After the dark arts of Scorpio season last month, we will all be welcoming the outlandish optimism of Sagittarius - half-horse, half-human, all party-animal - for the holidays. Also known as the Archer (its bow always taut), Sagittarius is an endlessly complex sign: fun, loud, opinionated, ribald, and fiery. But then also a seeker, with its arrow shooting heavenward toward noble causes.
On the 21st of December, we switch to conservative Capricorn. The big news for this season: Venus is going retrograde in the Goat, starting the 19th. Our thoughts on love, influenced by serious dad Capricorn, could start to get more grown-up for the next 40 days, as we head into the New Year.
To see what's in store for you and how the stars and planets will affect you in December, Astrologer Clarisse Monahan shares your horoscopes below.
SAGITTARIUS
Your nature loves to travel, quest, and sally forth, but until December 29, when your ruling planet, jovial Jupiter, finally leaves Aquarius and enters the warmer climes of Pisces, you may feel your life is in a bit of a holding pattern—or worse, like you’re stuck at the airport, anxiously waiting to board Flight 2022 into the New Year.
For example, you have a paradoxical New Moon in your sign on the 4th. New Moons are times to inaugurate projects, romances, plans, or schemes. But this one concludes an 18 month eclipse season—so it’s also somewhat like a Full Moon (a time of culminations). Moreover, it will be blocking out your Sun on the 4th—meaning that it’s a buzzkill transit. All this loggerheads lunar energy serves as a kind of emblem for your month: are you starting or stopping, coming or going, lightening or darkening situations? It could be hard to tell but this ambiguity will dissolve at month’s end with the passage of Jupiter into Pisces—a sign Jupiter and you both love. Jupiter has been displeased the past year in Aquarius, especially with dour Saturn co-present there. Now your ruling planet is gearing up for a year on the beach with the Fishes and you will benefit from this placement, too. Before Jupiter’s flight on the 29th, however, make sure all your travel documents are in order and your loose-ends tied up back in the House of 2021. It’s getting time to move onward, upward.
CAPRICORN
Venus (Love and Money) entered your sign on November 5 and goes retrograde on the 19th for 40 days. While tending to flit and dazzle in other Houses, Venus in Capricorn takes on a much heavier feel. Indeed the Goat (Cardinal Earth) is ruled by serious Saturn, meaning that the ruling planet is freighting Venus with more weight around romance. Do not be surprised, therefore, if your Capricorn nature, so fond of contractual agreement, begins thinking about marriage during this 40 day Venus transit. Do not be surprised, likewise, if you begin thinking of past relationships and/or feeling the urge to rekindle them, especially beginning with the retrograde on the 19th. Venus retrograde in Capricorn could have you very much fixated on time and the passing of it (this is the influence of clock-watcher Saturn). You may look back on old relationships to move forward with new ones, intuiting the need to learn from what went wrong in them so as to avoid these mistakes in the future. You are, in the final analysis, eminently practical, even when it comes to romance.
AQUARIUS
As the year ends, you have a pile-up of planets in your 11th House of Networking, Social Causes, and Friendships. In essence, the 11th House, which the Waterbearer rules, is associated with humanitarian themes that transcend the private interests of the individual. The Sagittarius Sun (higher truths) and Mercury (communication) will both be camped in this House for much of the month. Energetic Mars joins on the 13th, so the cosmos is asking you to think and act big to close out the year. Accordingly an urge toward social justice and protest could be in the cards for you. Mercury (speech) and Mars (combat) suggest fighting words. Their placement in the 11th, with its emphasis on collectivities and social movements, may compel you to speak up and speak out about causes greater than ourselves (Sagittarius+Aquarius). Christmas Eve marks the final climax of an intense year of transits, as old Saturn, your ruling planet, squares Uranus (youth energy, unpredictability) for the final time in 2021 (there were two other big Saturn/Uranus squares in February and June). This Xmas Eve square between old and new—the Ghost of Christmas Past (Saturn) and the Ghost of Christmas Future (Uranus), so to speak—puts you at a crossroads moving into 2022. Do you stay on the main thoroughfare (Saturn) or strike out on a path less travelled (Uranus)?
PISCES
This is a big month of transits, bookended by your two ruling planets making major moves around your 1st House of Self, Ego, and Identity. As 2021 ends, expect to feel more like yourself in all your boundary-crossing, visionary glory. On the 1st of December, dream-weaver Neptune ends its sobering, five-month retrograde by going direct in your 1st House. Neptune direct can be lovely for creativity, but it could also bring delusions of grandeur or come across as too oceanic in your compassion for all things great and small. These augmented Pisces tendencies will be further amplified on December 29th, as Jupiter enters your sign for a year of beach-front partying and merrymaking. Jupiter loves this placement, especially after being in cold Aquarius for 2021. You also love Jupiter in your sign—you both revel in the prospect of unchecked expansion (which Jupiter had little of last year in Aquarius with Saturn, aka, Debbie Downer). The plus side of this important month of transits: feeling your best self (full of life and feelings). The negative side: feeling your best self (full of life and feelings). Indeed Jupiter and Neptune unchecked could quickly jump the track from liberty to license, from exuberance to excess, from fun birthday party to debauched afterparty. Still, all that said, this month marks a key transition into next year, when your sense of self will be awash in the world around you.
ARIES
Expect some wanderlust in the next few weeks. The Sun in ever-questing Sagittarius will be lighting up your 9th House of Travel, Journeys, Spirituality, and Knowledge until the 21st. Quick-moving Mercury, lord of the short trip, will be co-present in the 9th, too. And then Mars, always game to put pedal to the metal, will join the party on the 13th. That’s a lot of planetary influence infusing your already fiery nature, which loves to charge forward in its own right. The question: where do you want this yen for travel to take you, not just for the month of December but for the upcoming year? Do you want to go on a literal journey? Or should you be using these clear influences to map out new professional, spiritual, and/or emotional destinations for 2022?
Sagittarius season is of a dual nature and its influence is likewise dual: it can be the Archer shooting for the stars and higher truths or the lusty steed gallivanting for material pleasures. This wanderlust could, therefore, lead you to two different places—lower or higher, material or spiritual. The Sun shifts into Capricorn on the 21st, which will energise your 10th House of Career. Capricorn is all business, so you will be back in work attire, focusing on graphs by month’s end. Use the energy of Sagittarius season to see if this work journey is right for you.
TAURUS
Your ruling planet, Venus, is having quite the set of transits, so beware of some romance issues on the horizon, especially around the 11th, when your ruler goes conjunct macabre Pluto, lord of the underworld. Pluto conjunct Venus can turn love into lunacy. The movie “Fatal Attraction,” starring the wonderful Glenn Close bedecked in big 80s hair and boxy blazers, is probably the best cinematic corollary for this placement. As such, practice some restraint around romantic persons of interests around this time. The 19th begins a 40 day Venus retrograde in Capricorn. As a fellow earth sign, Capricorn grounds Venus and gives it weight. While this more “serious” Venus could indicate a time for you to start making romantic attachments permanent, it could also rekindle thoughts of the past and old flames. Retrogrades in general betoken times of reflection, but with Venus in Capricorn (ruled by the time-keeper, Saturn), prepare for possibly pronounced nostalgic longings—a return to the comfort of a familiar bed, say, or the security of loving arms. There is nothing inherently wrong with such nostalgia, just recall that you moved on at some point for a reason.
GEMINI
The month starts with a big line-up of planets in your 7th House of Relationships and Partnerships—Sun in Sagittarius (fire), Mercury (your ruler), and eventually Mars (more fire). These placements will lend you lots of gusto and passion for your special somebody, especially up until the end of the Archer’s season on the 21st. But these placements, especially with Mercury (communication), bellicose Mars and the fiery, somewhat reckless Sagittarius Sun, could also have you speaking with way too much heat to those close to you. Not watching what you say (Sagittarius + Mercury) especially to your nearest and dearest is something to be aware of for the season. On the 21st, the Sun shifts into Capricorn and your 8th House of Intimacy, Shared Finances, Sex, Death, Transformation. This shift also coincides with Venus going retrograde in Capricorn on the 19th. At this point, your month morphs from fiery, passion, fun (Sadge) to heavy earth (Cap). If speech may have been inflamed earlier in the month, it will feel much more serious under Capricorn’s influence. Due to the Venus retrograde, you may be talking with intimate partners about love in ways that feel more honest and weighty than usual. Venus retrograde may also have you thinking about exes and sex (8th House influence). The advice: look but don’t touch.
CANCER
Last month asked you to come out of your shell, as the Sun was lighting up your 5th House of Fun, but now Sagittarius season is emphasising your more humdrum 6th House of Routine until the 21st. The good thing about the Sagittarius Sun is that it tends to infuse all that it lights up with fascinating variety. Indeed, as a mutable fire sign, Sagittarius might be the most electric and dazzling of the Zodiac. But that could also be the bad news in relation to the Crab. You crave the joys of home and the routines that come with it. Like some overly fussy and maximal interior designer, Sagittarius could add pizzazz to your 6th House, where you might just want something plain and minimal, especially after the intensity of Scorpio season. On the 4th, your ruling planet, the Moon, fully eclipses the Sun, meaning that your emotional needs are demanding to be seen to such an extent that your ruling planet is obliterating the light of Sun, Self, Identity, and Ego to do so. Putting your emotional needs out on display can be nerve-wracking for your private nature. But the Moon is opening the door for you to walk through. What do you want? And who do you want it from? Or do you want to give? And, if so, to whom? The 4th is a powerful day to answer and act on these questions. The Full Moon on the 18th shines a light on your hidden realm, the area in your chart related to the Unconscious. This is a perfect day for selfcare or solo retreat. Also good for checking in on those New Moon intentions from earlier in the month.
LEO
Let the good times roll. The Sun in Sagittarius burns through your 5th House of Fun, Entertainment, and Creativity until December 21st. Reckless Mars will also be there mid month. That’s a ton of fire in the 5th (Leo, Sagittarius, Mars, Sun). Because astrology can always go two ways—toward light or shadow—the question becomes: are you going to play with fire and get burned up or burned out? Or are you going to light a fire instead and get some creative work done? The 5th House can lead one down the primrose path or up to the exalted heights of sublime creator. It would be better to take the second path during Sadge season, though the temptations will be clear and present to otherwise. Your fortunes shift on the 21st, when the Sun enters the much more conservative Capricorn, where it will light up the 6th House of Routine and Health. A very big volte face—from maximum fire, fun, and creative sparks to practical, earthy routine. Let’s put it this way: if you do choose to blow it out on the primrose path during Sagittarius season, you will have a lot of time to recover during the more staid days of Capricorn that will close out the year as we enter into 2022.
VIRGO
Quicksilver Mercury, your ruling planet, and the Sagittarius Sun are calling attention to your 4th House of Home and Security for most of the month. Both of these influences are characterised by mutability. Be open to the prospect of changing things up around the hearth. Have things gotten a bit soporific there? Does the art on the walls no longer elicit joy? Come to think of it: Is there anything on the walls at all? Or are they bare and forlorn—a wintry expanse of white tundra and thumbprint smudge? Does the couch seem sad? Does the paint need to be revived? Sagittarius is a loud sign. As such, its influence might be to go bold with a colour choice to make your home more fun and festive for the Holidays. Or maybe you’ve been wanting change, but roommates, boyfriends, or girlfriends have been dragging their feet? Mercury+Sagittarius will give you the kind of sweet talk necessary to turn their minds toward the Good. On the 21st, the Sun shifts into Capricorn and your 5th House of Fun. Capricorn is a conservative sign, but even the Goat likes to get down once a year. Let it be known: Capricorn enjoys its riches, so if you find yourself inviting people over for a sumptuous Xmas feast (coming with Mendocino black cod and Scarlet Queen turnips) that’s the Goat and its old money influence working in your 5th House of Fun.
LIBRA
The biggest transit for you this month occurs on the 19th, when your ruling planet, Venus (Love and Money), goes retrograde in Capricorn and highlights your 4th House of Home and Security. There’s a lot to unpack here. Venus retrogrades are times to reflect on and to reassess our relation to love and money. In your case, these considerations will centre around 4th House issues: hearth, home, father, lineage and kin. Earthy Capricorn will add extra weight and seriousness to your reflections. Is it time to move on from your current living situation? Or is it time to put more money and love into your home—to really commit and put your roots down somewhere? These are all tough questions arising from Capricorn’s no frills influence on the less weighty nature of your ruling planet, Venus. If 4th House issues have felt up in the air (which is characteristic of your Libra nature, always seeking to balance the impossible), they are likely to feel much heavier once the retrograde kicks in. But heavy doesn’t mean bad. It will help counterbalance the airiness of your sign and compel prudent decisions on the hearth.
SCORPIO
Keep an eye on your cash during Sagittarius season because reckless energy abounds in your 2nd House of Money until the 21st. Sagittarius is the sign most likely to blow stacks of paper (either in the club or at Bergdorf Goodman) and your ruling planet, rash Mars, which joins the 2nd House on the 13th, is no cheapskate when it comes to spending either. You’ve got an interval of one week (13th to 21st) to be particularly careful not to wake up at the Ritz draped in Gucci handbags and horsebit loafers. On the 11th, dark and twisted Pluto (your other ruling planet) goes conjunct Venus. This is a kind of “Fatal Attraction” transit, so try to keep some distance from your paramours around this time. On the 21st, the Sun shifts into conservative Capricorn and your 3rd House of Siblings, Communication, Neighbours. Along with the 6th, 9th, and 12th Houses, the 3rd House is known as “cadent,” meaning in decline, weak, or obscure. In other words: it’s somewhat boring. But boring isn’t all bad. Scorpio season into Sagittarius has been loaded with intense transits for the Big Sting, so welcome this cadent house with low-key Capricorn energy to close out the year.
Image: Luke Stackpoole on Unsplash
