Cosmic Forecast December 2021

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At the end of each year, we get to move between Sagittarius and Capricorn as we transition into the next. Sagittarius is the sign associated with travelling away from the familiar, and it’s the archetype of adventure and growth. Ruled by Jupiter, Sagittarius holds the energy of expansion and good luck. Conversely, Capricorn is ruled by Saturn, the planet of limitations, boundaries, and challenges. Capricorn teaches us that we are finite beings with only so much time and energy. It’s not surprising that the holiday season can feel restrictive for some of us.

Sagittarius presents us with a feeling of freedom, autonomy, and inspiration. Then, on the 21st, the Sun moves into Capricorn, reminding us that we have responsibilities and obligations, that we need to rest, that we can’t say yes to everything. 

At the beginning of the month, we have a New Moon solar eclipse in Sagittarius on the evening of the 4th. During a total solar eclipse such as this one, the Moon completely obscures the Sun. This means that what the Sun represents—including clarity, consciousness, and the outer world— will be overshadowed by the aspects of us that are ruled by the Moon: our subconscious and our emotions. With this cosmic event taking place in Sagittarius, it’s a good time to listen to your heart and experience the depth and breadth of its longing. You might have the feeling that you need more freedom, you might feel grief about all you haven’t been able to experience yet, you might feel a bone-deep wanderlust, you might want to change your life entirely. 

Mercury is in Sagittarius until the middle of the month when it moves over into Capricorn. Near the New Moon, try journaling or recording yourself speaking about the feelings coming up for you. You can also pray or engage in meaningful communication with the otherworld about your direction in life and what’s coming next on your journey. It’s important to express those feelings as Mercury, along with the Sun and Moon, will be opposite the North Node in Gemini, the sign of interdependence and communion. The energy brings an opportunity to complete cycles from past lives or move into a new chapter after reflecting on the wisdom you’ve gained from the previous phase you moved through. 

Just before the Winter Solstice on December 21st, Venus goes retrograde in Capricorn on the 19th. This transit prompts us to treat ourselves with not just respect but reverence. We’re called to review our relationship to what we accept from life. Regardless of whether you feel you’ve earned joy, grace, and love, you deserve it, and these experiences are your birthright.

A Full Moon in Gemini on the 18th underscores the need to reflect on your relationships. Gemini is about kinship and compassion: seeing yourself in the other. The other side of acceptance is judgement, and both emotional reactions mirror the ways you feel about yourself. Sometimes, judgement is productive—the better term might be “discernment”—it can help you figure out where you stop and another person starts, giving you a greater sense of autonomy and individuality. Empathy is not enmeshment. During this Full Moon, make sure you understand what feelings are yours to carry and which ones really belong to other people. Are they asking you to bear those burdens for them? Or have you taken them up out of some inner tendency towards martyrdom?

Sagittarius season brings the opportunity to take stock of everything we’ve learned this year and “graduate” into the next grade in the school of life. We’re asked to not only reflect on what’s happened over the last 12 months but we’re required to integrate those lessons and form a more mature and compassionate perspective on our lives. Think of the world-weary traveller returning home with tall tales and mystical insights from all they’ve seen and all the lives that have touched them along the way. 

As the Sun joins Mercury and Venus in Capricorn on the Winter Solstice, this theme of maturation becomes even more prevalent. Capricorn represents the structures that give order to our lives, like family systems and cultural norms. The sign also rules rituals, which are activities that give form to expressions of faith and spirituality. As we grow up, we become responsible for the structure of society through our actions. The candlelight is passed to us: we are no longer just participants in the rituals that shape us; we are the facilitators. Capricorn season helps us seek out an answer to the question, “What mark do I want to leave on the world?”

As we close out 2021, take the time to shut the doors that lead to nowhere and prepare yourself for a fresh start. There are so many new adventures to be had in the year to come. You’ve arrived here despite all the challenges that you faced, you’ve witnessed your strength, you’ve encountered your humanness. What glory! To come to the end of another year with your spirit intact, hand-in-hand with your own precious being. 

Keagan is a writer, tarot reader, and astrologer. Find her on Instagram @moonsingemini to book a reading. Subscribe to her monthly tarotscope newsletter here.