December 2014 – Your Approach Matters

Important energies for the month of December 2014

  • Full Moon with Sun in Sagittarius and Moon in Gemini occurs on December 6, 2014.
  • Jupiter in Leo turns stationary retrograde on December 8, 2014. It will turn stationary direct on April 8, 2015.
  • Uranus retrograde in Aries forms a square to Pluto in Capricorn on December 15, 2014.
  • Venus forms a square to Uranus retrograde and a conjunction to Pluto on December 20, 2014.
  • Uranus in Aries turns stationary direct on December 21, 2014.
  • The Sun enters Capricorn for the Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere on December 21, 2014.
  • The new Moon with Sun and Moon in Capricorn occurs on December 21, 2014.
  • Saturn enters Sagittarius on December 23, 2014.
  • Mercury forms a square to Uranus on December 24, 2014 and a conjunction to Pluto on December 25, 2014.

Your Approach Matters

By Misty Kuceris ©2014

The month of December begins with energies that can go either way. They can either be positive or negative, depending on how you want to implement them into your life. Venus forms a trine to Jupiter and Mars enters the sign of Aquarius on December 4th.

With both these energies, you can feel optimistic about what you can achieve in life. You feel very generous of spirit. You feel as if you can accomplish anything. You’re willing to do what it takes. You may even find that your charisma is so high that you can attract a very good and healthy relationship in your life. If you maintain your humility, you’ll find that it’s easy to use these energies in a positive way.

But, you may become so optimistic about your possibilities that you start operating with a sense of hubris where you overstate your abilities and find yourself in a situation that’s over your head. You may want to help everyone else – perhaps even save the world. But, you can’t do it all on your own. Be careful with the commitments you are willing to make today. You don’t want to find out later that you actually made too many commitments and can’t keep them all. And, you also need to take other people’s feelings into consideration as well. You don’t want to push your agenda and find out later that no one else cared.

Mercury forming a trine to Uranus retrograde on December 5th is another energy that can go either way. On one hand, you’re very open to new ideas and concepts. You’re willing to listen to what other people have to say about the world around you. You feel inspired to take risks and learn new things. But, on the other hand, you may be so open to new ideas that you don’t consider all the consequences before you open your mouth and speak. You may find that you’re alienating other people because your ideas seem so outlandish. Your mind may even be moving so quickly that you don’t pay attention to your environment and find yourself in trouble. If you do come up with new concepts be very careful when discussing them with other people. You may actually want to take a few days to evaluate these concepts before discussing them with other people.

The full Moon occurs on December 6th. But a little more than one hour before that full Moon occurs Mercury forms a square to Chiron. Perhaps you said too much the day before and are now regretting the information you shared. Or, perhaps you felt that other people didn’t listen close enough to your ideas and now you feel hurt and alienated. The best thing that you can do is let go of your feelings so that you don’t continue to feel sorry for yourself or alienate others.

When the full Moon occurs, the Sun in Sagittarius forms a stellium with Mercury, Ceres, and Venus while the Moon in Gemini forms an opposition to those planets. Again you feel as if you can achieve anything. But, you may be letting small things get in your way and you find yourself tripping over your own feet. You need to pay attention to how you handle things in your life right now because both the Sun and Moon form a square to Chiron and create a mutable T-cross. You want to create changes in your life, but you need to make certain those changes aren’t going to hurt you or someone you love. Rather than rushing into a situation to make changes, as you often feel like doing when the energy is mutable, slow down and see how those changes really fit into your long-term goals.

It’s fitting that Jupiter turns stationary retrograde on December 8th, two days after the full Moon occurred. Jupiter will remain retrograde until April 5, 2015.

When Jupiter is retrograde you need to pull back and reflect on some of your long-term goals. There are always hidden costs or agendas involved that you won’t see until Jupiter turns direct. You tend to miss the small and very important details. This will be especially true because Jupiter is in Leo.

When Jupiter is in retrograde motion, anything relating to legal matters can become a problem. This is not the time to file lawsuits or start any legal matters that deal with commerce. If you have legal matters to attend to, you’re better off negotiating rather than litigating solutions.

Jupiter retrograde is difficult for small business owners because Jupiter rules long-term marketing strategies. You get excited about implementing a new marketing plan only to find out the cost is a lot higher than initially expected. Or, you start moving in one direction and find out that you should have gone in a different direction. This is a great time to think about your possibilities. And it’s a better time to write your business plans. But, write them in pencil, not ink, because you’ll find that you need to make some critical changes in April 2015.

Mercury forms a conjunction to Ceres on December 9th just after it forms a conjunction to the Sun. With the three planets in a tight conjunction, you feel as if you can say anything and get away with anything. Just be careful that your own hubris doesn’t get in your way. Other people may be watching the action that you’re taking today. And, if they feel as if you’ve pushed things too far, they will hold that against you and perhaps even use it against you. Your mouth is not a good weapon today.

When Venus enters the sign of Capricorn on December 10th, you’ll feel a subtle shift in energy. Venus isn’t really comfortable in the sign which is ruled by Saturn. You feel as if you need to work hard for what you want in life. You also feel as if you need to please other people in order to succeed. But, the real reason that you’re feeling a subtle shift in energy is that Uranus and Pluto will be forming another square in a few days and Venus will form aspects to both those planets on December 20th.

Once again the energy can go either way on December 12th when Mercury forms a trine to Jupiter retrograde. Again you feel optimistic and inspired to do great things. You want to save the world. You want to find solutions and solve your problems. You even believe that whatever you say to other people will inspire them. In some cases you may be right. You may be able to inspire others. But, in other ways you may be creating problems by saying too much. You may be giving away too much information that others can use against you later. And, you may be so focused on your thoughts that you don’t pay attention to your environment. You need to be careful so that you don’t get into accidents.

When Venus forms a sextile to Neptune on December 14th, it’s a good time to relax and just let the energy flow around you. If you’re a creative person, this is going to be a great day for you. You’ll be able to tune into your higher self and pull down the spiritual resources you need to achieve some form of creative work. Even if you’re not a creative person, you may find that you can tune into your spiritual nature and feel one with spirit.

You may feel that you’ve found your soulmate on this day since you can tune into spirit so well. Perhaps you have, but you need to be cautious. All may not be as it seems. You may have found someone who is able to meet your needs. Or, you may have decided this individual is the one and rather than seeing the real person you’re seeing who you want to see.

Be careful with any financial transactions today. You won’t have all the facts and you may make a poor decision. You’re better off waiting a few days until you get all the information you need.

Once again, Uranus and Pluto form squares to each other on December 15th. This time Uranus is retrograde and Pluto is direct. This is the sixth square between these two planets since June 24, 2012. The other squares occurred on September 19, 2012; May 20, 2013; November 1, 2013; and April 21, 2014. The final time that this square occurs will be on March 17, 2015.

As the squares occur, they seem to have morphed from tremendous exuberance for justice for all (Uranus) into power goes back to the old structure (Pluto). Government officials decided they know what is right for all and they are pushing their agendas. They seem to represent the fringes of their political party rather than the desires of the majority of people in their countries.

This square occurs at 12 degrees and echoes back to May 20, 2013 when the square occurred at 11 degrees and April 21, 2014 when the square occurred at 13 degrees. In May 2013, the IRS was hit with a scandal when it was revealed that they targeted Conservative groups as they applied for tax-exempt status. Also, the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian Civil War started to surface.

Once again you’ll get news about government overreaching and even pushing their boundaries. Rather than servicing the people, government will be creating policies which take more privacy away and also push political personal agendas.

You will need to be very cautious about your own person rights. It may not be the government which is taking them away. It may be social media or other aspects of the internet. It seems like data mining is more critical than your rights. You need to be careful not to feel a sense of helplessness but rather start finding ways to regain your voice in a world that is trying to take it away.

When Mercury enters Capricorn on December 16th, there is a subtle energy shift just as there was when Venus entered the sign of Capricorn on December 10th. As with Venus, Mercury will form a square to Uranus in the late hours EST of December 24th while forming a conjunction to Pluto just after midnight EST on December 25th. Mercury is more comfortable than Venus in the sign of Capricorn. You tend to think before you speak. You try to approach life in a practical manner. But, you also need to be careful not to take yourself so seriously that no one else wants to listen. And, you need to make certain that you know your rights so no one else can take those rights from you.

December 20th is a day to mark in your calendar, especially if you are an Aries, Cancer, Libra, or Capricorn or have your Ascendant or Moon in one of these signs. Around 4:19 am EST, Mercury forms a sextile to Neptune. For those of you living in the EST time zone you may not feel this energy that much. Rather, you may have dreams which can be healing dreams. However, if you live in a time zone where this energy is operating during the day or evening hours, you may find that the information you feel is seeping from your subconscious mind into your conscious reality isn’t necessarily accurate. You may be operating from past fears which are still hidden under the surface. It’s very important that you know all the facts before you speak so that you don’t say the wrong thing and regret it later.

The greatest tension of the day will occur between 12:05 pm EST when Venus forms a square to Uranus retrograde and 3:54 pm EST when Venus forms a conjunction to Pluto. On the world stage, this energy indicates financial problems in countries where the Uranus/Pluto square was active just a few days earlier.

In your personal life this tension may play out by you feeling that other people aren’t taking your feelings into consideration. You are not receiving the respect that you deserve. It’s very important that you pay attention to what other people are saying so you don’t get manipulated into taking actions that you’ll regret later.

Spiritually this is a good day to look at the blockages in your life that are preventing you from moving forward with your life. You need to see whether you’re making decisions in your life that benefit you; or, whether you’re making decisions just to please other people. You need to find your sense of personal power and apply this in your life.

As the day starts winding down, Ceres forms a trine to Jupiter retrograde around 7:19 pm EST and Mars forms a sextile to Uranus retrograde around 10:41 pm EST. You may feel as if you can try and find areas of compromise with other people to achieve your goals. Or, you may feel that you really don’t care anymore and just want to rush out and take risks. Be cautious if you decide to compromise. You don’t want to give away anything which is of value to you. And, if you decide to rush out in order to get things done, pay attention to your environment. You don’t want to end up in an accident because you didn’t pay attention.

During the day, EST, on December 21st, you may feel as if you’re getting a break from the intensity of the previous day. Venus forms a sextile to Chiron and you want to approach life gently. You don’t want to take too many risks. You don’t want to hurt other people’s feelings. More importantly, you don’t want to hurt your own feelings. This gentleness can help as you try to relate to others today.

Later, Uranus will turn stationary direct. This could be a subtle change of direction. Before, when Uranus was retrograde, you felt as if you couldn’t fully express your individuality. Now as Uranus is turning direct, you feel a little more confident. If the Sun weren’t entering Capricorn and a new Moon occurring just a few hours after the Sun enters Capricorn, you might not feel this energy at all. But this time you do feel the need to move forward with your life and not be tied down by other people’s attitudes.

Less than one hour after Uranus turns direct, the Sun enters the sign of Capricorn and the Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere begins. This marks the start of the last quarter of the astrological year.

This is the time period where you really look at the world around you. You try to make sense of all the changes that have occurred. You try to find ways to regain your privacy. At the same time, you come to realize that you can’t do everything on your own. You need to find groups of people that support who you are and how you want to achieve things. A balance needs to be struck between what is needed for the good of society and what is needed for positive change to be implemented.

For the United States, the Capricorn ingress chart could be a difficult one. (To understand how the chart impacts different countries, you set up a chart for when the Sun enters Capricorn in a particular country’s capitol city.)

With the chart set up for Washington, DC, Cancer is on the Ascendant again indicating that the United States is once again feeling like it’s the caretaker of the world. With planets in the sixth house, there could be attempts to draw this country into military action. You’ll see politicians start their fights for running for President in 2016. You’ll see President Obama trying to see what type of legacy he can leave for the people. Unfortunately, the employment picture will still look a bit bleak even though the economy is slowly doing better. Corporations are not investing their profits back into the workforce. Rather those dollars are going toward increasing cash investments.

No matter where you live and how you set up the chart for the Capricorn ingress, the basic energy at this time focuses on your need to leave a legacy of hope as well as a foundation for long-term growth that can provide positive benefits for generations to come. While the Sun doesn’t make an aspect to Pluto, Venus, or Uranus in station, you’ll still feel the energy of the Uranus/Pluto square and the Venus/Uranus/Pluto aspects that occurred earlier in the month.

It’s only a little more than two hours after the Solstice that the new Moon in Capricorn occurs. Because the Sun has just entered Capricorn, this new Moon will be at 0 degrees of Capricorn. Capricorn is often considered the sign of initiation into higher consciousness in spiritual astrology. It is when the soul seeks a way to take spirit and manifest it in the material world. When a planet is at 0 degrees, it’s like a newborn baby. It hasn’t been in that energy long enough to really understand what it means. So, when a new Moon occurs at 0 degrees, that means that you really have to pay attention to your world and where new things occur in your life.

This new Moon is part of a stellium which includes Mercury, Pluto, and Venus. And, since the Uranus/Pluto square just occurred on December 15th that energy is also felt in this new Moon. There are several ways this energy could play out. Because the stellium is in Capricorn, you may feel as if you are going through a personal initiation. You may want to find a way to bring spirit into your daily life. Or, you may find that people feel religion and spirit are interfering with material prosperity and trying to find ways to remove it from their lives.

With the energy of the Uranus/Pluto square and the fact that Venus also formed aspects to these two planets earlier this month, you need to pay attention to your finances and other practical matters in your life. Just as you felt with the Solstice, you need to make certain that decisions you make in your life serve you and are not result of other people trying to manipulate you through fear. This could be a difficult new Moon. There could be increased violence. Or, you may find major storms throughout the United States. It will be important to maintain your center of balance.

December 23rd is important because Saturn will enter the sign of Sagittarius. But, before Saturn enters the sign of Sagittarius, Venus forms a square to the Moon’s Nodal Axis. This appears to be appropriate. When Venus forms this square, you need to look at past events in your life which increased your self-awareness. As you evaluate these past events, look at what you could do to use these as stepping stones to move into a future which embraces your goals and self-worth. Find ways to build a foundation in your life by surrounding yourself with people who appreciate you. Take time to remove the negative from your life and embrace the positive. Believe and trust in yourself.

Saturn enters the sign of Sagittarius on December 23, 2014. It will only go up to 4 degrees when it turns retrograde on March 14, 2015. It will re-enter the sign of Scorpio on June 14, 2015 and remain there until September 17, 2015 when it re-enters the sign of Sagittarius. Once Saturn re-enters the sign of Sagittarius on September 17, 2015, it will remain in the sign until December 19, 2017.

The cycle of Saturn occurs about every 29 years. In general it deals with the governance of a nation: its administrators, social structures, infrastructures, and agri-business. It also deals with preservation and the aging population’s impact on a nation. In the positive, Saturn represents where a nation, its leaders and population, need to pull back and conserve energy in order to move forward with growth. In the negative, Saturn represents where a nation, its leaders and population, need to pay a price for past extravagances.

Sagittarius is a mutable fire sign that is ruled by Jupiter, the antithesis of Saturn. Sagittarius represents the desire to move beyond the boundaries and limitations set by others. It represents the desire to create change based on ideals, whether those ideals are philosophical or religious. For this reason, Sagittarius represents higher institutions of learning and religious organizations. It also represents long-distance travel, whether that travel is physical or mental.

While the positive side of Sagittarius is to learn and move forward into new concepts, there is a negative side to Sagittarius. Sagittarius can also represent the need to justify behavior which is out of control due to a sense of hubris that you deserve to do anything you’d like and that it’s somehow all right with other people.

Saturn tends to be in a particular sign for about 2.5 years. During the time period while Saturn is in Sagittarius, you’ll see the economy turn sluggish as credit for people becomes easier in hopes of stimulating the economy. You’ll see a more conservative approach from government leaders and an attempt to decrease government spending. Environmentally there will be more concern over ground-level or tropospheric ozone in an effort to eliminate smog, acid rain, and other environmental problems which lead to increased health risks. These are just a few areas of impact.

But for the month of December 2014, since Saturn is just entering Sagittarius for a brief time period right now, you’ll get hints of some of these changes but you really won’t see their impacts until later in 2015 through December 2017.

With Saturn entering the sign of Sagittarius, now is the time to consider your long-term plans and ask yourself how realistic they are. Perhaps you need to tone down some of those plans and become more conservative in your approach. It’s important for you to look at your personal “infrastructure.” Is your home safe? Are there things that you need to repair so you have a better place to live?

Finding spirit in your daily life becomes more important when Saturn enters Sagittarius. You don’t want to live in a world of magical thinking. You need to live in a world with practical realities where you find a way to balance your spiritual and material needs. So, take the time today to reflect on your long-term goals and short-term needs. If possible, write down these goals and needs in a journal so you can go back and review that information over the next 2.5 years. Be as realistic as possible.

At 8:25 pm EST on December 24th, Mercury forms a square to Uranus and a few hours later, at 1:40 am EST on December 25th, Mercury forms a conjunction to Pluto. As with the Venus aspects to these two planets on December 20th, Mercury’s aspects to Uranus and Pluto emphasize the square between Uranus and Pluto which occurred on December 15th. On the world stage there could be continued news of strife. Or, there could be news of potential discussions that attempt to end some of the problems.

In your personal life, you need to take time to discuss your thoughts with people in your life. You need to consider approaching situations from a different perspective. This is not the time to let other people control you. Nor is this the time for you to try and force your ideas onto other people. Everyone involved in discussions needs to listen and understand. Hopefully you’ll be able to come up with a resolution that meets all your needs.

What may help is that Mercury forms a sextile to Chiron later in the day on December 25th because you may be able to discuss matters in a healing way. You may find that other people are willing to listen to you if you approach gently. And, you may be able to bring healing into your life.

Just as Venus formed a similar square on December 23rd, Mercury is now forming a square to the Moon’s Nodal Axis on December 26th. Again it’s important to review your past in order to understand your future direction. You may want to go through old files or pictures to bring up the memories. In some cases you’ll find that it’s time to toss some of that information. In other cases, you’ll gain a new understanding of what the past really meant in your life.

Once you understand the past, take time to write about your future goals and needs. See if they really are the same or if there are changes. If there are changes, see what you need to do to implement those changes.

When Venus forms a quincunx to Jupiter retrograde on December 28th, you need to make adjustments in how you approach your relationships as well as your financial matters. You need to think of ways to move forward with your life without depleting your energies. It’s important that you find ways to approach life cautiously.

It seems as if Venus and Mercury have been following each other in energy during the month of December; and that’s true. Two days ago, Venus formed a quincunx to Jupiter retrograde. Now, on December 30th, Mercury is forming the quincunx to Jupiter retrograde. Again you need to make adjustments. This time you need to make adjustments in how you communicate with other people. You need to choose your words carefully. You need to make certain that you don’t say the wrong thing. In addition, you need to listen to what other people really mean when they speak, rather than just what they are saying.