December 2017
Our shared planetary picture
Mercury goes retrograde this month on 3rd which is the same day as the Full Moon. Communications and short journeys may not be straight forwards and things may get mislaid or go missing. If you can, avoid signing anything important until after 23rd when misunderstandings start to be resolved.
Mars moves into Scorpio on 9th, pursuing secrets and all things hidden. Be open to revelations, including self-revelations too. Passions could also get roused…
But the most momentous planetary change this month is Saturn’s move from Sag. to Capricorn on 20th. (One day before the winter solstice). Saturn is not a light-weight planet. It represents time, responsibilities, restrictions and lessons. The restrictions have an important purpose though. They make the going tough so that we are thrown upon ourselves to carry out an internal review (in different areas of life for each sign).
This usually involves self-questioning and looking at how we have been dealing with certain things in the past and how we want to deal with them in the future. It stays for approximately two and a half years in each sign.
Saturn is always somewhere of course and as it leaves one area of your solar chart, it moves into another. So the good news is – on 20th it finishes its lessons in one area of your life. And you can then apply your hard-earned conclusions.
You will then have new challenges in new areas of life in the two years ahead!
So what will this mean for us all?
Read the horoscope for your Sun sign and your Ascendant sign if you know it.
Aries: On 1st your ruling planet Mars opposes Uranus in your sign which is like a flash of lightning. What this reveals or you suddenly realise may shock you. It is to do with you and relationships or partnerships. With this startlingly in mind, you have until 9th to push your agenda forward. And compromise will not be on your mind!
Mars then moves into your joint funds, intimacy and sharing zone. You may hotly pursue anyone owing you money or vice versa… Or you may encounter anger about lack of intimacy or sharing. This could be yours but if it is someone else’s… try to listen!
Saturn moves out of your 9th House on 20th, ending three years of delays, responsibilities or restrictions in travel, deep study, ethics, philosophy, publishing or legal matters. Your new area of seriousness is your 10th House of father, career and social status. When Saturn reaches this zenith of your chart, you find yourself reaping whatever you have sown over the last seven, fourteen or 28 years.
This could be very sobering if you have neglected responsibilities. However if you have worked hard over the years, this period over the next two years could be the culmination of your achievements and authority may be bestowed upon you. This will not be in the form of a lucky break but in recognition of your hard work, worthiness and effort.
Venus joins the Sun and Saturn from 25th when father figures or those in authority smile down on you. And if you happen to be one yourself, give credit where it is due.
Taurus: Efforts around work, health and daily routine continue until 9th, then Mars joins Jupiter in your relationships and partnerships zone, making for a buoyant roller-coaster sort of energy. If you have objectives in mind you can push them forward in an exhilarating way!
Joint funds, intimacy and sharing continue to occupy you this month too. Venus helps with relating until 25th but Mercury retrograde between 3rd and 23rd can give a misleading reading of situations regarding intimacy and sharing and confusion about joint funds (including taxes, debts and inheritances).
At the same time, Saturn which has been weighing things down in this area of your chart for three years, moves out on 20th. This will lighten things up and your self-knowledge should now be better if you have carried out the internal review required.
Saturn’s new area of lessons is going to be in your 9th House of travel, deep study, the internet, religion, philosophy, different cultures, ethics, publishing and legal matters. This could take the form of restrictions or responsibilities in some way. Or you may become an authority in one of these domains.
Pluto has been stirring things up here since 2008 and now Saturn is adding structure to that transformation. As a Taurean you know how to make creative ideas a reality. So your focus now, for the next two years, are these arenas.
Your ruling planet Venus squares Neptune on 9th and 10th when unrealistic expectations or self-sabotage cause discomfort. On 25th Venus conjuncts Saturn and ‘the work’ of loving someone presents itself or a creative product can come into being.
Gemini: Full Moon in your sign on 3rd gives an emotional start to the month. Your ruling planet Mercury goes retrograde on the same day, so you may lose your footing and find yourself in a river of emotion. Geminis generally avoid such environments but being out of your element can bring growth and new experiences, if you have the courage to over-ride your fears and trust the current.
Your ruling planet Mercury goes direct on 23rd and you will start to feel more like yourself again.
Venus keeps relationships and partnerships pleasurable up to 25th. Saturn is in there too finishing off three-year’s worth of lessons learnt. So there is both a sense of relief and seriousness too. Solid new structures may even be forming. And New Moon on 18th is the time to make resolutions towards what you hope to find and give in partnerships in the month and year ahead.
Saturn’s new port of call is your 8th House. This is the House of transformation. It covers birth, sex and death, joint funds, intimacy and sharing. Joint funds covers taxes, debts, inheritances and financial dealings with others. Many lessons lie ahead. Be open and honest with yourself and others.
Cancer: Events connected to mother and home may take you by surprise at the beginning of the month and your energy to push ahead with things remains until 9th. Then Mars jumps into your romance, children and creativity zone which is already buoyant and afloat with Jupiter its new resident. This is a feel-good, push-forward wave that attracts positive things and attracts others. Enjoy it!
Work and health carry more concerns however. Venus smoothes things along until 25th but Mercury is retrograde from 3rd – 23rd causing hiccoughs and misunderstandings with colleagues or daily companions or passing health annoyances. The good news however is that Saturn which has been weighing things down in this area of your chart for three years, moves out on 20th. So things will then start to feel much lighter than they have done for a long time!
New Moon on 18th also falls in this area of your chart and marks the beginning of your Work and Health New Year. Make resolutions that will increase your daily well-being in the month and year ahead.
Saturn’s new area of focus is your 7th House of relationships and partnerships (which covers both business and intimate partners). Pluto has been shaking things up here for nine years and now Saturn brings its scrutiny to bear. Things may not be so easy to handle with Saturn around which will prompt you to carry out a deep internal review of: how you have been dealing with partners or partnerships in the past and how you want to deal with them in the future. This will not be easy (perhaps with regards to realisations about yourself) but give it your full attention.
Leo: A dilemma between romance and friendship or group achievement versus personal creativity crops up with Full Moon on 3rd. Mercury planet of thought and communication goes retrograde the same day until 23rd. So you may not be able to go by what others say. Your own words may not do that good a job either. Creative expression has a better chance but even there you may not be at your best…
Meanwhile the focus is on your 5th House of love affairs, children and creativity. Saturn has been weighing you down in these areas for three years, calling for a deep internal review in one or more of these areas. But the good news is, Saturn completes its long, hard lessons here on 20th which frees you up to apply your hard-earned conclusions.
Your ruling planet the Sun continues to warm things up here until 21st. Venus is in this area of your chart too until 25th, giving creative flow, softening your feelings and attracting others. New Moon on 18th also falls here, marking the beginning of your Romantic and/or Creative New Year. Make resolutions for a creative month and year ahead.
Late in the month three planets move into your work and health zone – Venus on 25th, the Sun on 21st and most importantly of all – Saturn on 20th. Work, health and service to others are your new areas of life under review. How you tend yourself on a physical level, daily routine and well-being in general are included too. Pets might crop up in a serious way too.
All three planets coincide on 25th which may give a flavour of things to come. Be ready to meet them.
Virgo: Career and home crash against each other at Full Moon on 3rd and your ruling planet Mercury goes retrograde on the same day. This is in your mother and home zone so double-check up until 23rd that everyone is under the same understanding.
Mars moves into your 3rd House of communications, short journeys, trading and dealings with siblings and neighbours from 9th. This adds heat and determination to your actions and interactions and provides the energy to see things through. You may find yourself being verbally sharper too, perhaps with good reason.
The main focus this month though is your 4th House of mother and home, self-nurture and personal development. Saturn has been weighing you down here for the past three years, bringing about a much-needed review of how you have been dealing with one or more of these areas of life. On 20th Saturn completes its call for scrutiny in these arenas and you will be free and able to apply your conclusions. New Moon is in this area of your chart too on 18th. Make resolutions towards a happy home in the month and year ahead.
As one challenge closes, another opens and your new areas for learning and growth are romance, children and creativity. Be ready to embark on this new adventure. Who knows what could materialise!
Libra: If partners expect you to be a push-over at the beginning of the month, they have a surprise in store, especially on 1st! And you continue to be assertive up until 9th when Mars leaves your sign and turns its energies to your finances.
Jupiter has already been improving things here since October and now Mars adds determination to the opportunities around. Another income stream could be pushed forward, especially around 24th – 28th.
Communications, trading and dealings with neighbours and siblings are a particular area of interest this month with mixed events and mixed emotions running with them. Your ruling planet Venus is helping to smooth things along until 25th but Mercury goes retrograde from 3rd – 23rd when changing decisions, mislaid items or misunderstandings cause confusion.
The good news is that Saturn which has been weighing down this area of your chart for three years, moves on 20th into your mother and home zone where it will stay for two years. This is in addition to Pluto with has been transforming this area of your life since 2008.
Saturn’s presence will present you with many things, perhaps extra responsibilities or realisations about the early home and how you were nurtured and how that impacts your own style of nurture and self-nurture. Do not avoid whatever shows up in terms of external or internal events. This is for you not against you but you must do your inner homework!
Scorpio: Since October you have been riding the upbeat Jupiterian wave but from 9th Mars leaps into your sign and joins it, adding extra dynamism, energy and determination to forge head with your creative self-expression and expansive projects – including yourself!
Finances are a big focus this month too. Venus usually helps to improve them and that may be the case but it is hard to get a clear view. Mercury creates misunderstandings or things get mislaid and you may have to do or re-do things more than once in the current mix-ups between 3rd and 23rd.
Saturn moves out of this area of your solar chart on 20th after three years of slow progress (so slow it may not have been apparent at all). The internal review this called you to make has been about money, possessions, income, security, self-esteem and values. If you carried out you inner homework, you should now have a better sense of your values and your worth.
Saturn now joins your ruling planet Pluto in your 3rd House of communications, short journeys, teaching, trading, physical movement and dealings with neighbours and siblings. Pluto’s transformational residence in this area of your solar chart since 2008 will have already made you aware of the power of words, the power of thought and the power of the mind. Saturn now requires you to work on how you apply all three.
It will not be easy but nothing worthwhile ever is. Self-honesty is the starting point and a carefully worded extension of that in being honest with others. You have the resilience to do this. Take courage and do it. And if you have been over-stating your case in the past and over-using power in your dealings with others, Saturn will require you to do some painful listening. Do it!
Sagittarius: The Sun ball remains in your court this month until 21st, radiating warmth, optimism and freer self-expression. Mercury is in your sign too but goes retrograde from 3rd which can skew communications. Double-check everyone is on the same page during this period. Mental and physical agility may be trickier to come by too. Full Moon on the same day creates an emotional high tide in partnerships (business and/or intimate).
Although you risk being misunderstood, Venus also stays in your sign until 25th, making you charmer of the zodiac this month. It then moves into your 2nd House to help smooth finances along. And finances may need that help…
New Moon on 18th is also in your sign, marking the start of your Personal New Year. Make resolutions that will help to generate what you hope to find in your emotional life in the month and year ahead. Many Happy Lunar Returns!
The big news however is that Saturn which has been weighing you down for the past three years, moves out of your sign on 20th. This will come as a relief and you will feel lighter as a result. You will also then be able to apply the conclusions of your long internal review about identity, self-expression and how and where that should be applied.
Your new area of learning is your 2nd House of money, possessions, security, values and self-esteem. Be ready for possible frustrations and more importantly, the opportunities for growth within them!
Capricorn: Energy levels may have been low recently but that is about to change. The month before our birthday we are often at low ebb as the Sun has been away from us for the longest time. The good news is the Sun is bringing fresh energy and a sense of renewal to you from 20th!
Your birthday whether this month or next is your personal new year and a more meaningful time to make resolutions for the year ahead than January 1st. Many Happy Solar Returns! It is also the perfect time to explore your planets for the year ahead with a good astrologer.
Another big shift this month is that your ruling planet Saturn moves into your sign on 20th. This only happens every 28 years or so and it marks a kind of homecoming. Saturn will also be demanding a review over the next two years of how you have been dealing with identity and self-expression and the current outlets for that expression and how you would prefer to deal with these things in the future.
Pluto has already been stirring power issues up for you since 2008 which can be transformational if you look it straight in the face. Saturn’s arrival will require even more self-honesty. Be willing to go there.
Aquarius: Mars opposes your ruling planet Uranus on 1st which starts the month off on a jolt. Compromises will not look attractive but your mind will be serious and focused as Mercury approaches Saturn. Any decisions you feel you have made, may turn around though as Mercury goes retrograde from 3rd until 23rd.
Mars moves into your father, career and social status zone from 9th. This will sharpen your ambitions and give you the drive and energy to pursue them. More of this to follow next month when Mars joins forces with big-boy Jupiter!
You will be glad to know that Saturn completes its demanding journey through your 11th House of friends, groups, community and humanitarian ideals on 20th. You will then be free to apply your conclusions in these arenas.
Your next area of intensive learning is going to be in your 12th House of compassion, the pain and suffering of others and the institutions where they can be found (prisons, hospitals and refuges), creativity behind the scenes, spirituality, the internet and the collective unconscious. Saturn can bring restrictions, responsibilities or …authority… If you have been working conscientiously in these areas, be ready to step up.
Pisces: Opposite pulls between your finances and the requests or financial demands of others start the month. Things kick off between your private and public life too from 3rd. Communications to do with father, career and authority figures may not go smoothly either from 3rd – 23rd when Mercury is retrograde.
Mars adds determination to travel, study or legal plans from 9th. This is followed by Venus squaring your ruling planet Neptune from 10th – 11th which may not be encouraging but this soon passes.
The big focus this month is your father, career and social status zone. The Sun is lighting things up until 21st and Venus helps to smooth things along but with Mercury retrograde, avoid signing anything important if you can, until after 23rd. Watch your own words too or they may come back to haunt you.
The main news though is that Saturn removes its heavy three-year presence here on 20th. Whatever you have hopefully learned during this period can now be applied. And your new area of learning is your 11th House of friends, groups, community and humanitarian ideals. You have two years of learning ahead. Welcome this deepening of your understanding.
To find out what this means for you as an individual, get in touch and we can explore your birth chart together by phone – diane@positive-elements.com or 07929 261231 (++ 44 7929 261231 if calling from outside UK).
To find out more get in touch. To view more horoscopes, please go to the Horoscopes page.
