This is a month, Cancer, of re-thinking, re-evaluating and perhaps of re-commitment for much of what you normally allow in terms of your habitual patterns, health regimens, and career choices. The retrogrades of two inner planets simultaneously presages an introspective period when instead of responding to the world outside, you are looking within. Mercury has been in retrograde from the 25th of the previous month, while Mars, ruling your vocational sector, moving quite slowly, turns to backward motion on the 6th of December. The first full weekend of the month will likely be a time of deep-diving into a study of your inner world with the intentions of finding there a greater understanding of your true principles and your own unique bottom line. The Full Moon on the 15th represents a culmination of some of this activity and a new departure. Intuitive information comes to you at this time with greater currency than logic alone can supply, and you may find yourself renewing your intention to move forward with greater authentic intention. This includes everything that you bring to the table including your desires. The Capricorn Solstice of the 21st could be the signal for incorporating key partnerships into the mix of activating energy swirling around you now as you begin to settle into an entirely new stage of your personal evolution.


The following was written by our wonderful Leslie Benson. Look for Leslie at Astrology for Awakening.


December opens with the New Moon in Sagittarius on the late evening of November 30th, bringing fresh energy to your sixth sector of daily routines, health, and service. This cycle you may feel a natural impulse to recalibrate your approach to work and wellness, seeing through new eyes what may serve your body and spirit well in this last month of the year. With Mercury Retrograde, also in Sagittarius and this same area of your chart, there may be a few hiccups or miscommunications, yet also renewed energy and more internal awareness for revamping your health habits. The New Moon’s square to Saturn in Pisces and trine to Mars in Leo highlight where you need to balance optimism with practicality in your day-to-day commitments, guiding you to make sustainable adjustments that support your well-being.

Mars turns retrograde in Leo, your second sector of personal resources and values, on December 6th. This retrograde phase, lasting until late February, invites you to take a step back and re-evaluate your financial priorities and self-worth. As Mars inches backwards closer to the last degree of your own sign, where it will arrive on January 6th, you may begin to feel its influence even more strongly, eliciting inner intensity, and primal surges to contend with around willpower, aggression, and protectiveness. Mars’s opposition to Pluto — now officially on its 20+ year journey in Aquarius — throughout the month could intensify your focus on shared resources, power dynamics, and deeper psychological patterns within intimate or financial partnerships. This aspect may push you to confront fears or insecurities that have been simmering beneath the surface, helping you to gain clarity on what truly holds value in your life.

On December 6th also, Venus enters Aquarius moving into your eighth sector of intimacy and transformation and conjoins Pluto until the 8th. In addition to the intensity of Pluto’s involvement. This combination of energies magnifies Venus’s intensity, especially around deep emotions, psychological insight, and close partnerships. As Venus opposes Mars, you may find yourself wrestling with powerful attractions, revelations, or shifts in your inner world. It may be helpful to approach these feelings with curiosity rather than haste or judgements; this is an ideal time to explore your own depths, seeking a greater understanding of your desires, vulnerabilities, and sense of self-worth.

On December 15th, the Full Moon in Gemini on emphasizes your twelfth-sixth sector axis, illuminating themes of introspection, rest, and inner peace as you also tend to your daily responsibilities. On the same day, Mercury stations direct in Sagittarius, beginning the process of the messenger planet recovering its lost territory. With Mercury, the ruler of this Full Moon, at a standstill, it’s a time to listen carefully to your inner voice, slow down, and avoid taking on too much. Trickster Uranus is also highlighted in this Full Moon, and surprise social events or brand-new long-term goals suddenly emerging are likely. Neptune’s T-square with the Sun and Moon adds another layer of uncertainty, encouraging a gentler and more compassionate approach. Things may seem a little fuzzy and ungrounded for a while. You may wish to reflect on your spiritual practices and well-being; plus perhaps consider prioritizing restful activities that nourish your soul over adding new tasks to your plate.

The Solstice on December 21st marks the Sun’s entry into Capricorn, bringing its light to your seventh sector of relationships and partnerships. This marks a shift toward shared goals, commitments, and understanding within one-on-one connections as the New Year approaches.

One of the biggest transits of this late year timing comes into exact position on December 24th as Jupiter in Gemini forms a square to Saturn in Pisces, linking your twelfth sector of hidden realms with your ninth sector of higher belief and broad perspective. This aspect may cause you to see and confront subconscious beliefs that undermine your blossoming into self, and the necessity for finding deeper commitment in your spiritual path or practice. The insights and lessons of this time will likely help you cultivate a stable and enduring foundation for your spiritual or educational pursuits.

As the month draws to a close, Chiron stations direct in your tenth sector of career and public life on December 29th. This transit may support healing related to your ambitions or public identity, helping you to process and integrate lessons around authority, visibility, or professional growth.

The Capricorn New Moon on December 30th arrives in your seventh sector, initiating a new cycle in partnerships. This lunation is an invitation to set intentions around commitment, collaboration, and mutual support as you move forward into the New Year.

This is a December of introspection and intellectual curiosity, Libra, with the Sagittarius New Moon that begins the month taking place in your sector of communications and learning. Since Mercury is also travelling in this same sector, in retrograde motion there since late November, your utterances might be more inner-directed and partaking of intuitional, rather than purely logical, information. On the 6th, creative transformation is in the air, as Mars also stations to retrograde motion, allowing for greater introspective reconsideration of relationship factors and issues. The Moon’s First Quarter on the 8th could additionally illuminate your evolving worldview, while the Gemini Full Moon on the 15th serves as a culmination of your search for greater understanding, to once more include the intuitive side of things along with a determination to make the most of partnership initiatives that have come to your attention. Then, the Last Quarter Moon in your sign on the 22nd, just one day past the potent Capricorn Solstice, brings home and family concerns front and center, potentially to include issues stemming from your family of origin. All and all, you have much to gain in inner contemplation and in forging a more complete and better integrated idea of what you are currently up to. This as the year ends, and another begins, and as you perceptibly evolve.


The following was written by our wonderful Leslie Benson. Look for Leslie at Astrology for Awakening.


December begins with the Sagittarius New Moon late on November 30th, illuminating your third sector of communication, learning, and local connections. This fresh cycle encourages you to rethink how you share ideas and interact with your immediate environment. With Mercury Retrograde in this same area, you’re invited to revisit old conversations or plans and refine your approach to how your thinking and beliefs inform your sense of reality, and how you communicate yourself. The New Moon’s square to Saturn in Pisces emphasizes discipline and responsibility in your routines, while its trine to Mars in Leo inspires boldness in sharing your input within groups or community settings.

Mars stations retrograde in Leo, your eleventh sector of friendships and long-term aspirations, on December 6th. This transit, lasting until late February, slows the pace of collaboration and group dynamics, offering you a chance to reconsider your goals and the role others play in achieving them. Mars remains in opposition to Pluto in Aquarius throughout December, creating a dynamic tension between collective ambitions (Mars in the eleventh) and the metamorphosis transpiring in your personal creativity and expression (Pluto in your fifth). Pluto’s recent entry into Aquarius marks the beginning of a 20-year transformative journey, and this month’s opposition highlights the push and pull between external demands and the authenticity of your creative pursuits.

Your ruling planet, Venus, enters Aquarius on December 6th as well and conjoins Pluto there until the 8th, also activating your fifth sector of creativity. Venus was also out of bounds in the New Moon that began the month, and this configuration casts an extraordinary intensity over Venus’s usually soft themes of love, beauty, and harmony. This time may push you to explore unconventional or transformative expressions in creativity and relationships. As Venus opposes Mars, you might experience heightened passions or conflicts between your personal desires and social obligations. With Venus in the spotlight and operating outside typical boundaries, this is a time to lean into bold, authentic self-expression and embrace unexpected shifts in your relationships and artistic endeavors.

On December 15th, the Full Moon in Gemini lights up your ninth-third sector axis, illuminating themes of learning, travel, and big-picture thinking versus immediate details and your local sphere. This Full Moon invites you to explore out into new territory, while also keeping a finger on the pulse of what’s needed in your immediate surroundings. On the same day, Mercury stations direct in Sagittarius, signaling a shift toward regained clarity and better communication flow as the messenger planet begins to recover its lost ground. While some retrograde challenges may begin to ease, the post-shadow period encourages you to integrate recent lessons with care. In the Full Moon event, Neptune’s T-square with the Sun and Moon may blur boundaries and cause some confusion, so that you do well to tread carefully in your decision-making and focus on aligning your values with your words. Now and through to month’s end is a good time for poetry, imaginative musings, and spiritual practices that uplift your spirit and sense of compassion.

The Solstice on December 21st brings the Sun into Capricorn, shining its light on your fourth sector of home, family, and emotional foundations. This shift encourages you to ground yourself and prioritize balance in your inner world and private life.

A major transit unfolds from December 20th to the 28th, exact on the 24th, as Jupiter in Gemini squares Saturn in Pisces, linking your ninth sector of beliefs and higher learning with your sixth sector of daily routines and health. This angular aspect emphasizes the tension between your expansive vision and the structures needed to support it. While challenges may arise, the insights you gain now can help you build a solid foundation for meaningful growth.

As the month winds down, Chiron stations direct in your seventh sector of partnerships on December 29th. For the week or so surrounding this date when the energy I most prominent you may find the opportunity for healing and growth in your closest relationships, helping you address unresolved wounds and create a deeper sense of connection.

The Capricorn New Moon on December 30th activates your fourth sector, inviting a fresh cycle of renewal in home and family life. Use this time to set intentions that align with your need for emotional security and harmonious foundations as you step into the New Year with purpose.

This is a paradoxical month for you, Capricorn, when you have a lot going, becoming sure of yourself in new ways, and when also you seem fated to explore the inner reaches of your mind and psyche. Mercury is retrograde in Sagittarius which makes for an introspective time, and the Sagittarius New Moon from the 1st in your sector of dream imagination and inner work also pulls you to the inside. Mars too is retrograde most of the month and associated with personal transformation. Mercury in this New Moon also lies in close trine with Chiron, the Wounded Healer in another key sector of your chart, your creativity and self-expression. You might therefore be visiting hidden places within you, the residue of early childhood trauma. Nothing changes very quickly in these dark realms, and yet you will profit enormously from every acknowledgement that you can make and all the loving attention that you can bring to bear on these internal matters. The Full Moon of the 15th might feel like a culmination of these motifs, while the Capricorn Solstice when the Sun enters your sign represents an important juncture also. You now are more outwardly directed and yet still feeling the pinch of the twin retrogrades, with Mercury still winding down. You could be recognizing that in your vocational choices, only your own deep-seated principles can guide you that come from you and from nowhere else.


The following was written by our wonderful Leslie Benson. Look for Leslie at Astrology for Awakening.


The month begins with the Sagittarius New Moon on the late evening of November 30th, activating your twelfth sector of the subconscious, dreams, and hidden realms. This lunation invites you to pause and reflect on what lies beneath the surface, encouraging you to rest and release what no longer serves you. With Mercury Retrograde in this same sector, you may find yourself feeling deeply internal, and revisiting old patterns or uncovering hidden insights. The New Moon’s square to Saturn in Pisces, your ruling planet, underscores the maturation process you’re undergoing surrounding your communication style, while its trine to a stationing Mars in Leo provides some belly-fire for shadow work and addressing deeply rooted psychological patterns.

Mars stations retrograde in Leo, your eighth sector of shared resources, depth, and transformation, on December 6th. This transit brings inward awareness, potentially unearthing latent frustrations around intimacy, power dynamics, and prompting shadow-work. Throughout December, Mars remains in opposition to Pluto in Aquarius, which has recently begun its transformative 20-year journey through your second sector of personal values and finances. This dynamic aspect calls for a balance between your inner emotional depths and the tangible resources you rely on to feel secure. As Mars moves back into your seventh sector of relationships on January 6th, you may expect a renewed focus on how partnerships support or challenge your growth.

On December 6th also, Venus enters Aquarius joining Pluto in your second sector of values and resources, forming an exact conjunction with Pluto until the 8th. This alignment intensifies themes around money, self-worth, and the deeper motivations driving your decisions. With Venus opposing Mars, you may feel a push-pull dynamic between your personal resources and shared commitments. Use this time to redefine your priorities and embrace transformative shifts that align with your long-term goals.

On December 15th, the Full Moon in Gemini, ruled by a stationing Mercury, also highlights this sixth-twelfth sector axis, drawing your attention to the spectrum of anywhere from the ethereally transcendent to the nitty-gritty of everyday life. The same day, Mercury stations direct in Sagittarius, signaling an important turning point in your current journey of inner discovery. While the post-shadow phase still asks for patience as Mercury retraces its steps, you may begin to feel more of your energy return to outward endeavors and activities. Adding to this dynamic, Neptune forms a square to the Sun and Moon, potentially creating a haze of idealism or uncertainty. This influence invites you to trust your intuition while remaining mindful of potential confusion around your routines or emotional clarity. From now until month’s end, you might want to use this Full Moon to refine your habits, prioritize self-care, and lean into practices that help you align with both your practical and spiritual needs.

The Solstice on December 21st marks the Sun’s entry into your sign, and therefore your birthday season — happy Solar Return to you! The Sun illuminating your sign invokes a period of personal empowerment and renewal. This is your time to recalibrate and set the tone for the year ahead with clarity and determination.

One of the most pivotal transits of the month (and year) occurs from December 20th to the 28th, exact on the 24th, as Jupiter in Gemini squares Saturn in Pisces, linking your sixth sector of routines and health with your third sector of communication and learning. This angular aspect may challenge you to balance practical demands with intellectual pursuits, encouraging you to establish systems that support both your work and personal growth. As Saturn is your ruling planet, this transit offers you the structure needed focus on what you’re learning, while also exploring new avenues in work and your sense of service.

As the month winds down, Chiron stations direct in your fourth sector of home and emotional foundations on December 29th, bringing healing insights related to family dynamics and your sense of security. This is an opportunity to mend old wounds and strengthen your inner foundation.

The New Moon in your sign lands on December 30th, initiating a powerful new cycle of self-definition and ambition. This is your moment to set intentions that reflect your highest aspirations, ensuring that 2025 begins with clarity, purpose, and strength.

This is another rather potent month for you, Aquarius, with Pluto newly in your sign, signifying transformation. In December there are also two inner planet retrogrades to deal with, which lends an introspective air to the proceedings. Mercury is moving backward in your social sector until the 15th, after which it is slowly recovering until month’s end, while Mars, moving very slowly from December’s beginning, stations retrograde on the 6th in your opposite sign of Leo. This implies reversals of one kind or another in your partnership scene, perhaps misunderstandings, with adjustments and course corrections being quite possible. There is also a tendency to look within yourself for the answers. Because Chiron, the Wounded Healer, is also prominent in your sector of communication and learning, there might additionally be a recognition of inner wounding – the residue of unresolved early childhood trauma – that could come up for you and become a subject of discussion. The more positive attention you can pay to these hungry ghosts within you, the better off you will be, because in general these internal complexes suffer from being isolated within you and as a result cause unexpected problems. After the Gemini Full Moon of the 15th you could feel a shift in the energy. Mercury now in direct motion, and your modern ruler, Uranus, is highlighted, in concert with concerns of home and family.


The following was written by our wonderful Leslie Benson. Look for Leslie at Astrology for Awakening.


The month begins with the Sagittarius New Moon on the late evening of November 30th, bring fresh energy to your eleventh sector of friendships, community, and long-term goals. This lunation invites you to dream boldly about the future while contemplating how your community affiliations align with your greater vision. Mercury Retrograde in this sector calls for reflection and reconsideration on your social networks and aspirations. The New Moon’s square to Saturn in Pisces emphasizes the need for grounded and mature decisions, especially regarding financial or material commitments, while its trine to Mars, which is slowing to station in Leo, energizes collaboration and partnership.

Mars stations retrograde in Leo, your seventh sector of relationships and partnerships, on December 6th. This is a pivotal transit for reevaluating your dynamics with others, particularly in one-on-one connections. Mars retrograde encourages introspection, unearths old resentments or frustrations, and invites you to hone your capacity to effectively navigate conflict. Adding intensity to this already charged transit, Mars opposes Pluto, recently entered into your sign, beginning there its transformative 20-year journey. This marks a profound period of self-reinvention and empowerment, with Pluto’s presence in your sign emphasizing the tension between your emerging personal power and a new awareness around the impact of your actions — both positive and negative — on your partnerships and connections.

On December 6th also, Venus enters your sign and conjoins Pluto until the 8th. This alignment heightens Venus’s energy, making your personal magnetism and creative potential feel supercharged. This transit, centered in your first sector of self, invites deep introspection about how you express your unique identity and sense of style. Opposite Mars in your seventh sector, this dynamic could further spark revelations or tensions in relationships, encouraging you to assert your individuality while navigating partnerships with care. It’s a time to embrace transformative change in how you show up in the world and relate to others.

On December 15th, the Full Moon in Gemini highlights your fifth-eleventh sector axis, drawing attention to the balance between your personal creativity and collaborative community efforts. This might be a time when you reflect upon how your innovative efforts contribute to the collective that surrounds you. There could be a focus on your home front, or a dose of unexpected enlightenment might come your way. This lunation encourages you to celebrate your individuality while aligning your contributions with the collective good. Neptune’s T-square touched off by Sun and Moon adds a touch of dreaminess or potential confusion, so that your focus might want to be on grounding your vision in reality.

The Solstice on December 21st ushers the Sun into Capricorn, activating your twelfth sector of inner landscape and hidden depths. This is a powerful time, ideally suited to quietly recharge your inner resources and prepare for the advent of the New Year.

One of the most significant transits of the month (and year!) occurs from December 20th to the 28th, exact on the 24th, as Jupiter in Gemini squares Saturn in Pisces, symbolizing tension between your fifth sector of creativity and joy and your second sector of finances and self-worth. This aspect challenges you to align your creative pursuits with tangible results, urging you to strike a balance between passion and practicality. As Saturn is your traditional ruler, this transit invites discipline and strategic planning to ensure your dreams have a solid foundation.

As the month winds down, Chiron stations direct in your third sector of communication and learning on December 29th. This brings an opportunity to heal old wounds related to communication and learning styles, inviting you to be reclaim lost aspects of your true voice and expression.

The New Moon in Capricorn on December 30th activates your twelfth sector, initiating a fresh cycle of reflection and spiritual renewal. You might want to use this time to set intentions for inner growth and prepare for the transformative year ahead.