The astrology that has set off alarms among so many astrologers, and the storm clouds that have accompanied it, seems paused for the moment. With four of the five major planets backsliding, there is a feeling that we must await the new year before world-shaping events resume their (probably grisly) course. There are plenty of wars and climate crises to occupy us in the meantime, but perhaps we can squeeze a little light, goodwill and peace from the festive season.
I wish a merry Christmas and joyous New year to all my readers.
Celestial Timetable
The Sun reaches the Winter Solstice in Capricorn on December 21 at 15.03.
The Full Moon is in Gemini on December 4 at 23.14 GMT.
The New Moon is in Sagittarius on December 20 at 01.43 GMT.
Mercury is moving forwards in Scorpio until the 11th and is then in Sagittarius.
Venus is in Sagittarius until December 24.
Mars is in Sagittarius until the 15th, then in Capricorn.
Jupiter is retrograde in Cancer.
Saturn is moving forwards in Pisces.
Prometheus is retrograde in Taurus.
Neptune is retrograde in Pisces until 10 December when it resumes forward motion.
Pluto is moving forwards in Aquarius.
Sagittarius and Sagittarius rising
In December you have options. Do you want to play the somewhat fiercesome Centaur putting the world to rights ? Or would you prefer the role of noble intellectual, looking on at humanity’s follies, or choose the raucous Jupiterian party animal or the less frequently seen dashing lover? The roles pile up with the planets in your skies – Venus (friend and lover) until the 24th, Mars (warrior) until the 15th, or scholar until 2 January). Maybe you can do the lot?
All these planets and the mighty Sun are making a striking square to Saturn in Pisces this month, making this the time to despatch serious business (as in money, property, commitment/bust-up) that has been lingering for most of 2025. This will be the last Christmas with Saturn in confrontational mode, so shoot your shot.
You can, of course, expect glitches, notably around the full Moon of the 5th when partners and confidantes may turn contrary – resentful even – and you are better served by reigning in your anger rather than confrontation. Independence – very much the Centaur’s thing – can be quiet as well as noisy.
The new Moon of the 20th may get a little lost in the Christmas rush, but the couple of days before the Equinox are ideal for making resolutions and declarations of intent. You will have to live up them of course, so aim high. Happy Birthday.
Capricorn and Capricorn rising
There is still some catching up to do before Mercury completes its stop-go cycle and likely some clearing up of the intentions of a sidekick…no biggie but get things in the open, done and dusted.
Your own cycle begins in earnest on the 15th when Mars arrives in the Goat’s skies. The red planet in your sign is reckoned ‘exalted’ i.e. extra powerful, which grants you six weeks when you can impress upon others your abilities and put a flea in the ear of those who doubt you. Getting pushy without overdoing it is a trick many of you will have mastered, but just in case, on Christmas Day Venus arrives for a three week stay that hands you charm as well as a bite, and which makes the outlook for the festive season and your birthday month unusually rosy. Don the Santa suit if you like, get ready for some dancing, partying and private smooching – your romantic life looks unusually intense in January.
Aquarius and Aquarius rising
Your network of favoured friends, old muckers and people you sort-of-know loom large in the run- up to Christmas, as they should. The eleventh hours of your ‘scope, which loosely concerns ‘the gang’, is alive with the presence of Mars, Sun, Venus and Mercury, offering a mix of back-slapping, flirtation and deep conversation – very much your thing, even if you are a space cadet style Aquarian. The full Moon of the 4th and 5th intensifies the action, but being part of the collective, the team, is a theme that carries you all the way into 2026. Once there, you may fancy a bit of solitude!
Social discourse may be the driving force behind the social whirl, but the planets involved all make precise and potentially rewarding aspects to your ruling planet, Saturn, which is lodged in your zone of cash and self-worth, so there may be rewards of a mundane nature involved. After all, it ain’t what you know but who…
If you insist that your ruling planet is in fact Prometheus aka Uranus, that also plays. Planets make a precise aspect to the oddball celestial body (the only one that spins vertically) and to Pluto, the distant speck lodged in your skies for umpteen years to come. Aquarians at the very beginning and end of your sign – 29/30 January, 17 February – are those in line to welcome fellow space travellers and interesting aliens.
Pisces and Pisces rising
Your famous intuition needs to be refreshed and working well in order to take advantage of December’s stars, which are fast moving. The fleeting scent of romance greets you as the month opens and is worth following if you can find it. Venus and the Sun moving across the roof of your ‘scope until Christmas is promising for career manoeuvres and meeting folks who can help you up the ladder, though the full Moon of the 4th might persuade you to jump ship and ply your trade elsewhere. Saturn in Pisces is strong in the mix this month (and beyond) which is very much about making up your mind where career, property or a long-term relationship is involved. After the last two or three years you should have reached a conclusion or two by now! The new Moon on the 20th encourages a reset.
The Sun moving into Capricorn at the solstice, followed by Venus on Christmas Day, changes the mood a little, adding conviviality to the mix. Mars here from the 15th has the same message – not every Pisces is a ‘people person’ but it’s the standard setting. The waxing Moon is in Pisces’ skies on Christmas Day itself, an appropriate position for a religion that has a Fish as its symbol.
Aries and Aries rising
You should be in your element. After all, several planets are – ruler Mars, Venus, the Sun and, shortly, Mercury, are all in your fellow fire sign Sagittarius, signalling a time of freewheeling optimism and looking to the future. If people and affairs at a distance are involved, so much the better. You may be called on to leave something/someone behind at the full Moon on the 4th, but it’s baggage you don’t need. The new Moon on the 20th is more relevant and with Venus involved a frisson of romance is in play. It’s a joyous few weeks – you don’t have to go full party animal!
By then ruler Mars has moved on to the top of your ‘scope, to be joined by the Sun at the solstice. Mars is strong in Capricorn, meaning the incoming month is, despite the festive spirit, purposeful and, given the Ram’s character, impatient. Professional concerns may take precedence over enjoyment. Fair play – time waits for no-one and 2026 holds major challenges for the Ram in the shape of a two-year Saturn transit. Worry about that after the singing has stopped!
Taurus and Taurus rising
The month starts in something of a flurry, a somewhat confusing bundle of people and events. Two issues dominate the first half of December; money and relationships (probably just the one association), and the pair overlap in a challenging way, especially at the full Moon of the 4th, when tempers may soar. That your ruling planet, fair Venus, is opposed by planet Prometheus from the tail end of your sign, is a cue for an upset or, equally, a sudden realisation of where a partnership may be heading. Absolutely trust your instincts on this one.
Venus moves on quickly to spend much of the month in a zone where privacy and rumination may be needed, at least where long-term issues are involved. In the here and now, festive fun remains on tap. The season of Capricorn, a fellow earth sign, lightens and quickens the mood, starting with Mars’ arrival in the Goat on the 15th, and hitting the heights at the solstice and over Christmas, when Venus is your lode star as you sail surely and steadily into the new year.
Gemini and Gemini rising
The temptation as the month opens is that you will try to do too much, overestimate your energy and what it’s possible to achieve just now. Incoming on the 4th is the only full Moon in your skies this year – always a likely cue for excess of one sort or another. The full Moon follows on the heels of an opposition between Venus and planet Prometheus that may send a lightning fork to frazzle a partnership, or to introduce you to some new and exciting. No half measures here, especially if your birthday is circa 20 June.
Thereafter Venus assumes a more serene position, cruising opposite you alongside the Sun and, until the 15th, Mars, a trio that keeps partnerships romantic but spicy. The new Moon on the 20th sets things up nicely for the future. Make a wish.
The high season of festivities, in slightly contradictory fashion, asks for resolutions on the mundane front; money, career, long term plans to keep your agile feet on the floor while your agile brain heads off elsewhere. Don’t be too long-term in your thinking; 2026 has a very different flavour.
Cancer and Cancer rising
You should be finishing up a rosy period, with lucky Jupiter just turned retrograde after a month dominated by Scorpio planets and topped with Saturn in Pisces – a triangle of water signs. There’s a possible final zinger at the beginning of December, as Venus contacts planet Prometheus, to add a romantic note (sweet or sours? Depends…
Thereafter you are called to work. Hard to pretend that it’s the glamorous, get-you-noticed kind but it’s more likely to be plain old graft. That theme fragments as the month unfolds.
Mars in opposition from the 15th signals someone in your life who drives you nuts, though whether with frustration or longing it’s hard to say…more likely the latter once you reach the r solstice. when Venus moves into opposition. With Jupiter still guiding your way, albeit in retrograde, your job is to keep everyone buoyant. You may need to spend!
Leo and Leo rising
First things first, get the full Moon of the 5th out the way. It doesn’t look especially problematic, but who knows what troubles come with the end of a lunar cycle, you could find yourself stranded! Aside from which most of December looks what in former times was called a gas, a blast of delights. Your Sun ruler glides through fellow fire sign Sagittarius – like every year at this time – but with Mars and Venus as accompanists, the very planets you want onside when looking for adventure, romance or to help polish off your latest canvas. Your mission is to show how royalty should be done – with generosity, grace and inspiration. You look irresistible. The new Moon of the 20th is a promising date, perfect for beginning a new enterprise.
The last ten days of the month look sanguine by comparison, but make sure that when called on for duties, which you will, you will be read to serve.
Virgo and Virgo rising
The full Moon of the 5th is at the peak of your ‘scope, a place where you can make headlines or be horribly exposed by them. Either way, it’s the end of a cycle that began six months ago. The main emphasis of December’s stars remains on home and hearth, where there may be some leftovers from a recent dispute to iron out. However, with Venus here and a new Moon arriving on the 20th, there should be peace in the valley ready for Christmas. Make it so.
Planets in fellow earth sign Capricorn, beginning with Mars on the 15th, are an entirely upbeat affair, asking for display – showing off if you like – and being a sharp cookie on the party circuit. You can do that. With Venus also here across Christmas you can also do glamour – look to the goddess in your sign’s symbol.
Libra and Libra rising
The full Moon of the 4th and the planets opposite suggest a particularly crazed entree into the festive season; not necessarily stressful, though even good times can take it out of you. Ruler Venus is your lode star, very happy to find common cause with the crowd and gee up old chums. The new Moon of the 20th, however, may bring an early new year resolution to allot your time in a different way – there is so much to fit in.
The Solstice, as always, is a turning point, firstly directing you to the delights of home, hearth and family, while Jupiter, still at the peak of your ‘scope, albeit in retrograde, remains conducive to your professional ambitions, which should kick in directly after the new year hullabaloo.
Scorpio and Scorpio rising
The first ten days of December find Mercury retracing its steps from last month’s retrograde cycle. This is the time to check out and clarify any agreements you made, return the presents you mistakenly bought, and straighten out any disagreements you may have had occasion to get mixed up with.
Your Mars ruler is already on the march into another potentially misunderstood realm, that of money. With Venus, Sun and Mercury all here in your cash zone during the first weeks of the month, attention is called to spreadsheet and debit card and keeping one’s head above water. The new moon on the 20th invites a new financial resolution.
Thereafter the solstice brings a lighter mood, in time for the Big Day and the rest of the festive season. All good here – in fact once you are into the new year proper you can find people to help you advance your cause, though it may require a lot of travelling to reach the right folk.
Astrology Consultations from Pam Carruthers
Readers often ask if I give personal readings. I don’t. My primary jobs remain journalist and writer. By contrast, Pam Carruthers, webmaster, fellow astrologer and long time friend, is a professional astrologer who uses both western and vedic systems for individual clients.
Pam, who is now based in Eastbourne in the UK, has an international clientele. She is a gifted astrologer and teacher and offers Astrology Life Coaching based on your birth chart.
Her website is www.healingstars.com
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