December 1-15 2023
Mercury moves into the practical, no-nonsense sign of Capricorn on Friday 12/1/23 where it will stay until it retrogrades back into Sagittarius on 12/23/23 before returning to Capricorn on 1/13/24.
The rational energy of Mercury in Capricorn allows us to make grounded decisions and focus on our longterm goals while also coming up with a step by step plan to get there. But beware of the head overtaking the heart in this Saturn ruled sign.
The sun hits 11 degrees of Sagittarius on 12/3/23, ushering us into the second decan of Sagittarius ruled by the moon and the 9 of Wands. The 9 of Wands card teaches us to be persistant, self-reliant, and to take care to regulate our nervous systems and emotions. Here we see someone beaten and bruised from battle, exhausted but still hyper vigilant. Nines are a card of nearing completion, so the medicine of this card is to honor how far we’ve come in our journey (or battle) and give ourselves the space to recover so that we can complete our task or voyage. We may not yet be able to see that we are safe and can let our guard down, but the truth of the matter is that, at the moment, the battle is over.
Venus moves into its detriment in the sign of Scorpio on Monday 12/4/23. With Venus in Scorpio we may find that we crave deep, emotional bonds in our relationships. This brings an energy of loyalty, dedication, and passion.
Here we can clearly feel what we like and don’t like. We become intensely attached to the things & people we care about and sever connections with what and who we don’t vibe with.
Neptune goes direct on 12/6/23 ending a 5 month retrograde. Neptune is the planet of spirituality, mysticism, creativity, intuition, interconnectedness, and empathy. It makes us extra sensitive in retrograde and can cause confusion and blurred lines. We don’t always see things clearly when Neptune is involved… sometimes we see through rose colored glasses or become too apt to self sacrifice and fall into the role of the martyr. December is laden with Neptune energy, which brings so many gifts AND can be extremely difficult to navigate.
On 12/9/23, Venus in Scorpio makes an opposition to Jupiter in Taurus at 6 degrees. Any time two benefics make an aspect to each other, it’s a positive energy. This can bring good fortune and opportunity to the Taurus/Scorpio axis area of your chart. It’s also an energy of indulgence, which is fitting for the holiday season.
Look for things to be in flow and harmony during this time. Hopefully this brings an energy of peaceful negotiation with it as well.
On 12/12/23 there’s a New Moon at 20 degrees in the sign of Sagittarius. This is yet another lunation that’s heavily influenced by Mars hanging out at 13 degrees of Sagittarius. The sun and moon are also applying to a square with Neptune, which causes our light to be obscured. Luckily we still have the energy of the Venus/Jupiter opposition to offset the challenges of Mars and Neptune. This will be felt in a more challenging way by the mutable signs of Sagittarius, Pisces, Gemini, and Virgo.
When the sun hits 20 degrees on 12/12/23, we enter into the final Saturn ruled third decan of Sagittarius and the 10 of Wands card. We see on this card a person overburdened with an armful of wands. The energy of 10 of wands pushes us to complete our task in a truly Saturn ruled way, one step at a time, but at what cost? This card asks us to look at what we are carrying and whether the weight of our load is necessary to keep holding onto. Is there something we can put down? Is there something we can delegate? We are attached to our responsibilities, but overwhelmed by too many tasks. We need to learn to let go and create healthy boundaries.
On 12/13/23, Mercury goes retrograde at 8 degrees Capricorn and retrogrades back to 22 degrees Sagittarius before stationing direct on 1/1/24. The pre-shadow phase began on 11/25/23 and post shadow phase ends on 1/20/24. Mercury trines Jupiter on 12/18, sextiles Saturn on 12/21, goes cazimi on 12/22 and moves back into Sag, and squares Neptune and conjuncts Mars on 12/27. During Mercury retrograde, focus on words and actions that start with "re-": reevaluate, refocus, reassess, recharge, etc. And expect that Mercury ruled topics of communication, technology, and travel won't go smoothly.