Your Original Lunar Living Connection since 2001

2024 December Solstice
December 21, 2024 — March 20, 2025

As the Sun transitions from Sagittarius into Capricorn, that's the December Solstice. Winter in the northern hemisphere but Summer in the southern. The longest night in the northern, and the shortest night in the southern. The chart of the Solstice carries with us much longer than the chart of the new moon or full moon. The influence will hang in the air for several months.

During this solstice, the Moon in Virgo is opposing Saturn in Pisces, and they are forming a T-square to Jupiter retrograde in Gemini. This indicates that we are going to have some emotional challenges to contend with, that are likely to involve our health, work environment, our travel or siblings, and any connections we have with large organizations. Trying new approaches and strategies to get past these challenges will be in our best interest. The moon is also forming a square to Mercury in Sagittarius, but this is not a T-square at this point. Mercury just finished up a retrograde motion during the last full moon, so Mercury is retracing its retrograde steps for a few more days.

Mercury is trine to Mars retrograde in Leo. Mars began retrograde motion on December 6, and will last until February 24. Mars will be moving back into Cancer on January 6. Our energy and vitality may take a hit for a few months. But the overall message from Mercury and Mars during the next three months is to listen and learn. If we try to push through without taking time to understand, we are likely to regret the outcomes.

Venus in Aquarius is trine to Jupiter retrograde in Gemini. While we would normally consider this to be an easy connection, with Jupiter's retrograde, we will discover that there is going to be a twist. Finances and relationships may shift in unusual ways. Not necessarily in a negative way, but in ways that we need to adjust in order to keep them on track.

Mars is opposing Pluto in Aquarius. Our ego may take a large hit as we seek to gain control over something we think we should be able to master, or worse yet, were able to manage before, but now are learning that we really don't possess that ability now. Pluto and Mars are at odds during this solstice, meaning that the influence will stick with us for several months. There will be another Pluto and Mars opposition the end of April, that will give us another perspective on the challenges we experience.

The three generational amigos, Neptune, Uranus and Pluto are still connected by sextiles. Neptune and Uranus are “insign” sextile, while Neptune and Pluto are out of sign sextile. Planets that connect within specific signs carry more weight. So the sextile of Neptune in Pisces and Uranus retrograde in Taurus helps us to develop a sense of direction and vision, while the sextile between Neptune and Pluto in Aquarius feels less cohesive, still giving us insight, but usually not in ways that help us resolve anything.

The most productive feature of this solstice chart is the balance. Five planets each in the masculine and feminine receptive signs. Two planets each in Fire Element and Water Element signs, with three planets each in Air and Earth Element signs. Where we are off is our motivation. There is only one planet in the Cardinal Signs, meaning that we are more adept at holding our ground, or adjusting to the changes, but not very inspired to push forward when we may need to move past a situation.