Weekend Astro Forecast 12.21.24: Dark Night of the Soul
The longest night of the year looms with an ominous warning; our future is in jeopardy if we do not examine our past.
What is happening?!
I’m not even sure the above headline is wholly accurate, anymore, but I thought if I changed it to, “What ISN’T Happening?!”, then I’d have to do all the astrology that wasn’t currently in the sky and that would be extremely tedious, because there are easily a thousand variations of aspects and transits that are not happening at any given time, and that sounds like something only psychopaths would read.
The sun has disappeared almost entirely for us in the northernmost parallel of the United States; we affectionately term this season ‘The Big Dark’ in Seattle, because melanin will not be generated by anyone here until May 30th. (Prepare thy sunscreen, fellow albino cave creatures, for thou willst easily burn.) The outdoors are not dark, so much, as they are an oppressive, raincloud grey that paints our region from the chalky sky to the water from 8am until 3pm, after which we get charcoal grey. Seattle is what weather looks like dressed as a Victorian ghost.
This dour clime is fitting for our upcoming winter solstice, given how many months we have all existed in a liminal space; that place neither black nor white, hot nor cold, but saturated instead with a hodgepodge of morally ambiguous grey. We may be a polarized world, but our polarization has produced more questions than answers, more obfuscation than clarity. No one believes our institutions are telling the whole story, no one has all the facts, and we aren’t even sure we can trust family, friends, and neighbors. We all feel something bad coming, but the thrust of that badness is different depending on who is asked; the economy could tank or accelerate, governance is trending toward either fascism or anarchy, the globe is being overrun by either godless heathens or theocratic goons. The only consistency that 98% of Earth’s citizens have enjoyed for the past few years has been ever mutating chaos, so it’s understandable that we greet any development with a collectively underwhelmed, “Meh.” We have been beaten into fatigued apathy. A collective, now, of Victorian ghosts.
The longest night gives us a chance to sit with our own darkness and reflect on how we arrived here. We are muddling through tumultuous times, but the solstice approaches to remind us that for pink, hairless humankind, surviving on this planet has always been a struggle. If we aren’t starving, freezing to death, or getting eaten by critters, then we’re blowing each other away with bullets and bombs. The sun slinks into Capricorn on December 21st and marks what people in AA call ‘hitting bottom’, an existential moment of uncertainty that our ancestors ritualized in order to build hope. Capricorn ascends from the depths like a goat, eyeing the fraught climb to daylight with grit and determination. It probably wasn’t pleasant, but if ancient humans could make it to the next morning, fires blazing and beasts roasting, it meant that the sun was unconquered and the days would begin to lengthen again. Then, if the rations held out, they might make it to the next week. Then, to the next month, and the next, and the next. Until spring.
Why would this affect me?
There is, unfortunately, a smorgasbord of recent events on Earth and reflected in the sky that are shaping everyone’s lives. Governments are melting down all over the globe, and here in the U.S., massive waves of gun violence and the emergence of an unlikely folk hero have galvanized a long-simmering class war. Mars is retrograde in Leo, which means his malefic influence can be felt in the sun and any aspects Apollo has formed, which often involves authority figures. The red planet is taking a heavy toll on anyone with a loud natal Mars as well as people with personal planets in Aries or Scorpio - particularly the risings. Although it’s still a very influential retrograde, Ares became more of a backing beat to Plutonian chaos this week when citizens of the world began screaming back at institutions that are betraying them. Pluto clearly barreled into Aquarius on a mission to give us some bitter medicine; straight with no chaser. The Water Bearer is a humanitarian that hates people, like that grumpy doctor who was on television in the aughts; the one with the cane who growled at patients. Aquarius is like that guy. Any planet that transits Aquarius will influence the big picture over the small one, which can lead to a harsh experience at the individual level. Pluto represents destruction beyond our control, and we already see Aquarius influencing him as institutions crumple and mass protests roil the planet. Localized uprisings are just a fraction of a more universal conflict, but they may provide hints as to the quantity of existential NyQuil we’ll be forced to swallow over the next two decades.
We’ve marinated on the light and dark sides of both our premier dwarf planet and the most aloof sign of the zodiac previously, which the recent capture and indictment of Luigi Mangione has illustrated in an unexpected way. Aquarius is infamous for placing the needs of the many over the needs of the few (or one, for my Trekkies out there), and Pluto is a planet of obsession, vengeance, and deconstruction, all of which undoubtedly filled Mangione’s mind when he etched ammunition he would later unload into Brian Thompson with the words “Deny, Defend, Depose”. The public reaction to this incident was peak Aquarius, in that we surpassed aloofness and waded into amused cynicism when hundreds of thousands of people scoffed at the idea of mourning one man who was culpable in the deaths of so many of our loved ones. Our ruling class has been sputtering and pearl clutching ever since the shooting on December fourth, which happened to coincide with a square between the sun (authority) and Saturn (rejection), and it has moved the needle with us common folk not one iota. Powerful dissent appears to be brewing under the surface of our obedient, consumerist facade, and the ridiculousness of ‘the haves’ arguments for the opposite reaction has only turbocharged North American’s emerging class consciousness.
Socio-political upheaval is occurring trans globally, in fact; South Korean citizens recently took to the streets in record numbers to stop their leader from imposing martial law, the Georgian government turned firehoses on their citizens for protesting a rigged election, and the German government imploded on Monday with a no confidence vote for their chancellor. (In my humble opinion, you get what you asked for with a man who goes by “Olaf”.) It seems that Pluto was privy to all the chaos that Uranus unleashed on us this summer and decided he would not be outdone by a crotchety, technological sky god. Hold my beer and pass me the NyQuil, said Pluto, because I’m about to Fuck. Shit. Up.
Things are not all bad in a personal sense, however. Mercury is moving ahead of us again, so our computers and communication devices should stop shitting the bed by Christmas, and there is a lovely little trine between Venus and Jupiter perfecting that will color our weekend with expansive sociability and hobnobbing. We can’t control a corrupt macro environment built by obscenely rich criminals, but we do have agency in our microcosms of family, friends, and work, which is where any lasting change needs to begin. So let’s use the upcoming aspects, even the hard ones, to gain insight into our present; to recall the archetypal lessons that Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and many other Greek busybodies left with us in order to understand this moment in time, because, while it may feel unprecedented and unique, remember that we are repeating well-worn patterns from previous millennia. Nothing is new, especially not the dark.
When do I have to deal with this?
This weekend takes it nice and easy under the canopy of Venus and Jupiter while they make googly eyes at each other, so enjoy it, goddammit, as well as the improved clarity in general communication. If nothing else, this is a weekend we will absolutely kill at high-minded, talky boardgames like Trivial Pursuit.
FRI 12.19 - SUN 12.22 - Venus Forms an Air Trine with Jupiter
Venus in Aquarius: That Girlfriend Who Thinks Making People Sit Quietly While She Grades AP Physics Homework is a Love Language
Jupiter in Gemini: Gregarious Extrovert Who Hosts Both a Daytime and Late Night Talk Show, Often Confuses his Material for Both
This is an air sign weekend, baby! Needless to say, it’s a good trine for conversation, speeches, and social gatherings. If you’ve got parties to attend, this aspect can ensure charming, stimulating interactions wherein people listen to us with rapt attention. We’ll all feel very smart and very impressive, as long as we don’t get too esoteric or galaxy-brained with the wrong audience, so tailor your weirdness accordingly. Don’t start opining on the nature of black holes at a kegger.
SAT 12.21 - The Sun Enters Capricorn and Yule Logs Burn
Sun in Capricorn: Rare, Humble Authority Figure who Works Eighty more Hours per Week than Literally Everyone Else in the Office, Wears a Rolex, and will One Day be Emperor of the Universe
The season of the Sea Goat is so perfectly timed for modern society, exemplifying the materialism of the holidays as well as the spartan discipline of their aftermath. Nothing is more Capricorn than working day and night to acquire various riches, then flagellating oneself with extreme austerity to atone for it. The solstice is the axis that spurs our post-holiday stringency, so it’s a useful time to plot world domination - or professional domination, at the very least. Go week by week and outline the steps for your version of success over the next twelve months, taking care to work realistically and incrementally toward long term goals, because Capricorn scoffs at quick wins.
A Tarot Snapshot…
Friday, 12.20, we are treated to some razor sharp clarity, courtesy of Queen of Swords. This is the first day in a while that we feel capable of cutting through any bullshit in our own lives, as well as collective fogginess and obfuscation. The cultural, social, and political terrain is coming into focus and we can see what obstacles we’ll be dealing with until approximately spring, when eclipse season throws everything into disarray. Bloodstone is a healer and grounder, and we can use it to lick any wounds inflicted upon us throughout this past fall. It’s useful in combination with the analytical nature of the swords suit, because as intelligent as she is, the Queen of Swords can ignore practical solutions in favor of far-out mentalism.
Saturday, 11.21 is the loveliest day this weekend, thanks to Venus and her companion major arcana, The Empress, who indicates a surge in creativity, ebullience, and compassion. Naturally social and harmonizing, this card is a good omen for romantic endeavors, parties, femme issues, and the completion of art projects. A companion pull of granite further strengthens Saturday’s Venusian good luck when it comes to finances and relationships while adding a healthy dose of grounding and practicality.
The Ten of Coins reversed suggests inter-family strife regarding finances and legacy, as well as friction within institutions or fields that deal with money, security, and succession. On Sunday, 12.22, this card could point toward family squabbles about gifts and inheritance, given the quantity of people traveling and meeting with extended family. Amazonite can help gently rationalize difficult conversations with its airy logic, and you might want to carry this sucker in your pocket if you anticipate dealing with heightened emotions and personal grudges next week. It’s good for anyone living through the close of 2024, essentially.
I always love your writing, thanks so much!