You were looking for a peaceful month? December is not it. It's a Scorpio-Sagittarius month, and that combination is dynamite. Scorpio gets to the guts of a situation, and Sagittarius does everything large-scale.

Powerful Pluto, now traveling through expansive Sagittarius, rules the month, and provides an intense atmosphere for a variety of new beginnings. Seven sign changes and at least nine conjunctions show the start of many new cycles.

In addition, a Solar Eclipse on December 13-14 catalyzes big changes in the near future and past, and in the coming year. This eclipse is at 23 Sagittarius and is our first eclipse in the Sag-Gemini polarity. It will help us begin to let go of outdated ideas, concepts, and beliefs, and is especially pertinent for all planets in Gemini and Sagittarius. It is in the U.S. first house of self, and will help the U.S. change its self-image, a process which began big-time on September 11.

The great Pluto-Saturn opposition continues strongly throughout December, supported continuously by the personal planets--Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, and Mars--which provide expression through various facets of our personal lives. We continue daily in our process of intense change.

Pluto, Lord of Evolution, dominates the entire month. Sun and Mercury conjoin Pluto (and oppose Saturn) during the first week. Here they get their transformation-making instructions for the next few months, showing how they will carry through the great Pluto-Saturn structural transformation in which we are all engaged. Many seeds for change are sown during this week. And the mid-month eclipse will thrust them into growth.

December ends with Mars squaring Pluto just before New Year's Eve to thrust us into the New Year with enormous strength and intensity.

As Pluto moves through Sagittarius, it moves into a new degree this month, opening up new areas and aspects of our long transformational process. 17 degrees of Sagittarius will now awaken to deep change.

Humanity's direction changes.

The Moon's nodes, which show the general direction towards which humanity is moving, have shifted from the Cancer-Capricorn polarity to Gemini-Sagittarius, where they will be for the next 17 months.

The North Node in Gemini shows trends towards communication, ideas, trade and exchange of all things, including goods, cultures, and languages. Gemini is an air sign, and anything which moves through the air is in the realm of Gemini. Socio-political changes which catalyze movement are grist for Gemini.

The South Node in Sagittarius refers to creating larger groupings with Gemini's random movements. Sag is where Gemini is patterned into cohesive concepts, such as great religious movements, political parties, business conglomerates, sports teams, and media outlets.

Gemini is the pieces of information, Sag is their patterning into usable wholes. These two signs work together in everything related to perception and communication--how we connect with one another. Now, with Pluto, problems in those connections are surfacing. And with Saturn, the demand is to get it together.

The Nodes are in critical degrees for the entire month of December, and the pressure is on. The North Node conjoins the longitudinal degree of the Pole Star, which is considered a guiding star by many cultures. It is the star around which the heavens revolve. The South Node conjoins the Galactic Center, a point of emanation of galactic messages.

This important nodal orientation says to make a special effort to listen to our intuition and subtle perceptions this month.

The Wounded Healer changes his modus operandi.

The most important planetary change in December is the shift of Chiron from Sagittarius to Capricorn on December 11. Chiron's action is to realign energies so that they become more inclusive. It is a healer, and to heal means to make whole. Chiron does this by throwing us into brand new circumstances so that we are forced to call on new parts of ourselves. Chiron orbits between Saturn and Uranus in the sky, and shows Saturn's grounding and Uranus' disruption and awakening.

In Sagittarius Chiron threw us into new realms of politics and religion. Expansion was its mode in Sagittarius. Now, in Capricorn, it's time to tighten things up, to figure out the chain of command and how best to apply it. Sagittarius takes us into new realms, Capricorn asks us to make what we have solid and lasting. Sag chases dreams, Capricorn works constructively with the reality of here and now.

The Sag-Gemini search is for connection, but now it will be in a more cautious, conservative, purposeful manner. Also, the realms of Chiron's disruptive action will shift from Sagittarian fields to Capricornian fields such as business, economics, ruling hierarchies, and churches themselves (in contrast to religious beliefs). All organizational structures will make big shifts in the next two years.

Sun, Mercury and Venus also move into Capricorn this month, and strongly support Chiron's change of sign. Capricorn is a sign of Saturn, and thus Saturn in Gemini is emphasized now and in the coming Capricorn month of January. All of Capricorn's changing affairs will thus focus on communication.

In summary, communication is the drive, the direction, the purpose around which all revolves during December. Scorpio shows its transformation and power, Sagittarius its expansion and its evolving concepts, and Capricorn its organization. Under these strong influences, we make many new starts whose cycles will persist through the coming year.

Sagittarius and Capricorn are universal signs, and thus December activity applies to wide social issues.