Important astrological energies for the month of December 2017:

• Jupiter in Scorpio forms a trine to Neptune in Pisces on December 2, 2017. This is the first time that this trine occurs in this sequence. The second time it occurs will be on May 25, 2018 when Jupiter is retrograde and Neptune is direct. The third time that it will occur is on August 19, 2018 when Jupiter is direct and Neptune is retrograde.
• Mercury in Sagittarius turns stationary retrograde on December 3, 2017. It will remain retrograde until December 22, 2017. When the year 2017 started, Mercury was retrograde in the sign of Sagittarius until January 8, 2017.
• Full Moon with Sun in Sagittarius and Moon in Gemini occurs on December 3, 2017.
• New Moon with Sun and Moon in Sagittarius occurs on December 18, 2017.
• Saturn enters the sign of Capricorn on December 19, 2017. It will remain in the sign of Capricorn until March 21, 2020.
• Sun enters the sign of Capricorn on December 21, 2017 and the Winter Solstice occurs in the Northern Hemisphere.
• Mercury in Sagittarius turns stationary direct on December 22, 2017. It turned stationary retrograde in Sagittarius on December 3, 2017.

The Winds of Change

By Misty Kuceris ©2017

The month of December 2017 starts with Venus entering the sign of Sagittarius and Mars forming an opposition to Uranus retrograde on December 1^st. When Venus is in the sign of Sagittarius, you look for that perfect soulmate or that perfect soul experience. You are very idealistic in your approach to life. You feel as if you have a lot to go for. At times you are very naïve in your approach. At other times, you try to justify your approach to other people.

Yet as Mars forms the opposition to Uranus retrograde you also feel restless. You don’t want other people to tell you what to do. You want to take your own path. You may even feel angry because other people are telling you what to do. This is a time to understand what’s important for you and not try to justify your beliefs. If you try, you may find that you’re getting into conflicts which just aren’t worth the effort.

On the next day, December 2^nd, Ceres forms a conjunction to the Moon’s North Node early in the morning hours EST and Jupiter forms a trine to Neptune later in the evening EST.

With Ceres forming the conjunction to the Moon’s North Node, you want to move forward in your life. You want to create a safe environment. Because both Ceres and the Moon’s North Node are in the sign of Leo, you feel optimistic about your ability to succeed. You are willing to take risks. But, if you feel you need to take risks, make certain they are calculated risks: risks where you assess what could happen if you don’t succeed and determine if you are willing to pay the price.

Sometimes when planets are in the sign of Leo there is a tendency to be a little sloppy in your approach and not pay attention to the details. As you move forward with optimism in your life, don’t let any sloppiness get in the way of paying attention to important details.

When Jupiter forms a trine to Neptune, this will be the first trine in this triad sequence. The second time this trine occurs is on May 25, 2018 when Jupiter is retrograde and Neptune is direct. The last time this trine occurs is on August 19, 2018 when Jupiter is direct and Neptune is retrograde.

Jupiter rules both Sagittarius and Pisces. Neptune rules Pisces. In some ways, there is a sympathetic energy between these two planets. Jupiter wants to move beyond the boundaries that others have established. It wants to create its own boundaries. Neptune tends to dissolve boundaries created by others but often causes confusion about what new boundaries need to be created. With Neptune you shift between two different worlds. With Jupiter you create your own world.

It’s also important to note that the Sun is forming a square to Neptune at this time. Ceres has just formed a conjunction to the Moon’s North Node, and Mercury is in station, waiting to turn retrograde, tomorrow, December 3^rd. Also, the full Moon, with Sun in Sagittarius and Moon in Gemini, will occur on December 3^rd a few hours after Mercury turns stationary retrograde.

When a trine occurs, it’s easier for the two planets to work together. In the positive this means there could be breakthroughs in the arts and sciences, such as, new technology enabling people to move beyond their limitations. In the negative, this could mean that you don’t know how to understand all the information you hear or read. You could be deceived by other people. Or, you could find yourself following magical dreams that are not based on reality. There could also be a spiritual awakening where you feel you finally know what you want.

With the Sun forming a square to Neptune, it’s important that you hold on to your own reality and don’t let others tell you what to do. Also, with Mercury in station and getting ready to turn retrograde tomorrow, don’t make any plans which put you into a permanent long-term commitment. Gather all the information you need. Document whatever you learn. But wait until Mercury is direct on December 22^nd before taking action.

Mercury goes up to 29º18’ of Sagittarius and turns stationary retrograde on December 3, 2017 just a few hours before the full Moon occurs and the day after Jupiter forms its first trine to Neptune.

Mercury entered the sign of Sagittarius on November 5, 2017. Mercury isn’t comfortable in the sign of Sagittarius because Mercury likes to be the keeper of trivia while Sagittarius likes to be the seeker of new information. There’s this need to find a balance between constantly absorbing new information and holding on to small details which may or may not be important.

When Mercury turns retrograde in Sagittarius, you feel a conflict. You want to continue receiving new information but you feel overwhelmed by it. You need to take time to process the information and now is the time to do it. Processing information means that you think about what you’ve learned and take time to understand what it means to you personally. You may not want to do that, but it’s critical that you let your subconscious mind catch up to your conscious reality. Once Mercury turns direct on December 22^nd you’ll understand how to use the information you’ve gathered.

The full Moon, with Sun in Sagittarius and Moon in Gemini, which occurs on December 3^rd could exacerbate your feelings. Emotionally you want to get as much information as possible. Personally, you want to move forward with your life and learn as much about the world as possible. But you have difficulty communicating your desires as Mercury is now retrograde in Sagittarius. You don’t know where to begin and you may be stuck in small details that aren’t that important.

This full Moon has the energy of the Jupiter/Neptune trine. It also forms a square to Neptune which creates the energy of a mutable T-square. It’s very important that you look at the boundaries you’ve created in life to see if they are realistic. Are you cutting yourself off from friends because you would rather not relate to anyone at this time? Or, are you spending too much time helping others and not enough time taking care of your own needs? Are you following your goals or the goals that others tell you to follow?

This may be the time to evaluate what stands in the way of your success and what supports your success. You may want to consider letting go of things or people that don’t support your needs. If you can’t let go of those situations at this time, find a way to change your reactions to the situations so you have more control over your life.

On December 6^th, Mercury retrograde forms a conjunction to Saturn and Mars forms a sextile to Saturn. This is a great day to organize your life and set up any new goals. You’re able to focus on important details. You can achieve a lot because you’re not willing to let anything stand in your way.

With Mars moving into the sign of Scorpio on December 9^th, you continue to understand the importance of focusing on your goals. With Mars is in its own sign you’re willing to reflect on information until you understand how this will help you be successful. You’re able to listen to others and understand what they really mean, not just what they are saying. If necessary, you know how to keep secrets. In this way, you’re not revealing too much to other people.

December 10^th can be a hectic day where you can create problems with your communication style because you have difficulty explaining what you mean. The reason is that Mercury retrograde forms a trine to Uranus, Venus forms a square to Neptune, and Mercury retrograde forms a square to Chiron.

When Mercury retrograde forms a trine to Uranus retrograde, it will be the second time that this trine is formed in this triad sequence. The first time that Mercury formed the trine was on November 25, 2017 when Mercury was direct and Uranus was retrograde. The last time that it will form a trine is on January 6, 2018 when both planets are direct.

You may want to think back to what occurred on November 25, 2017 when Mercury formed the first trine to Uranus. If you started a new project at that time, you may now need to review what you’re doing to see if you’re on track. You’ll be able to come up with some innovative solutions if they are needed. Or, you may feel that you’re involved with too many projects and you need to determine which projects are interfering with your ability to move forward. Your energy may be too scattered.

With Venus forming a square to Neptune you may find it too difficult to determine the right direction to take today. That’s all right. With Mercury retrograde you don’t want to implement too many, if any, new projects because you’ll be changing your mind later. Just remember that other people may be deceiving you with Venus forming the square to Neptune. Or worse, you may be deceiving yourself by thinking you can accomplish something when there are too many unknown variables.

Mercury retrograde forms a second triad sequence today, December 10^th, when it forms a square to Chiron. The first time this square occurred was on November 24, 2017 when Mercury was direct and Chiron was retrograde. The last time that this square occurs is on January 6, 2018 when both planets are in direct motion.

It’s important that you watch your words. You may say something that is hurtful to someone you love. Or perhaps you said something hurtful in November when this square occurred for the first time. The other thing is that you may have done something to set yourself up for failure in November and you now have to correct that error. Just be careful with how you approach situations, especially if they deal with communications, either verbal or written.

On December 12^th, Ceres forms a quincunx to Pluto. These two planets have a symbiotic relationship with each other. Ceres is the goddess of the earth and mother of Persephone. Pluto is the god of the underworld and husband of Persephone. When Pluto lusted after Persephone, he didn’t care how he got her. He just grabbed her. Ceres became angry and brought lifelessness to the world when she couldn’t find her daughter.

Both are powerful individuals. When they form a quincunx to each other, you need to make certain that you don’t just grab what you want without consideration for others. You need to realize that you can’t always have what you want. At the same time, it’s important to make your needs known so other people will know how to support you.

Don’t rush into things today. Instead, see if there are ways that you can get help from others so you don’t need to do everything on your own. You may also need to compromise in order to get their help. This isn’t really a bad thing. It may be the best thing that you ever do.

On December 15^th Mercury retrograde forms trine to Ceres and Venus forms a trine to Ceres as it moves past a conjunction to Mercury retrograde. When Mercury retrograde forms a trine to Ceres on December 15^th, it’s the second time Mercury is forming this trine in this triad sequence. The first time the trine was formed was on November 16, 2017 when both planets were direct. The last time this trine will be formed is on December 31, 2017 when Mercury is direct and Ceres is retrograde.

This is going to be a good day for negotiations with these three planets making positive aspects to each other. With Mercury retrograde, you may find that you need to review some past events and make changes in how you approach the situations.

With Venus forming a conjunction to Mercury retrograde, you’ll be able to discuss the matter without creating any problems with other people. You’ll speak in a convincing manner that shows concern for the other person involved.

When Venus forms the trine to Ceres, you’ll realize that you can compromise and still win. You don’t have to give up very much to get what you want. You’ll even realize that anything you do today is under the energy of protection. Even if you don’t take any actions today, you’ll feel as if the world is wonderful and situations are great in your life.

Ceres turns stationary retrograde on December 16, 2017. It will remain retrograde until March 19, 2018. When Ceres turns retrograde, you need to understand how important your environment is and just what you want to have in your world. When Ceres is in Leo, you feel as if you want to play. You’re willing to take risks. But you need to be cautious when it’s retrograde. You may not understand what the risks mean. Take time to play and relax during this period. But, don’t do so at the point of neglecting important responsibilities.

The new Moon, with Sun and Moon in Sagittarius, which occurs on December 18^th is part of a stellium with Mercury retrograde, Venus, Sun, Moon, and Saturn. It also forms a square to Chiron and a trine to Uranus retrograde.

You feel scattered today. You don’t know which direction to turn. You don’t want to inflict any personal injury. Tomorrow, Saturn will enter the sign of Capricorn and on December 21^st the Winter Solstice will occur with the Sun conjunct Saturn.

You can feel the winds of change. The energies are shifting from wanting to move into the future to holding on to the past. That’s why you don’t know what direction to take today. The best way to use this energy is to reflect and observe, especially since the Sagittarius stellium also forms a square to Neptune. Perhaps you might want to write down your dreams. Perhaps you might even want to start creating a plan of action. But writing down your dreams and planning your actions are different then implementing them. To the best of your ability, don’t make any important changes today.

On December 19^th, a major paradigm shift occurs as Saturn enters the sign of Capricorn. It will remain in the sign of Capricorn until March 21, 2020. The last time that Saturn was in the sign of Capricorn was from February 13, 1988 to June 10, 1988 and again from November 12, 1988 to February 6, 1991.

Ronald Reagan was President in 1988 until George H.W. Bush was elected at the end of the year. Bush was inaugurated into office on January 20, 1989. On June 12, 1987, President Ronald Reagan made his famous “take down this wall” speech in Berlin, Germany. That was when Saturn was in Sagittarius. The actual wall didn’t come down until November 9, 1989. That occurred when Saturn was in Capricorn. What you may find interesting is that the wall started as a barbed wire fence built overnight on August 13, 1961 when Saturn was also in Capricorn. As a result of the Berlin Wall coming down, the German Democratic Republic dissolved on Unification Day, October 3, 1990, and Germany became one nation.

United States President George Bush and Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev meet to discuss the end of the Cold War on December 2nd and 3rd of 1989. They held their Summit in Malta (called the Malta Summit) not long after the fall of the Berlin Wall. At the end of the two day meeting Bush and Gorbachev declared an end to the Cold War. But in many ways, that meeting was only the beginning of events now occurring in Russia. Events not only of that meeting in Malta but other events in the then Soviet Union led to renaming the country on December 25, 1991 to the Russian Federation and the following day dissolving the Soviet Union after Saturn entered Aquarius. While many in the world seemed to welcome these events, there were many in Russia who felt that the country was losing its international strength. Since that time period, the country’s leaders, especially President Putin, have put their energy into regaining international power.

Between April 15, 1989 and June 4, 1989, thousands of students occupied Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China protesting for democracy. The Chinese government declared martial law and hundreds of demonstrators were killed. To this day, the Chinese government continues to erase the event from their history.

In the 1950s, the Chinese government invaded Tibet and took control of the country. The population of Tibet resisted the Chinese occupation and on May 10, 1959, surrounded the summer palace of the Dalai Lama to protect him. The uprising was unsuccessful and the Dalai Lama fled to India on March 31, 1959 when Saturn was in Capricorn. To this day, China maintains that Tibet is actually part of their country and continues to find ways to expand its territory and increase its international influence.

These are just a few of the global events which occurred when Saturn was in Capricorn where government leaders made conscious efforts to increase their influence internationally. What you’ll find as Saturn moves into Capricorn are more shifts where leaders attempt to consolidate their power based on their ideological belief systems.

The economic picture is also important to consider when Saturn is in Capricorn. While not all cycles of Saturn in Capricorn involve stock market crashes, they do involve the need to rein in spending and develop a realistic plan to prevent economic problems. One major and recent example is the Tokyo Stock Market Crash which occurred on December 29, 1989 when the Nikkei Index in Japan peaked at 38,915.87.

Prior to this date, Japan was in the midst of economic growth. Interest rates were low and borrowing easy. Land prices increased and stock market prices rose. Sony purchased Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc. for $3.45 billion and Mitsubishi Estate bought Rockefeller Center. People were rich with their paper money. When interest rates increased, the stock market crashed. Japan is still in a recovery from that time period.

When Saturn is in Capricorn, global events do impact you. Understanding the ideologies of your leaders is important because that is what will drive decisions made with rules and regulations in your country.

Developing a solid economic plan is critical because interest rates tend to rise and borrowing gets more expensive. You may suddenly find that some of your interest rates on credit cards increase. Also, it’s important to make certain that a lot of your wealth is not based on “paper wealth.”

With Saturn in Capricorn, you want to do everything you can to secure your place in society. You are willing to work for what you believe in. You understand the importance of the corporate culture. You are less willing to take risks. But, you are also willing to go after your goals. You just want to receive credit for the good that you do.

The most positive aspect of Saturn in Capricorn is the willingness to understand your society and how you fit in. It’s also a time period where you realize that it’s important to participate and add your voice to the world that is changing around you.

On December 20^th, Venus forms a square to Chiron and a trine to Uranus retrograde. With Venus forming the square to Chiron, you don’t want to take any risks that put you in harm’s way. You want to be safe and play safe. At the same time, with Venus forming the trine to Uranus retrograde, you feel as if you can achieve anything. You don’t want other people to tell you what to do. You want to be open to new adventures. The key is to find a balance between these two aspects where you don’t take too many risks that put you in harm’s way while you try new things which can bring a little excitement into your life.

When the Sun enters Capricorn on December 21^st, the winter solstice begins in the Northern Hemisphere and the last quarter of the astrological calendar begins. Emotionally you want to pull back. You want to assess the path you’ve taken. You want to receive the rewards you feel you are owed.

When the astrological year began on March 20, 2017, the chart set up for the United States had a Pisces rising with Neptune conjunct the Ascendant. This was also true for the chart set up for June 21, 2017. The Ascendant for the chart set up for September 22, 2017 was a Capricorn rising. Now with the final ingress chart for this year, the Ascendant is once again in Pisces with Neptune conjunct the Ascendant, this time in the twelfth house. In the other two charts with the Pisces rising, Neptune was in the first house.

Because Saturn entered the sign of Capricorn on December 19^th, the Sun is conjunct Saturn in this chart. All of this shows the seriousness of this new cycle of Saturn in Capricorn. While the public still doesn’t understand what’s going on, it wants to know. It wants to be able to move forward in life with success. It doesn’t want to be given promises: It wants rewards.

The Moon in this chart is forming a square to Mars indicating that the public doesn’t want to be controlled by others. The public wants to be in control. There may be better working conditions between the President and Congress as elected politicians finally understand that they need to listen to the public.

For you, this is a time to make certain that you get your rewards. It’s a time for you to become serious about your goals. You don’t want to be controlled by others. You want to see things working out. You don’t want to just move into the world and feel as if there is nothing coming back for you.

Mercury is still retrograde in this chart but it will be turning stationary direct tomorrow, December 22^nd. So, while you feel that you are confused because it appears that Mercury retrograde will form a square to Neptune, you also realize that you know a lot more than you thought. Because Mercury is turning stationary retrograde tomorrow, it won’t form that square to Neptune.

You’ll feel a lot of relief when Mercury turns stationary direct on December 22^nd. You put off implementing new ideas for the last three weeks. You were forced into a position of listening which really isn’t that easy when Mercury is in Sagittarius. Yet, at the same time, you were able to seek spiritual guidance to determine if your goals were realistic. Hopefully now you have the answer.

On December 25^th, Venus enters the sign of Capricorn and forms a conjunction to Saturn later in the afternoon, EST. While Venus isn’t comfortable in the sign of Capricorn, it does mean that you can place value on the work that you do in society. With Venus forming the conjunction to Saturn, you take life very seriously. You want to find a way to balance your family life with your work life.

When Mars forms the trine to Neptune on December 28^th, you need to be very careful and watch where you’re going. There’s a tendency to miss out on some important details. Even though this is a trine, sometimes trines make accidents easier to happen. You need to pay attention to the world around you. You need to watch the actions of others.

The positive use of this energy is to just relax and meditate. Don’t push yourself too hard. Find ways to do creative things. Or, spend time with family and friends where you can go to a play or movie. That way you’ll be with each other but won’t have to have any serious conversations.

When Mercury forms a trine to Ceres retrograde on December 31^st, this will be the last time this trine occurs in this triad sequence. The first time it occurred was on November 16, 2017 when both planets were in direct motion. The second time it occurred was on December 15, 2017 when Mercury was retrograde and Ceres was direct. Now Mercury is direct and Ceres is retrograde. This means that you may need to think back on those previous two days to see what happened. Perhaps you decided that you needed to take care of some paperwork that involved your environment and home. Or, perhaps you needed to compromise on some important aspect of your life. Today you’re seeing the positive results of those compromises.