Maybe you’ve been circling the same decision for a week. Maybe a conversation you thought was finished opened back up in October, and you’re still waiting to see where it lands. Maybe you’re just tired in a way that sleep on the weekend doesn’t fix, and you keep wondering why the end of this year feels so heavy.

If that sounds familiar, you’re right on time. November brings some of those open questions toward an answer, and gives you permission to slow down.

On November 7, the Chinese calendar marks 立冬, the Start of Winter, and we leave the Earth Dog for Ji Hai, the Earth Pig month. The Pig is a Water branch, and this is the first Water month of the whole Fire Horse year. After ten months of heat and speed, Water finally cools things down and asks the Fire to rest.

The month’s stem is Ji, soft Earth, sitting on top of the Pig’s Water. I picture a riverbank, the earth that gives a river its shape. So when November slows you down, there’s a reason for it. It’s a month to put some structure around what you want to bring into next year, before the year itself turns.

And the sky is doing its own version of the same thing. Mercury and Venus both start November retrograde, wrapping up the review October started, and they both turn direct within hours of each other on November 13.

A season for storing seed

In the Chinese system, the Pig marks the start of winter, the season when farmers stored their seed instead of planting it. You’re allowed to have plans you don’t act on yet. That’s what winter is for.

Here’s where November gets interesting, because the planets aren’t slowing down with the season. Right after the retrogrades end, Mars meets Jupiter in Leo on November 16, the boldest day of the month and one of the most confident of the year. Mars brings drive, and Jupiter makes things bigger, and in Leo that energy wants to be seen. It’s a good day to pitch an idea, ask for what you want, or share something you’ve been holding back. Jupiter also tends to exaggerate, so say yes to what you can actually deliver. Then on the 24th, the Full Moon lands right on Uranus, the planet of surprises. That could bring surprising news or a sudden change of plans.

So the calendar under your feet says rest, and the sky over your head says go. I don’t think you have to pick one. Make the plan in November, make it big if you want to, and let the pace stay gentle. The Fire Goat year begins in February, and you’ll want to arrive at it rested.

What are you carrying into winter? What deserves to be planted in spring? What can you stop forcing right now?

What your body may be asking for

The first week of November is still autumn, still the Lung’s season. On November 7, winter begins and the Kidney and Bladder take over. Winter is Water, the deepest and most conserving of the five elements, and this year it shows up after ten months of Fire. Your body may be more than ready to rest. Let it.

Fear is Water’s emotion, the way grief belongs to Metal. In winter it can show up as worry about money or the future, not wanting to commit, or a low mood that comes out of nowhere. If those feelings surface, give yourself room to notice them without demanding an immediate answer. Warmth, rest, and a gentler routine can be places to start.

A few things that may help:

• Keep your lower back and your feet warm. The Kidney sits behind the lower back and its channel begins on the sole of the foot, so Chinese medicine treats both as winter’s front door. Warm socks in the evening are real care.

• Eat dark, warm, and slow-cooked: black beans, black sesame, walnuts, chestnuts, seaweed, bone broth, slow-braised root vegetables. A bowl of black sesame soup in the afternoon is classic winter care.

• Try going to bed a little earlier. The Huangdi Neijing, the oldest classic of Chinese medicine, says winter is the season to sleep early and wake with the sun. If your mornings allow it, let yourself sleep a bit longer while it’s still dark out.

• Move gently every day. A walk, slow stretching, tai chi, or qigong keeps you warm from the inside. Save the hard sweating and the training to exhaustion for spring.

• Go easy on cold, raw, and iced food, and on heavy salt. Salty is the flavor of Water, and a little supports the Kidney while a lot strains it.

My favorite practice for the month is also the simplest: soak your feet in warm water for ten minutes before bed, with a slice of fresh ginger if you have one. It pulls warmth down into your body and settles your mind. Do it on the nights you feel most wired, especially around the 16th and the 24th, when the sky pulls against the season. If your energy’s running ahead of your body, go with the season.

If you’re south of the equator

The solar terms are set by the position of the sun, so the Earth Pig month and everything in the sky applies to you exactly the same. What changes is the weather your body’s living in.

November is your turn from spring into summer, when the Heart and Small Intestine take over, so flip the food guidance. Reach for leafy greens, cucumber, watermelon, mung beans, mint, and a little bitterness from greens like rocket, and go easier on heavy, greasy, and very spicy food. Rest for ten minutes in the middle of the day, and keep your bedroom cool and dark.

Let the month guide your decisions and the season guide your plate.

The dates to know

November 4 · The middle of the conversation

The Sun meets Mercury in Scorpio, the midpoint of the Mercury retrograde, which is usually when it starts to make sense. Whatever’s been misheard, delayed, or reopened since late October may show you what it really is. Venus and Jupiter are in a friendly aspect the same day, so it’s a warm day for an honest conversation with someone you care about. Just don’t ask anyone to commit on the spot.

November 7 · The Start of Winter and the Earth Pig month

The Chinese solar month changes here, not on the first. 立冬, the Start of Winter, is when the year stops gathering and starts storing, and the month pillar moves from Wu Xu to Ji Hai. For the next four weeks, the energy’s good for rest, planning, and anything that doesn’t need to be seen yet.

November 9 · New Moon in Scorpio

The New Moon lands in Scorpio while Mercury and Venus are both still moving backward. Scorpio new moons are about what we share and what we owe. This one’s a reset you do in private. Use it to admit to yourself what the last six weeks have shown you about what you’re really attached to. You can act on it later in the month.

November 13 · Both retrogrades end

Mercury turns direct in Scorpio, and Venus follows in Libra, which is the evening of the 13th in the Americas and the 14th in UTC. So within one day, the two planets that rule what we say and what we value both start moving forward again.

Messages start landing the way you meant them. The relationship or money question you’ve been going back and forth on since early October can finally get an answer. Planets move slowest right when they turn, so give it a day before you sign anything big.

November 16 · Mars meets Jupiter in Leo

Mars and Jupiter meet roughly every two years. This time, they meet in Leo. It’s the most confident day of the month: big gestures, big risks, a feeling that it’s now or never. That energy’s real and you can use it. Just put it behind something you’ve already decided, because snap decisions on a day like this tend to promise more than your calendar can hold.

November 18 & 19 · Sizing the plan

The Sun squares Jupiter and then Mars, and you may see where the plan from the 16th is bigger than what you’ve got to back it up. This is your chance to bring the plan into line with your time and energy. Make the adjustment, and you’ll be glad you did by December.

November 22 · Sagittarius season and Light Snow

The Sun enters Sagittarius, and the mood lifts toward bigger questions: what you believe, where you’re going, what you want next year to be about. It’s also 小雪, Light Snow, when winter deepens in the Chinese calendar. Plan big, and move gently.

November 24 · Full Moon in Gemini, on Uranus

The Full Moon lands in Gemini, almost exactly on Uranus, the planet of the sudden and the unplanned. Gemini full moons are about information and the stories we tell about it, so this one tends to show up as news: a phone call, a change of plans, a conversation that goes somewhere you didn’t expect. The Sun’s exact opposition to Uranus follows the next day, so leave room for surprises on both dates.

Give yourself a day before you respond. First reactions under a Uranus full moon are rarely the ones you keep.

The almanac, and why every day has a rating

Those are the dates the sky hands everybody. There’s a second timing system running underneath them, and it’s much older.

For more than a thousand years, people across China have kept a calendar called the 黄历, the old almanac. It tells you which days are good for starting something that matters, and which days to leave alone. It’s what people checked before picking a wedding date, opening a shop, signing a contract, or moving house.

November’s a leaner month than October. There are ten good days compared to October’s fourteen, and three Dire days to step around. That suits the season. Winter’s a time for storing, and the almanac reads that way: fewer peaks, more steady ground. The best days are also packed into the first half. All four Excellent dates fall in the first sixteen, so if something important is yours to schedule, do it before the Full Moon.

But a day that looks wonderful in the general almanac might not suit your chart. Every day has an animal, and if it clashes with one of the four in your own chart, that day can work against you. The workbook breaks down all thirty days of November, rated against your own chart, so you don’t have to work it out on your own. Monthly workbook subscribers also get the whole month as a digital almanac for iCal or Google Calendar, so the good days are already sitting in the calendar you actually look at.

How November meets your Day Master

Your Day Master is the elemental core of your BaZi birth chart.

Don’t know your Day Master? Find yours in under a minute, then read how the month meets you below.

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On the night of October 25, just after midnight on the 26th if you’re on the East Coast, the Moon turns full in the early degrees of Taurus. In astrology, Taurus brings our attention to money, our bodies, and the things we depend on to feel secure.

This full moon arrives alongside a few other shifts. Frost’s Descent, the final solar term of autumn in the Chinese calendar, began on October 23. Mercury went retrograde on October 24. Venus, which rules Taurus and therefore this full moon, is also retrograde and returns to Libra on October 25.

Together, these transits are giving us an opportunity to look at what supports us, what we’re maintaining, and whether the agreements we live by still fit.

The harvest before the cold

Frost’s Descent marks the deepening cold as autumn moves toward winter in the Northern Hemisphere. Traditionally, it’s associated with late-harvest crops and preparing for the colder months ahead.

In Chinese medicine’s Five Phase framework, autumn corresponds to Metal and the Lungs, with themes of gathering inward and letting go. In BaZi, we’re also in the Dog month, an Earth branch traditionally described as a storehouse.

What connects these ideas for me is taking stock of what we have and what we need. What are we gathering, what are we protecting, and what will actually sustain us?

That can be a very practical reflection. Look at where your energy is going and whether you have enough left to take care of yourself.

See where this full moon lands in your chart

Your Monthly Timing Workbook maps moments like this full moon to your own chart and reads the month day by day: the days that support you, and the days that clash with your pillars.

Get your Monthly Timing Workbook

The one doing all the adjusting

Around this full moon, you might start noticing how much of the stability in your life depends on you being the one who keeps adjusting.

Sometimes an arrangement keeps working because you take on the extra work, absorb the extra cost, or postpone the conversation. You do it once, then again, and eventually it becomes the standard, even though you never sat down and agreed to it.

As an entrepreneur, I know how easy it is to keep filling the gaps yourself. You get used to making things work, and it can take a while to notice how much more you’re carrying than you intended.

This might show up in a relationship where an arrangement made years ago no longer fits your circumstances. Or in a friendship where you’re always the flexible one, and you’ve started noticing how rarely your needs are considered.

Sometimes a small moment makes the whole pattern visible. You’re asked for one more favor, or you hear yourself saying “it’s fine” again, and you realize how long you’ve wanted something to change.

At this full moon, both the Sun and Moon form close squares to Pluto, which is associated with power, control, and what sits beneath the surface. So one question I’d ask is: what would actually happen if you asked for different terms?

How someone responds can help you understand how much room there is for your needs. Their willingness to listen, ask questions, and work toward a different arrangement matters.

A practice for this full moon

With Mercury and Venus both retrograde, I’d use this period to review the details and understand what you want before rushing to resolve everything. You can take a realization seriously while giving yourself time to respond thoughtfully.

Here’s a simple practice.

1. Finish one physical task. Choose a drawer, a shelf, or a small pile of paperwork. Give it ten minutes of attention. I like this as a way to put that idea of sorting and gathering into practice, especially when my thoughts feel scattered.

2. Name the arrangement. Notice which situation keeps coming to mind. Write down what you’re carrying, how it became your responsibility, and what has changed since then.

3. Consider what would feel fair today. Think about your current capacity, responsibilities, and needs. An agreement can have made sense when you first made it and still need updating. Venus returning to Libra offers a useful prompt to reflect on fairness and reciprocity.

4. Draft the ask, then come back to it. Be specific about what you’d like to change. You might need a different division of responsibilities, clearer expectations, more support, or a conversation about compensation. Review the facts and give yourself a little space before deciding how to approach it.

You may find that the next step is smaller than you expected. Naming what you need can make the conversation easier to begin.

Where this meets your chart

If you have planets or chart angles in the early degrees of Taurus, Scorpio, Leo, or Aquarius, you may feel this more personally. The houses involved help describe which areas of life these themes may touch.

The Monthly Timing Workbook maps this full moon to your personal chart and includes daily timing guidance throughout the month, giving you a more specific starting point for reflection.

For now, consider the situation that came to mind as you read this. What would make it feel fair and sustainable for the person you are today?

You can care about what you’ve built and still ask for it to support you differently.

Know which part of your life it’s touching

Your Monthly Timing Workbook shows which houses each month’s moons activate for you, and how to work with the energies of the month.

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Maybe you finally got something you’d wanted for years and then immediately had to figure out how to hold it. Maybe you made one big decision that changed everything around it. Or the change wasn’t your choice at all, and you’ve spent most of the year adjusting to circumstances you never expected.

That’s the strange thing about a fast year. Sometimes the change happens first and the meaning arrives later. The Fire Horse year has been full of movement, visibility, risk, and acceleration. It’s pushed things into the open and made it harder to stay where we were.

As we enter the final few months, the rhythm begins to change, and we finally have a chance to look at where this year has taken us and what we actually want to carry forward.

The pace changes here

The Fire Horse year is made up of Yang Fire sitting over the Horse, which is already a Fire branch. It’s a lot of Fire on Fire. That brings courage, momentum, confidence, and the willingness to make a move before you feel completely ready. It also makes everything feel urgent.

That pace begins to shift as we enter winter in the Chinese calendar.

On November 7, we move into the Earth Pig month, which also marks the traditional beginning of winter. The Metal Rat month follows on December 7, and then we enter the Metal Ox month on January 5.

Winter is associated with Water, and Water restrains Fire. The year doesn’t suddenly become slow or uneventful, but the volume comes down enough to hear yourself think.

The final quarter of this year is less about creating more movement and more about understanding the movement that’s already happened. What changed you? What did you learn under pressure? What have you outgrown, and what do you want to keep?

Here’s what that looks like for each of the four traditional zodiac groups.

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Eclipses have always been considered some of the most significant events in astrology because they interrupt the usual relationship between the Sun, Moon, and Earth.

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Mercury retrograde can often feel like a malfunction, and Cancer season can feel like regression: why am I back in this grief, this kitchen, this conversation with my mother?

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This week the emphasis shifts quickly.

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Jupiter, Pluto, Uranus, and Neptune, four of the slowest moving planets in astrology, all arrive at almost exactly four degrees of their respective signs.

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The whole year has been building toward this moment.

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In BaZi, we see almost the exact same story.

On July 7, we leave Jia Wu, the Wood Horse month, behind and move into Yi Wei, the Wood Goat month. The shift is quieter than June’s, but no less significant. The stem softens from Jia to Yi, (Yang Wood to Yin Wood), while the branch changes from Horse to Goat, (Fire to Earth). That single change underneath the month tells the whole story. For the first time in weeks, the ground stops burning.

June was one of the hottest stretches of the year. Jia Wood handed fuel straight down to Horse Fire inside a Fire Horse year, with almost nothing in the chart to slow it down. Everything wanted to move, and it asked you to move with it.

July still carries plenty of heat. Yi Wood continues feeding the Fire of the year, and the Bing Wu year hasn’t gone anywhere. But the Goat branch brings Earth into the picture, and Earth gives all that Fire somewhere to land. Fire meeting Earth doesn’t burn itself out, it creates something solid. The energy shifts from ignition toward integration.

If June asked what you were going to do about it, July asks what you’re going to make of it.

The Goat Brings Earth

Earth is the element of the season now, and Earth changes the assignment.

Where Horse energy wanted movement, visibility, and speed, Goat energy wants settling, tending, and consolidation. This is the Late Summer phase in the Chinese calendar, governed by the Spleen and Stomach, the organs of digestion, and the seasonal instruction is almost literal: digest. What you took in during June, what you decided, what you set running, July is where you metabolize it. The momentum doesn’t disappear, it just stops being the point. The question quietly changes from how much ground can I cover to what am I actually building here.

This is good news for anyone who ended June feeling scattered. The runaway quality of a double-Fire month gets a floor under it. Things that felt frantic can become deliberate. The trade-off is that the same Earth that grounds you can also turn heavy, and Goat Earth in particular can tip into overthinking, worry, and a kind of stuckness that masquerades as patience. The skill this month is telling the difference between genuinely letting something settle and simply refusing to move.

Get your personalized July workbook

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I’ve always been fascinated by business charts. I’ve spent hours studying the charts of my own companies because I wanted to understand why certain things felt effortless, why certain challenges kept repeating, and whether there were patterns hiding underneath what looked like ordinary business decisions.

I thought I’d share a few things Fly By Jing’s chart showed me that changed how I run the company.

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