Insights by Kerstin Hern of The Mirrored Lantern / Original art for J. Southern Studio by Spirited Animals
Happy December, JSS fam! We have entered the final month of the year, eclipse season has ended, and we are soaring in the free and adventurous energy of Sagittarius throughout most of this month.
The full moon on the 7th falls in Gemini and will be conjunct Mars… I always like to focus on gratitude and forgiveness for the final full moons of the year (hello, alliteration!). Forgiveness unburdens us and promotes healing through release, and gratitude expands abundance. This lunation highlights curiosity around who or what we can release to free up mental real estate those outgrown energies were occupying. The Mars conjunction coupled with those intentions and actions can assist us in calling back our power and stepping into confident and passionate warrior mode after unburdening ourselves to prep for the coming year.
Mars + Gemini can = heated communication in lower vibrations, so stay balanced by exercising humility and having the charming Gemini “beginner’s mind” to stay curious about your own behaviors and thoughts, along with curiosity vs. judgment about others. The day after the full moon is a Sun-Saturn alignment that will fuel some much-needed grounding after this fire and air energy culminates. This alignment also motivates us to make commitments to end the year solid and lay a strong foundation for 2023 around personal goals connected to how you show up and are known in the world and how you participate in structuring your sense of Self.
The new moon is refreshing yet comforting and infused with optimism… Falling in Capricorn, we are all being asked to close out the year by setting intentions around stability, hard work, and perseverance. Not only is the new moon in Cap, but there’s a stellium with sun, Mercury, Venus, Pluto AND Jupiter in Cap. We are asked to get clear on what and whom we want to commit to in 2023, how we will plan and communicate those commitments and how we can work on self-empowerment and actively participate in our self-transformation versus sitting idly by waiting for ourselves to change. Creating structure will help ground you and embody your goals so that you feel inspired to show up and do this work!
I would suggest checking the Tarotscopes blog for your December reading and combine your card readings with these lunations’ energies to curate your own goals list and action plan. You can also use this chart from last month to check your sun and rising signs to note the houses your end-of-the-year lunation energy is swirling in:
Make note of the specific full and new moon energy and some of this month’s significant transits below to prepare for and work with the cosmic flow in December. Use the full and new moons’ symbols, themes, each lunation’s tarot card partner, herbs for candle magick, crystals, affirmations, and more to personalize your own rituals around invocations and releases during those energetic portals.
We wish the Happiest Holidays to you and your loved ones, whatever it is that you may celebrate… Please remember that both giving and gratitude raise your frequency and the vibration of our planet, so if it is in your means, please donate time, energy, or money to the planet, feed and clothe unhoused people and/or support rescue and healing efforts for animals during the holiday season!
Notable Transits:
SYNOPSIS:
Of note this lunation is fiery Mars conjuncting the full air moon… Air fuels fire, so heated communication is very possible. Temper your fire through grounding in curiosity (which involves imagination and humility) and practice pausing before communicating. You can use your inner heat as productive energy to get things done and to motivate yourself to tackle goals. The key here is to harness control and intention over your heat opposed to letting it spray all over the place. This Mars conjunction can cause anxiety, as well, especially being an air moon that can easily fall into running mental scripts that are not productive. The sun in Sag is opposing Mars in Gem at this full moon, so this is like conflict and aggression between student and teacher kinda vibes… Again: Pause before speaking, texting, or emailing and think about impact over intention in all communications. Especially around holiday season and end of the year reflections, a lot can come up. I picture a camping scenario here, where your work is to use your inner fire productively to cook food and warm up, not burn down all your relationship forests!
Right after the full moon, the Sun and Saturn align, which brings grounded energy for processing any heat that peaked at the full moon, especially connected to your sense of Self and how you are experienced by others. This alignment may also serve to prep us for the upcoming Full moon in Cap, ruled by Saturn. Release old habits and structures connected to thoughts and communication that do not align with your 2023 goals. Let crackled old foundations fall away from under your feet and embody the highest vibration of Mars as the empowered warrior floating on flames of new beginnings.
Gratitude and forgiveness are two poles to oscillate between both before and after this final full moon of the year. I would spend a little bit of time before, on, and after this lunation meditating on the year by making lists (very Gemini):
THEMES & SYMBOLS:
Connecting and communicating gratitude and forgiveness (especially with siblings = Gemini), endings/beginnings, the mind, intellect, new ideas, confident communication, emotional communication, heated communication, dissolving mental blocks, optimism, understanding, truth revealed, good news, laughter, mutability, accepting change, final releases, new paths, curiosity, exploration, siblings, writing, reading, balancing logic and intuition, ouroboros, mirrors, Thoth, Hermes, Mercury, twins, lavender, bees, hummingbird, sparrow, butterfly, monkey, deer, Loki, Athena, Castor & Pollux, psychopomps, valkyrie
YOUR FULL MOON LUNATION HOUSE:
Find your sun or rising sign below to see what area of your life will be most impacted by this full moon:
RITUAL + ALTAR INSPIRATIONS
FULL MOON PETITION
For this air moon, write out your full moon releases and one person you want to forgive from your previous list on a small piece of paper, speak them aloud facing east (air element direction), then light it on fire and place in cauldron to safely burn, and finally blow the ashes into the wind away from your home.
SUGGESTED MANTRA or AFFIRMATION
“Under the fire and air of this full moon, I consciously harness and control all of my mental energies to use for purposeful and meaningful connection, forgiveness, and to acknowledge all I am grateful for. I engage my learner’s mind to stay curious about all possibilities and to see situations from all angles. I am diplomatic yet intentional in my views. I am deliberate yet flexible in all communications. I release all burdensome vengefulness and let go of any ineffective and unwanted mental energies taking up space in my mind. I make room for fresh ideas and new patterns of thinking about myself and the world. So mote it be.”
FULL MOON MEDICINE
Gemini rules our brain, nervous system, lungs, shoulder, arms, hands. Have a game night with friends, go to a comedy night and laugh like crazy, catch up on reading, journal daily, do an adult coloring book, pull tarot, start a dream journal, work with clay/take a pottery class—anything mentally stimulating that engages these body parts will help move energy blocks and stagnant energy through your system. Neptune is in the mix, so intertwining creativity and spirituality can be medicinal this full moon, too! Chanting the bija mantra YAM will clear and strengthen your heart chakra, sitting near your lungs and energetically connected to your Lovers card.
Having Jupiter in the mix for the final lunation of the year threads a tone of optimism and luck in all the goals we are fashioning for 2023… A new moon in earthy Capricorn grounds our seeds of intention into the soil of stability, hard work, and perseverance. The stellium in Capricorn, including the moon, sun, Mercury, Venus, Pluto, and Jupiter laser our focus to commitments in love, work, finances, writing/communications, and personal transformation.
All this earthy energy creates an aura of practicality and loyalty around all our life spheres, so we all have access to getting real with ourselves about our needs and desires, and then more access to useful and effective planning blueprinting to make those commitments last. Cap season infuses our spirits with the motivation and tenacity to put in the work to update our inner and outer structures for long-term health, wealth, and self-love for the year ahead. Jupiter blesses these goals with extra luck!
Write yourself a letter expressing your dreams and goals for the year ahead before the end of 2022 and make a reminder to check it next December… If you start building the framework of what you want now in this portal of expansion with Jupiter in Aries, which starts a fresh 12-month cycle, you will see your goals (or better) come to fruition throughout 2023, so long as you stay focused and put in the work that is yours to do. If you will it, it will be so.
THEMES & SYMBOLS:
fresh starts, long-term goals, year ahead plan, perseverance, tenacity, practicality, endurance, leadership, structure, discipline, patience, resourcefulness, sensitivity, devotion, responsibility, goal setting, initiation, stubbornness, yearly intentions, revisions, security, brown, gray, taupe, garnet, sea goat, goat-fish, mountain goat, ram, ibex, antelope, horns, sickle, cornucopia, mountain, earth, compass, Saturn
YOUR NEW MOON LUNATION HOUSE:
Find your sun or rising sign below to see what area of your life will be most impacted by this new moon:
Write your intentions as specifically as possible on a small piece of paper, in the present tense, as if they are already happening or already happened. Fold it 3 times toward you, symbolizing bringing energy to you, and place on your altar under your crystals. You may also place your petition under your Earth Element Candle or chime candle before you light it. This is an earth moon, so you can safely light your petition on fire then place it in your cauldron and mix with salt, bury your petition (if on animal-friendly paper) in your yard, or place in a healthy plant.
SUGGESTED MANTRA or AFFIRMATION
“On this new moon in Capricorn, I commit to my Self. I nourish all parts of my being with tender love and dedication. I ground my ideas in practicality, I show up in love with loyalty, and I dream bigger than I ever have before. I claim all of the luck, prosperity, and expansion of Jupiter’s blessings for my long-term goals for 2023 and beyond. I activate my innate strengths, perseverance, and tenacity to be disciplined when it serves me and playful when it soothes me. I claim all abundance, security, and empowered transformation that I am ready to embody and live in. I am devoted to my dreams, and I expect ALL of my dreams, or better, to come true. So mote it be!”
NEW MOON MEDICINE
Capricorn rules the teeth, bones, joints, knees—all body parts that make us stable and hold our fixed structure so that the more malleable/creative parts of us can be expressed healthily. Getting exercise, stretching, and taking Epsom salt baths are restorative, as well as getting sun (safely) and eating vitamin D-rich foods, such as salmon, eggs, mushrooms, oatmeal, and cheese (but not too much!). Yoga poses for bone health: cobra, triangle, bridge, chair.
Wishing you all a battle-ready full moon, a dream-come-true new moon this December, and a very blessed and prosperous 2023!
Kerstin from The Mirrored Lantern has practiced right hand path magick and tarot for over 30 years and has been a lover and learner of astrology and tarot for just as long… She is currently in graduate school for Clinical Psychology with a specialization in Spiritual & Depth Psychology and is a pre-licensed psychotherapist in Los Angeles. Follow her on Instagram @themirroredlantern for witch tips, tarot, occulture, and depth psych tidbits!
Happy Full Moon in Capricorn! 🌝♑️It’s a special one as it is our second full moon in Capricorn in a row! So I did a quick tarot pull asking thee questions. In the earthen spirit of Capricorn of course I got pentacles, clarity, and straightforwardness with this reading lol. Took me less than 5 minutes to understand. Read for for the spread!
