The Greater Benefic, Jupiter, planet of hope & expansion re-entered Aries in the early hours of this morning, shining a light of renewed optimism & bringing a rush of energy that gives us the ‘get up and go’ to fight for the life we want & the courageous action necessary to expand our horizons to that end in the year ahead. It’s a particularly powerful & auspicious transit on the cusp of tomorrow’s Solstice. And we can look back for clues about Jupiter’s agenda in the Aries part of our lives by considering what was beginning to open up between 11 May & 29 October this year. As Jupiter races through Aries from now until May 16, these themes should continue to expand as we learn new lessons that allow us to level up in our spiritual understanding of the primal drives that propel us in life.
Tonight & over the next few evenings, the Lesser Benefic Venus begins to emerge as an Evening Star. The ancients considered the goddess of beauty, friendship, art, pleasure, love, peace & diplomacy most relationally oriented and empowered to bring positive influence in her evening guise & as she rises in her evening splendour she simultaneously makes a trine to Uranus, planet of breakthroughs & revolution in the pleasure temple of the goddess,Taurus. Look to the sky after sunset to see her near the horizon & pay attention to feelings, images, & ideas that magnetically attract & which contain the impulse for liberation & exciting change.
Solstice, Thursday 22 December
Solstices mark the cardinal tipping points in the year when the Earth reaches its maximum tilt toward (Summer) or away from (Winter) the Sun when we experience the longest or shortest hours of daylight in the year. And because the Sun represents the light of consciousness, our aspirations & the evolution of our awareness through our unfolding narratives, the Solstice marks a powerful symbolic turning point for reflecting on our growth as individuals.
With Jupiter at 0 Aries making an exact square to the Sun at 0 Capricorn, this Solstice holds a big charge, which could describe a tension between how things are and how we want them to be. It’s a significant moment to consider how we’ve changed since this time last year, to contemplate the challenges & crises that have facilitated our growth & to meditate on the ways we wish to expand our awareness in order to realise our aspirations in the coming year. At this point the answers may not be clear but the tension of these ideas will eventually propel us to the necessary action that prepares us for the new.
This Solstice focuses our awareness on the ways we love & the things we value most seriously. With Venus conjunct the Lot of Fortune & trine Uranus there’s greater ease & benefit in creative acts that harmonise radical differences to make beauty. And there’s more freedom & affinity available when we change up old traditions to enhance beauty & meaningful connections, particularly in family & relationships. With the Moon in Sagittarius focused on beliefs & opinions opposing Mars Rx in Gemini influencing perception & communication we may need to integrate some conflicting energies & ideas that we see mirrored outside us but which are ultimately an expression of a struggle that exists within ourselves. Emotions about a situation may feel amplified on the Solstice as our beliefs come into confrontation with a more complex reality, which may have been hidden from our view. If we can reset our navigational heart equipment to ‘best possible outcomes for the future of relationships’ settings with disciplined devotion when we feel challenged, we could experience big shifts in our thinking that accelerate growth, optimism & the support we want from our most important relationships in future.
Capricorn New Moon, Friday 23 December
The New Moon at 1 Capricorn (@ 9:16pm AEDT) also squares Jupiter in Aries & places further emphasis on relational themes as Venus trines Uranus. Things often feel confusing & unclear at this point in the lunation cycle but we propagate seeds of imagination in states of uncertainty, & as the Mercurial mind applies to sextile visionary Neptune, there’s magic in daydreams that allow us to ponder who we’re wanting to be, what we’re wanting to build, the visions we want to crystallise & the kinds of intimacies & affinities we want to cultivate with more beauty, meaning, stability & longevity. It also supports our ability to envision the healthy boundaries necessary to sustain them. And as Chiron stations direct today in a sextile to Mars Rx, opportunities for healing communications are also enhanced.
Christmas, Sunday 25 December
Despite the unsurprising potential for some frustrations & emotional overwhelm with Mars Rx in Gemini transiting the house of family in the middle of the day & the Moon in her exile in Capricorn, there are also beautiful indications for today’s astrology. Mercury makes its exact sextile to Neptune, inspiring beauty & imagination, which brings a childlike sense of wonder to new rituals & enhances compassion in conversations. Making a project out of changing up old traditions to emphasise beauty & connection can help us channel overwhelm into experiences of tangible awesomeness that make for lasting memories. As the Moon moves through Capricorn today, she carries the light of Venus in her most benefic guise to Mercury, which brings beauty to conversational skills & then Pluto (@2:11pm AEDT), which could move us deeply with profound feelings of love.
As Mercury stations retrograde, it conjoins the planet of love & affinity at 24 Capricorn, bringing heart and mind into direct contact, helping us express what’s really important to us. Mercury’s station could also signal reversals & shifts in direction re our thinking about relationships & with Mercury ruling Mars Rx in Gemini, it could also foreshadow arguments, technological glitches & miscommunications. As Mercury retraces its steps through Capricorn over the next three weeks, it also rules the last weeks of Mars’ retrograde journey through Gemini, providing a very interesting opportunity for review, & as we rethink the ideas we want to action & materialise in 2023, we use our hearts as a gauge.
New Year’s Eve 2022
There’s some potential for mayhem, frustration & unpredictability in the evening’s astrology lovelies so take it easy tonight if you can. If you’re out in the world, do be mindful of a potential for anger & reactivity, drive safely & be extra careful in crowds. Hanging with those you really love looks like the ideal scenario with opportunities for deep conversations that afford insight into some of the intensities we experienced in 2022 that inspire us in turn with optimism & momentum to act courageously on our dreams. New Year’s Day is by far the more powerful day astrologically, however, so it’s worth planning for an especially relaxing & beautiful way to begin 2023.
New Year’s Day 2023
The Moon is exalted in Taurus on New Year’s Day, emphasising relaxation, pleasure, food & other lush delights for the senses, which act as a good cushion for the other major astrological signature of the day: Venus’ conjunction with Pluto (@1:24pm AEDT). As Venus merges with the planet of power & intensity, elimination, purification & rebirth we could experience profound feelings of love, grief, passion or transformative renewal in relationships. But small acts of love also hold deep power. The Moon’s co-presence with the North Node and Uranus inspires us to let go of limitations & do things differently, & with Mercury Rx stillsextile Neptune there could be opportunities for transcendent conversations & inspired visions of imagination to start the new year.
