The Climax of an Important Year - December Astrology

The Astrology of December features Jupiter, Saturn, Chiron, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. Mercury is also still recovering from its recent retrograde, up to the time of the mid-December New Moon. Saturn strongly aspected Uranus at the time of the Solar Eclipse from the middle of last month that began the current lunation cycle, and that aspect, an inconjunct, continues into December, as Saturn begins to closely aspect Pluto as well by mid-month.

The Uranus-Pluto square, even though not quite as dramatically close as it was over the summer months, is therefore still very much with us as the year draws to a close; this collision of powerful outer planets is now augmented for this brief end-of-year period by the aspects to Saturn, which is similar to their combination during the height of the revolutionary sixties.

Additionally, Uranus stations to direct motion on the very day of the December 13th New Moon. Considering the joint aspects Uranus makes to both Pluto and to Saturn, we will likely witness the polarities of the present time continue and even become more insistent. All we can do is watch and wait, and try to stay calm, following the maxim that "whatever we resist persists;" and recognizing that the oppositional activity only increases the polarization.

Neptune in the first degree of Pisces is activated by the ongoing retrograde period of Mercury, now direct but still regaining its lost zodiacal longitude, and in crossing back into Sagittarius on December 10th, squaring Neptune for the third time in this fall period. Neptune, antithetical to Saturn in its own way, as are the other two outer planets, remains in parallel with Saturn for the entire month. We have the conflict of over-idealization versus hard-nosed reality, but we may want to ask ourselves, which is the actual illusion'

Chiron, the Wounded Healer, is still hanging around in the midst of these configurations as well, as we have been outlining in previous months. He remains in close semi-sextile with Uranus and caught up in the aspect from Saturn that kicked off this current cycle, plus hit by a forming square from Mercury at the time of the December 13th New Moon. We are therefore continuing to study ourselves at deep levels, and attempting to move past our early conditioning and, indeed, our wounding, all through this time frame and especially in the first two weeks of the current month.

Jupiter is also prominent in the current mix of energies, since he squares Chiron increasing strength through the month of December, and on into mid-January, while at the time of the Last Quarter Moon of December 6th being strongly aspected by the Sun, Moon and Pluto/Mars. This brings a touch of wild-eyed optimism to the first part of December, but this could switch to a more pessimistic take on things by the 21st, when the Winter Solstice Sun in its entrance into Capricorn witnesses a perfect yod formation to Jupiter from Saturn and Pluto, implying a certain loss of faith, or at least an occasion over the period of time leading up to the Christmas holiday when our faith will be sorely tested.

Saturn with Pluto, even in a mild sextile, can be dire and perhaps even a bit drastic, as the capitalist world struggles to wriggle out of the trap that it has set for itself, and as we as individuals follow along on the basis of the same metaphor. As always, we each in our own way and on our individual timetables are striving for the light through this time of the shortest days of the year; the good news is that, just when things seem darkest, the pendulum shifts, the days grow longer, and we continue to journey up and over, following the spiral path of our destiny.