The impact of all New Moons and Full Moons can be depicted by a bell curve. The impact begins about 3 days before the lunar event, steadily increases until the day of the event, and then gradually decreases for 3 days after the actual event.
Gemini Full Moon
In the Pacific Time Zone, this Moon will be full at 1:01 a.m. on Sunday, December 15. With this Full Moon, the Sun in Sagittarius will be in opposition (180°) to the Moon in Gemini. To further clarify how this Full Moon will impact you on a personal level, locate 23°52’ of Sagittarius and 23°52’ of Gemini in your birth/natal chart. The issues associated with those two houses are going to be most impacted by this Full Moon’s presence. (NOTE: Click here to learn how to find the transiting Moon in your chart.)
Full Moons provide us with the opportunity to check in and evaluate how we are balancing two seemingly opposite areas of our lives. This time, we are looking at Sagittarius and Gemini:
Sagittarius: The best qualities of Sag include being straightforward, generous, enthusiastic, adventurous, ethical, fun, and optimistic. The lower expression can involve being overly blunt, self-indulgent, self-righteous, and a jack-of-all-trades-and-master-of-none.
Gemini: The higher expression of this sign includes being communicative, flexible, bright, curious, and a lover of learning. The lower expression may mean being scattered, unemotional, impatient, and overly talkative.
This Gemini Full Moon – Highlights
Both Gemini and Sagittarius are similar in some ways. Both are optimistic signs, which often makes this Full Moon one in which we are looking forward into the future. Additionally, both signs have a similar love of learning. But where Gemini tends to be more interested in learning the basics and focusing on the details, Sag wants to take all of that basic information, synthesize it, and come up with what is considered the “truth.” Both of these approaches are important because without reliable facts any conclusions will be formed on faulty ground. Therefore, the Gemini Full Moon is a good time to make sure we are focusing equally on both the forest and the trees.
But with this Full Moon in Gemini, both ends of the opposition (180°) between the Sun and Moon are in squares (90°) to Neptune in its home sign of Pisces. This forms one of those t-squares (i.e., right triangles) that we often talk about. With Neptune as the “focal planet” of this t-square, we are being encouraged to consciously access the higher expression of Neptune in Pisces’s energy, which includes faith, trust, compassion, creativity, spirituality, and intuition. However, Full Moons are known for drawing out the shadow side of signs and planets, so we are advised to avoid slipping into Pisces and Neptune’s lower expression. This can include not seeing things clearly, seeing the world or any situation through “rose colored glasses,” choosing to cope by escaping through addictions, and/or falling into patterns of playing the victim, codependent, or martyr.
Neptune’s impact on this Full Moon may also make it difficult to explain how we are integrating the basic information of Gemini with the higher order thinking of Sag. We may simply have an intuitive understanding of what is “right” for us. Neptune also means that our focus on what is “right” may involve our spiritual beliefs and/or how we express compassion in the world around us. Sextiles (60°) between Neptune and both Uranus and Pluto add support for exploring our beliefs in these areas of our life, as well as making any needed changes in order to be more aligned with our individual identity.
Luckily, Mercury is in an exact trine (120°) to Mars (orb of 0°44’). This supportive aspect may help us counteract a bit of Neptune’s murky influence on our ability to clearly communicate our ideas. The Mercury-Mars trine tends to increase our mental sharpness, which often enables us to think more clearly or make decisions quickly.
Another added benefit to our mental abilities and communication skills is that on the same day as the Full Moon (December 15), Mercury ends its final retrograde phase of 2024 and begins moving direct again. In the days that follow, we will likely notice an increased ability to clearly express our thoughts and a decrease in the number of mental errors and information snafus. Given the holiday season is upon us, this should help travel plans go more smoothly than they did during the Thanksgiving holiday (in the USA).
But because all 3 corners of the t-square (i.e., Sun, Moon, Neptune) and 3 other planets (i.e., Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn) are located in mutable signs (i.e., Gemini, Sag, Pisces), it’s imperative that we remain flexible and adaptable during the time of this Full Moon. Unexpected events are likely to come up, and we need to remember to “go with the flow.” In fact, this can be a time when it’s OK to be spontaneous and have some fun, which is a lovely energy to have if you are attending holiday events! And the previously mentioned Mercury-Mars trine will help make conversations very lively at any social gatherings.
However, throughout the month of December, we are all being encouraged to take a step back and see the big picture when it comes to the concept of “truth.” As we have discussed many times, we need to remember that not everyone in the world, our society, our culture, or even our family has the same definition of what is “right” or “wrong.” It may help to remember that some of our own beliefs have morphed over the course of our lifetime. All the mutable energy this month doesn’t mean we have to be indifferent or lack conviction in our own personal philosophy. We can still hold firm to our beliefs about our own sense of what is right and wrong. However, the world is very polarized right now. When we encounter those with beliefs or philosophies that differs from our own, it may help to take an observational, curious perspective.
Although the orb isn’t as close as it was in November, I do need to point out that we are still under the ongoing influence of the oppositions (180°) between Mars and Pluto. This can lead to heated arguments if we dig in our heals about those belief systems discussed above. A more productive use of this aspect is to tap into the abundance of energy that is available. We may be able to courageously tackle some very challenging projects right now. This energy will become even more available later in December as we move toward the second of the three exact Mars-Pluto oppositions that will occur in early January 2025.
Planetary Movements
December 6, 2024 through February 24, 2025 – As was discussed in the last Moon Update, Mars began its retrograde period on December 6. But even before December 6, we’ve been experiencing the precursors to this big retrograde event for much of the latter part of 2024. This is because of the previously mentioned powerful oppositions (180°) between Mars and Pluto. Therefore, we may already know about or are already experiencing some major changes and transformations in at least one area of our life. But especially during this 2-month retrograde period, there will be a great deal of energy used toward renovating, reshaping, or overhauling something important. One astrologer described it as “taking a house down to the studs.” This is definitely a good time (a) to review and reevaluate our motivation and level of commitment toward something that we value and (b) to review what steps we need (and want) to take to reach our goals. To do this, we may need to let go of something that has outlived its purpose in our life and also explore where we want to redirect our personal power in new or more personally rewarding ways. (NOTE: Click here to read more about Planets in Retrograde.)
December 21 through January 20 – The Sun moves out of the lighter energy of Sagittarius and into the heavier, grounded energy of Capricorn. This represents the Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere and the Summer Solstice in the Southern Hemisphere. Regardless of which seasonal change is happening in your part of the world, most of us feel the shift in energy as the amount of daylight either lengthens or shortens, respectively. While the Sun makes its annual month-long sojourn through Capricorn, we may be spending time thinking about our career or public contribution. Receiving recognition may feel particularly rewarding now. However, Capricorn is ruled by Saturn, which means we may encounter some obstacles or road blocks that appear to slow down our forward momentum. These are meant to help us see where we may have missed something or need to take a different approach in order to create a firmer foundation for the future. But in general, this is a month when it is easier for us to be disciplined and responsible. It’s also a good time to focus on establishing or recommitting to long-term goals, as many of us do around the New Year’s holiday.
