We have magnificent astrological events to look forward to for the rest of December: a New Moon solar eclipse in the sign of Sagittarius on December 14, followed a week later by a Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn at 0 degrees of Aquarius on the day of the December Solstice, December 21. By Christmas day, Jupiter and Saturn will appear to be fused as a single bright star in the sky.
The December 14 Solar Eclipse will be visible in South America. A solar eclipse occurs when the union of the Sun and Moon is also close, by degree, to one of the Moon’s nodes, the points where the Moon’s path crosses the Earth’s path around the Sun. This is a super-charged New Moon because its proximity to the lunar nodes gives a feeling of destiny. What is leaving and what is being born, at this time?
We have glimpses of what is ending in our collective realms. What is ending and beginning for you personally? Look to where 23 degrees of Sagittarius falls in your chart. The house this New Moon falls in will tell you what areas of life will be most highlighted.
This lunation will also be just four degrees from the Galactic Center, which is currently at 27 degrees of Sagittarius. The Galactic Center is the hub of our Milky Way galaxy, the point around which our Sun revolves, an unfathomably vast space that is likened to a cosmic womb, full of the power of Creation. Tune in to what that means for you personally based on the house where about 23-27 degrees of Sagittarius lie and the planets that are close by.
Sagittarius is future-oriented. Its glyph or symbol is an arrow pointing onward and upward. It is optimistic, enthusiastic. It is the great Quest for meaning. It is the whole forest, not just the trees. Sagittarius asks: What is true? What is just? Where do we find freedom? Only if we’re asking these questions do we have any hope of receiving answers!
A solar eclipse may correlate with unstable events. It may feel jarring at the time to sensitive people, but its effects on us are less immediate than long term, as in about six months. Thus, the energy of the December 14 eclipse will be still very vibrant a week later on December 21 when we will have the Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn at 0 degrees 29 minutes of the sign of Aquarius.
Jupiter and Saturn have been together in Capricorn all this past year, along with very slow-moving Pluto in Capricorn, forming a cluster of heavy earth energy that has been oppressive, correlating with the worst pandemic in a century.
Prior to the discovery of planets by telescope in modern centuries, Jupiter and Saturn were known as the farthest out planets. They are called the “social planets,” as their conjunction every 20 years signals a new era for society. Before our human life spans were as long as they are now, 20 years was considered a generation. Jupiter, which moves into a new sign about every year, and Saturn, which changes signs about every three years, come together by degree every 20 years. They do this in signs of the same element for about 200 years, making a quick dip into a new element toward the end of each 200-year period. In 1980 this conjunction occurred in airy Libra, but for the rest of the past 200 years, Jupiter and Saturn have come together in earth signs, a stretch of time when much of humanity has been focused, for better and worse, on earthly pursuits, including the accelerated extraction of natural resources and unequal accumulation of wealth.
Now comes what is called by astrologers a “Great Mutation,” or change, when the element of the Jupiter-Saturn meeting shifts to Air, at the very beginning of the sign of Aquarius, and on December 21, a day when the Sun will stand still.
Jupiter represents expansion, inspiration, idealism. Saturn is the effort needed to manifest something real. Together, in our charts and for all of humanity, their coming together is a pivot point.
Aquarius is a breath of fresh air, literally at a time when so many cannot breathe. Like Sagittarius, Aquarius is future oriented. At its best, the Aquarian archetype is about equality, freedom, inventiveness, innovation. Not innovation so much for material profit as for the expansion of science and knowledge, for the sake of all, not just for the few. On the downside, Aquarius is fixed air: it can be rigid, dogmatic, detached. With any sign or planetary force, we have some amount of individual and collective choice as to which dimensions to cultivate.
The last time that Jupiter and Saturn conjoined in Aquarius was in 1405. This was the beginning of the Renaissance, coming after a great plague. It was a time of cultural, political and economic rebirth, including the revolutionary advent of the printing press. We can only imagine what the onset of the next 200 years’ worth of Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions in air signs will bring to us, by way of science, art, and—may it be so—the defense of and expansion of democratic freedoms.
Following the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in Aquarius on December 21, the year 2021 will bring us three passes of a hard square aspect between Saturn and Uranus, spelling unknown forms of friction and societal conflict for the coming year, with more endings and beginnings—not easy.
But for now, take some time on December 14 to welcome the optimism of the Sagittarius New Moon and on the 21—when the Sun will briefly stand still—to ponder the possibilities of a new era on its way.
Solstice blessings, Sara
P.S. I’m always available for consultations about your natal chart and current and upcoming transits.
Sara R. Diamond, an astrologer based in the San Francisco Bay Area, is a life-long student and practitioner in several esoteric paths. Her style of astrology combines modern-psychological astrology with insights from traditional astrology. Sara is also an estate planning attorney. In addition, she has published four books on right-wing movements in the United States and earned her Ph.D. in Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley. You are invited to contact Sara via her website at www.SaraDiamondAstrology.com.
Nice comments about the forthcoming changes