The sun is in Sagittarius from the end of November through mid December, changing to Capricorn just before Christmas. In this country, we are very Sagittarius during the month of December – we eat, drink, sing, shop and spread cheer.

Or, at least, we used to.

This year our Sagittarius cocktail has not a slice of lemon, lime or olive. Instead it has a wooden sliver that may cut your finger as you pick up the glass.

You might have noticed.

Sagittarius

Let’s step back for a moment and talk about Sagittarius energy. Astrology.com has a nice article about Sagittarius traits. Here are the first two paragraphs:

Sagittarius, the ninth sign of the zodiac, is the home of the wanderers of the zodiac. It’s not a mindless ramble for these folks, either. Sagittarians are truth-seekers, and the best way for them to do this is to hit the road, talk to others and get some answers. Knowledge is key to these folks, since it fuels their broad-minded approach to life. The Sagittarian-born are keenly interested in philosophy and religion, and they find that these disciplines aid their internal quest. At the end of the day, what Sagittarius wants most is to know the meaning of life, and to accomplish this while feeling free and easy.

It’s the Archer that represents Sagittarians, although in this case it’s a Centaur (half man, half beast) that is flinging the arrows. Centaurs were the intellectuals of ancient Roman mythology, and Sagittarians are quick to consider themselves their modern-day counterparts. Those born under this sign are clear thinkers, and choose to look at the big picture most of the time. They also like it when others agree with their well-thought-out point of view. The alternative to this, for better or for worse, is a Sag who can become argumentative and blunt. That’s not to say that these folks are intransigent — Archers will listen to what others have to say, in keeping with the Mutable Quality assigned to them. Indeed, Sagittarians are enthusiastic consumers of information (and enthusiastic in general), the better to get the answers they need. It’s also a good idea to give Sags lots of room to explore their world. Once these folks start to feel hemmed in, they’ll become impatient and difficult.

Sagittarius is an archer, not a farmer or doctor or lawyer. Archer. Archers shoot arrows.

Late astrologer Linda Goodman had much more to say about the Sagittarius passion for causes and the ability to offend through directness than you’ll find in the online articles.

Saturn in Sagittarius

On Christmas Eve 2014, Saturn moved from the sign of Scorpio in to the sign of Sagittarius. As Saturn is far away, it went “retrograde” (appeared to move backward) soon after and in September of this year began forward again through Sagittarius.

Saturn is the slice of wood on the Sagittarius cocktail glass.

Sagittarius (ruled by Jupiter) is expansion and Saturn is contraction so you have an energy pattern of a rubber band being expanded and contracted all the while flying through the air hitting people in the eye.

Café Astrology has a nice write up of Saturn and Saturn-in-Sagittarius. Some excerpts from the article:

Saturn in Sagittarius is looking for practical applications of our personal philosophies. We may be firming up our belief systems, but should avoid rigid thinking. There can be a sense that our freedom is curtailed or limited in some manner until we realize that freedom is not about escaping responsibility – it’s what we can enjoy after tending to our responsibilities. Saturn in Sagittarius will test our moral sense. If we’ve become too moralistic, we may be challenged to walk the talk and practice what we preach.

Sagittarius is a very outspoken sign, but with Saturn here, we may take more time with, and before verbalizing, our ideas and opinions. There can be a lot of time taken on formulating and sharing ideas, as we tend to want to be totally correct. There is a big difference between asserting ourselves from a place of healthy confidence, and asserting ourselves brashly and blindly, which can give us a false sense of confidence or bravery. This Saturn transit discourages the latter as we work on the former.

The 2016 US Presidential Election is sponsored by Saturn in Sagittarius

Since Saturn entered Sagittarius, the US has been experiencing Sagittarius debates on a number of fronts:

• Police brutality directed toward African Americans
• Violence in response to personal moral concerns
• The role of immigrants/refugees in our culture
• Group responsibility for actions of one or more in that group (i.e., guilt by association)

The 2016 presidential race began as Saturn entered Sagittarius. It’s fascinating to an astrologer that the presidential nominee front-runner in the Republican Party Donald Trump has moon in Sagittarius. Another two Republican candidates also have moon in Sagittarius: New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and business woman Carly Fiorina (In past blogs, I mistakenly thought Carson had moon in Sagittarius but was using the wrong birthday).

It’s no wonder the Republicans are getting all the attention right now! The moon is our reactive, emotional response. In Sagittarius, the desire to fight and defend principles is strong. Everyone is shouting and those in the energy pattern know they need to shout the loudest to be heard right now!

(Note to Hillary Clinton: Maybe you should be shouting).

What’s even more fascinating is that Christie and Fiorina are both Virgo sun. Jupiter is currently transiting Virgo which is energy in square to Sagittarius (both are mutable). These two candidates are the embodiment of the energy we are currently experiencing.

Jupiter in Virgo combined with Saturn in Sagittarius creates the profound statements and critical responses we hear almost daily right now – not only in the election process but in our culture.

The three outer planets are Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. All changed signs in the three years of 2008-2011. That indicates a global shift of consciousness.

In 2008 when Pluto moved into Capricorn, we saw a global financial collapse. Folks across the globe were dealing with national and personal financial issues. By 2011 when Uranus entered Aries financial recovery was adequate for political uprising – possibly all that was revealed in the financial collapse shed light on the inner workings of global politics. About the same time, Neptune moved into Pisces creating the desire for more spiritual connection.

When Uranus entered Aries in 2011 for a seven-year journey, we saw the beginnings of the Arab Spring. Uranus is still in Aries and the revolution has spread. In the United States, it’s a cultural revolution, a cultural civil war.

Saturn takes about 2.5 years to transit a sign. Combined with the outer planet energies, the shouting over moral and cultural issues in the US will last through the presidential election and throughout the first year of the next president’s term. Saturn will not move into Capricorn until January 2018. At that time, there may be a sense of law and order prevailing. However, Saturn will hook up with Pluto in Capricorn a bit later which may also indicate law and order that is mandated by power (Pluto) which can be quite restrictive.

On the Democrat side, we have three candidates, none with Sagittarius sun or moon. Nominee Bernie Sanders, however, has moon in fire-sign Aries. Like Christie and Fiorina, Sanders also has sun in Virgo and is known for passion (which sounds like shouting). Let’s add Sanders to the list of those embodying the current energy pattern.

The moral of the story, is that to win the 2016 presidency, you must shout. Let’s see if a moon-in-Sagittarius nominee prevails on the Republican side.

Shout it out loud

Sagittarius, like any sign, may shout, but isn’t always shouting. Sagittarius is passionate about beliefs and often defends the underdog. Saturn in Sagittarius is a great time to put the rubber to the road with your beliefs. If you don’t like trash strewn about the neighborhood, are you willing to go out and pick it up?

Saturn in Sagittarius combined with Uranus in Aries also creates violence to defend and support beliefs. This is another challenge of this aspect. Has killing others ever truly changed a belief? Why do we get so angry when others don’t agree with us?

Hopefully when Saturn is finished disciplining and organizing Sagittarius energy, we’ll follow passion that promotes wellness for all rather than passion that promotes and defends fears and insecurities.

Fear and insecurity – that’s Saturn too. How much of our belief system is tied to fear and insecurity?