…and we’re back, after a festive respite in New Orleans.  Oh, how I adore these halcyon days, when every day feels like Saturday — or perhaps no particular day at all.

I believe today is Friday…and yesterday at 10:27 PM ET, the Sun entered Capricorn. From now until January 20, our mission is a practical application of the Sagittarius Sun’s high-flying ideals. What will we build that will materially define our collective philosophy? Capricorn refers to ambition, especially when climbing a corporate ladder. Capricorn is an Earth sign, and understand how to deploy resources like no other. The mantra for Capricorn is “I USE.”

The Sun’s ingress into Capricorn is the first day of Winter in the Northern Hemisphere. From now until the Summer Solstice in June, the days will grow longer; the nights shorter.

Here’s what you need to know about the first day of any season  — i.e., equinoxes and solstices — from an astrological point of view. The first days of Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter correspond with the first days (or first degree) of Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn, respectively. These four signs are called Cardinal signs. Cardinal signs initiate. They come up with the idea and put it into action, which leads to necessary change.

“Cardinal” suggests (from the Latin root of the word), “that on which something turns or depends.”  So the first day/degree of a Cardinal sign is a turning point. Thus we can use solstice and equinox charts as tools for anticipating what’s likely to be put into action over the next three months, until we arrive at the next turning point/change of season. Clear?

In the language of astrology, the first degree of any Cardinal sign is also known as the Aries Point. The first degree of any Fixed sign (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius) or Mutable sign (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces) is not at the Aries Point.

A planet at the Aries Point suggests potential prominence. People who have planets and angles at the Aries Point in their horoscopes seem to attract a lot of attention.  Off the top of my head, people with planets or angles at the Aries Point include Meryl Streep, Elizabeth Warren, Prince William, Ted Cruz, and William Shatner.

Here is the Winter Solstice chart set in Washington DC:

Observations:

• The reigning need of this chart is represented by the Moon in Taurus, seeking to build material comfort and security in matters of publishing, courts, higher education, religious dogma, collective belief systems, and foreign affairs, with cooperation among government agencies, benefactors, and groups of like-minded souls.
• The Moon is conjunct President Biden’s Moon at 0 Taurus — he’s driving the bus over the next three months; that would be my take on this.
• Sun and Mercury are conjunct in Capricorn and at the Aries Point — prominence!  They are trine the Moon and Jupiter, which suggests an easy flow of earthy, practical energy. Looks like much can be accomplished.
• Sun and ASC ruler Mercury are in the 4th house — a focus on home/homeland security.
• Mercury is the ruler of this chart — not in the greatest shape, given that it is retrograde and combust (fried and/or hidden by the light of the Sun). On the other hand, Mercury Rx tends to “coincide” with plenty of dirt revealed upon REview, so…pop some popcorn.
• Venus has just separated from an opposition to Uranus, no doubt processing a wake-up call or other disruption in matters of money, values, and collective beliefs, for better or worse (there’s always an upside).
• The potential troublemaker in this chart is Mars — pushing boundaries in Sagittarius — but square to Neptune. Mars-Neptune squares suggest fanaticism, or a diffusion of assertive energy. Mars refers to war, aggression, action, courage, cars, iron, steel; Neptune refers to refugees, the dissolving of borders, spirits, drugs, forgiveness, oil, toxins, oceans, floods, ideals, scandal, illusions.

And now, the forecast for the next several days.

• FRIDAY: The Taurus Moon received superb support from Mercury (how we need to think), Saturn (structure, ambition, authority) and Jupiter (expansion) in the wee hours of the morning. It traveled throughout the day without interference, facilitating your quest for material comfort and joy. At 1:53 PM ET, practical idealism could have been yours, as Mercury met up with the Capricorn Sun. Mercury — like the Sun — is commanding attention as it, too, is at the Aries Point.
• SATURDAY: At 1:17 AM ET, Mercury (how we need to think) retrogrades back into Sagittarius, and we get to review some sloppy thought patterns that were demanding our attention at the beginning of the month. If there’s a surprise in the early morning, it reflects the surprise potential of the Moon’s conjunction with rebel Uranus at 8:33 AM ET. At 2:03 PM ET we have an illumination or a face-off, as the stability-seeking Moon is challenged by depth-seeking, take no prisoners Venus in Scorpio. Evening is softer, as Moon sextiles Neptune and gives up the fight.
• SUNDAY: A 95 minute Moon void (blink and you’ll miss it) occurs at 1:39 AM ET. At 3:14 AM ET, Moon shifts gears and enter Gemini, looking for the next big story, some of which (hello, Mercury retrograde), it may get wrong. The morning begins on two sobering notes from Saturn. First, Moon squares Saturn at 7:58 AM ET, which may suppress Gemini’s need to be seen as the cleverest, wittiest kid in the room. Second, Sun sextiles Saturn, exact at 12:28 PM ET — and in effect for some days before. It suggests cooperation and communication among leaders of business and state, and that applies to you, too.  The Moon travels without interference for the whole day. Meanwhile, a sweet harmony between Venus and Neptune — exact at 12:14 PM ET on…
• MONDAY:.. provides an apt backdrop for all renditions of “Silent Night” on Christmas Eve, as well as the magic of NORAD’s Santa Tracker. Merry Christmas, everyone! Whatever clever game or gizmo Santa brought you, the Gemini Moon is an apt time to engage. Tensions — and possibly tempers — may be on the rise around 9:08 PM ET, as Moon — waxing to fullness on Boxing Day — opposes Mars.  The Full Moon in Cancer happens Tuesday at 6:32 PM ET.

To be continued….

And now, the news.

In my lengthy take on last month’s Full Moon in Gemini, in which the information-seeking Gemini Moon opposed the high-flying beliefs symbolized by the Sagittarius Sun, I wrote:

FUN FACT: it’s just occurred to me that lawyers use the phrase “upon information and belief” in their court filings explaining why such-and-such defendant was charged with such-and-such unlawful activity. They make a point of stating that the facts support the allegations.

The Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn on the Winter Solstice of 2020 suggested we were moving into a period where what is accepted as truth may not always be supported by empirical evidence. Another pattern echoing this potential was the April 2022 conjunction of Jupiter-Neptune  in Pisces.  Here’s a link to an article I wrote about the Great Conjunction, and what it suggests about life on Spaceship Earth over the next 200 years.

Anyhoo, a week after posting last month’s Full Moon forecast, I was delighted when historian Heather Cox Richardson reported on a few examples from real life:

Tomorrow the Supreme Court will hear arguments in the case of Moore v. United States. The case illustrates today’s Supreme Court’s tendency to hear cases based on fictional stories in order to shape society to a right-wing ideology…The court is supposed to decide cases based only on facts, not fiction, but this court has shown a willingness to overlook fictions that enable actions the majority wants to take.

So…court cases now being made only upon belief, not information and belief. Where is Dragnet’s  Joe “just the facts, ma’am” Friday when you need him? Existing only in someone’s imagination, it seems…because Joe Friday never actually said those words, at least not on TV. And yet, many believe that he did.

I invite you to read HCR’s entire post from December 4th, linked above.

Meanwhile…

It’s now Saturday, December 23rd.

Planetary patterns reflected in the headlines are a mix of comforting stability and flashes of  surprising insights in the material world. The comforting stability is symbolized by Jupiter, planet of good cheer and expansion, as it slows to a virtual stop and prepares to turn direct next week. Jupiter is in Taurus, and therefore we expect expansion to have a Taurus expression, i.e., it may be comforting, cool, and stable. It may also be experienced as overindulgent, especially in matters of food and drink.

The flashes of surprising insight are symbolized by Thursday’s opposition between Venus (money, art, women, values) and disruptive Uranus. Friday’s Sun-Mercury conjunction at the Aries Point reflects the prominence of certain news bulletins.

Examples:

• Inflation continues to cool (!), and the latest U.S. economic data continues to defy doomsayers’ expectations, as in this WSJ headline: “Inflation ebbs; confidence rises, easing fears of slowdown”. Just look at these awesome numbers, and read HCR’s recap of what happens when transiting Pluto makes a hard aspect to the U.S. natal Pluto, as it did in the mid-30’s, early ’80’s and over the past two years.  Note also that Jupiter is still in a cooperative sextile with Saturn, and when these two planets are getting along, it’s reasonable to expect it’s good for business.  Next year, when Jupiter squares Saturn, we may have some kinks to work out.
• “Vase bought for $3.99 at a Virginia thrift shop sells for $100,000″
• “‘Worse than giving birth‘: 700 fall sick after Airbus Christmas dinner.” Uranus refers to aviation; Venus refers to food and women. Oppositions may suggest actions that are later regretted.
• “Alabama woman with two uteruses gives birth twice in two days.” The twin girls both have Moon in “never done this before…until now!” Aries, and the “born to be different” Venus-Uranus opposition.
• Venus refers to fashion and, when configured with Uranus, unconventional alliances. “Hermes billionaire plans to leave half his fortune to gardener; cut ties to charity”
• This WaPo editorial could be seen as a breath of fresh air (Venus opposing Uranus), as much as it is practical and sobering (published on a day with Mercury sextile Saturn, with Mercury and Sun at the Aries Point): “How the battle for democracy will be fought — and won” — with HCR offering more on WaPo’s opinion.  Bottom line: only an Orwellian Big Brother would believe that ignorance is strength.

UPDATE: on Jeffrey Epstein, whose horoscope continues to function as anticipated, even though he’s dead: “Federal judge orders 150 Jeffrey Epstein names unsealed” — that’ll happen in January, “coinciding” with transiting Pluto on Epstein’s Sun. This is the same pattern Nikki Haley is experiencing, and thus it’s no surprise to see her polling within four points of the former guy in New Hampshire. If TFG is not on the ballot in November, Haley would be his likely replacement, fulfilling the potential of her horoscope noted here several years ago.

UPDATE: on the former guy, whose horoscope has been mightily provoked this week, starting with transiting Mars opposing his natal Uranus on the 19th, then making hard contacts to his Nodes, Moon, and Sun between then and Christmas. Translation: boundary-pushing aggression, especially in all areas related to the 9th house (media, collective beliefs, courts, etc.), because the 9th house is ruled by Mars in TFG’s horoscope.

• Colorado Supreme Court enforces the US Constitution, ruling that TFG is not eligible for public office and may not appear on Colorado’s primary ballot. An appeal will be made to SCOTUS.
• “Lordy, there are more tapes. How TFG’s Michigan arm-twisting may come back to haunt him,”  along with RNC chair Ronna Romney McDaniel, who was born on March 20, 1973 in Austin, TX. She’s a Pisces or an Aries; either way her Sun is at the Aries Point, so she was born for potential prominence, should she choose it. If she’s a Pisces, Neptune is likely to be conjunct her Sun next year — and will be pretty darn close, regardless. Neptune transits to the Sun can be dreamy. They can also be experienced as a wipe-out. We shall see.
• “Something stinks: why #trumpsmells is trending on X”

In closing…(because we can’t end on stink bomb)…

I live in NYC and I’d never heard of this:

• “In Central Park, pets are remembered with a secret Christmas tree”

Stephen Colbert has footage of the latest volcano eruption in Iceland (and news of Rudy Giuliani’s anticipated wipe-out, which will continue for the next two years).

…and here, in honor of Mercury now at the verrry end of Sagittarius, possibly pushing the boundaries of good taste, are SNL’s Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che with their annual Christmas Joke Swap.

Here’s the 411 on personal consultations. I am available from the 27th onward, and if you are a returning client, you can book a follow-up consultation through the end of January, using this link. Astrologers are like dentists, doncha’ know. It’s good to check in with us every six months to a year. If you’re a new client, I have two options for initial consultations. Please email me here, and I’ll send you a scheduling link for the consultation of your choice. 

Thank you for reading this forecast — and sharing with friends.

Merry Christmas, everyone!