Astrologer Laura Craig

Mercury Enters Sagittarius

Unknown Artist, “Comet of 1532”

December 1 - December 21, 2020

Having emerged out of his extended stay in the watery confines of Scorpio, Mercury bursts forth into Sagittarius with gusto. His caduceus morphs into bow and arrow. No longer a spy but a herald now, he announces his presence with energy and enthusiasm. A fire is lit underneath him, and he is eager to be off exploring this wide open space. But right out of the gate, he balks: to the god of small things, suddenly the world seems a very big place. To compensate for his detriment, he must expand and inflate to fill the mental and verbal landscape of this sign. To keep up with the fiery pace, he will now tend to overlook details, or move headlong into ideas and conversations without much deliberation or forethought. Microphones everywhere become megaphones. When in Sagittarius, he quickly learns, do as Jupiter does.

While the messenger is in Sagittarius, our exchanges may become bolder and more impassioned, our speech more forthright and direct. When on the receiving end we may be nonplussed by the lack of a filter, but may also trust that it comes from a place of honesty and sincerity. For some, communication styles can go from verbal to verbose, or from personal to professorial, and from there to pontificating. The open mind (and mouth), chasing big ideas, seeking lofty ideals, or championing a cause, can get carried away. But that same freedom of speech can be refreshing and enlivening. That excitement of the eternal student can be infectious and inspiring. So by all means, for the duration of this transit, climb up on your soapbox and carry on! 


Happy Birthday, Sagittarius!

Pál Szinel Merse “The Balloon”

November 21 - December 21, 2020

I invite you to join me in a month-long toast: Let us raise a glass to the ones that are often the first to raise a glass to the rest of us. Here’s to the seekers, the believers, the enthusiasts, and our biggest cheerleaders—here’s to Sagittarius!

They embody the spirit of the Centaur, the race of wild and untamed human-horse hybrids, who themselves were descendants of Ixion of the fiery wheel and the cloud nymph Nephele. They are the children of fire and clouds, always moving forward, following the whims of the Wheel of Fortune: round and round it goes, where it stops, nobody knows. Their other symbol is the archer on horseback, his bowstring taut, arrow aimed in the direction of the next horizon. 

Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter, the colossus of planets, aka Zeus, the insatiable king of the gods. Down on the world’s stage, the philosophers, jurists, activists, missionaries, superfans, evangelists, anthropologists, wayfarers, vagabonds, pilgrims and crusaders are the roles played by Jove’s faithful subjects. 

We love them for their inspiring optimism, adventurousness, passion and zeal. We don’t always love their outspokenness, capriciousness, dogmatism, or tendency to run away when the going gets tough. But the mutable fire sign has its shadows just like everyone else. They move and live according to the rhythm of a gypsy heart, which teaches them to follow the winds of change, and to know when it’s time to ramble on. 

Chief Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, who had Jupiter in Sagittarius, said, “a mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.” It’s true. Sagittarius is the part of us all that needs to have room to grow and expand, to increase and mature; that needs to step out into the Great Wide Open, and feel the wind in our hair—a reminder of promise and possibility. Travel, one of the greatest mind stretchers, is the elixir of life for Sagittarius. And if circumstances deny that possibility, then a voyage of the mind is the next best thing. Its natives need to be able to touch the foreign and the exotic to keep the soul alive and to keep stagnation at bay. 

For those born under Sagittarius, all of life is a quest; a search to find a sense of meaning in the mundane. What to make of this vast world and this curious human existence? And therein lies the formula for their success: Through EXPERIENCE one is exposed to a diversity of ideas. And from those ideas, one forms one’s own BELIEFS. For, without beliefs, one cannot ultimately have FAITH—the Sagittarian gift, and the thing that allows them to relish the unpredictability of life; to savor the constant change; to weather hard times with a “this too shall pass;” and to trust that whatever will be, will be, and that everything will work out in the end. 


Venus enters Scorpio: Les Diaboliques

Kehinde Wiley “La Femme Piquée par un Serpent”

November 21 - December 15, 2020

This week, we set off with Venus on her journey of autumnal awakening. Leaving behind the comfort of her home sign, she finds herself thrust into a different and unfamiliar world. This new landscape is a stark departure from the floral meadows of Libra. The green pastures of Taurus are by now a distant memory, and are as far away as they will be all year. Her Scorpio transit is a time of initiation into the mysteries, a date with the ouroboros, a confrontation with the taboo. It is at times shocking, possibly dangerous, and strangely exciting. 

She sheds her innocence at the entrance to the underworld, trading romance for realism, exchanging euphemism for explicitness. Enveloped in her nighttime glamour, tinged by the red light glow, the goddess is transformed. Through the lustful eyes and intense focus of Mars and Pluto, Venus’s natural charms become lures, wiles, even weapons—unconscious reminders to the observer of the power of sex to transport, to intoxicate, to disarm, and to destroy. Her innate desire to connect becomes a hunger: your naked body is not enough—she wants you to bare your soul too. Her desire to relate deepens: she wants to penetrate the inner labyrinths of both mind and body, to explore all of your erogenous zones. Pain and pleasure are now inextricably linked. Stings and stabs, barbs and thorns, become the comfortable and familiar. Sex is survival. It is “L’Origine du Monde” as well as “la petite mort” (as the throes of passion and the throes of death look much the same). 

Venus’s time in Scorpio is an opportunity to brave the depths of intimacy; to confront issues around trust or shame; and to commit to authentic self-expression. To find beauty in the macabre, and value in deep emotional connection. To tune into the wisdom and authority of your sacral chakra. Venus in Scorpio brings out the provocateur: expect feather-ruffling and pearl-clutching, as well as thought-provoking conversation and daring new perspectives. Beware of jealousy, power plays and manipulation—this is a placement with a vengeful side. And last but not least, marvel at your own resiliency and inner strength.



Using Format