The astrology for this week of December 25th through the 31st of 2023, bookended by Christmas and New Year’s Eve, pulls out all stops for good times with family, friends and indulgences galore.
The week begins with Christmas as we gather with family and friends for gift-giving, sumptuous meals, and sweets. A sense of camaraderie lightens the mood, and it would be wise to avoid opinionating on the state of the world or any other incendiary topics. This week is best spent stepping off the track, dismissing attentiveness to what passes for ‘news’, and just enjoying ourselves.
It’s almost as if the calendar and the festivities offer us a ‘time out’ from the usual rat race with the various rats biting at each other. No, now is a time for us to engage the idyllic, allow ourselves to enter into phantasia, all the while recognizing the liabilities associated with too good of a time and overindulgence.
As the week unfolds, we come off Christmas Day and may feel the need to do something, anything, even if we’re not clear of what needs to get done. The Full Moon can have us considering both our family matters and our personal ambitions and feeling the pull from each as we scurry around trying to take care of this, that, and something other but without clear conception of what.
Confusion of the mind mid-week might parlay into confusion of action, and we need to be wary that we’re not being impetuous with a sense that enough harrowing hurrying can absolve us of any blame from wrong judgments, wrong actions.
The end of the week and the weekend ramps up party time. We might be spreading our wings, whether figuratively or literally, but both being an interest in divesting ourselves of the old, the outmoded, and the all too familiar.
We end the week by ending the year of 2023 with New Year’s Eve. Whether we revel in celebration with other folks or just let the year slip away with the hope that 2024 proves less stressful, less tumultuous and less disruptive compared to what we might have experienced over the past two-three years, we are ready to see the year of 2023 go out and 2024 come in.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Monday, December 25th – Merry, Merry, Merry – Mars, Lunar T-Square, Venus, Neptune. On this Monday, Christmas Day, the Moon continues its transit of Gemini with the Moon opposed Mars late in the day and triggers the beginning of a Lunar T-Square into tomorrow. Venus trines Neptune. Whether we celebrate this holiday or not, much of society is off the track, getting together with family and friends and not at all concerned about daily responsibilities or mundane matters. On the contrary, this day is geared to lilting conversations, sumptuous meals, and the unwrapping of gifts. We might feel as though this day is all about stuffing. In truth, this day commemorates the birth of Jesus, also a reflection of the winter solstice when the light is born at the darkest day of the year on the northern latitudes. With Venus trine Neptune, Neptune being the higher octave of Venus, we may greater appreciate the deep connections we have with those special people in our lives. Although many stores and recreational outlets are closed on this day, there can be a sense of champing at the bit and wanting to get on with it, whatever that ‘it’ could be. The evening hours especially might have us feeling restrained, constrained, and we need to be careful not to take it out on someone by being temperamental, opinionated and wanting to vent.
Tuesday, December 26th – Pulls of Family and Responsibilities – Lunar T-Square, Neptune, Mercury, Moon Void-of-Course, Saturn, Full Moon, Sun, Jupiter. In the early morning hours of Tuesday, the Gemini Moon continues a Mutable Sign T-Square with the Moon square Neptune in Pisces and the Moon opposed Mercury in Sagittarius. The Moon then goes Void-of-Course for almost seven and a half hours with the Moon making no further connections to the planets as the Moon finishes its transit of Gemini and before the Moon enters Cancer where today the Cancer Moon trines Saturn and the Moon opposes the Sun at the Cancer Full Moon [7:33 PM EST] and the Moon sextiles Jupiter. Late Monday into early Tuesday might have the Christmas festivities continuing on and on. The aftereffects of indulgent sweets and savories and having too good a time feasting on Christmas day can have us experiencing a sort of hangover as we begin this Tuesday. We may have a sense of confusion and wonder ‘what’s next?’ as we wrap up our holiday for some, continue the holiday them for others, and segue from our Christmas preparations and crescendo and morph into preparing for our New Year’s festivities. As the day progresses, we can get a better grip on things, although confusion and misdirection may continue on through Thursday under Neptune’s influence. The Cancer Full Moon is in orb of a sextile to Jupiter and a trine to Saturn. Despite the Mercury retrograde and the heavy influence of Neptune stoking the fires of distraction and disorientation, We do have the ability of tying up loose ends that we do not want to bring into the new year, all the while contemplating how this new year can have us expanding our interests and successfully navigating the swirling currents of these crazy-making times. Addressing both our personal and professional matters could develop a solid plan of action for the ending of this year and the beginning of the new year. We do need to keep in mind that it is best to write down our plans in pencil with a large eraser and be willing to alter and adapt to changing circumstance.
Wednesday, December 27th – Miscalculations with Gusto – Uranus, Mercury, Neptune, Sun, Jupiter, Mars. The Moon continues its transit of Cancer on this Wednesday, but the Moon makes no aspects to the planets until late in the day when the Cancer Moon sextiles Uranus. Mercury squares Neptune, the Sun trines Jupiter, and Mercury conjuncts Mars. Yesterday, today and tomorrow all have strong Neptune influence with the liability of us getting lost in confusion, distraction and miscalculations. Not that we aren’t all in today. Our optimism and confidence may know no bounds, and we are likely to go full force in whatever we choose to do. Unfortunately, some of our choices might not be grounded in reality or probability but rather from an arrogant egotistical attitude that whatever we set out to do we can accomplish. These times of paradigm shift demand an element of humility with an appreciation that even the best laid plans can go awry during these disruptive, tumultuous times that are a major factor in asequential reality. The interesting thing about this day is that even if we go full force based upon our willfulness with a consequent effect of pushbacks and head banging, we could still determine the appropriate way by unexpected developments late in the day. Whether we have learned our lesson about restraining our impulses and being open to unexpected variables that can pave our way may be played out again tomorrow. As I often suggest, the universe taps us on the shoulder. If we don’t heed the indications from the universe, the universe taps a little harder. If we still don’t get the signals, then we are liable to receive a lateral lobotomy or whack on the side of the head. Eventually, we learn our lessons.
Thursday, December 28th – Intuitive Awareness or Bullheadedness – Lunar Grand Trine, Neptune, Venus, Pluto, Moon Void-of-Course, Mars, Neptune. Thursday could prove paradoxical with diametrically opposed results. Thursday begins with the Cancer Moon triggering a Water Grand Trine with the Cancer Moon trine Neptune in Pisces and the Moon trine Venus in Scorpio. The Moon opposes Pluto and then the Moon goes Void-of-Course for an hour and a half with the Moon making no further connections to the planets as the Moon finishes its transit of Cancer and before the Moon enters Leo later in the day. Mars squares Neptune. The dalliance with Neptune over the past two days culminates on this Thursday. If we would take our time, draw upon our intuitive sense, and not rush out to conquer the world, this day could be highly effective and pleasant. Time spent attending to home and family matters can straighten things out, eliminate the refuse, and focus on making our base of operations comfortable and nurturing. Time spent at home with family can be a pleasant interlude to all the frenzy that these holidays are liable to bring. The flip side of this day could have us engaging in a fantasy land of self-absorption, where similar to the past two days, we assume that we can bend things, conditions and circumstance, to our will. If we go there, we might reiterate some of the miscalculations of an early initiate with the universe indicating to us: “patience, silly grasshopper”. Thursday offers the lesson that often the soft and yielding are more powerful than the rigid and strong. As the Taoist saying suggests: “bend like a reed or break like an oak.”
Friday, December 29th – Going All Out – Jupiter, Venus, Pluto, Venus Sagittarius. Friday has the Moon in Leo with the Leo Moon square Jupiter to start the day. Venus sextiles Pluto before Venus exits Scorpio to enter Sagittarius [3:24 PM EST] triggering a Stellium in the Mutable Fire Sign as Venus joins Mercury and Mars in Sagittarius. The more we can tie up loose ends of the week and of the year early on this Friday, the better able we can start this New Year’s weekend in partying, socializing, and expecting a better year ahead. We do not want to bring residues of the past into this new year of 2024, a year that could prove to be a powerfully energetic year. One of the interesting things about what passes for ‘news’ is that each incident, each situation, holds peoples’ attention for only so long until interest wanes and the media switches to the next calamitous event. The thousands of killings in the Ukraine and in Gaza, all of which are still going on, become lost to more urgent situations that arise. No matter our anguish about world conditions, we are likely to leave our concerns on the back burner as we conclude various matters of this passing year and then switch into party mode to assist in taking out this passing year and preparing to welcome the new year.
Saturday, December 30th – Back on Track – Uranus, Mercury, Jupiter direct. Saturday continues with the Leo Moon with the Moon square Uranus early in the day, and the Moon trine Mercury later in the day. Jupiter ends its four-month retrograde cycle and turns direct [9:40 PM EST]. Our schedule for today could be disrupted forcing us to make alterations. This is one of those days when contingency plans are called for. If we are traveling today, it would be wise for us to add on additional time and have options to our intended course. Unexpected expenses might occur. Although the day could start out somewhat convoluted, things do straighten out later in the day. We may just need to shift and change early in the day. Late in the day, we could be feeling upbeat in a socializing mood and ready for the New Year ahead. Jupiter turning direct can give us a greater sense of self-value and self-worth and a belief that no matter how difficult conditions may have been over this passing year, we are ready and able to meet this coming year head on with intended great results.
Sunday, December 31st – Happy New Year – Mars, Moon Void-of-Course, Lunar T-Square, Venus, Saturn, Jupiter. Sunday is the last day of 2023, and many of us are happy to see it go. The Leo Moon trines Mars to begin this day. The Moon then goes Void-of-Course for six and a half hours with the Moon making no further connections to the planets as the Moon completes its transit of Leo and before the Moon moves into Virgo. The Virgo Moon triggers a Mutable Sign T-Square with the Virgo Moon square Venus in Sagittarius and the Moon opposed Saturn in Pisces. The Moon trines Jupiter as we approach the end of the day. We might start the day in party mode, but we could also realize that there are certain details that we need to complete before we come into the new year. We may feel as though we are juggling any number of things before we get into the evening hours. Let’s do what we need to complete without stressing ourselves. There’s always tomorrow or days thereafter to do what we need to get done. As we close out the year, we can feel as though we are ready to expand our interests in the year ahead. Happy New Year!
