Arm yourself with as much patience as you can, because on the 8th of December we are dealing with the Full Moon in Gemini creating a special combination with Mars in retrograde. An exciting time to say the least, with many achievements, actions, successes, but also heightened emotions. This period tests our patience, but also our soul, and the universe will reward those who know how to wait usefully, act when they have to (Mars in retrograde) and practice continuous awareness.
The last full moon of 2022 occurs on the 8th of December, 6:08am EST, and ends the year with the same challenging and intense force we’ve often experienced throughout 2022. It’s a Full Moon that falls at 16 degrees in the sign of Gemini and creates an opposition to the Sun in Sagittarius, affecting all the zodiac signs, but to a greater extent those in the mutable signs of Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces. The last month of May is also known as the Cold Moon or Moon of the Long Night in popular culture.
If you thought we could now breathe easy and slow down the pace altogether, this particular lunation shows us that we still don’t, we still have a little more to pull, to work out, to decide, to act upon. The Full Moon forming in the sign of Gemini creates a great conjunction with Mars, the planet of energy, impulsivity, desires, affirmation and motivation, conflict and war. Yes, we want a little more comfort, stability and peace in the last few days of the year, and we will have it because we are learning to create it in any context. But Mars infuses the Full Moon in Gemini with a special energy, one of action, one that gives us boldness and a spirit of action, a burning desire to take the initiative, to seize every moment to fulfill our soul’s desires and dreams right now, even before we enter a new year.
Mars also infuses our soul with optimism, we see everything and things in a much more colorful, vivid and passionate way and we don’t hesitate to take a stand for ourselves and our loved ones if need be, or even for an idea, a principle or a cause we believe in wholeheartedly. The presence of Mars retrograde in this aspect can also bring us face to face in our lives with our fate, with certain events that are fated to happen, with certain old patterns of behavior in new contexts, with recurring themes or with some strange coincidences that will almost shock us because they are beyond our rational power of comprehension.
Mars in retrograde forms a conjunction with the Moon in Gemini, which can also make us feel unfocused, fueling some feelings of frustration with our own fate that sometimes seems to take us away from our goals instead of towards them. This aspect, however, teaches us the lesson of patience and anticipation of that “right” moment in time and space when things are meant to fall into place naturally and effortlessly for us.
Have we faced certain situations in the past that have brought out the dark side in us, have we dealt with negative, destructive feelings, abuse, criticism, anger? Mars paired with the Moon in Gemini can make us relive some emotions that we wouldn’t want to relive, just from a different perspective, a more mature and drama-free one. Now we are aware of them, we can perceive them, can accept and tame them, we recognize them and know what we have to do to stop crossing those boundaries that should never be crossed. Now we know how to talk about them without hurting anyone else, without letting their fire burn us, because we have learned how. Now we know how to release our emotional and energetic charges in a way that is beneficial (for me, for you and for us), we know how to express our emotions (even the negative ones) in a healthier and more conscious way.
At the same time, on the level of love relationships, Mars in conjunction with the Full Moon in Gemini speaks of full communication, which is not only on the level of words, but also on the intimate level of intimacy and sexuality. But beware of emotional outbursts, don’t let impulsiveness lead your relationships with others in a direction you don’t want them to go, and try to communicate with more calmness, patience and tolerance. Avoid situations that can trigger the amplification of unwanted emotions such as anger, agitation, aggression or undue negativity. Whenever you feel overwhelmed by emotions greater than you can handle, don’t take them out on your loved ones, but talk to yourself first. What emotion do I have to heal here? What past event have I not overcome if a trivial word can trigger such an avalanche of emotions? Doesn’t my happiness depend on me? Why do I place unrealistic expectations on the shoulders of another?
On a more general level, it is true that there may be certain tensions related to what is said or written (Gemini is a social sign ruled by Mercury, the planet of communication itself), certain comments, feedbacks, certain words thrown in the wind, betrayals, manipulations, omissions or lies, but it is also the right time to dissolve and release certain anxieties, resentments or frustrations buried deep in the subconscious. Even if a strong desire will arise in us to master a situation and not let it aggravate us, it is best to remain open to the possibilities and let go of those things/circumstances/emotions/feelings that do not help us in any way if they are amplified.
Fortunately though, Saturn, the planet of time, also enters the picture and infuses us with a much needed dose of patience. Does everything really have to happen at our pace and our desires or at the pace of the universe and universal timing? Neptune, too, is also active during this phase, sharpening our intuition and giving us confirmations of things that we suspected or knew in our hearts.