Today’s Moon in Sagittarius, sign of the archer, the hunter, and the huntress always feels like Artemis to me

Greek Moon Goddess of forests and the wilderness, Artemis was adventurous, brave, and fiercely independent.

Artemis was the firstborn of twins.

Her brother Apollo followed her from the womb, and the story goes that she helped deliver him.

When she grew up, Artemis begged her father Zeus to allow her never to marry. So great was her yearning for freedom. He agreed, and Artemis lived out her life as a huntress, aiming her bow with an exactitude that was unmatched.

Artemis’ earlier origins probably lie further east, beyond Greece and even modern-day Turkey, as an Asiatic Creation Goddess, a Mother of All Things.

Earlier still, the myths of Artemis tell of Neolithic sacrifice. On the Crimean Peninsula, it was believed that her holy priestesses would sacrifice all men who landed on their shores, nailing the head of each victim to a cross (remind you of anything?)

GO back far enough, peel back the masks and you’ll find that this fiercely independent lover of creatures and Goddess of the green places was (like all creation Goddesses) also a destroyer.

This part of her duel aspect is, like the waning Moon, crone-like. Yet as much as we know Artemis is the huntress, it’s a part of her that’s often glossed over. She kills with mercy and respect. Yet she kills. She takes life.

Does motherhood initiate death… like Artemis?

I read a piece of writing years ago, which spoke of the fact that when a woman becomes a mother, she also gives birth to a death.

The concept of death is never so strong, as when you have a life that you are responsible for. Not that this needs to be scary, but it’s an interesting truth, I always thought.

So this is Artemis – the rush of life, the yearning for freedom, the thrill of the chase, and the aliveness of the forest. And the blood, the bane, the ruin and the ravaging.

We – as whole humans – walk both sides of this edge.

The honey and the sting.

You cannot have one without the other, let’s not forget the beauty in both.

Moon in Sagittarius: The Journey

In Sagittarius, sign of huntress, the Moon brings a wandering, seeking energy. But not of the aimless, meandering kind.  This Moon is on a search for higher planes of experience, so the journey is as important … probably more so… as the destination.

It’s ok not to know the details about where you are heading

Sagittarius as a lunar archetype can create restlessness: A need to move on, whether in your mental, philosophical, ideological realms or out in our physical, actual realms of experience.  The quest is to ensure this restlessness and itchy-footedness does not cause you to reject what is really a precious and firm footing.

Sometimes we can forget the value and stability that sameness and roots and familiarity can bring. If you DO need to stretch your wings and discover new ground under this Moon, do it without rejecting – and sabotaging – what you already have.

The huntress chooses her pray with care and precision. 

It’s a truth and an art that this Moon has much to teach us about.

Blessings