Cheers to a New Phase of Adventure & Good Fortune! New Moon in Sagittarius

Ever feel as though life is passing you by? As though others are living to the fullest, taking life by the horns and having way more fun than you? This past Monday--yesterday, December 18th, 2017--marked the New Moon in Sagittarius.

The zodiac sign of Sagittarius--the Sea Goat--is all about optimism, adventure, travel, joy, expansion and just being open to life and embracing what life has to offer.

The New Moon, also known as the Dark Moon, ​is the "beginning" of the moon phases. It is traditionally associated with origins, genesis, destruction of the old and rebirth of the new. This New Moon also comes mere days before the winter solstice and mere weeks before the New Year, both times for looking within and contemplating both the past decisions and the present life that you've created for yourself.

It's during these colder, darker nights (being symbolic here,,,as I write this, we're experiencing a very warm winter night) that we can't help but just isolate ourselves and stare into a fire or into the twinkling, ephemeral Christmas tree...

And think.

And feel.

And regret.  Do you feel the same?

I am north of thirty, and this feeling is something I've been feeling for years now in my adult life, I feel this acutely and  heavily every New Year ("God, ANOTHER year down and my life is STILL a mess!!"). I also feel this on a smaller level every month ("God, ANOTHER month down, two months to go until the end of the year and my life is STILL a mess!!"). 

(Ok, ok, the term "mess" is subjective! I call my life a mess when it's not behaving like I want it to, but I honestly understand what is true about my life and your life as well: It's a gift, it's full of magic and it's damn rich compared to the lives of many, many others in this world.)


One of my reoccurring feelings during the New Moon and the New Year in particular is that my life, my youth, my opportunities are slipping away. Do you get that feeling as well? I am generally a very optimistic and empowered person, but it is at times like these that I feel a cold draft of doubt, regret and disappointment blowing through a chink in my armor. It's never a good feeling, and it never fails to come up at these quiet, vulnerable times. 


I just was reading an article today about someone who was looking back on his life and was unabashedly describing how full and amazing his life was. How he has had a great career and has always had a life full of adventurous and incredible sex. The article was actually about something else entirely, and this was leading into a deeper story, but I just kind of got stuck on those aspects: Adventure! Rewarding career! World travel! Passionate and exciting sex!! Nonstop stimulation and partying! I immediately started to feel badly about myself. 


But whoa, we need to take a moment and freeze! Sure, someone could be partying a lot harder than you. But is that really what you want? To be the person who experiences the most constant pleasure in the world? Is that the true meaning of success? Take a look at the newly minted richest man in the world, Jeff Bezos, creator and owner of Amazon. He may be the richest and arguably one of the most successful and powerful people in the world, but I doubt he's anywhere near the hardest partying!  Even if he is, I doubt that's a good thing. Everything in moderation.


So, to me, this New Moon in Sagittarius is about how I can bring a bit more of that adventurousness and joie de vivre into my life. It's about making an effort and taking steps to bring more travel, adventure, good times and great sex into our lives. It's about breaking out of our shells and doing something crazy, something spontaneous, or something that stretches the boundaries of our world.


So for this Tarot consultation, I asked, "How can we bring more of this joyful, exciting, expansive Sagittarius energy to our lives this month...and even into the New Year?"


I shuffled and pulled...


The Lovers

​
Of course! How appropriate for a question on adventure and moving beyond our small, fenced-in world!


The Lovers is a part of the Tarot known as the Major Arcana. This part is the older part of the Tarot that consists of 22 archetypal images running from the The Fool (Card 0) to The World (Card 21). The Lovers comes in at Card 6 and depicts a man and a woman beneath an angel. The man stands with a fire burning behind him, symbolizing the male's all-consuming passion. Each of these figures--both the man and the woman--is presented with a choice. And each figure appears to be heavily leaning towards a choice. This man looks to the woman, with a serpent behind her, representing temptation. The woman looks up to the angel, representing spirit. Each of these figures--both the man and the woman--is presented with a choice. And each figure appears to be heavily leaning towards a choice. The  man is presented with a choice between Spirit and the pleasures of the female body...and he has eyes only for the woman. The woman has a choice between Spirit and the pleasures of the flesh as well...and she is looking up towards the heavens.

Though many people associate this card with perfect harmony and soulmates (and that can certainly be one aspect of it), The Lovers can actually be about choice. In the original Italian Renaissance cards, this card was called "The Lover" (singular) and depicted a woman tempting a man from his mother. 


When I see this card in response to our question, I think of balance, choice and temptation. In order to most enjoy our lives, we must be balanced. Stability and predictability are good things, but too much of those can stifle some of the very magic that makes life, well..Life. There needs to also exist adventure, mystery, fear, uncertainty and yes, spontaneous, unplanned sex! Balance is important for a full life. 


In fact, it is in our very nature to want the forbidden and the wild. If we take the allegorical story that is hinted at on this card--the Garden of Eden--we begin with two people that seemingly have everything provided for them. All their wants are taken care of. Their lives are perfectly ordered, not a stitch out of place. Yet, they hunger for something more, something forbidden, exciting and unknown. 


A more adventurous life must also be CHOSEN. We always have choice. We can remain with the comfortable, sanitized life that we have, or we can choose to step out of our comfort zone and pursue the sexy life that calls us. 


WAYS WE CAN BRING MORE ADVENTURE and EXPANSION INTO OUR LIVES

* Pick one place you have always wanted to visit, and start an online folder for info. Dedicate at least one hour a week to studying your destination and what to do there. 


* Work at seducing someone and making them your lover.


* Do something outside of your comfort zone, like speaking in public, performing or attending a nude beach or a sex club.


* Take a deep breath and make the first steps on a career path that you've been dreaming of pursuing, but have always held back on. 


What does the New Moon in Sagittarius mean to you? Let us know in the comments. Cheers to you, thanks for reading, and have a wonderful holiday season and a prosperous New Year! See you in 2018!!

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