December 2009: Time to Evaluate Your Decisions and Rebuild

While the full Moon occurs on the second day of the month, there are several astrological occurrences on the first day of the month which are very important to understand. Ceres forms a square to Chiron and Mercury forms a sextile to Neptune indicating that this is a day of reflection and healing. If you’ve been feeling frustrated, now is the time to reflect on what is causing frustration and find ways to alleviate any stress in your life. With Uranus in Pisces turning direct a short time after Ceres and Mercury form their aspects, it will be easier for things to happen in your life.

When the full Moon, with Sun in Sagittarius and Moon in Gemini, occurs on December 2nd, it’ll seem like you can breathe a little easier in life. This is a full Moon which indicates that you need to take care of your health. It’s also a full Moon which stresses the importance of taking time to play and relax.

When Ceres forms a trine to Uranus on December 3rd, anything can happen. Sometimes Ceres indicates unexpected accidents, so it’s important for you to pay attention to your surroundings. Other times Ceres indicates that people are looking out for your best interest. It’ll be easy to resolve any disagreements that you’ve had with others over the past few days. Venus forming a sextile to Saturn on the following day also lends its energy to solving problems with other people. It’s important to maintain a sense of compassion and not judge anyone, including yourself, too harshly.

December 6th and 7th can be two intense days. On December 6th, Ceres forms a square to Neptune indicating that compromises are difficult to make. People say one thing but mean another. They are also concerned about the financial implications of any agreements. On the following day, Mercury forms a conjunction to Pluto and a square to Saturn. Meanwhile, Jupiter forms a conjunction to Chiron. Choose your words cautiously because you may later regret what you say. Feels are very intense and may lead to either hostile actions or words. People are concerned about the financial situation in the world and their own security. Unfortunately, there are still difficulties with unemployment and job security.

Life seems a bit mellow between December 8th and the new Moon on December 16th. This new Moon, with both the Sun and Moon in Sagittarius, forms a sextile to the Aquarius conjunction of Chiron, Jupiter, and Neptune. Jupiter is separating from Chiron and the energy of this stellium will start dissipating. As this stellium dissipates, there’ll be less concern about the flu, especially H1N1, the Swine Flu. There’s also a feeling that perhaps things can start getting better in the financial area.

Venus sends a mixed signal on December 19th. It forms a sextile to Chiron in the early afternoon and a square to Uranus during the evening hours. You’ll find opportunities throughout the day to take charge of your life and make things happen. Your energy level will be fairly high. However, by the evening hours it’s possible that you overextended yourself and are now feeling exhausted and frustrated from not being able to achieve everything you wanted. As long as you rest and don’t blame either yourself or others for not having achieved everything on your list, you’ll be all right. However, if you start trying to blame someone for lack of achievements, the evening will be one fill with arguments.

Mars turns retrograde on December 20th and stays retrograde until March 10, 2010. Normally Mars stays in a sign for approximately six weeks. However, with Mars turning retrograde, it will be in the sign of Leo for almost eight months. Mars is a fire planet that is now in a fire sign. For this reason, there can be harmony when Mars is in Leo. However, this placement of Mars can also indicate a sense of hubris where you don’t really expect things to go wrong. It can be tto easy to leap into action without considering all the long-term consequences. When Mars is retrograde, it indicates that you need to re-evaluate your most recent actions in order to understand the potential long-term consequences. It also means that you need to be honest with the actions you’ve taken so you can, if necessary, correct any mistakes. You won’t necessarily understand all of this right now. Rather, this will be a realization comes to you over the time period Mars is retrograde.

Ceres enters Sagittarius and Venus forms a sextile to Jupiter on the same day Mars turns retrograde. In addition to re-evaluating your most recent actions in order to understand the long-term consequences, you need to determine if compromises are necessary with some of your long-term plans. This is especially important since Venus will form a sextile to Neptune on December 21st just before Jupiter forms its last conjunction to Neptune in this current cycle.

When Jupiter forms a conjunction to Neptune, it usually occurs in a three-series (meaning three aspects) cycle that occurs about every 12 years. The first time this aspect occurred in this cycle was on May 27, 2009, and the second time it occurred was on July 10, 2009. This is an interesting conjunction because both Jupiter and Neptune rule Pisces. While Jupiter indicates where you need to look towards the future and more beyond your current boundaries, Neptune indicates where you need to look at your current boundaries and dissolve the ones that interfere with your ability to succeed in life. There is a negative aspect to this conjunction which can indicate that decisions you make in life are based on either unrealistic goals or are motivated by fear. Which every way this conjunction occurs in your life, you need to be very cautious during your decision-making process.

The first time that this conjunction occurred in May 2009, it was really the time for you to start making future plans from a different perspective. Between the time period when the first aspect occurred and the time period when the second aspect occurred, it was important to see what perspectives (“boundaries”) existed in your life that prevented you from moving forward. Now that this aspect is in its third, and final, occurrence, it’s time for you to take that knowledge you’ve gained and try to make changes in your life that can bring more security. This is not always an easy thing to do.

Historically when this cycle occurs, there are economic difficulties with inflation. In addition, the banking industry is particularly vulnerable. Banks tend to fail or get merged with other banks. Investors tend to be leery of banks and bank stocks don’t do as well. In quest for financial security, it is important that you not only assess your investment packages, but that you assess where your money is stored and how you use your money.

Perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising that historically the advancements made in technology benefit not only people looking for the newest games, but individuals with disabilities which make living alone difficult. The technological advancements which are research or introduced during this time period make it easier to use computers, turn on lights, move around the house, and allow people to really be independent even if they have difficulties with sight or physical mobility. Technology can be used in a compassionate manner and provide some answers to physical difficulties.

Spiritually this is a time to stay connected with your family and other people who are important in your life. There’s a tendency to isolate yourself when Neptune is involved in an aspect. Rather that moving inward, this is the time to reach out and appreciate those people in your life.

This need to stay connected with loved ones is very strong in the solstice chart which occurs a few hours later that day. This is a solstice chart which indicates you need to recapture your sense of purpose. The Sun forms a conjunction to Pluto in the chart indicating that if you don’t take control of your life, others will take that control away from you. If you feel as if you have no control right now, take the time think about the good things in your life so that you can feel the aliveness of your soul. List these things and see them for the blessings they are.

The solstice chart also indicates that the Aquarius stellium between Jupiter, Chiron, and Neptune is now separating. Where there was concern over health matters, you see health beginning to improve, perhaps even the economic health of the nation. What’s important is that it’s time for you to move away from feeling pain and move into feeling joy.

There is a square which the Sun forms to Saturn in this solstice chart and you may feel that it’s difficult to get what you want. Rather than criticizing yourself or others, try to show compassion. Understand that changes take time and occur slowly.

This solstice chart is one of picking up the pieces so new things can start. This is a chart that indicates it’s time to rebuild.

Rebuilding is a good thing with Mercury in Capricorn turning retrograde on December 26th. It will remain retrograde until January 15, 2010. Mercury forms a conjunction to the Moon’s North Node as it starts turning retrograde. This is an interesting phenomenon because the Moon’s North Node represents the importance of thinking about your current life and taking action to build a better future. The energy of Mercury retrograde will be one where you evaluate your current life and determine if you need to make changes to build a better future. Spiritually this is a period where you need to show compassion in your life. You need to let go of self-criticisms. Those will only stand in the way of your success.

Venus is another planet that indicates how important compassion is at this time. On December 28th, it forms a conjunction to Pluto. On December 29th, it forms a square to Saturn. Technically this will not be a good period for the stock market because people will be concerned about directional changes. But what’s more important is that these two days indicate a need for you to be cautious with your movements without being critical of your actions.

As the month of December ends and the year of 2009 ends, there is a lunar partial eclipse which occurs followed by Ceres forming a sextile to Saturn. This eclipse involves the planets of Pluto and Venus and affirms that rebuilding needs to occur. This rebuilding needs to focus not only on your values but also the values of people you love. With Ceres forming the sextile to Saturn, there is opportunity for compromise where necessary. There are also many opportunities to take the old structures in your life and use them to rebuild a new future.