December’s astrology is the most dramatic of 2021—a whirling display at the end of a year of great challenge and growth. Major transits arrive, pushing us into a new energetic chapter. A Solar Eclipse ends an eighteen-month cycle along the Gemini-Sagittarius axis, helping us embrace fresh perspectives and relax our overzealous aggression. Three major transits follow. First, Venus stations retrograde, refining our relationships to love and money. On Christmas Eve, the final Saturn-Uranus square of 2021 highlights a large-scale war between the old paradigm and the new, a conflict that has largely defined the year. We now have the chance to release what we’ve outgrown once and for all, in a disruptive but liberating electric jolt. A few days later, Jupiter returns to dreamy Pisces, reminding us that despite any acute suffering over the past couple of years, love will prevail.

This month brings the themes of 2021 home. We are continuing the hard work of releasing faulty thought patterns, beliefs, and communications, which have revealed themselves after a long, exaggerated period of overwhelming words, disinformation, and battles of opinion. By the end of December, we are moving into much greater acceptance of ourselves and others, healing our hearts after a turbulent year of recalibration. More work awaits us in 2022, but Jupiter’s return to Pisces will provide a warm backdrop for our next phase of transformation.

DECEMBER Transits

NEPTUNE STATIONS DIRECT

December begins with Neptune stationing direct on December 1, infusing us with unconditional love and connection to Spirit. Since June 25, we’ve been going inward, questioning our relationships to spirituality, fantasy, and escapism. Now we can reintegrate our magic with more cosmic insight and less delusion.

SAGITTARIUS SOLAR ECLIPSE

The Sagittarius Total Solar Eclipse arrives on December 3 PT, December 4 ET. The Moon will obscure the Sun, thrusting us into powerful new energies and alignments. This is the final eclipse that falls along the Gemini-Sagittarius axis, which has been activated since June 2020. We can pause to reflect on all that we’ve learned since then.

What new wisdom have we acquired? How have our belief systems altered? Have we made progress in healing our thought patterns and communication?

For the past eighteen months, we’ve witnessed our resilience and observed our mind’s potentials. We’ve felt the pain in telling ourselves harmful stories, but also our strength and courage in pulling ourselves out of despair.

What newfound wisdom and intelligence will we carry forward into our next phase? How can we continue to live in the moment, laugh, and enjoy our lives, no matter what challenges we meet?

GEMINI FULL MOON

The final Full Moon of the year arrives in Gemini on December 18, ending Eclipse Season. Communication is a key issue, and we may experience difficult exchanges and old patterns erupting. However, with Jupiter in Aquarius offering his support, we are able to emerge from our pain and find a higher vantage point. We’re learning how to embrace fresh ideals and end our habitual fighting and divisiveness.

How can we better demonstrate the power of our love, values, interdependence, and integrity?

We can take time to release the wounds that have accumulated this year, making room for our cups to fill with higher frequencies of light, inspiration, relationships, and experiences.

VENUS RETROGRADE

From December 19 until January 29, Venus stations retrograde in Capricorn. The planet of relationships, money, values, and art is moving backwards, helping us reflect on these areas of our life so we can make necessary adjustments, then decide what we want to commit to in the long haul. Frugality and intentionality are key, as we determine what’s important to us. What would we like to devote ourselves to, and what are we ready to discard? How can we approach money, love, and creativity with greater integrity and care? This is a time of carefully looking back and taking inventory of what’s come before, which can inform us in finding more mature footing on our roads ahead.

WINTER SOLSTICE

December 21 marks the Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, the darkest day of the year before the turning of the light. Now, we open the portal to winter—as well as Capricorn season. This is a time to dive into our innermost feelings, basking in the warmth of solitude and retreat. It’s an opportunity to acknowledge our regrets, resentments, and fears, seeing them in the light of self-awareness and acceptance. Sitting by the fire, we can feel loving-kindness embracing our imperfections, messiness, and vulnerability. The light is returning, and we can notice the days growing longer, our inner selves shining brighter.

THE LAST SATURN-URANUS SQUARE

The third and final Saturn-Uranus square of 2021 arrives on December 24. We are catapulting into our future selves and dislodging from the past and any worries about old, internalized judgments and expectations. This square will continue to reverberate throughout 2022, helping us to embody our highest potentials more fully as we leave the past behind. Though confrontational, uncomfortable, and chaotic, once we move through this, we’ll be able to experience noticeable relief and maturation.

JUPITER MOVES INTO PISCES

As Jupiter moves into Pisces toward the end of the month, we return to the same feelings we experienced this summer—togetherness, reunion, and warm embrace. From now until Spring of 2022, we can relax a little more. Moving through his natural domicile, Jupiter will expand our hearts into deeper connection and love.

DECEMBER Summary

After a challenging year of hard-won lessons and growth, December presents a riveting finale, with the year’s themes reemerging in a grand crescendo. The Solar Eclipse on December 4 closes the chapter of Gemini-Sagittarius eclipses, which began in June 2020. We can pause and reflect on how far we’ve come mentally—how much better we are at relaxing our dogma and disagreeing without triggering. We can also appreciate how much we’ve grown up culturally, becoming more inclusive and less deluded by oppressive patterns and conditioning. While there’s still a long way to go, we can appreciate our progress. We also begin Venus Retrograde in Capricorn this month, helping us rethink love and money and become more intentional in how we relate to these parts of our lives. Meanwhile, the final Saturn-Uranus square helps us release the past and step into fresher versions of ourselves. Throughout the year, this square has been making its presence known, challenging our resistance to much-needed change. Finally, the year ends with Jupiter’s great return to Pisces, his natural domicile. We can soften our hearts and reconnect with Spirit, remembering that at the end of the day, we are all love, perfect, and connected, even as we continue to strive for improvement.

DECEMBER ASPIRATION

As the first snowflakes begin to stick, may we pause and go inward, appreciating how far we’ve come—the darkness we’ve emerged from, the strength of mind that’s pulled us to safer waters. May we gaze at the horizon and feel the burgeoning hope of what’s to come—the beauty that can arise from hard work, perseverance, and love that never dims.

 
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