December 2023: Tarot spread for the new moon in Sagittarius

Plus some journaling questions, an astro-tarot forecast and an exploration of the Sabian symbol for the new moon in Sagittarius.

The December 2023 new moon falls in the sign of Sagittarius. The freedom loving Sagittarius archetype is in a constant search for inspiration, new avenues of exploration, and adventure. This is a sign that gets bored of the status quo easily, and needs the rush of a new quest to keep them on their toes.

Spiritually, the Sagittarius archetype teaches us to cultivate our own personal relationship with the divine. Contrary to what most religions and a lot of spiritual teachers say, you don’t need an intermediary between you and Source/God/the Universe. You have that connection available to you at all times. Learning to tune in and trust that connection is where a lot of us seem to stumble, though.

This new moon also highlights your voyage of self-discovery: who you are, who you’re becoming, how do you realize your best self? It’s an excellent time to shine some light on your unique personality traits, the things about yourself that you want to change, and perhaps more importantly, to consider how you can achieve your goals while working with yourself {your strengths, vision, etc.} rather than against yourself {following “conventional” advice, which may or may not be serving you}.

Astro-tarot forecast for the December 2023 new moon

To throw some more light on the December new moon astrology, let’s take a look at the astro-tarot influences of this lunation. The Sagittarius new moon falls in decan 3, which is represented by the Ten of Wands. This is to be interpreted in conjunction with Temperance, which is associated with Sagittarius.

My eye is drawn to the little disk on the crown of the angel on the Temperance card. To my knowledge, it isn’t a symbol of any import; it hasn’t been pointed out in any of the tarot books I’ve read. To me, it feels like a point of focus. A little detail that doesn’t mean anything, but maybe therein lies its meaning.

What it suggests to me is the importance of finding something grounding, something peaceful and almost meditative to focus our attention on, to calm down the thoughts and anxieties circling around in our minds.

Consider all the ways in which you’ve been feeling heavy, overburdened, and overwhelmed with everything that you have on your plate, all the roles you are juggling, and all the things you’ve left undone and unsaid.

This could be compounded by the end-of-the-year busyness, the reviews and the goal setting that so many of us undertake around this time of the year. As we contemplate the ways in which we have changed, how we show up in the world, and what we want to focus on in the coming year, we could find ourselves being pulled in different directions, with competing voices and ideas vying for our attention.

What we need at this time is a bit of space in which we can contemplate and feel into what we really desire versus what we think we should desire; what we need is to remain grounded, so we can find the people and the resources that support us.

Scroll down to the end for a mini ritual idea for this lunation.

Sabian Symbol for the December 2023 new moon

The Sabian Symbol for Sagittarius 20 degrees is A Child And A Dog Wearing Borrowed Eyeglasses.

A dog wearing eyeglasses — now this is an imaginative and child-like image! It reminds us to indulge in play and imagination, to ask “what if” and act “as if” in a bid to change our perception. This can help us create new understanding of our dreams, or of how life can be, and it can help us to grow into that vision.

Sometimes, this Symbol can point to a situation where people are pretending to be something that they are not: more in control or smarter than they are. It can also indicate masking to hide your real intentions, or not seeing people or things for who, what or how they really are.

Tarot spread for the December 2023 new moon in Sagittarius

Here’s a tarot spread to tap into the energy of this new moon.

1. What is burdening my heart

2. How can I unburden myself

3. A mantra to focus on

4. Mamma moon says. This is always an encouraging message

If you share your spreads on Instagram, please use the hashtag #moontarotstories or tag me @moderngypsy.in so we can connect with each other.

Mini ritual for the December 2023 new moon in Sagittarius

Here’s a mini ritual that you could try around this new moon. This will also work any time you’re feeling stressed and overwhelmed.

What you need:

The Temperance card from the original Waite-Smith or a clone, such as the Universal Waite, Radiant Tarot, or even the original Raider-Waite. If you don’t have any of these decks, you can draw a dot on a white card

A candle and matches OR a light source such as fairy lights

An oracle deck of your choice

Journal and pen

A grounding crystal like tourmaline or smoky quartz

Set up a mini altar to the Temperance card. This can be as simple as propping up the card and lighting a candle or some fairy lights.

Set out your oracle deck, a journal and pen, and crystal in front of you.

Let your eyes fall gently on the disk/circle at the angel’s forehead. Just focus on that point, and you should start to feel its almost hypnotic, meditative pull.

Stay in this state for as long as feels comfortable. You don’t need to quieten your thoughts or focus on anything except keeping your gaze softly on the disk. Gently observe whatever arises — feelings, sensations, thoughts, or even the silence.

When you feel ready, try some freewriting or automatic writing in your journal.

End the session with a card pull from your oracle deck. This is a message from deep within your subconscious — make a note of what you observe or feel, or any words, colors, or symbols that jump out at you. If you have any immediate thoughts when you flip this card, record those too.

Hold on to your grounding crystal for a few minutes, until you feel grounded back into the here and now.

Hold these observations at the back of your mind as you go about your day. Make note of any additional insights that may arise.