December Horoscopes

Astrology of December
Current Configurations
Past Months

Aries	Libra
Taurus	Scorpio
Gemini	Sagittarius
Cancer	Capricorn
Leo	Aquarius
Virgo	Pisces

December 2010

Current Astrology

	The Sun is in Gemini
	The Moon is in SagittariusThe Full Moon is in Sagittarius: All day
	Moon Void of Course 8:24 pm to 6/5 12:31 am
	Next Mercury Retrograde Aug 23 - Sep 15

Current Configurations

by Henry Seltzer

December 5th New Moon
This New Moon in mid-Sagittarius makes aspects to many of the outer planets, making for an exciting and thought-provoking event. The Sun and Moon sextile Saturn, and form a quintile aspect to Neptune and Chiron. Mars squares Uranus, and Venus makes an exact bi-quintile to Uranus as well, a recipe for quick reactions and violent possibilities. Neptune and Chiron are conjunct with each other in the sky right now, and exactly semi-sextile to Uranus and septile to Pluto. Neptune with Chiron brings compassion to the fore, and as well an other-worldly sense of idealization that if we are not careful can border on self-delusion. We might also be feeling the loss that accompanies our disappointment that our ideals cannot easily come to pass in the earthly realm. At the time of the New Moon also, Mercury exactly conjuncts Pluto, while Venus newly in Scorpio, sextiles. Transformation is in the air, and the consciousness of our deeper relationship motivations.

December 13th First Quarter Moon
This is traditionally a time of trials and tribulations as we seek to reconcile opposite sides of a situation or of our behavior. In this case Pluto is bracketed within half a degree with Mars on one side and a stationing Mercury on the other. These are both applying aspects, Mercury having just retrograded on the 10th. The Sun and Moon in square with each other aspect the new planet Eris, a feminine warrior energy. The Moon conjuncts Uranus with Jupiter nearby also. This is a very powerful configuration, and, with the tension of the quarter moon already high, tempers could flair. Practice non-violent communication if you can, or be prepared to run for the door.

December 21st Solstice Full Moon Lunar Eclipse
The Solstice time has come round again and as we prepare for another New Year we must take the old one into account as well. That is the message of the very important holiday season this year as we move closer yet to the tempestuous teens of this dawning 21st century. The Full Moon Lunar Eclipse taking place in the early hours of Tuesday the 21st represents a wonderful opportunity to make a vital assessment of where the energy of this next year will take us and how we plan to respond.

In an extremely rare occurrence, the Winter Solstice happens on the afternoon of the same day, the 21st. The solstice is always a potent time for new beginnings because the shortest day of the year has arrived and this means in entirely simplistic and yet ultimately profound terms that the light is returning. This solstice is made even more powerful by the earlier Lunar Eclipse which is designed to allow you to look backward as well as forward as you contemplate a different future for yourself that yet does not break completely with your past. The eclipse is happening in the last degrees of Sagittarius and Gemini, and makes a T-square to Jupiter and Uranus, conjunct in Pisces. Although the energy of these latter planetary archetypes is all about going forward, radiant with new vision for a better future, leaving the past completely behind, that energy is moderated by the eclipse itself. This is because it seeks to connect us to who we are based upon who we have always been, a kind of looking back. Taking place in the last degrees of the signs before the Cardinal signs of Capricorn and Cancer, which are symbolized in the Solstice, it makes the point that where we have been is as important as where we are going. This Full Moon energy therefore represents a flowering of all that we have been and learned in our life cycle up to now. We can be more than we would ever have imagined if we can take a measured stance on what we truly desire in our heart of hearts to actually accomplish. This very potent and very revealing solstice time is holy, and if we so treat it, we will see the rewards begin to manifest for us after the New Year.

The eclipse degrees in late Gemini and Sagittarius have the Sabian Symbols of "Bathing Beauties on Parade" and "The Pope" – with all the pomp and splendor these images convey, and for all their connection to collective values. We can either fall back into show and surface glitter or we can make the effort to be a focal point for the society around us to regain some semblance of pride and wisdom. It is important to note that Mercury is retrograde right now, and moving backward into Sagittarius, still in conjunction with the eclipse degree and square to Uranus. It will not re-enter Capricorn until January and will not regain its lost Zodiacal longitude until January 15th – so we have two weeks into the New Year to mull over our potential choices before taking more deliberate action.

December 27th Last Quarter Moon
This is traditionally a time when we absorb the accumulated wisdom of the preceding three weeks of the Lunation Cycle, and prepare for the one to come with the Solar Eclipse of January 3rd after the New Year. In this case Mars aspects both Uranus (by quintile) and Saturn (by square) and so the tension is enormous. There is a push-pull of stop versus go, with Mercury still thoughtfully retrograde and getting ready to station in Sagittarius. The energy is building for a very powerful and dynamic New Year as the build-up becomes even more intense leading up to 2012.