Galactic Greetings, All!

2021 bows out with some major astrological events! We can surmise that the end of the year will be action-packed and pivotal on a personal level – and truly, should we expect any less? Let’s see what’s on the menu!

Astrology Watch

Full Moon in Gemini, 12/18

Venus stations retrograde, 12/19

Chiron stations Direct, 12/19

Sun sextile Jupiter, 12/19

Mercury trine Uranus, 12/20

Capricorn Season begins, 12/21

Saturn square Uranus #3, 12/24

Venus square Pluto #2, 12/25

Full Moon, 27°28’ Gemini, 12/18/21, 11:35 pm ET

If you study your own birth chart, be sure to take a special look at your Gemini house, which continues to shuffle the deck of its evolving renovation plans. Innately, our Gemini house demands a certain level of flexibility and variety, consistently craving new stimuli. In the past 18-months, however, our Gemini houses have seen eye-opening eclipses, a no BS value-restacking Venus retrograde, and a rearranging Mercury retrograde. Before 2022 is over, we will see yet another Mercury retrograde and a re-motivating Mars retrograde in this part of our charts. In other words, this part of our life is in the middle of a construction zone!

Recently living within an actual construction zone myself, I recall the difficulty discerning how much progress has been made when you are still living out of boxes. The Gemini Full Moon will reveal some much-needed perspective in our Gemini house, illuminating new structures emerging on the scene. See? It’s really starting to come together. But there’s still so much to do. As this is the first non-eclipsed lunation in Gemini in two years, this Full Moon will reveal where we need to loosen our grip, keep an open mind and remain curious. Life is a learning – as Mercury’s square to a stationary Chiron reminds us. We aren’t always going to get it “right” the first time, but we are always free to change our minds and learn as we go along.

The Gemini Full Moon highlights friendship, connection, discovery, exploration and curiosity – it can also feel a bit dizzying if you have a lot in the juggle. Stay calm, have some tulsi tea and carry on!

The Full Moon forms a trine to Jupiter in the final degrees of Aquarius before officially returning to Pisces next week (hoorary!). Jupiter in Aquarius has championed science, progress and invention. Using my above metaphor, the full moon invites us to take a gander at our crazy world. So much has changed in the wake of the panorama, but look at where we have grown, innovated and rose to the occasion together. Personally, I love seeing air filters in high traffic spaces and connecting with a doctor from the comfort of my home. Brilliant!

Venus stations retrograde, 12/19

At 5:36 pm ET, Venus stations retrograde at 26°29’ Capricorn, absorbed in Pluto’s rapture. Now the real work begins – of uncovering the hidden, deepening intimacy, holding space for truth. While Venus is usually focused on cohesion, discovering common ground and harmonizing with her environment, this is not the case during Venus retrograde. Inanna and Ishtar, the Mesopotamian and Babylonian prototypes of Aphrodite, were also deities of love and war  - not just because love is a battlefield – but because the things we care for most are the things worth fighting for. While Venus is retrograde, we are less likely to give out a free pass. Particularly with Pluto in the mix, we notice the transgressions, we notice where situations are falling short of our expectation, and most importantly, we deepen our awareness of our own set of standards. Venus retrograde reveals and reshapes our priorities.

Venus retrograde is a time of reevaluation of relationships and how we foster connection. Do you find an enhanced craving for closeness at this time – emotionally, physically, spiritually? Profound levels of trust and intimacy can be plumbed when we lovingly dive deep together.

Love is an altar of vulnerability. Love has the power to heal all, but it can also break us open. Chiron stations direct today, highlighting our wounds and insecurities in relationships. For the next 40 days, we embark on a journey of forgiving the teachers of the past and finding wisdom and strength in the present – so that we may embody our vision for the future. This Venus retrograde will help us link our present reality with the deeper kinds of connection we crave – but first, we must we willing to explore our hurdles. This Venus retrograde calls for radical honesty. It’s a dance of vulnerability and strength – two seemingly different approaches, and yet they are one.  

Chiron stations Direct, 12/19

Healing is not always linear. Very often, it takes time, persistence, creativity and a whole lot of love. Many people find the value in consulting various professionals, each one providing vital keys to unlocking the psychological complexity of how our minds and bodies juggle distress. And if we spend enough time with our acupuncturist, our therapist or our astrologer, we even start to learn a thing or two about the modality, how it works and how to take our healing into our own hands. This is probably how Chiron, an immortal centaur who never felt kinship with the other rabble-rousing centaurs set out on a path of self-discovery to make sense of himself. In the process of trying to figure out “wtf is wrong with me?” Chiron becomes a prolific healer, teacher, herbalist, alchemist, astrologer and battle strategist. And yet, there was one particular wound even he could not heal on his own.

Some of our wounds never fully heal. Grief, regret, and trauma can take decades to settle, and yet life is forever changed thereafter. Healing doesn’t promise a return to how things were; often, healing refers to our gradual pushing forward despite new circumstances. The magnificent moral of Chiron reminds us that these wounds are not only our greatest teachers, but also what makes us human. We all have some sort of cross to bear – as burdensome as it is a privilege to be a human, having this fantastic and wild and hard experience in this sacred vessel. It’s all consciousness. It’s all perspective. As Chiron stations direct today, may we cross a new threshold of our human journey.

“The wound is the place where the light enters”

-Rumi

Sun sextile Jupiter, 12/19

·       Optimism

·       Celebration

·       Extroversion

·       Social connection

·       Travel

·       Progress, advancement

Mercury trine Uranus, 12/20

Grounded in the pragmatic sign of Capricorn, Mercury encourages focus toward logistics, planning, and taking care of business – but stay on those tiptoes for a last-minute change of plans. A trine to innovative Uranus ushers in those creative zingers to our itinerary. Hot off an illuminating full moon and two planetary stations, be ready for those brilliant ideas to strike! With our brains abuzz, today is an excellent day for writing, inventing, designing and innovating.

Yule, 12/21/21

Capricorn season begins on the darkest day of the year in the northern hemisphere – also known as the winter solstice. @sabrinamonarch astutely pointed out that Capricorn is a sign adept in navigating the dark. While Capricorn season takes root on the longest night of the year, it’s interesting to note that from here on out the days will gradually grow longer. Indeed, Capricorn is a sign whose roots are nourished by the riches of the soul’s descent but eventually, Capricorn transmutes their experiences into fuel for their upward climb beyond the valley of the shadows.

In a culture which primarily worships the Sun, it’s radical to turn our love and attention to the potent gifts of darkness. Life begins in the dark – in the womb, in the soil, in the quiet solitude of our thoughts... Darkness offers vital space for rest, healing and integration. Darkness invites us to rely less upon outer ongoings – the hustle bustle of the world and everyone else in it – the darkness invites us to turn to our inner compass, to navigate based upon instinct or divine guidance. Astrology was born at night, staring up at the holes in the heavens where the light of the Divine Architect reaches toward us, longing to be discovered.

Winter, like astrology, reminds us that there are different seasons in life.

While the year-end festivities are not yet over, Saturn lords over Capricorn season, emphasizing temperance, trimming excess and conserving energy. Historically, Saturn’s rulership over the winter months paralleled the modus of survival and the need to ration our harvest. Nowadays, it manifests as dry January. Or New Year’s resolutions where we focus on achieving a new goal. Capricorn season invites us to pare down the distractions and focus on what matters most.

Major highlights of Capricorn season: Venus’ ongoing retrograde, the north node’s official shift into Taurus and the onset of Mercury’s retrograde in Aquarius  

Saturn square Uranus #3, 12/24

Holding claim to the defining aspect of 2021, the Saturn-Uranus square reaches its 3rd exact formation (at last). Nevertheless, we will continue to see this square deliver pivotal changes to our infrastructure throughout 2022. Indeed, the personal planets will continue to transfer light between Saturn and Uranus, as well as their inclusion with this year’s eclipses and nodal activations.

Recently, I delivered a lecture at the NCGR Symposium regarding the Saturn-Uranus square and its historical relationship with invention and social innovation. The Great Resignation certainly fits the pattern of the French Revolution in 1796, the Haymarket Square Riot of 1886 which championed fairer wages and resisted growing wealth gaps. I also observed this aspect to correspond with technological innovation.

Need begets invention.

We find ourselves living within a rapidly evolving terrain. Much of the pressure we experience is due to a collective shift in priority against the grain of an infrastructure which has failed to evolve at the same pace. The time is now for new inventions and systems to emerge – spurred by supply chain shortages, sustainable tech, cryptocurrency and the new models of living and working which we are making up as we go along.

This Saturn-Uranus square is part of a larger cycle which began in 1988 at the tail end of Sagittarius. One thing that Alexander Ruperti emphasizes about the closing phase of this cycle is that change is imminent, that it is pointless to cling to the past, and yet, we cannot completely throw the whole system out. We’ve known what needs to change for a long time, but now the pressure has caught up to us.

Rest assured: what was once a radical idea became the new normal.

The same can be said about tomorrow.

Venus square Pluto #2, 12/25

(See last week’s entry)

Big Blessings,

Catherine

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