The Last New Moon of 2025: When Darkness Becomes Your Greatest Teacher

December 19, 2025 | 8:43 PM MST | 28° Sagittarius

There's something profoundly magical happening in the sky this week, and if you've been feeling it—that restless pull, that whisper of something more—you're not imagining it.

On December 19th, we welcome the final new moon of 2025, and she arrives cloaked in Sagittarius energy just two days before the Winter Solstice. This isn't just another lunar cycle. This is a cosmic invitation to plant seeds in the dark that will grow as the light returns.

When the Archer Meets the Longest Night

Sagittarius is the wild-hearted archer of the zodiac—the seeker, the adventurer, the truth-teller who refuses to shrink. This fire sign asks us to expand beyond what we think is possible, to question the beliefs that keep us small, and to trust that there's more waiting for us on the other side of our comfort zones.

But here's what makes this new moon extraordinary: it falls at the very last degree of Sagittarius, the 28th degree. In astrology, this is called the anaretic degree—a place of urgency, completion, and powerful culmination. It's the universe saying, "What needs to end before you can truly begin?"

And then, just 48 hours later, we experience the Winter Solstice—the longest, darkest night of the year, followed by the gradual return of the light.

Can you feel the poetry in that timing?

The Sacred Work of Darkness

We live in a culture that glorifies the light. We're taught to fear darkness, to rush through it, to fix it with forced positivity and productivity. But the darkness—the actual, literal darkness of winter and the metaphorical darkness of our inner landscapes—is not our enemy.

Darkness is where transformation happens.

Seeds don't sprout in the blazing sun. They germinate in the fertile dark of the soil. Babies grow in the darkness of the womb. Butterflies metamorphose in the darkness of their cocoons. And we, too, need the darkness to become who we're meant to be.

This new moon invites you to stop running from the dark and instead, to plant something there.

What Wants to Be Born Through You?

Sagittarius energy is expansive, optimistic, and fiercely authentic. This new moon asks:

• What truth are you afraid to speak?

• Where are you playing small to keep others comfortable?

• What adventure is your soul calling you toward?

• What belief system no longer serves your highest good?

• If you trusted the universe completely, what would you do next?

These aren't small questions. They're not meant to be answered quickly or lightly. They're meant to crack you open.

Because here's what I know to be true: you didn't come this far to stay the same. You didn't survive 2025—with all its lessons, its losses, its unexpected gifts—to keep living a life that doesn't fit anymore.

Your New Moon Ritual: Planting Seeds in the Dark

You don't need elaborate tools or perfect conditions to work with this energy. You need intention, honesty, and a willingness to dream bigger than you've allowed yourself to dream.

Here's a simple ritual for December 19th:

1. Create Sacred SpaceLight a candle (or several). Sagittarius is a fire sign—honor that. If you have sage, palo santo, or sound (singing bowl, bells), cleanse your space. Put your phone away. This is sacred time.

2. Ground YourselfPlace your hands on your heart. Take three deep breaths. Feel your body. You are here. You are safe. You are ready.

3. Journal with Radical HonestyWrite without editing. Let your hand move faster than your inner critic. Ask yourself:

• What am I ready to release from 2025?

• What truth wants to be spoken through me?

• What does freedom look like in my life?

• If nothing were impossible, what would I create in 2026?

4. Set Your IntentionsWrite 3-5 intentions for this new moon cycle. Use present tense: "I am..." or "I allow..." Make them feel like expansion, like possibility, like truth.

5. Visualize Your Seeds GrowingClose your eyes. See yourself on the Spring Equinox, six months from now. What has grown from the seeds you're planting tonight? Feel it in your body. Let it be real.

6. Speak Them AloudYour voice carries power. Say your intentions out loud, even if you're alone. Especially if you're alone. Let the universe hear you.

7. GratitudeThank the darkness for holding your dreams. Thank yourself for showing up. Thank the light that's coming.

8. ReleaseBlow out your candle. The ritual is complete, but the magic continues.

The Solstice Connection: From Darkness to Light

On December 21st, two days after this new moon, we'll experience the Winter Solstice—the moment when the light begins its slow, steady return. In ancient traditions, this was celebrated as the rebirth of the sun, the promise that even in the deepest darkness, light always returns.

What you plant on the 19th will begin to grow on the 21st.

This is the cosmic choreography of transformation: intention meets action, darkness meets light, ending meets beginning.

Consider creating a simple Solstice practice on December 21st:

• Reread your new moon intentions

• Light a candle at sunrise or sunset

• Speak a prayer of gratitude for the returning light

• Journal on what you're ready to illuminate in your life

A Note on Playing Small

If you're reading this and feeling resistance—if a voice in your head is saying, "That's not realistic" or "Who do you think you are?" or "You've tried this before and it didn't work"—that's not your voice. That's fear.

And fear, while it might feel protective, is actually keeping you trapped.

Sagittarius doesn't do small. This sign teaches us that we're allowed to want more, be more, dream more. Not from a place of never being satisfied, but from a place of knowing that we're capable of growth, expansion, and transformation.

You're not being greedy by wanting a life that lights you up. You're being alive.

Moving Through the Holidays with Intention

I know this time of year can be complicated. Family dynamics, financial stress, grief for what was or what could have been, exhaustion from a long year—it's a lot.

But here's your permission slip: you can hold space for the complexity and still plant seeds for what you want to grow.

You can honor the darkness and welcome the light.

You can rest and dream.

You don't have to choose.

As you move through the next two weeks—through this new moon, through the Solstice, through the holidays, through the end of the calendar year—remember that transformation doesn't happen on January 1st. It happens in quiet moments like this one. In rituals performed alone. In truths spoken softly. In seeds planted in the dark.

What's Growing in You?

This new moon asks you to be brave enough to believe in yourself again. To trust that the darkness isn't punishment—it's preparation. To know that you're not lost, you're transforming.

The archer has drawn her bow. The longest night is coming. And on the other side? The light returns, your seeds begin to sprout, and you step into 2026 as someone who chose courage over comfort.

So tell me: what are you planting in the dark?

The December 19th New Moon in Sagittarius invites us to expand, explore, and speak our truth. As we approach the Winter Solstice and the end of 2025, may you honor both the darkness and the light, knowing that both are necessary for transformation.

What intentions are you setting for this powerful new moon? Share in the comments below—let's hold space for each other's dreams.