To understand the Sun’s square to Neptune (Dec. 18, 2024, 6:29 am PST), imagine you’ve traveled far from home, to a place where you don’t speak the language and you’re not sure you’re dressed quite right, or that your natural personality is acceptable. Your usual persona has become a bit melty; the sense of self shifts, and confidence is a bit low. It’s uncomfortable, being a stranger.
But when you don’t have your usual bag of tricks to fall back on, when the construction of who and what you are doesn’t fit with your surroundings, you have the unique opportunity to figure out who you are without those constructions. Turns out, who you really are has little to do with those things.
If you find yourself feeling a sort of yearning homesickness in the days surrounding this transit, consider that what you’re homesick for is not necessarily a different place or other people. Maybe what you’re homesick for is you.
Birds on a Fence
A few years ago, I made a quick, one-day turnaround trip to Phoenix for a lecture. I got on the plane in San Diego, slipped into my seat, and greeted the young man next to me. We immediately began talking and didn’t stop until we got to Phoenix a little over an hour later. He was a young doctor who’d just left his job with a giant HMO, and he told me all about it. I’d just had a cat drama that had derailed a mini lecturing tour of the southwest, and I spared him no details. As we disembarked, we said a happy farewell, and our work together was concluded.
Venus and Jupiter meet in a trine aspect this week (Dec. 19, 2024, 6:11 pm PST, at 14º37’ Aquarius and Gemini), on the Sabian symbols 15 Aquarius, Two lovebirds sitting on a fence and 15 Gemini: Two Dutch children talking. The young doctor and I weren’t lovebirds, but we were two happy little birds sitting side by side, speaking each other’s language animatedly at 30,000 feet before jumping off to different trees. Years later, I remember that fun, easy, and fascinating conversation fondly – though I’m sure if we met again, I wouldn’t be able to pick this person out of a lineup.
Venus and Jupiter are the planets that are thought to represent the best, most enjoyable and prosperous good fortune; and when they come together, especially in a flowing, rewarding trine aspect, their best qualities are amplified. Just mix a happy, breezy, friendly Aquarian interaction with the amount of Gemini garrulousness, and you’ve got yourself a refreshing, Venus/Jupiter cocktail.
Nowhere to Go But Up
At the winter solstice here in the Northern Hemisphere, the Sun enters Capricorn (Dec. 21, 2024, 1:20 am PST) and reaches its lowest point in the midday sky. Energy and spirits can be low. We’re headed for the finish line, and as we look back over the calendar year, we may be tempted to chastise ourselves for what we haven’t accomplished.
At the Capricorn solstice, there’s no place to go but up. Over the coming months, the Sun will begin its gradual ascent, eventually reaching its highest point at the summer solstice.
Fittingly, we make resolutions at this time of year. To what heights might we climb in the year ahead? Meanwhile, it’s dark and cold, and we light fires and candles and plug in sparkling lights to remind us that it won’t be this dark forever.
I think many of us are feeling the need for some light at this Solstice. At the darkest times, it’s really nice to be reminded that everything is part of a cycle, and that the light inevitably finds its way back.
Trusted Advisor
The Last Quarter Moon issues a progress report on what we set out to accomplish at the New Moon. The Capricorn New Moon is a classic “New Year” New Moon: what do we want to accomplish in the new calendar year? We might consider New Year an artificial construct with no real astrological resonance, but it has plenty of real-world resonance, and Capricorn is nothing if not connected with the real world of calendars and timelines.
Capricorn is also bit of a lone wolf. When we think of New Year’s resolutions, they generally take the form of what we want and can do on our own. But the Last Quarter Moon is a moment to evaluate how well that approach is working for us. This week’s Last Quarter Moon (Dec 22, 2024, 2:18 pm PST, 1º34’ Libra/Capricorn) falls in Libra, the sign of collaboration. The Sun in Capricorn is in a sharp opposition to Mars just now, even more determined than usual to do things in its own way. But even the most powerful Capricorn executive can benefit enormously from conferring with a trusted advisor, even if they don’t necessarily enjoy the process.
Writing and images © 2017-24 by April Elliott Kent