December is a month of confusion, and it’s important to use our energy wisely. Mars is still retrograding through Gemini, now opposite Venus and will soon conjunct the Full Moon. We may feel both sluggish and feisty, overwhelmed by thoughts and words, as the possibilities for frustration, eruption, and conflict increase.

Jupiter returns to Aries this month, where he’ll remain until May 2023. In the sign of the Ram, Jupiter usually revs up, encouraging us to take risks and leap ahead. However, with Mars in retrograde, we need to choose our risks wisely. We can recognize that even if we fail, we’ll learn through our experience. While we aren’t plowing ahead just yet, we’re beginning anew with greater internal strength, deciding how to rewrite our scripts according to our deepest longings.

Multiple planets enter Capricorn this month. We’re beginning to steady ourselves, which is especially helpful since Mercury stations retrograde on December 29, conjoined with Venus and Pluto. It’s time to reflect on our relationships, values, and resources with powerful attention, allowing them to alchemize and transform. We can move slowly, retreat as much as possible, and prepare both internally and externally for our next steps. It would be smart to hold off on making New Year’s resolutions until mid-January, once Mars and Mercury have both stationed direct.

As we stumble through the fog, we can enact gentle discipline and boundaries. From here, we’ll be able to connect with spirit and the magical spaces between words. By resting, recalibrating, and avoiding triggers, we are preparing for the major energetic shifts of 2023, when multiple outer planets change signs.

If anger does arise this month, we can trust that it’s pointing to past issues that we need to resolve and release. It’s a chance to empty our cups so we can refill them with higher frequencies of potential. We’re transmuting love and communication while learning to become more confident in our authenticity and vulnerability. Our hearts are more powerful if we keep them open, beaming our dignity and worthiness, no matter what.

DEcember 2022 TRANSITS

VENUS OPPOSITE MARS

December begins with a passionate opposition between Venus and Mars—the lovers—and we may find ourselves triggered and more likely to enter charged debates. At the same time, our sexual desires are blazing. If we fight with a loved one, we might find an outlet through physical expression.

NEPTUNE STATIONS DIRECT

Neptune has been retrograding since June 28, 2022. On December 4, he stations direct, clearing some of our confusion. The best part of this transit is that Neptune is now pulling away from his square with Mars retrograde, helping us find better footing as we step out of the undertow of self-doubt and uncertainty.

MERCURY IN CAPRICORN

Our minds become more serious as Mercury enters Capricorn on December 6. With extra thoughtfulness and consideration, we can begin to make practical plans, checking things off our lists and determining how we will proceed in the coming year.

GEMINI FULL MOON

A fiery Gemini Full Moon arrives on December 7, conjunct Mars retrograde. Our words and anger could explode. We can generate patience to offset any impulsivity. If we’ve been holding back from speaking our truth or confronting difficult issues, this is the time to rally our bravery and communicate with directness. We might find release from speaking our minds and engaging in healthy arguments, while still retaining our open-mindedness, curiosity, and humor.

VENUS IN CAPRICORN

If we’ve been enjoying our independence, we might feel more desire to settle down and commit on December 9, as Venus enters Capricorn. We are reconsidering what and who we value most, peeling away what’s unhelpful and unnecessary. Venus in Capricorn shows us that love requires consideration and effort. We can work toward healing our worthiness and attachment wounds, so we can connect with one another with more steadiness—and less toxicity and drama.

JUPITER IN ARIES

Jupiter returns to Aries December 20 to May of 2023. In the sign of the Ram, Jupiter lights up, increasing our momentum and courage. However, Mars (Aries’s ruler) is in retrograde, and we aren’t feeling as confident as usual. We can keep in mind that it’s okay to fall off our horses—we can get right back on. Once Mars stations direct on January 12, 2023, luck will come easier. Meanwhile, we can feel doe-eyed and playful in our experimentation, relishing in fresh energies and connections, even though we’re not quite ready to rush forward.

SUN IN CAPRICORN / WINTER SOLSTICE

The Sun enters Capricorn on December 21, marking the Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, and Summer in the Southern. Either way, this day marks the turning of the light. In the Northern Hemisphere, this is the darkest day of the year—now the days get brighter. Capricorn is a cardinal sign, representing initiation. We can carefully plan our months ahead and decide what we want to build and create.

CAPRICORN NEW MOON

The Capricorn New Moon arrives on December 23, blasting us with the light of Jupiter, who’s freshly in Aries, and now squaring the Sun and Moon. We may feel tension between our lust for adventure and propensity for risk-taking on the one hand, and our need for practicality and gradual change on the other. We can breathe and feel our inspiration for what could be, directing that energy toward drawing plans and finding solutions for how to get there. Long-term success is now possible, but we’ll have to be patient before we see the fruits of our labor.

MERCURY RETROGRADE IN CAPRICORN
(CONJUNCT VENUS + PLUTO)

Mercury stations retrograde in Capricorn on December 29, just after conjoining relational Venus, who’s now within 3º of transformative Pluto. Mercury retrograde is a time of reflection, review, and recalibration—for going inside ourselves and quieting the chatter. Falling conjunct Venus and Pluto, this Mercury retrograde is particularly focused on love, money, and values. Capricorn represents integrity and dedication, and we’re beginning to discern who and what we want to commit to and focus on.

This Mercury retrograde will remain in effect at the start the New Year, making this a strong theme of 2023. Before determining our resolutions for the year, we can enter this period of meditation and stillness, asking ourselves—

What do we value most? What types of relationships do we want to establish? How can we create more balance, love, and fairness in our lives and the world?

The answers will come to us if we listen from our hearts. While this is a wobbly month, the more we love ourselves and stoke the embers of our internal strength, the better prepared we will be for the exciting possibilities that lie on the horizon. Adaptability is key since profound change is inevitable. As we end end the month and year, we are dropping into our primordial hearts, which we’re remembering are limitless and indestructible.

December 2022 Aspiration

Surrounded by fallen snow, may we generate the heat of our resilience and the confidence of our love. May we turn inward and become warriors of peace—imbued with compassion and clarity, humor and steady resolve.

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