December 2020 will offer a few important shifts: including the Great Conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter as a sort of re-set to a new era, spanning decades. And a solar eclipse around the same time, to give us a hint at new beginning. And after an arduous year globally, this will be a good month to tie up loose ends and reflect as we move into a new calendar year.
Venus Transits Scorpio December 10 till January 3
Venus will move into Scorpio from December 10 joining the nodal axis. Scorpio is currently charged up as the eclipse cycle is under way. Venus will be moving past Sun and Ketu during the next few weeks.
Venus governs our interactions – this extends from relationships all the way to how we interact with our planet. In Scorpio, we dive down and examine deeply to understand how things work, and to gather resources with which we can build stronger structures. Scorpio provides a backdrop where situations can be examined with surgical precision.
The diplomatic approach of Venus can be overrun in the uncomfortable reality that Scorpio reflects. This will be a time to face and take responsibility for actions, rather than decorating cold, hard truths in an effort to smooth over obvious wrinkles.
Most of Venus’ transit through Scorpio occurs after the total eclipse of December 14. This is a good time to allow creative solutions to establish root systems. Nourish the deep parts of any endeavours. Heal the cracks in the foundation before building new structures. Rediscover deep connections with others. This is a time for allowing the inner life to unfold.
New Moon Total Solar Eclipse in Scorpio in the nakshatra of Jyestha on December 14
The Moon slides into perfect alignment with the Sun on December 14, at the moment of the new Moon, causing a total solar eclipse visible mainly in South Africa and South America.
The Sun and Moon join at 29º Scorpio, in the last quarter of Jyestha nakshatra. This is rather close to Ketu, the south node, at 26° Scorpio, making the eclipse total. Joining Ketu at the same degree is Mercury, the planetary ruler of Jyestha nakshatra.
The idea behind eclipses is that something obscures the light of one of our main luminaries, the Sun and Moon. When the Sun is eclipsed, the Moon is lined up just right to get exactly in between the Earth and Sun, such that the light of the Sun is obscured. That is what we will experience on December 14.
In astrological interpretation, eclipses are seen as dramatic triggers to a chain of events. Because the phenomena of light and shadow is present in every scene on this planet, we have the opportunity every moment to play in the field of revelation and obscurity. Rather than seeing eclipses as a negative event, you can see them as reducing the amount of light on a certain subject in order to reveal a contrast that helps us to understand more deeply. Both light and darkness have gifts to give.
In a solar eclipse, the Moon (the mind, the emotions, sense of belonging) is acting to obscure the light of the Sun (sense of self, individual agenda, ego). In this case, they are joining in Scorpio with Ketu (intuition, body intelligence, liberation) and Mercury (analytics, transactions, communication). So, perhaps the darkness implied by this eclipse is an invitation to realign with what makes you feel good, deeply and truly. Rather than focusing outwardly, it’s a good time to deeply nourish your roots.
Sun Transits in Sagittarius from December 15 till January 15
The winter solstice occurs on Monday, December 21, 2020 and marks the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere. The winter solstice occurs after the Sun moves out of the cold waters of Scorpio and into the bright, expansive, and hopeful environment of Sagittarius.
This may be a time when we feel we can begin to ‘right’ what has felt ‘wrong.’ Sagittarius is currently squeezed between Saturn and Jupiter on one side and Ketu and Venus on the other, but is also free of extremely weighty/ negative aspects. Sun’s transit here will give us a good perspective and allow us to integrate the lessons of the past year as we look ahead to 2021.
The Great Conjunction of December 21, 2020
On December 21, 2020, Jupiter catches up to Saturn at 6 degrees of Capricorn. Jupiter and Saturn are the farthest out planets visible to the human eye, so the observation of their paths through the zodiac has been possible for as long as human eyes wandered there.
Jupiter takes about twelve years to move through all of the zodiac signs. It finds exaltation in the sign of Cancer, and debilitation in the sign of Capricorn, the site of this current conjunction with Saturn. Jupiter represents positivity, growth, truth, knowledge, children, and teachers. Jupiter lords the signs of Sagittarius and Pisces.
Saturn takes from 28-30 years to move through all zodiac signs, spending about 2.5-3 years in each sign compared to Jupiter’s one year in each sign, approximately. While Jupiter inspires us to expand, Saturn pressures us to contract. Saturn exalts in the sign of Libra and is debilitated in Aries, claiming lordship of Capricorn and Aquarius.
Saturn reminds us that our time is finite, that we are responsible for our actions, and that real results take effort, perseverance, and patience. Saturn’s practicality can come across as fearful or negative but generally protects from harm at the expense of experiencing the thrill of risk.
As Jupiter’s route is faster than Saturn’s, there is a pattern they make with their conjunctions and oppositions. They conjoin approximately every 20 years and then oppose on the alternate 10 years. After a conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, for the next decade, Jupiter is moving ahead and away from Saturn in the zodiac. Perhaps during this decade, hope, faith and growth prevail over difficulty. Jupiter then moves toward Saturn for the next decade, when perhaps we are called to pay debts, tighten belts, increase our responsibilities and work a bit more diligently.
Jupiter eventually joins up to Saturn again for a new cycle to begin. We are at that point now. So now we know that every 20 years, these two great planets join, forcing us all to re-set our lives. The paradoxical truth that the door of birth and the door of death are the same portal comes through this reckoning of Jupiter with Saturn.
Mars Transits Aries from December 23 till February 21
Mars moves through the Pisces-Aries gandanta on December 23, pushing us collectively into a new beginning. ‘Gandanta’ literally means ‘knot’ at the ‘end’ and shows a joint, a place where direction or function changes. In the zodiac, there are three of these joints, all transitions between two disparate elements: water and fire. This implies that there are three distinct zones of the zodiac that lie between these joints. The slower-moving planets that cross through these spots can reflect an individual or collective period of going through a trial of some kind that either elevates to the next level or causes us to further concentrate on the blocked issue.
These end marks of zodiacal sections come between the signs of Cancer and Leo, Scorpio and Sagittarius and finally Pisces and Aries. Another interesting signification of these points is that they also cleanly divide the nakshatras into three sections as well. It is at the gandanta zones that the sun signs and the moon signs harmonise.
Each zodiac section contains four Sun signs (rasis) and nine Moon divisions (nakshatras). This is an interesting thing to note, as “4” in a chart shows the mother principle and “9” shows the father principle. The Moon (mother) designation carries the father principle with the nine nakshatra sections. The Sun (father) designation carries the mother principle with the four rasi sections.
Depending on which gandanta zone we are dealing with, we are faced with difficult puzzles and a chance to solve problems that harmonise and liberate the mother-father/Moon-Sun principles. Harmonising the Sun-Moon principles is also what we do when practicing yoga. Mars, who is currently in direct motion in Jupiter’s water sign, Pisces has crossed the gandanta between Pisces and Aries twice recently due to a retrograde period, with the third time being on December 23.
We could say that while Mars has been in Pisces, both retrograde and then direct, he has been forced like many to immerse in those lessons and suffer a dispersal of power. Many have followed the directive to sit and wait. Pisces as the 12th sign of the zodiac implies places of confinement, which can also be expansive, like the ocean. We can be safe on the ocean when we have a boat, which literally saves us but it also becomes a place of confinement. In the end of a water sign, we are also faced with emotional challenges, attachments that may have become toxic, and need to be surrendered.
When Mars advances into Aries, we may feel some rapidly developing movement after a long period of stagnancy. Aries is Mars’ own fire sign, which could manifest as bolstering feelings of resolution, courage or strategic inspiration. This progression into Aries comes on the heels of an eclipse cycle and the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn. For many there may be feelings that chapters have finished and new stories are on the horizon. While Mars may feel super charged, and somewhat unfettered, we must remember that Saturn and Jupiter are still showing that any growth or movement must be calculated, slow-paced, fair, and infused with wisdom.
Overall, this is an excellent time to forge ahead and make plans, and take action. Mars will be flying solo in Aries, with no planetary aspects coming at him from anywhere. Try to avoid any rash moves, unnecessary aggression, or angry outbursts while he moves forward during this transit.
Full Moon in Gemini in the nakshatra of Ardra on December 30
After the solar eclipse at new Moon on December 14, the Moon waxes past all of the other planets. In the early morning hours of December 30, the full Moon occurs when the Sun reaches 15º Sagittarius, while Moon becomes full at 15º Gemini, in Ardra nakshatra.
From December 28 till 30, the Moon is in Gemini, opposite Mercury (ruler of Gemini) and Sun. This could feel really free, open and hopeful, even though all the other complex alignments are still going on. At the moment the Gemini-Sagittarius axis is relatively negativity free, this may be a good time to get ready, clear, focused and organised for the new year.
This may feel like a full circle moment. In 2019, there was an eclipse on December 26 in the Gemini-Sagittarius axis, with a total solar eclipse in Sagittarius. The focus was in Sagittarius, with six planets placed there. Crafty Rahu, on the other end, was in his own nakshatra of Ardra, and unbeknownst to most of the world, SARS Covid-19 was born and began to spread.
This year, at the full Moon in Gemini on December 30, the Moon will occupy Ardra nakshatra, recalling the 2019 eclipse but not repeating, as Rahu has moved not only out of Ardra but also out of Gemini. The full Moon in December 2020 signals completion of the cycle begun with the eclipse of December 2019. It’s time to clean up, reflect and reorient. With caution, with patience, with wisdom and with open minds.
