December 2020 Astrology:
Reaching the new shore
We made it to the end of 2020, having survived the hardest transits of our entire lives. Thousands of years of karma have moved through us, from our ancestors, early life, and previous lives. Meanwhile, the world has shut down and revolution has taken hold. Change is upon us, and there’s no use resisting it.
This month, we’re starting out inside the eclipse vortex, as we prepare for a Total Solar Eclipse on December 14. Soon after, the Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn will arrive on December 21. The planets conjoin at 0º Aquarius, the zenith of the sign, representing the pinnacle of human potential. This marks a new age in humanity, which we enter on the heels of a challenging, exhausting phase of illness, fear, and great loss. It’s time to focus on building a new reality, with compassion and subtlety, after working hard to confront and destroy outworn structures and beliefs.
The paradigm shift will not be a pendulum swing that swings back. With Saturn keeping us in check, we’re moving into sure and steady progress, quiet optimism, and a world in which hard work, integrity, and care for our planet and each other are rewarded. With the North Node in Gemini, we’re still releasing dogma and rigid thinking, as the Total Solar Eclipse in Sagittarius inspires new shared morality and ideals. Rebels and progressives with strong backbones are ready to take their thrones, whose visions led to their alienation and oppression in the past. Messages of inclusivity, sanity, and care are now elevated.
The year 2026 will mark another pivot point, bringing us even further into the Aquarian Age of technological innovation and utopian ideals. But for now, we can take deep breaths and find our bearings, opening our hearts to all that could be.
TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE in sagittarius
A Total Solar Eclipse arrives in Sagittarius on December 14, an exaggerated New Moon that inspires fresh beliefs, moral frameworks, and optimism. Sagittarius is the Archer, pointing our arrows toward the horizon while raising our gaze to future possibilities and the bigger picture. He reminds us to be present with the journey and relish in the excitement of the unknown. Forming a harmonious angle to Mars, who is now direct, our forward momentum is emphasized, even as the eclipse falls on the South Node—which represents our old habits and habituations. With a swell of cheerfulness and optimism, we are still working through the residue of the past and any beliefs that have kept us stagnant and stuck. Now is the time to liberate from misconceptions, about ourselves and the world, courageously admitting that we just don’t know. This can spark excitement and buoyancy, rather than sinking us into fear, as we cling to false narratives. It’s time to step out of the shadows and remember the warm joy of our shared humanity.
CHIRON STATIONS DIRECT
Chiron stations direct the next day, on December 15, after retrograding for five months, pushing us to face our wounds and undergo deep, sometimes painful healing. With Sagittarius in command, we can now transmute our scars into wisdom and ask ourselves how we can help or inspire others.
THE GREAT CONJUNCTION
(Much of this is from my article on the Astrology of 2020,
which holds up pretty well!)
The Great Jupiter-Saturn Conjunction arrives on December 21, at 0° Aquarius, the zenith of the sign that represents the future, technology, and enlightened society. We are fully constructing new ideologies and structures in the world, as we begin a cycle of Saturn and Jupiter in air signs, which will remain until 2159. Over the next decade and hundred-year cycle, we are ready for exponential growth in humanity, for technological innovation and ideological revolution.
In many ways, these are exciting new times and energies, though scary and uncertain. Throughout 2020, we have undergone tremendous work in unshackling from the past, and now we’re ready to inhabit the future more fully. It’s time to feel freer and more liberated from our ruts, individually and collectively.
This new vision requires each of us to step up and offer our part. No one will save us. The Aquarian Age shows us that in order to achieve Piscean oneness and transcendence, we must first individuate and make sure that all beings have their basic needs met, just because they breathe. We are in this together, which means there is no giving up on anyone. There is no leaving a single soul behind. If you suffer, I suffer. If I have wealth or power, I share wealth or power. It’s time to unite from a place of compassion, penetrating intelligence and wisdom, and trust in ourselves.
With Uranus squaring Saturn much of next year, the friction remains as we liberate from Saturnian constraints. This includes the past, old structures, quarantine, Covid-19, and oppression throughout the world. We are now emerging from the cocoon, slowly and steadily climbing the mountain to a new perspective and a whole new paradigm.
CANCER FULL MOON
We end the month and the year with a Cancer Full Moon on December 29, inciting profound emotional release. We can feel all of our feelings about the year and allow the ocean of compassion wash over us, as we grieve all that we’ve had to let go. We are culminating a difficult period of breaking patterns and habits and moving through family karma. We can deeply heal now by embracing all that we’ve struggled with outside of ourselves. If we’ve faced the feelings that we’re most afraid of, what is there to fear? We can step into 2021 and this new age in humanity with greater courage, which comes from having mastered Cancer’s lessons of embracing our emotions and shared vulnerability. Holding hands, we can transition from a paradigm marked by selfishness and materialism, into one of great sensitivity and care. Our revolution can be heart-centered and full of integrity. We each hold the responsibility to make sure it is so. After all, this is an age ruled by the people. We are breaking away from our reliance on the guru, savior, dictator, and monarch.
December Summary
We end 2020 with the fireworks display it deserves. After confronting the most challenging transits of our lives, we are now ready to step through the eclipse portal into fresh new energies. We’ve been quarantining and revolting, experiencing illness and grief. We’ve been facing the karma of what’s come before, while destroying structures and beliefs that have proven to be harmful. Now, the long-anticipated Great Conjunction is almost here, arriving on December 21—the Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, and the Summer in the Southern. Jupiter and Saturn will conjoin at 0º Aquarius, kicking off the Aquarian Age, leading us toward measured expansion. Optimism is growing steadily inside us, as we feel our hard work and integrity paying off. The Age of Materialism, Authoritarianism, and Selfish Delusion is ending, as we prepare to step into a new paradigm marked by greater care for the Earth and each other. Technology and innovation will begin evolving more quickly, especially starting in 2026. Until then, we are learning to take individual and collective responsibility for our shared morals and ideals, ensuring that we build a more constructive reality, while correcting and rectifying past destruction and harm. With greater nuance, wisdom, and understanding, we can elevate the artists, inventors, rebels, and renegades among us to turn the wheel and unveil more intelligent paths. Perhaps what was scary before was simply the bright light of awakening and change. This month, it’s time to celebrate our excitement for all that the future brings.
In the darkest night, with the stars shining brightly, may we feel the flames of hope warm our anxiety, loneliness, and fear. With grounded enthusiasm, may we celebrate the turning of the light—integrity rewarded, as future symphonies call us to a new shore.
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