and pen to jot down your story, maybe even around a fire with some friends.