SHALLOW: Ha, cousin Silence, that thou hadst seen that that this knight and I have seen! Ha, Sir John, said I well?
FALSTAFF: We have heard the chimes at midnight, Master Shallow.
SHALLOW: That we have, that we have, that we have…

-Henry IV, Part II

Neptune has ended its long retrograde period in Pisces, and Chiron turns direct in that Sign on Tuesday. In my writings, I have tended to neglect Chiron (Chiron, if you’re out there… please accept this blog entry as my apology. You are entirely too easy to neglect, Chiron, and we all do so at our own peril).  In all fairness: Chiron isn’t an easy body to deal with, either as an astrologer or as a human being living in an imperfect world full of prickly things to stumble into. As a Sagittarius, “stumbling into” things has been my preferred method of travel: cheaper than a plane ticket, and more adventurously unpredictable than a bus route or subway schedule. Nonetheless, all our life choices come with benefits and price tags… and the last ten days of November may prove to be a time when some of those prices need to be paid.

The Sun enters Sagittarius on November 21st. Anyone who reads up a fair bit on astrology can tell you all the clichés about that Sign, and like all good clichés they are a healthy mix of “that’s kinda true” and “that misses the point.” This year, especially in the first week or so of Sagittarius, the balance for many of us will be tipped in favor of the philosophical and thoughtful side of the Sagittarian equation, rather than the Hind End Of The Horse Sag we all partied with in college. The first third of this year’s Sagittarius Season is noteworthy for two squares: one to and the other to Chiron. Whatever Houses of your birth chart Sagittarius and Pisces fall into are likely to face a bit of an emotional test.

Tests are all fine and well if you’ve studied the subject in question, but both Neptune and Chiron are inherently difficult teachers. Neptune rules things that are both nebulouly indistinct and yet maddeningly real: it’s the Zen Riddle planet, inherently hard to pin down and yet still very real in its own way. If you’ve ever had that moment when you are both roaring drunk enough to do or say something really stupid, yet at the same time been sober enough to stand outside yourself observing and thinking “hey, that’s a really bad idea” without actually stopping yourself from following though, then congratulations: you’ve had a Neptune Moment.

Chiron is real-yet-elusive in an entirely different way. Chiron is the itch you can’t scratch. It’s the childhood memory that scarred you that you can’t stop yourself from poking at. Chiron is the unhealed wound that can be too painful to address… and yet if you don’t, it jut keeps getting worse.

Neither of these concepts play well into the popular image of Sagittarius as the freewheeling, fun-loving adventurer. No one wants to hear stories about Robin Hood sitting around whining about his painful childhood… we want stories that involve robbing the rich and grappling with injustice. But Sagittarius also has its philosophical and thoughtful side. If the Centaur runs roughshod through life sometimes, it’s because his human head knows where it’s going… more or less.

When the Sun is passing through the Zodiac at a 90 degree angle to Neptune or Chiron, a lot of hurt feelings can happen, old wounds can open, and good times can turn introspective. This time around, those of you with major placements in the first third of the Mutable Signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces) are most likely to be feeling the potentially sorrowful effects of the transiting Sun square first Neptune (exact on the 24th) and then square Chiron on December 1st. The good news it that if you try to take the thoughtful approach, don’t panic when the shadows approach, and be gentle with yourself, those Chimes At Midnight may not be calling the curtain down on you… they may be ushering a new and healthier dawn.

And, as for the rest of you? Avoid drunken arguments. Little good comes of those at the best of times, but the last week of November and the first few days of December could prove to be a terrible time to open a bottle and engage your mouth. And hey, whatever you do, don’t give in to any delusional fears about comets, okay…?