The astrology for this week of November 25th through the 1st of December of 2024 kicks off the holiday season with this Thanksgiving week and the beginning of a three-week Mercury retrograde. This week may seem to play out the famous catchphrase of Oliver Hardy of the comedy duo Laurel and Hardy: “Well, here’s another nice mess you’ve gotten me into.”
With Mercury turning retrograde at the start of this week and doing so in Sagittarius, a Sign of Detriment for Mercury, we may find ourselves stalled or frustrated in moving forward. The impacts might be seen with travel difficulties as we try to get from here to there. Excessive congestion and weather issues along with a lack of clarity could be a powerful blend that creates delays, frustrations, having us spinning our wheels and certainly necessitating contingency plans.
More so now than ever, patience is called for, but a quality liable to be lacking thanks to the Mars Leo – Pluto Aquarius opposition. People can be pushing the envelope, wanting what they want and the way they want it, and banging up against the vagaries of these times. It would be wise for us to maintain sober restraint and keep in mind the British wartime motivation of ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’.
While we shall be operating under the Mercury retrograde, this week of Thanksgiving in the US might remind us of all the bounties and blessings we have in our life, no matter the recent challenges of anxiety-provoking conditions. It is always best to reaffirm the attitude of gratitude, a disposition that this Thanksgiving week offers as a reminder.
The Sagittarius New Moon on Sunday brings this week to closure and begins a two-week influence up to the Full Moon on the 15th, also the day that Mercury ends its retrograde cycle and turns direct.
The New Moon influence with a Mutable Sign T-Square by orb engaging both Jupiter and Saturn and under the Mercury retrograde can open a two-week period of high intensity, racing around and a feeling like bungy jumping by launching ahead only to be snapped back.
This is a week for us to embrace the holiday spirit without going overboard. ‘Moderation in all things’ would be suggested but hard to come by.
Monday, November 25th – Bright Starts – Neptune, Moon Void-of-Course, Pluto, Sun, Mars, Mercury retrograde. Monday begins the week with the Moon completing its transit of Virgo with the Virgo Moon opposed Neptune early this Monday morning. The Moon then goes Void-of-Course for almost six hours during the overnight as the Moon finishes its transit of Virgo without making any further connections to the planets and before the Moon enters Libra where today the Libra Moon trines Pluto in Aquarius, the Moon sextiles the Sun in Sagittarius, and the Moon sextiles Mars in Leo. Mercury turns retrograde [9:42 PM EST] to begin its three-week retrograde cycle. Although our sleep state might be somewhat restless as thoughts of what we need to accomplish in preparation of the holidays ahead and what we need to finish before the end of the year under the impending Mercury retrograde, our waking state can have us looking forward to our engagements both with the people with whom we intend to share the holidays and with our new year resolutions under the changing circumstance likely to occur in the year ahead. We can be gung-ho as we start our week, but let’s keep in mind that Mercury is turning retrograde this evening and consequently things can already start to get squirrely. Many people may be traveling for the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, but it would be wise to accept the possible delays and frustrations as a result of congestion, weather, and equipment issues. With Mercury turning retrograde, Murphy’s Law of ‘whatever can go wrong could go wrong’ is back in effect. Contingency plans and a huge dose of patience may be necessary during this holiday season.
Tuesday, November 26th – What Could Be, What Is – Jupiter, Venus. Tuesday continues with the Moon’s transit of Libra but without much energy until the latter part of the day when the Moon connects with the two ‘good guys’ of the planetary realm with the Moon sextile Jupiter followed closely by the Moon square Venus. We may have great plans for this day, but it would be wise to keep our finances and a budget in mind. We could be overly generous on this Tuesday with the consequences of putting a huge dent on our credit cards or realizing that early Black Friday sales are not the bargains they portray. Let’s go slow today both with our intentions and our expenditures. There might be a tendency to try and rush things, but with Mercury retrograde, there is the liability that ‘what we see is not what we get’. Due diligence is suggested. If we would keep a handle on our opinions and stay away from controversial subjects [e.g., the election], then our social interactions can be fun and engaging events. If we are traveling, then we might want to add on extra time and allow for unforeseen incidents impacting our planned itinerary. This week and these next three weeks of Mercury retrograde and under the influence of the Mars Pluto opposition on and off through the Spring 2025 period, we need to maintain calm, have patience, and avoid knee-jerk reactions. This is a season of peace and joy, so let’s en joy.
Wednesday, November 27th – Push and Shove – Mercury, Moon Void-of-Course, Lunar T-Square, Pluto, Sun, Mars. Wednesday has the Libra Moon sextile Mercury early in the morning. The Moon then goes Void-of-Course for over fifteen hours with the Moon making no further connections to the planets as the Moon completes its transit of Libra and before the Moon moves into Scorpio where the Scorpio Moon triggers a Fixed Sign T-Square with the Scorpio Moon square Pluto in Aquarius this evening and the Scorpio Moon square Mars in Leo early tomorrow. The Sun trines Mars. This Wednesday may have us considering our options with a push to get on with things. Some of the getting on could also be travel arrangements for tomorrow’s Thanksgiving holiday. We might have great intentions today, but the implementation of our plans can hit some rocky bumps in the road. The Mars Pluto opposition that is liable to challenge and thwart us into 2025 is engaged, so we do have to be especially careful of people acting out, reckless actions and irrational behavior. During these times when everything seems speeded up and many people are anxious and not thinking things through, we need to be aware and mindful of the conditions around us and willing to be flexible and adaptable to shifting circumstance. While holidays can be great fun, they could also be highly stressful. Let’s lower the temperature gauge, take things as they come, and try not to force our will on impenetrable forces or on other people.
Thursday, November 28th – Attitude of Gratitude, Even Begrudgingly – Lunar T-Square, Mars, Saturn. Thursday continues with the Scorpio Moon with the Moon completing the Fixed Sign T-Square that began last evening with the Scorpio Moon square Pluto in Aquarius and today with the Moon square Mars in Leo. Late in the day, the Moon trines Saturn. Today is Thanksgiving Day in the US, a day when we celebrate with our family and hopefully with an attitude of gratitude as we give thanks for all the blessings and bounties in our lie. Unfortunately, some in our society only see things as bad and irredeemable. They may see the problems but unwilling to come up with the solutions. While people could be carping about this, that and the other today, let’s take the time for a moment of appreciation for all that we have been blessed with. Although our life and our society might not be perfect, comparisons to the lives of many other people and to other societies should make us realize how fortunate we are. No need for us, or anyone, to only see the half glass of water as half empty rather than half full. It’s all a question of perspective. Hopefully, we can use this day to be thankful for what we have and what we could engage in our days ahead. The evening hours seem far better to enjoy the company of family, friends, and home.
Friday, November 29th – Black Friday Redux – Venus, Uranus. Friday continues with the Scorpio Moon with the Moon today sextile Venus and the Moon opposed Uranus. We have all probably noticed how life and events are fast forwarded. School sales days often occur before summer vacation has hardly started. Halloween costumes and candies are hawked in mid-summer for the end of October event. Christmas decorations come up even during the end of summer in August. And Black Friday sales events that traditionally occurred on the day after Thanksgiving have now begun to occur in late October, early November. It’s jarring how vendors push holidays before their time, but we live in a consumer society so the sales must go on. The seduction of getting ‘deals’ and ‘bargains’ on this Friday cannot be discounted, and many of us may be first in line at our favorite retailer looking for that favorite item at hugely discounted cost. Although we might be looking for necessities, useful additions, and things we want for ourselves and others, it would be wise for us to keep track of our expenses to prevent budget busting and huge dents on our credit cards. I would also suggest we keep sales receipts just in case we have a later pang of buyer remorse. We all have been through a particularly strenuous few years, and as the saying goes: “when the going gets tough, the tough go shopping.” Evening plans might go awry, so it would be wise for us to have backup plans or lower our expectations.
Saturday, November 30th – Far Away Explorations – Neptune, Moon Void-of-Course, Pluto, Mars. Saturday begins with the Scorpio Moon trine Neptune. The Moon then goes Void-of-Course for five and a half hours with the Moon making no further connections to the planets as the Moon completes its transit of Scorpio and before the Moon enters Sagittarius when we awaken. The Sagittarius Moon today sextiles Pluto early in the day and the Moon trines Mars in the evening. As though guided in our sleep state to pursue our personal destiny, we may get up with a prodding to stretch beyond our normal parameters, take on the role of a grand adventurer, and explore unfamiliar terrain that drives our passion. Saturday can be an exciting day when we stretch our wings and move beyond our usual parameters with a sentiment of seeking discovery. The evening hours may be exciting and fun filled as we either participate in re-creational activities or observe entertainment performances. While we need to deal with the Mars Pluto opposition ongoing, today we might channel the intensity into positive engagements and thrilling adventures. Life is good.
Sunday, December 1st – Life is a Maze, Make it a Labyrinth – Sagittarius New Moon, Sun, Lunar T-Square, Saturn, Jupiter, Mercury. Sunday has the Sagittarius New Moon with the Moon conjunct the Sun [1:21 AM EST]. The New Moon configuration triggers a Mutable Sign T-Square with the Moon square Saturn and the Moon opposed Jupiter. Later in the day, the Moon conjuncts Mercury. This New Moon signature influences the next two weeks up to the Full Moon on the 15th and may have us all over the place going from pillar to post, trying this, and then trying that, all with a liability of delays and frustrations before the convoluted corrects itself. Although we could feel as though we are caught in some sort of Fun House with its maze-like quality of banging into walls with our process forward distorted by mirror-like obstacles concealing our way, we might be able to turn the maze into a labyrinth whereby the circling eventually leads us to the center. We may have various involvements today and over the next two weeks, but our mission may be to create clarity out of confusion, filter the bombardment of constant stimuli to determine greater awareness, and recognize the cyclical nature of life with its contractions and expansions without being overwhelmed by either the frustrations or the gratifications. During the hurly-burly of this two-week period and this holiday season, we have the opportunity to employ the Buddhist sentiment of the middle path and learn the lessons of non-attachment.
