December is a pivotal month astrologically, full of uncertainty and unfamiliar energies. It’s our final push through the birth canal before the paradigm shift of 2020. We’re continuing the work of opening to great change, while healing and releasing what no longer serves us. Structures and expectations are crumbling as Saturn inches closer to Pluto, before their exact conjunction on January 12. In the meantime, we’re burning through the fires of transformation. Our perspectives are ready to open up as we lay strong, fresh groundwork, while questioning everything.



Significantly, Jupiter moves into Capricorn at the start of the month, where he’ll stay for a year. Jupiter shines gold light and good fortune on the places we’ve been working so hard to change. In Capricorn, Jupiter will gift us tenacity and perseverance so we can keep taking one step at a time, dismantling the old paradigm in order to build a kinder, saner world.



A Solar Eclipse arrives on Christmas Day, presenting a powerful leap into the New Year and the next age of humanity. Truly, 2020 will be one of the most important years in astrological history. Until then, December is the last month of the year, decade, and current age. This is not the time to give up, but to prepare for what’s next—to let go of what we’ve outgrown and carry on. With dedication, innovation, and tenacity, we can see the horizon of limitless potential.

Jupiter moves into Capricorn on December 2, ending his yearlong journey through Sagittarius, his natural domicile. After exaggerating our ideologies and belief systems, expanding them under his magnifying lens, we are ready to move into more practical, somber energies—feeling the relief of Capricorn’s integrity and realism. By December 2020, Jupiter and Saturn will conjoin at 0 degrees Aquarius, bringing a surge of revolutionary energies as we barrel into the future. This next year allows us the chance for careful preparation, and for optimism to infuse the very places where we’ve been struggling. Karmic explosions will abound as we transform our selves, lives, relationships, and world.

What do we want to build for our long term future? What do we want to commit to?

A Gemini Full Moon arrives on December 11, square to otherworldly Neptune in Pisces. We might feel overwhelmed by our thoughts, beliefs, and outside information, as we struggle to find clarity. This Full Moon marks the opening of a six-week eclipse portal, during which everything could feel more intense. Karma ripens faster, and synchronicities bring revelations and fresh starts. On this day, Venus, planet of love, has caught up with Saturn and Pluto. We’re powerfully transforming our relationships and determining how we want to rebirth our dynamics around love. At the same time, our inner feminine is maturing, shedding outside control so she can step into her power. We’re determining what is true for us, trusting our intuition as we feel the tension between Neptune in Pisces and Saturn in Capricorn—magic and pragmatism. We’re learning to be both spiritual and practical beings—more holistic in our approaches. We can consider all possibilities carefully and realistically, with tender hearts and direct connections to the divine.

Jupiter trines Uranus

Breakthroughs, revelations, and glimpses into the future arrive on December 15, as Jupiter trines Uranus. Our minds are ready to think multidimensionally as we experience miraculous and surprising shifts and liberation. This will come as a welcome relief in the midst of a heavy Capricorn stellium.

Winter Solstice / Sun Enters Capricorn

The Sun enters Capricorn on December 22, marking the Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, the Summer Solstice in the Southern. The solstice marks the turning of the light, when days either become longer or shorter until the equinox, depending on your hemisphere. This is a time of beginnings, offering an optimistic glimmer of future possibilities.

Capricorn New Moon / Solar Eclipse

The Capricorn Solar Eclipse arrives on December 25, conjunct expansive Jupiter while trining shocking, revolutionary Uranus. A Solar Eclipse is an exaggerated New Moon, bringing a powerful fresh start. Falling on the South Node, this eclipse asks us what we need to release in order to find greater stability. We’ve been working hard to purify neurotic Capricorn within ourselves and the world—questioning the status quo, our conditioning, and supposed-to’s. We’re now ready to transform patriarchy and move toward the Cancer North Node—matriarchy. In fact, this new age beginning in 2020 is meant to be matriarchal—not a replica of steep hierarchical patriarchy with woman on top, but a model of lateral circles. Matriarchy means shared wealth and power, mutual kindness and care.



How can we create a kinder world, beginning with our immediate vicinity? What old stories and systems of oppression are ready to fall away so we can step into the new?



The planets are thrusting us into a whole new paradigm, whether or not we’re ready. The trick is to make room for uncertainty, feeling the weight of gravity holding us in place as we open to the unfamiliar. From here, we can make beautiful contributions, large and small, to creating a more open-hearted world.



December Summary

December is a significant month of change and transition—the last month before the first exact Saturn-Pluto on January 12, 2020, beginning the new paradigm. With eclipse season beginning in the midst of a heavy Capricorn season and a Jupiter-Uranus trine, we are truly experiencing tension between the past and the future. What are we ready to release so we can work together to build a kinder world? What limiting self-concepts, oppressive circumstances, or habituations are we finally ready to liberate from? The trick this month is to find steady ground and begin to build solid foundations, in our emotional and practical lives, so we have firm anchoring that allows us to open to the unknown. Resistance to change will only lead to greater suffering. It’s time to muster our tender warriorship—feeling our simultaneous courage, pragmatism, and heart as we get to work building a whole new paradigm. Those of us with an eye to the future, with revolutionary visions that we know could come true, will be leading the way from here out. Karmic reckonings will abound for those trying to continue with the old model of selfishness, narcissism, and the oppression of others. The future age is feminine, kind, egalitarian, and deeply maternal. It’s now like a seed beneath the ground, vibrating—ready to spring to life.

Surrounded by snow and the stillness of animals entering hibernation, may we find the deep inner fortitude needed to make it through winter. May we see that working together with tenderhearted care is just as important for our survival as practical intelligence. In fact, blending the two is the key to establishing a more enlightened, feminine new age.

My book, The Stars Within You: A Modern Guide to Astrology, is available for purchase

I’ll be giving a talk on the Eclipses of 2020 at the Alchemist’s Kitchen on December 5. More info and tickets here!

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