Astrology of December 2021
/I know it’s cliche to say, but holy shit: how is December?! Another year in the pandemic time warp and it’s felt like it’s gone by so quickly. This is my six months of being full-time in my astrology and tarot consultation practice, and I’m really humbled and honoured to be here, doing this work and talking about the astro weather.
Thank you so much to everyone who has come along for the journey, especially these monthly forecasts! I’m so grateful for your time and attention. I have a lot of exciting things on the go right now, including special astrology offerings and an upcoming workshop. Scroll to the end to learn more!
It’s a busy month, astrological speaking, but let’s be honest — what month in 2021 hasn’t been busy?! This month features some important events: the last eclipse of the Gemini-Sagittarius axis (hallelujah), Venus stations retrograde conjunct Pluto, Saturn squares Uranus (AGAIN, for the last time!) and Jupiter FINALLY enters Pisces.
Let’s get into it!
A two-year cycle comes to an end
We start the month with a Solar Eclipse (new moon) at 12° Sagittarius. This is the last eclipse in the Gemini-Sagittarius axis. For the past 18 months, the parts of your chart that contain Gemini and Sagittarius have been the site of upheaval, change, revolutions and revelations. But now we're coming to an end of that cycle. We are processing and integrating what we've learned so that we can move forward with more clarity and focus.
Whether this feels like the climax or a denouement will depend on your birth chart and specific life circumstances and outlook. But everyone can benefit from reflecting on the past 18 months and how you've grown and changed since June 2020. Solar eclipses are powerful times for introspection, as the light of the Sun gets blocked, and we can turn inwards and focus on our deepest, most hidden selves.
The lunar eclipse in Taurus on November 19 likely stirred up or agitated the memories and emotions held deeply in the body. Our bodies keep the score, after all, and the Full Moon probably brought up feelings and fears that you've kept inside for a long time. This solar eclipse might be a moment for you to clear out those ancient beliefs that no longer support you, so you can move forward with less baggage. How might you form new habits that help you release past patterns? Eclipses aren't a great time to do manifestation work, but there's still lots of wisdom to be gleaned from this transit if you can get quiet and self-reflective.
Eclipses aren't a great time for manifestation work. Don't try to capture or harness this energy — eclipses are inherently unstable and not meant to be "used." Instead, they are meant to be witnessed. Or even better — take this time to go inwards, to get really quiet, and do self-reflection. Journaling, tarot spreads and meditation are great tools that can help us get quiet and find new insight and wisdom.
If you want to learn more about how the eclipses will affect you and your birth chart, book an eclipse season reading. But hurray, these are available for a limited time only!
Depth and passion: a Venus and Pluto story
Venus’s retrograde in Capricorn is one the biggest stories of the month. It tones the entire month, as Venus begins to slow down and come to a halt. On December 11, Venus will form a conjunction with Pluto at 25° Capricorn, but this energy will be palpable all month. In fact, Venus will station retrograde at 26° Capricorn, meaning that Venus will spend about 20 days within 1° of Pluto. This means we will likely be processing and working through long-buried, hidden or repressed feelings or memories.
Pluto is a volcanic force — energy from deep within us bubbles up to the surface to be witnessed and purged. Pluto transits can often make us confront secrets or facts that we would rather ignore, but by facing them and witnessing them, we can ultimately be cleansed and renewed. Pluto’s presence gives the upcoming Venus retrograde even deeper themes of depth and intensity, as it invites us to look below the surface and examine what lies beneath pleasant facades.
Venus will be retrograde in Capricorn from December 19, 2021, to January 29, 2022. Venus retrogrades invite us to review, reassess, revise and revitalize our connections, our relationships and our pleasure. Venus rules sweetness and pleasantness. Its job is to make unlike things similar, to find commonality, to smooth out the wrinkles. And so, Venus retrograde might invite you to re-evaluate and revise how you go about making peace together. Venus retrogrades are a time to reflect on how we pursue and prioritize pleasure, and how/whether we are fully nourished and supported. Retrogrades are often a process of review and retrieval. What parts of yourself have you lost over the years, and how can you reclaim them? How might you relate differently to love, pleasure and beauty? How might you re-balance work and pleasure? Do you feel inherently worthy of love and pleasure?
Venus entered its pre-retrograde shadow on November 18 — what Venus-related themes began around then? Pay attention to any activations of the House topics associated with Capricorn in your birth chart. Due to the retrograde cycle, Venus will spend a long time in Capricorn. It entered Cap in early November and will be there until March 6, 2022. This is a 5-month journey through the part of your birth chart that contains Capricorn. Venus brings pleasure, beauty and blessings to wherever it travels in the zodiac, but given how long it's in Capricorn, there is a lot for you to explore and discover about the house topics Capricorn is connected to in your chart.
Venus retrogrades happen every 18 months or so, and they operate in 8-year cycles. Every 8 years, we have a Venus retrograde in the same part of the zodiac. The last Venus retrograde in this part of the sky was from December 21, 2013, to January 31, 2014. Think back to what Venus-y themes were coming up for you back then, especially in you have important planets in Capricorn.
Watch out for mental stimulation
The Gemini Full Moon takes place at 27° Gemini on December 18, the day before Venus stations retrograde. The Full Moon forms an energizing trine to Jupiter, which is wrapping up its time in Aquarius. Full Moons trine Jupiter have the potential to make everything bigger: both the good things about this Full Moon and the challenging parts.
Let's start with the good. This is our first lunation in the Gem-Sag axis that isn't an eclipse in a long time! While the North Node is still technically in Gemini, this Full Moon happens far away from the Earth's shadow, making this our first magic/manifestation-safe eclipse since November. Gemini is a very active sign — it stimulates our minds, floods us with ideas, and invites us to share those ideas with people around us. When the Moon is in Gemini we might seek to soothe and comfort ourselves by consuming information, learning and researching, and then telling people we care about what we've learned as a way of forming a connection.
This Full Moon is ruled by Mercury in Capricorn, we so might be drawn towards concrete, tangible or practical activities to soothe our minds. Mercury is also a planet associated with merchants, trade, commerce and business in ancient astrological texts. This might be very busy for us in a financial sense (last-minute holiday shopping, perhaps?). Our schedules might be filling up with plans — maybe friends from out of town are visiting or maybe you are making plans to travel. There's likely going to be a lot of stuff and people to manage during the second half of this lunar cycle, not to mention the stress of doing those plans while also being mindful of COVID precautions and health and safety.
On the downside, Gemini energy can be very mentally stimulating in a stressful or anxiety-inducing way. Full Moons in Air signs can often bring emphasis to our mental health and the pace of our thoughts. As a mutable sign, Gemini also lends this Moon a sense of "buzzing around" — frantic movement, last-minute changes and rescheduling. Our minds might feel drained and overtaxed right now. The trine to Jupiter acts as a kind of amplifier of all of this intense, airy energy. The Full Moon is also moving through a square to Neptune. This lends the Full Moon a kind of fuzziness and confused energy. We might react to the frenetic energy by dissociating and leaning into the mind/body divide. This is a good time to get out your "self-care checklist" and see what small, manageable grounding practices you can ramp up during this time.
Authority vs Revolution - Saturn-Uranus square, round three.
On December 24, we have one of the most important aspects of the year, from a social/geo-political/collective perspective. Saturn at 11° Aquarius squares Uranus (retrograde) at 11° Taurus. This square has been one of the hallmarks of 2021 — I’ve written about this transit before, back in June, the last time this transit went exact. Saturn represents the structures, foundations and limits in our lives. When Saturn is active, we often see themes of government, restriction, control and authority. Uranus, on the other hand, represents revolution, upheaval and change. It doesn’t care about the status quo, it just wants the freedom to be its full, authentic self. Uranus is liberating energy — it wants to set us all free.
Freedom vs authority has been one of the major themes of the Saturn-Uranus square, as these two planets challenge one another. In his book, The Archetypal Universe, Renn Butler describes Saturn-Uranus combinations as “Hard-won liberation, liberation in increments, conscious and deliberate freeing of oneself.” It’s interesting to look back on 2021 through the lens of what incremental progression have we made? Yes, there is now widespread acknowledgement that climate change is caused by human activities and is an active threat. But change is slow and governments are reluctant (Saturn) to make the radical transformations (Uranus) necessary to meet the necessary targets.
Watch out for a return of these themes around December 24. This is most likely to manifest in the collective, so keep an eye out for headlines that match these themes. But if you are someone who has an important planet or point at 11° of the Fixed Signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius), this transit will be more impactful and loud in your life.
This is the last time these two planets will form exact squares, but next year, in October 2022, they will get very close together, at around 18° of their respective signs. October 2022 will likely be another increase of these geopolitical tensions, but it won’t bubble up quite as dramatically as it did this year.
A sigh of relief as Jupiter enters Pisces
At the very end of the month, Jupiter returns to the watery realm of Pisces. This is a really lovely place for Jupiter to be. Pisces is one of Jupiter’s home signs, which means Jupiter has access to its full power and abilities. For the past two years, Jupiter has been in Saturn-ruled signs, which makes it difficult for Jupiter to be its full fun-loving self. Jupiter is better able to stabilize, support and bring resources to us. And after a tough couple of years, we could also use a little extra support and bounty.
Pisces is a water sign, which means we are in the realm of healing, feelings, and emotions. Jupiter’s journey through Pisces will encourage us to become more aware of our feelings and emotional depths. If we already have a good relationship with our feelings and we don’t oppress them, this transit could be a beautiful time to lean more into them and find peace and healing. But if we prefer to live in the realm of the logical, we might fight this pull towards the emotional and struggle against the waves of feelings.
While Jupiter is in Pisces, take the time to explore the full range of your emotions. Not just the pleasant ones like happiness and awe, but the difficult ones, too. If grief comes up for you, it can be a potent time to support yourself through the experience and nurture your nervous system through it. If you have people you like to work with, like therapists, counsellors, astrologers or other healers, Jupiter in Pisces is a great time to reconnect with them, so you can ensure you are resourced for whatever comes up. But overall, Jupiter in Pisces is something to look forward to! It’s creative and inspiring and mystical and internal and self-reflexive and healing.
Jupiter was in Pisces back in May - July of 2021. It got to 2° before stationing retrograde. We can think about this time as a preparation period, where we got the first hints of what the longer transit has in store for us. Jupiter will be in Pisces until May 2022, at which point it will move into Aries. Towards the end of the year, Jupiter will station retrograde and actually move back into the last couple of degrees of Pisces. But then it will station direct and we’ll be firmly in Aries territory again.
The last time Jupiter was in Pisces was in 2010. Think back on what was happening in your life back then, especially around your spirituality and emotions. Think about the themes and topics that were active back then. You might experience similar themes or a return to some of those topics, but this time, from an older and wiser perspective.
I hope this overview of December’s astrology was helpful! After taking November off from writing overviews, it’s nice to back in the regular routine. Please let me know in the comments how this month goes for you!
Ways to work with me in December
After a very busy October and November doing the Hollow Valley Tarot Kickstarter, I’m so excited to share some ways of working together in December!
The 2022 Year Ahead Astrology readings are here!
Get your personal forecast for the year ahead! In these readings, you’ll learn all of the major events happening in your birth chart in the coming year, and get advice and guidance on how to navigate them. The future doesn’t have to be scary and unknown! You can get a sense of what is to come in this year ahead forecast. Learn more.
Creative Grimoire workshop on December 5
I’m so excited to team up with Siri of Northern Lights Witch and Erin of The Hollow Valley to bring you an interactive workshop all about the magical art of grimoiring! Grimoires are simply a notebook where you keep track of the rituals you do, the spells you cast, the tarot cards you pull, and the information you learn. It’s part-journal, part-resource, part-sacred object.
Together, Sir, Erin and I will share our approaches and best practices for creating & maintaining a grimoire. Siri will teach us the basics of grimoires and lead us through a consecration ritual for our journals. Erin will share her approach to symbols and how to keep track of the symbols in our daily lives. And I’ll be teaching about transits, and how I use journaling to deepen my understanding of astrology and my relationship to the planets.
All participants will receive a free PDF full of illustrations they can use in their journals, plus will get copies of the slides and other materials we present in class.
The class is on Sunday, December 5, but the workshop WILL be recorded so you can still sign up, even if you can’t make it live. Get your tickets today.