Arrive where we started
We have more gifts than we know, and the greatest privilege is to be a true, authentic, and completely unique self. We only get one chance to be this person, with this body and this biography.
It seems to me, now that we have passed the second Saturn Return, that this whole process of living exists solely to bring us closer to who we really are. As TS Eliot wrote, “…the end of all our explorations will be to arrive where we began, and to know the place for the first time.” When we hit bumps in the journey – rough transits, if you will – we have the opportunity to cut a few more tricks.
Take this week’s Mars and Saturn square (December 8, 2025, 4:15 PM PST, 25°15′ Sagittarius-Pisces). Think of Mars as a sculptor’s chisel and Saturn as a giant block of marble. What’s inside that cool rock? The sculptor thinks he knows…and his mission is to try to discover it.
when the tide comes
When Neptune is retrograde (and has been since July 4th) it’s like a beach at low tide. The landscape looked a bit desolate, littered with kelp ropes, large pieces of driftwood, and birds looking for food.
However, it is easier to walk on compacted sand at the waterline. To me, the periods of Neptune retrograde seem to be times when we are on firmer ground and have a clearer awareness of our internal and external landscapes.
Then, when Neptune goes direct again (December 10, 2025, 4:23 AM PST, 29°22′ Pisces), the tide came in and we were pushed back to the quicksand on the shore, where we sat, mesmerized, hypnotized by the sound of the waves. Enjoy their watery music, but keep a safe distance.
Mercury is overactive
Enjoy another week Mercury is overactive, Looking back at the steps of recent weeks: Opposite Uranus (December 10, 11:59 a.m. PST), Trine Neptune (December 11, 2025 at 2:19 a.m. PST), and Sextile Pluto (Saturday, December 13, 8:32 a.m. PST).
These are the links in the planetary chain connecting Mercury to the same aspects in the last week of October and the week of November 17th. Mercury, the planet of communication, perception, and connection, revisits Pluto for power, control, and intense focus; Uranus commands us to change our minds and see things from a different perspective; and Neptune for healing, intuition, and compassion.
These days, as Mercury revisits many of its past aspects before entering Sagittarius, it’s best to slow down, look inward, and see if we can connect the dots to the recent past.
Cleaning up the Sagittarius draft
People who enjoy reading but are not writers themselves may find the process of putting words on paper to be just as easy and enjoyable as reading them. But the truth is, most writers write first drafts that are so big, messy, and terrible that you don’t even enjoy reading them. Sometimes it’s hard to imagine what you want to say until you see some version of it on the page (or computer screen), with every scrap of inspiration or vaguely formed idea, every half-finished sentence and mixed metaphor.
Now you don’t have to hit “publish” on your blog post or send it to a publisher or agent in that desperate situation. You have to go back and knit some comprehensive stuff together, fix the punctuation issues, throw out the stuff that doesn’t work, and generally tidy things up.
When the Sun is in Sagittarius, we write a big, messy first draft of our big ideas and adventures for the upcoming New Year. The sky is the limit for our Sagittarius imagination; our quivers are full of arrows that may or may not hit their target.
sagittarius season Last Quarter Moon in Virgo (December 11, 2025 at 12:52 PM PST) It’s that time when we hand over our upcoming New Year’s resolutions to our in-house editor, who breaks them down, decides what’s realistic and necessary, removes excess, and tightens the prose. If you’re a bit of a Virgo type who’s used to playing this role with friends who are Sagittarius types, you know the resistance and tension involved in this process. We don’t want to give away any Sagittarius arrows. But our only hope of realizing our dreams is to focus our efforts and decide which option holds the most promise. In this regard, Virgo excels.
The clown in sagittarius
At first glance, Mercury entering Sagittarius (December 11, 2025 at 2:40 PM PST) may not seem like a bad choice. Planets and signs are talkative and interested in the world, ideas and communication. So why is Mercury traditionally considered unfavorable in Sagittarius?
Because Mercury’s job is to gather information, which requires being open to new ideas, while Sagittarius’s job is to understand information and form opinions. A master’s candidate must at some point stop research (Mercury) and present her thesis (Sagittarius). The author must submit the manuscript to the publisher. After interviewing the best candidates, the employer must decide which one is the best fit.
Mercury is happy to adopt Sagittarius’ lively, enthusiastic, joyful communication style for a few weeks. But privately, he may feel like he’s being treated like a buffoon and marginalized in Sagittarius’s court because the king has already made up his mind and doesn’t really invite new opinions.
representative of god’s wrath
I grew up in a small farming community, about 100 yards down a paved road from a small church. My parents were not religious, but my grandmother was and we were sent there every Sunday because it was important to her.
I hated these services; there was so much shouting and banging from the pulpit. I wonder why God would hire such angry representatives? It didn’t make me feel any closer to heaven – it made me feel like God himself disapproved of me personally.
I think this red-faced pastor is sincere in his faith. He was certainly adamant about these. But the contrast between his fiery sermons and the reverent hymns that punctuated the scene was stark—not to mention the lovely grandmother who wanted me to sit in that seat.
Mars square Neptune This week (December 14, 2025, 3:44 AM PST, 29°22′ Sagittarius-Pisces) in Sabian symbol 30 Sagittarius, pope. The angry pastor of my youth definitely clashed with sensitive, spiritually aware Neptune, reminding us that when we defend a cause, shouting won’t get others to agree with us. We all have our own beliefs, our own beliefs, which are precious to us. In the end, moving people’s hearts beats beating the pulpit.
Define your terms
Mars enters Capricorn this week (December 14, 2025 at 11:34 pm PST) and will run until January 23.
Capricorn is considered one of the strongest signs of Mars because Capricorn’s gifts of discipline and strategy can temper Mars’ impatience and tap into its powerful gifts of energy, determination, and courage. This makes the period of Mars in Capricorn effective in developing short- and long-term strategies and laying the foundation for success. This is an especially useful sign for making physical resolutions, such as exercising more, improving your diet, and improving strength and endurance.
Once Mars enters Aquarius, it’s time to deploy those plans, possibly as part of a team. But for now, enjoy the more solitary style of Mars in Capricorn to define your terms, refine your goals, and gather resources.
Text and images © 2017-2025 by April Elliott Kent
