We may experience a palpable shift when numerous planets move into Capricorn this week. Saturn, the Sun and Venus all make their ingress at the solstice point, marking the change of season and the return of the light in the northern hemisphere. Saturn returns to the sign it rules on December 19 and will traverse its domain through March 2020. Saturn was last here 1988-1991, which correlated to the Iran-Contra scandal, the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. Back then Neptune and Uranus were also in Capricorn, which brought a sense of idealism and breakthroughs. This time around Saturn is joining Pluto (in Capricorn 2008-2023), and while there will be more to write on this subject in subsequent articles, what must be mentioned now is that this transit may correlate to a more sober tone in daily life. At this moment of paradigm shifts in our culture, Saturn will challenge us to really understand that we live in a delicate ecosystem and that we need to commit to sustaining it with integrity. By the time Saturn moves into conjunction with Pluto in 2020, if we’ve learned to respect its physical material reality rule set, we may begin to experience great empowerment (Pluto) as we see the positive results of our commitments. But, if we don’t that transit is likely to be very severe.
For a last breath of galactic fire before the grounded earth energy of Capricorn takes root, Venus in Sagittarius trines Uranus in Aries on December 20. The last in the series of planets in late Sagittarius that formed this flowing aspect with the ‘archetypal outlier,’ the Venus/Uranus pair brings into focus our right as beings to value pure individual expression over blind conformity. Venus is tasked with learning “the art of living together.” The freedom to be who we are is expressed at its highest potential when we understand we are divinely connected and our actions affect all existence. In Aries, also a freedom loving sign, Uranus is tasked with learning “adaptability,” so that the fruits of innovations are protected from self-serving recklessness. On a mundane level, we could really have fun this holiday season bucking tradition.
On December 21, the Sun arrives at the critical 0° cardinal point and conjuncts Saturn. Moving from the philosophical explorations of Sagittarius, the Sun in Capricorn is now ready to identify the most workable ideas and manifest them in tangible ways through sustained effort. Jim Sher has written more on the significance in his Blog here. The gift of Capricorn, according to Dane Rudhyar, is “personal integrity,” a true experience of which, he writes will give us “a sense of personal responsibility and individual destiny.” This sign is often characterized as having a “no nonsense” quality to it and no room for trivial pursuits. The chart for the solstice, which sets the tone for the next several months, features a triple conjunction of the Sun and Saturn at 0° Capricorn, and Venus a few degrees away on the Galactic Center in late Sagittarius (see last AstroCast), with all three still in orb of a trine to Uranus. Related to the theme of personal integrity within society, the national conversation about sexual misconduct may gain strength and influence significant changes in societal structures to be more protective. All eyes will be on the second Women’s March scheduled for January to see how the groundswell for female empowerment has grown. For more on the Solstice read Jim Sher’s article.
Another palpable shift occurs on December 22 when Mercury turns direct, re-focusing our attention from an internal regrouping process to externally implementing new ideas. For me personally, this Mercury retrograde has been intense with major deals at work being pushed through in classic “just get it done, we’ll fix it later” mentality. Similarly, the GOP-led U.S. Congress is hard selling its massive tax cut bill in a way that many characterize as being overly optimistic by exaggerating how the bill will turbocharge the growth of the economy (strong Sagittarius here). There is likely to be unintended consequences that may not be seen until January or much later when the panoramic vision of Sagittarius is a distant memory under the realistic pragmatism of Capricorn.
Travelling in tandem with the Sun since early December, Venus enters Capricorn on December 24 and conjuncts Saturn on December 25, strengthening the tight three-planet configuration governing personal values (Venus), our creative spirit (Sun) and the rule set by which we master any endeavor (Saturn). With the quick progression of planets into Capricorn (there will be six by the next New Moon in mid-January), a lot of us may sense a readiness to get down to the business of ordering our lives. Personal integrity in acts of living includes contributing our unique gifts to this world without thought of reward or personal gain. This is the archetype of Capricorn fulfilling its divine destiny. “What is needed to bring about real personal integration,” writes Dane Rudhyar, “is an act of the spirit, a divine Incarnation within the total personality. The need is not for better or more thoroughly organized patterns of organization – more managers, more bureaucrats and stronger policemen of the individualized consciousness – but rather for a new spiritual quality, a new logos.”
Here’s the data (Pacific Time and rounded to the nearest whole degree unless otherwise noted):
December 19 – Saturn at 0° Capricorn at 8:48 p.m.
December 20 – Venus trine Uranus at 25° Sagittarius/Aries at 3:21 p.m.
December 21 – Sun at 0° Capricorn at 8:29 a.m.
December 21 – Sun conjunct Saturn at 0° Capricorn at 1:09 p.m.
December 22 – Mercury station direct at 13° Sagittarius at 5:51 p.m.
December 24 – Venus at 0° Capricorn at 9:26 p.m.
December 25 – Venus conjunct Saturn at 1° Capricorn at 9:55 p.m.
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