December 1-18— Put the Buddha in charge.

full Moon, December 2008

Trouble. Folks, it’s a mess up there. From December 4-16, Mercury, Mars and the Sun will run through a hot spot, setting off the volatile energy of the Saturn-Uranus opposition. The planets appear at 90 degree angles, challenge. This is extraordinary energy— powerful (you can move mountains), but also extremely volatile and very dangerous. These are classic accident aspects, one on top of the other. So be cautious. I’m not making doom and gloom predictions. Just explaining the power of it. Be extra careful behind the wheel. Lock up your guns. Don’t leave nails on the floor or give your teenager the car keys. Use extreme care with food, drink, and medicine if you’re sensitive, and be careful on the road. Especially around the time of the full Moon, December 12. It’s a doozy.

My first astrology teacher, Lance Ferguson (of skywatchastrology.com), taught me something valuable when I was going through a classic accident transit, Uranus square natal Mars. He told me to hang something from my rear-view mirror, just a little something dangling in my line of vision at all times, reminding me to be fully aware and careful on the road. I chose a plastic Buddha. “Put the Buddha in charge,” he told me. And it became my driving mantra. No more road rage.

Here are some phrases from Combination of Stellar Influences that describes the kinds of things we might see:

  • violence
  • forced release of tensions or strains
  • severe test of strength
  • resistance, rebellion, inflexibility
  • great demands upon one’s nervous energy
  • necessary changes
  • ability to organize resistance and separate oneself from others

Good Sagittarius

These three transiting bugaboos are in Sagittarius. Sophia Mason says, “the restless emotions the Pisces sign are so strong and overly sensitive that the often distort the good common sense and judgment of the Sagittarius sign.”1 So keep things in perspective. Take the long-term view and take care of your physical body, especially if you have planets in mutable signs— Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces. Are you eating right? Are you getting enough exercise? You can’t hold back Mars energy, but you can direct it.

Things are especially intense around December 10-15, as angry Mars crosses the apex of the T-square. This is all going on in mutable signs— the most adaptable, and the most neurotic. Sagittarius under stress exaggerates and blows things out of proportion. Stay centered; don’t let the bugaboos knock you off your foundation.

Another stress Marker, Saturn inconjunct Neptune, underpins this whole mess. Saturn builds walls and boundaries. Neptune dissolves and transcends them. Our foundations are shifting, and the specifications are constantly changing. It’s like trying to nail jello to the wall. Aquarius is a freedom-loving sign that does not like to conform to standards or to be bogged down with the tedious routines of Saturn in Virgo, no matter how necessary they are. This can create irritating conditions in the workplace, with co-workers, bosses, or employees. Job related stress can bring on nervous conditions, hormonal imbalance, or stomach upsets. So be flexible and let it go, this too shall pass. Put the Buddha in charge.

Stephen Arroyo writes that Saturn and Neptune are symbolic of “interaction between the world and the otherworldly [that] can result in confusion and a lack of organization or in a practical grasp of subtle realities.”

Meditating through the mess

What if I told you that while there’s a brouhaha going on in the kitchen, there’s a cool little party happening on the back porch. Hopefully you’d come out onto the back porch with me. The back porch is the sextile to Neptune from Mercury, then the Sun, then Mars. December 6, morning of the 13th, and the evening of the 15th.

Neptune is the Spirit planet, the part of us that can pull back from what we call reality and remember the bigger and truer reality— that we came from dust, we’ll go back to dust, and nothing on this earth is permanent except for the divine spark that animates us. Neptune is what happens when you meditate, create, imagine, or simply invoke a higher level of consciousness. Neptune is meditative. It’s the part of you that can pull back from the chaos, take a few minutes to set it all aside, take some deep breaths, and put it all in perspective. And Neptune is in Aquarius, sign of the detached observer. Even though you will probably have to spend some time in the kitchen taking the heat, I think you will also have opportunities to let go of the frustrating part and enjoy a cup of tea on the back porch.

The main interplanetary stress is finshed on the 15th, and the 16-17th are looking more open and mellow. Sparks will fly one last time as the Moon sets off the separating, but still tightly orbed, T-square one last time on December 18.

December 19 – 31

Relatively smooth sailing after the choppy waters we just went through. Your Winter Solstice celebrations will be powerful as this year’s Solar ingress into Capricorn (a fancy astrological term for the Solstice) engages with powerful, intense Pluto. It’s a great day to spend some time Between the Worlds. Your prayers, meditations, intentions, and rituals invoke powerful healing forces. 2009 and 2010 are going to be very interesting years— without a doubt, our world is changing in significant ways.

This year’s Holiday spirit is a blend of the traditional with the unconventional. Mercury, now in serious Capricorn, engages once again with the Saturn-Uranus opposition. This time it isn’t a disruptive “quack,” but an easygoing “kiss”— a trine to Saturn and sextile to Uranus. Kisses signal opportunity and agreement around you. Talk out your differences now. It’s much easier to find common ground, establish good rapport, and start a new holiday tradition.

A new Moon on the 27th gives us a breath of fresh air and clears the deck for new projects and ideas to come to the fore.

December 27 – 28, Mars enters Capricorn and conjoins Pluto. Mars is happy in Capricorn and can channel vast reserves of energy toward goals. But the powerful energy of Pluto brings deeply buried ideas and emotions to the surface. The intensity and power can be hard to handle. Use a soft touch. Earth signs— Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn (especially you, Virgo)— pay attention. The tide has just turned in a subtle but extremely powerful way, as Pluto entered Capricorn late in November. As Mars carries this Plutonian energy through Capricorn, “translating the light” to planets in your chart, I think you may get a whiff of what’s to come, a scent of change in the air.

2009 is going to feel different almost immediately, as Jupiter moves from Capricorn 2007, into Aquarius. Jupiter is the growth vibe. Since the end of 2007, he has been held back by Capricorn, where things (like the stock market) become smaller and contracted. Jupiter will move out from under Capricorn’s thumb in January. And into Aquarius, sign of experimentation, innovation, technology. Jupiter in Aquarius favors technology and teamwork in 2009.

New Year’s Eve looks good for your holiday plans. And it’s an excellent day to make resolutions. Check in with your higher self, and create a vision for the years to come. Write down your goals for 2009. And get ready for a new day.

Mark your calendar!

2010 Astrology Calendar
The best days for your top priority plans are December 3, 8, 16, 24-26, 30-31.

Take it easy on December 4-5, 9-15, 18, 27-28.

Molly’s 2009 calendar is available. Get your best and “take it easy” days for the whole year.

1 Sophia Mason, Aspects Between Signs.