November rises from the depths of the Underworld into the heights of the Celestial World. We start off with Celtic Samhain and the Lunar Eclipse all on the Scorpio/Taurus axis, then move rapidly out into the fires of Sagittarius. We swing from the depths to the heights in one quick swoop. Taking our deep feeling, personal healing opportunity back out into the world of Spirit and the collective. November starts deep within the Eclipse portal, so let’s dive inward before we bring that freed energy from our shadows back out into the light.
November Sky Viewing – There are a lot of opportunities here! Using the Moon as our guide, it conveniently passes by all the visible planets each month. If you’re a budding astronomer, like me, the Moon is an excellent way to begin navigating your way around the sky. I love the astronomy app stellarium.org – free for computers and inexpensive for the phone.
- Nov 1 – Moon near Saturn in evening
- Nov 4 – Moon near Jupiter in evening
- Nov 8 – Lunar Eclipse (more info below)
- Nov 10 – Moon near Aldebaran, eye of the Bull constellation all night
- Nov 11 – Moon near Mars
- Nov 16 – Moon near royal star Regulus, heart of the Lion constellation in morning
- Nov 21 – Moon near Spica, shaft of wheat in the Priestess constellation, at sunrise
- Nov 29 – Moon near Saturn in evening again, as we begin our monthly Moon guide journey once again
Samhain – Nov 1
From dusk on Halloween, through sunset on November 1, many commonly celebrate Samhain, the Celtic New Year. But, astrologically and in many Goddess traditions we celebrate this a little later, so keep reading.
Total Lunar Eclipse on the Taurus Full Moon – Nov 8
We’ll be able to watch this one here in Colorado! It starts around 2 AM and goes until almost 6 AM. The peak is at 4 AM. This is quite a sight to behold and experience. I highly recommend getting up for it. You can watch the Moon cycle through all its monthly phases in one night.
Eclipses are portals. This one is especially potent, as the astrological Samhain occurs on November 7, when the Sun reached 15 degrees of Scorpio. It is exactly halfway between the September Equinox and the December Solstice. In many Goddess traditions, we celebrate the Equinoxes and Solstices as solar holidays, but the cross-quarter ones as lunar celebrations. Samhain is celebrated on the first Full Moon after the Sun has entered Scorpio, the Taurus Full Moon. And, as a bonus, this one is an Eclipse!
Samhain is the Celtic New Year, signaling the end of summer and the harvest. It’s the beginning of (northern hemisphere) winter, associated with death. The Celts believed the veil between the living and dead is especially thin at this time of year, allowing spirits of the dead to visit the living.
The Eclipse adds more to these Underworld themes. Eclipses are alchemical cauldrons, where the Moon and Sun exactly meet or are opposite one another. It is a quickened time to dive into our shadows and focus on releasing something that stands in our way. What could you let go of during this Eclipse that will support you in being more of who you came here to be?
Focus on what you want to release as the shadow of the Earth slowly covers the Moon. Sit in the stillness during the peak Eclipse time (3:16am-4:41am MST), receptive to messages and awareness. Next, feel into the empowerment what you released offers you, as the Moon comes back into its fullness, meaning bring in the sensations of your deeper authentic self, coming more into the light.
The Eclipse is occurring on the Scorpio (Sun) and Taurus (Moon) axis, enlivening this particular Eclipse with intentions around intensity, aliveness, embodiment and cultivating the bliss of running increased chi or prana through your body. Mercury is exactly conjunct (right with) the Sun today as well, offering an intention to more deeply perceive what is blocking you and the true power you possess. Lastly, I’ll add the Eclipse is happening right by Uranus, our change agent planet, that supports shifts that bring us more firmly onto our Soul’s paths. There’s a lot to tune into and take advantage of energy-wise during this powerful Eclipse.
The Eclipse is visible from North America, Arctic, eastern Asia, Australia, and the Pacific. Click here to look for your individual location.
Venus then Mercury enter Sagittarius – Nov 16 and 17
Traveling close to the Sun, Venus and Mercury move from Scorpio in Sagittarius. After a deep Eclipse dive into the depths of Scorpio and the Underworld of the Shadow, with Samhain – yes that’s a lot – our Divine Feminine and perception planets move up and out of the watery depths into the maximum heights of fire in Sagittarius. Freed from the shadow, the energy now wants to move into adventure and exploration. We are released to quest for our spiritual truths and meanings. It is only by going into the shadow that the energy is released to seek our higher purposes and paths.
Mercury, Venus, Sun, Jupiter and the New Moon – Nov 21, 22, and 23
Mercury and Venus come exactly together before Mercury begins to lead Venus out of the Underworld on December 1. We have a meeting of our awareness and our Feminine expression, which leads us right into the Sun moving into Sagittarius on the 22nd and then the Sagittarius New Moon on the 23rd. It is that time to set our intentions once again for this Moon cycle. Themes to tune into for your intentions could include seeking your meaning, your purpose, opening more to your Soul’s evolutionary path.
Like Venus and Mercury, we move out of the shadows of Scorpio, using that freed energy from our healing journeys to sail into the celestial world once again, fueled by fire, ready to soar to the greatest heights. What intention could you set that aligns you more with your sacred purpose? Can you explore more of your Soul’s intended meaning for this lifetime?
Jupiter goes direct on the New Moon as well, adding lots of energy and expansion to your spiritual questing and questioning, contributing juice to your New Moon intentions as well!
Join me for a Sagittarius New Moon Ceremony, Sunday, November 20, 6-7:30 PM, where we’ll dive more into what these energies mean, play with astrological aromatherapy, and set our Moon intentions in community. You can learn more about it and register here. Thanks to recent feedback, we’ll be doing less information and more ceremony and experiential aspects to these gatherings. Hope to see you!
Venus rises into the Evening Sky – December 1
Look for Venus after the sunset in the west. She’s successfully completed her shamanic Underworld journey, traveling on the other side of the Sun. Concluding her death initiation she is rebirthed as the evening star, ready to begin her journey of empowerment, up through the chakras, symbolized each month by the waxing crescent Moon meeting with Venus, following the most ancient story of Inanna (actually Venus) from Sumer. If you are interested to learn more about this, here’s a short 12-minute video about the Venus cycle.
November Aromatherapy – for the Eclipse and then Sagittarius energies
- Vetiver – yup, Vetiver… again! Let her support us as we move through this incredibly powerful Eclipse window, with Venus still moving through the Underworld.
- Laurel Leaf – offers us courage and encourages our voices. She brings us into our truths, supporting the movements into Sagittarius.
- Eucalyptus True – helps us to breathe and stand in our heart power. She clears away the gunk that prevents our clear visioning, again bringing us deeper into our personal truths, the realm of Sagittarius again.
Blessings on your journey through November!
New Moon Ceremony Online – Sunday, Nov 20 at 1 PM MST
(always recorded)
