Sagittarius New Moon 2025
Chiron as Mentor of Heroes
The Sagittarius New Moon of 2025 occurs on Friday, December 19, at 7:43 pm CST. We’re still in the pattern of the Sun and Moon conjunct at the later degrees of the sign, and this time the new Moon occurs at 28°24’ Sagittarius. The Sun and Moon are conjunct Venus in Sagittarius at 24°11’ and are out of sign conjunct Mars in Capricorn at 03°35’, as well as square to Saturn and Neptune in Pisces at 25°35’ and 29°35’ respectively; also, quincunx Uranus in Taurus at 28°19’, and widely trine Chiron in Aries at 22°41’.
The ruler of this new Moon is Jupiter, who is retrograde in Cancer at 22°49’, closely squaring retrograde Chiron in Aries at 22°41’. Planets that are farther out from the Sun are retrograde a larger portion of the time than are the personal planets (Mercury, Venus, and Mars). Because of this, there isn’t as much emphasis placed on the retrogrades of these planets/planetoids that are further out. However, because Jupiter and Chiron (who is not actually a planet by definition) are both retrograde and in close aspect to one another, and with Jupiter ruling Sagittarius, I’m following this thread to reflect on and explore the idea of the symbolism of Sagittarius as The Centaur.
Centaurs in myth were the whiskey drinking hell-raisers of antiquity - a whole lot of fun until it got ugly, which it often did. Centaurs are half-human, half-horse - the torso and head is that of a human, and the lower body is that of a horse. So from the lower horse half, we get the Sagittarian themes of the freedom of wild horses, running wild and free on the plains - don’t rein me in, yo! From the upper human half, we get the learned philosopher theme of Sagittarius, aiming their arrow up and out to the broadest of horizons. In myth, it was really only Chiron who was a philosopher centaur, the majority of his brother and sister centaurs were mostly up for raising hell, chasing tail, and kicking ass. Which if you were ever a teenager in a small town in Iowa (or anywhere, probably, if you knew the right people), you know that kind of activity can be pretty fun, until it’s scary.
Since Jupiter is closely square to Chiron during this new Moon, let’s focus on Chiron’s story in mythology. Although he was a centaur, he differed from the other centaurs in that he was primarily driven by human consciousness, rather than animal instinct. So rather than being a whiskey-drinking hell-raiser, Chiron was basically the OG off-grid guy. He lived in contemplative relative isolation in his cave on Mount Pelion, where he did cool stuff like studying the movements of the heavens, studying math, making music, practicing spiritual disciplines, foraging, hunting, practicing the healing arts, (herbs, diets, etc.), and building and practicing with the weapons of antiquity (bows, arrows, swords, etc.). In her fabulous novel Song of Achilles, Madeline Miller portrays Chiron’s cave as made up of crystals, which I can sit around and dream about for an embarrassingly long time. Let’s just go with that, the dude lived in a crystal cave on Mount Pelion. And in that crystal cave, he didn’t just hoard all of his knowledge and wisdom to himself, he was a Mentor of Heroes. Essentially, the Talented and Gifted children of the time were invited to come live with Chiron in his crystal cave on Mount Pelion, where he taught them the art of right living, healing, philosophy, music, and war. Kind of like a finishing school for promising young heroes.
One of the many heroes that Chiron was said to have mentored was Heracles (aka Hercules), and it was Heracles who ended up many years later accidentally shooting Chiron with a poison arrow, injuring him in the leg. Chiron, being half-divine, was immortal, and although he was a great healer, he was unable to heal the wound inflicted by the poison arrow, meaning his suffering would never end. He would never be rewarded with the sweet relief of death. Because of this facet of the Chiron myth, he is therefore often referred to as The Wounded Healer. But never fear, Chiron devised a plan to end his own suffering, and to once again benefit humanity. The Titan god Prometheus had been punished for stealing fire from the gods and providing it to humans. His punishment was brutal - he was chained to a rock on a mountain, and an eagle came daily to peck out and eat his liver. Because Prometheus too was immortal, the liver grew back each night, and Prometheus endured the exact same punishment daily. Zeus, who had enacted the punishment, decreed that the only way that Prometheus would be freed is that if another immortal agreed to die and descend to Hades. Well, Chiron took Zeus up on that offer and Prometheus was freed; and with that seemingly selfless act, Chiron’s suffering also ceased.
Because Prometheus in myth has correlations with Uranus in astrology, and the Sun and Moon are closely quincunx Uranus, let’s touch on that aspect of this new Moon Chart as well. We have the quincunx energy of adjustment at this new Moon. My colleague LaTonya described this energy best when she likened it to cars merging - which, incidentally, is one of the highest percentage incidences of road rage accidents according to her actuarial tables. In the act of merging, somebody has to give - there is no true compromise in the merge, one car has to cede to the other in some way. One has to speed up, and one has to slow down, they can’t both speed up and they can’t both slow down. So the merge is achieved successfully as much through skill and grace as instinct, but also sensing what the other will do, and adjusting accordingly. So this new Moon may have that type of energy associated with it, and we may need to adjust accordingly, using our skills, grace, and instincts, while sensing the behaviors of those around us. Some Uranian themes include unexpected deconstruction, sudden surprises or revelations, lightning-like flashes of insight, and the acceleration of thoughts and events.
The Sun and Moon are also closely square to Neptune, so there may be an element of enchantment or foggy confusion accompanying this new Moon as well. With Neptune, I feel that there is just no way to actively think or act your way out of the fog, so best to just enjoy the ethereal nature of whatever comes up, and wait out the confusion as best you can, without succumbing to the fog. The Sun and Moon will both move away from Neptune in short order and the fog will dissipate.
So many Sagittarius themes to focus on in just this one Chiron myth! But let’s break them down and see what comes up for you. We all have Sagittarius somewhere in our natal charts - some area of life (aka zodiacal house) includes Sagittarius for everybody. It may be that you have a planet in Sagittarius and that planet behaves in Sagittarian ways, or you have an angle in Sagittarius, and that Sagittarius energy seems to have a wormhole-like access straight into your life. Whatever it looks like to you personally, the Sagittarius themes are worth exploring for everyone, and here are some of them as they relate to the myth of Chiron:
Human Consciousness vs Animal Instinct - in what ways do these two competing themes show up in your life? Do certain situations cause you to regress back to conditioned responses leftover from childhood (animal instinct), when you would be better served by assessing the situation with composure and acting/speaking from that more composed, reflective place (human consciousness)?
Mentor of Heroes - in what ways do you pass on your hard-earned wisdom to those around you? Do you feel that said knowledge is wasted on those who aren’t destined to be heroes? Does humanity deserve to benefit from your wisdom, and how would you then also benefit from imparting this wisdom?
The Wounded Healer - what is the festering wound that doesn’t ever seem to heal for you? Can you imagine this wound as an uncomfortable invitation for you to grow in some area of your life, perhaps to leave something behind that you have clung to beyond its use-by date? Is there something in some area of your life that needs to descend to Hades, so that a higher expression of yourself can be free?
I have found that using the house placement in which the New Moon occurs so useful for setting intentions and manifesting ideas into form, as it not only helps to organize my thoughts, but if utilized throughout the year, touches on each area of life that the houses represent, helping us to become more well-rounded individuals. Also, it allows for Divine co-creation, as it often magically lines up with what is already wanting to come forth in that specific area of life (house) in which the New Moon occurs. If you aren’t sure which house this New Moon falls in your chart, feel free to reach out to me for that information.
Setting intentions or manifesting by house placement topics; if the New Moon falls in your:
1st house: How we approach phases of experience
2nd house: Survival, personal resources
3rd house: Learn, try, repeat, relearn, travel to learn again
4th house: Instinctive emotional motivations
5th house: The children (physical or mental) you produce or influence - their rearing, molding, teaching, the care given them, the values imparted to them.
6th house: Healing, nutrition, food preparation, wellness, health, coping with stress
7th house: Relationships, Partnerships, Togetherness, Producing surroundings where each partner’s values can be imparted to offspring
8th house: Needs for controlling another’s feelings through demands on their material or psychological resources
9th house: Creating a philosophical basis for defining your lifestyle
10th house: Contribution to society
11th house: Effecting change - because the old way no longer works well and a new way of seeing current reality is needed
12th house: Charity, Selfless deeds, Isolation