Star Weather Astrology Report 12/24–12/31
©2023 Ronnie Pontiac
All times Pacific.
Friends, we have before us a rather quiet week but with Mars and Neptune emphasized there may be some excitement and confusion. The most important event may be Jupiter stationary direct next Saturday. Mercury remains retrograde until New Year’s Day so give yourself extra time when traveling and double check information and communications. A good quote from Emily Dickinson for New Year’s Day: “Not knowing when the dawn will come I open every door.”
Sunday 12/24 Christmas Eve sun sextile Saturn is exact mid-morning. This indicates an opportunity for getting organized, but also for getting rest. Keep it simple. If you need some time for study or practice Sunday morning could be ideal, also a good time for meditation.
Mon 12/25 Christmas day Venus trine Neptune is exact mid-morning. This indicates the possibility of a heart-felt Christmas full of compassion and love. The right movies or music might be especially enjoyable. Over here we’ve made a Christmas tradition of watching Alastair Sim as Scrooge in A Christmas Carol or listening to the Dickens story itself on YouTube. The Sim film was considered a horror movie when it first came out and was not very popular but of course has become the definitive adaptation. The story itself is nothing less than the most famous Spiritualist book ever written. Neptune is no longer dwelling in the degree of its station but we still want to avoid drinking too much, which might be a temptation as we search for that feeling of good cheer to relieve the depression and anger caused by current events. Let’s take time to express love to our loved ones. Let’s appreciate the good things in our lives. For artists creative inspiration can be strong all week. To quote Steven A. Ross: “Without imagination we are slaves to what is already achieved.”
Tue 12/26 the full moon in Cancer arrives at 4:33 PM. Mercury square Neptune is exact about a quarter to midnight. This can be a confusing aspect and major travel snarls, especially caused by weather, are likely. When communicating be sure to take time to ask questions and to clarify exactly what is meant. This is a good aspect for deep meditation, which seems to have extra power as we approach the end of the year. As the founder of Shingon Buddhism, Kukai, wrote: “In a dream we may experience a day, two days, or infinite years and we may see various lands and people and other living things. We may go to the heavenly palace at one time or to hell at another time, and we may accept all kinds of pleasures and pains. But when we wake up from the dream we will know that they are what happened in a momentary thought.” Later in the same tract, The Mahāvairocana Tantra, Kukai reminds us that even visions of the Buddhas are emptiness, but emptiness is not a good word for translating the Buddhist term, though it is widely accepted by English translators. “Sky-like” captures it better. The mind of emptiness is sky-like, the clear blue sky of daylight: pure unobstructed awareness. A few moments of that can help us recharge our bodies.
Wed 12/27 Mercury retrograde conjunct Mars is exact in the late afternoon. This could put extra aggression into self-expression. On the other hand it’s a good time to get in touch with what the Mars part of our lives needs. What kind of adjustments can we make when it comes to libido, ambition and anger in defense of our boundaries? Be careful commuting as drivers already confused by tomorrow’s Mars square Neptune may be on a hair trigger, primed for road rage.
Thu 12/28 Mars square Neptune is exact mid-afternoon, followed by Venus sextile Pluto in the late evening. The square can indicate exhaustion, especially when desires, ambitions and anger have been repressed. This aspect can also indicate getting into fights over misunderstandings or due to intoxication. Avoid hostile people if at all possible. Propaganda around war and political disagreements will be flying fast and furious. This aspect also indicates increased spread of viruses, a no brainer given holiday travels. For this square, given the power of the lie in our deeply divided times, this famous quote by Voltaire is worth remembering: “Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.”
Thursday’s sextile can bring transformative experiences in love and art, deep romance, or for that matter lust, but we must be careful of misunderstandings or the use of force as indicated by the Mars square earlier in the day. Squares tend to be stronger than sextiles so take care if you intend to enjoy love or creativity. Both aspects are with us all week. For the sextile we might recall what Bell Hooks wrote: “I have been thinking about the notion of perfect love as being without fear, and what that means for us in a world that’s becoming increasingly xenophobic, tortured by fundamentalism and nationalism.”
Fri 12/29 Venus enters Sagittarius at 12:24 PM. Scorpio can make Venus obsessive and isolated, Sagittarius is a much more cheerful and sociable placement. A quote by Audry Lorde applies to women and all things female, but also to all of us who find ourselves in relationships or situations where taking time to take care of ourselves is frowned upon by institutions that demand we serve them, and who believe in ignoring the needs of individuals (except themselves): “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence. It is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.”
Sat 12/30 Jupiter is stationary direct at 6:40 PM. All matters related to Jupiter will be free of the retrospective tendencies of the retrograde. Sagittarians in particular may find they begin to feel better after a challenging three months. Jupiter went retrograde 9/3. Retracing, Jupiter will arrive at the degree where its retrograde began on April 20 and will continue forward motion until October. As 2023 draws to a close, let’s take time to look back over Pluto in Capricorn since 2008. What have we learned? What do we still need to learn? What would we like to accomplish as the new cycle begins? A note on the U.S Pluto return. In April and May it will be out of orb for the first time since 2016/2017. We may get a glimpse of what it will be like to move beyond this very challenging time. But we will have to wait for 2025 to have moved beyond it until it comes around again in another couple of centuries. More information about the U.S. Pluto return here.
Sun 12/31 New Year’s Eve only lunar aspects are exact. The day may start on a down note with moon opposition Saturn in the morning but moon trine stationary Jupiter mid-afternoon should provide a more cheerful mood. However, with Venus square Saturn exact before dawn on Monday, New Year’s Day, there may be regrets due to over-indulgence or mistaken romance. Mercury retrograde ends at 7:08 PM on New Year’s Day. As of that day we are only nineteen days away from Pluto in Aquarius. Here’s a lovely quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson for both New Year’s Day and Pluto in Aquarius: “Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it well and serenely, and with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense. This day is too dear with its hopes and invitations to waste a moment on the rotten yesterdays.”
Tamra and I wish you all a wonderful new year and may we have many pleasant surprises, collectively and individually.
