The Wheel of Time turns again.

We begin to feel the ‘return of the Sun’ in the Northern Hemisphere on December 21, 2021, @ 9:59 AM CST. Then, the world at large pauses to usher in the ‘new year’ on December 31, 2021. AND…everyone is ready for a truly NEW YEAR after the challenges that we have faced as a collective over the past 2 years.

Whether we are the ‘compliant’ or the ‘contrarian’, all of us have had to adjust to the so-called ‘NEW NORMAL’ as the globe has battled against the information, disinformation & misinformation surrounding the so-called pandemic. Whether you agree that extreme measures are necessary or you question this, you have had to find a way to live with what the global governments & regulating authorities have done to counteract the threat of universal disease (not particularly effectively, actually). But a new day is dawning. The Wheel turns. Let’s move on, shall we?

The first thing to note is that only two of the major planets are retrograde at the moment of ingress; Venus retrograde @ 27* Capricorn & Uranus retrograde (but moving extremely slowly) @ 12* Taurus. The energetic engine is in gear! We should be able to feel a sense of impetus rising up from deep within us. Most of us are absolutely ready to get moving, to initiate the kinds of alterations that will facilitate forward movement in all areas of our lives.

Venus RX is conjunct Pluto & very closely opposed to the Winter Solstice Moon @ 28* Cancer. The TRANSFORMATION (Pluto) of everything that we thought we understood & valued, loved, idealized & CHERISHED (Venus) is something that NEEDS (Moon) to be done, and, from the very core of our selves. We all must dig down into our deepest feelings and ascertain what is truly of importance in our lives (active opposition between the Moon & Venus/Pluto). Venus Retrograde in Capricorn demands that we examine the STRUCTURES that support our reality with a dispassionate eye. Do not allow your emotions to muddy up the waters of your life. Use them proactively & do not be victim to unnecessary fears & anxieties. The retrograde also enables us to TAKE OUR TIME as we attempt to unravel what is true, what is not; what is needed, what should be discarded; what is usable, what is obviously not usable. As Venus retrogrades, we have the opportunity to visit & re-visit all of the above before actually taking action.

The Ruler of the Winter Solstice chart at the CST zone is a powerful, direct-moving Saturn in Aquarius @ 11*. This is one of the signs where Saturn finds his comfort, (the other is Capricorn). His strength is reinforced by the modern-day ruler, Uranus, in the earthy energy of Taurus. This set of relationships underlines the potential for the restructuring of both your own personal reality & that of the collective reality once critical mass is reached by the collective consciousness.

(Just an aside on this peculiar element: Our collective reality has been through the pressure cooker. Some of us have been acutely aware of the stresses to the social order & have resisted the changes that have been implemented while others of us have more easily accepted these same changes, complied & even agreed that they were necessary. But, as more clarity is brought to the ongoing social situation, ALL of us will have to make necessary adjustments in how we understand what is going on socially. A specific example of this is in the area of IMMUNITY TO THE VIRUS. All reference to NATURAL IMMUNITY has been either removed from official sources or minimized almost to non-mention. However, when one gets an antibody test, that test CANNOT determine if the antibodies present are from the Vaccine or from Naturally Acquired Immunity because of exposure to or illness due to the Virus. All of us will have to come to terms with this HARD FACT; that IMMUNITY is IMMUNITY, no matter where one gets it. Then, we will all have to explore the reasons WHY the authorities have minimized naturally obtained immunity & maximized vaccine acquired immunity. This is called CRITICAL THINKING; working our way through a thorny topic even when it is uncomfortable to do so. The conclusion that any one of us finally comes to is ours & ours alone, as long as we follow the breadcrumbs to the end of the path. Do not just accept blindly what someone tells you without at least attempting to verify that it is indeed, based on provable data. If the conclusion that you arrive at is different than what you had originally thought to be true, be willing to make adjustments, to scrutinize yourself & to admit that your viewpoint has changed. It is a person of integrity & fortitude who is able to do this.)

We had a collective FULL MOON just a few days prior to Winter Solstice & so we are still ‘in the light’, so to speak. The Winter Solstice Sun/Moon phasal relationship is within the arc of Full Phase at the tri-septile point, 208*, (Sun @ 0* Capricorn/ Moon @ 28* Cancer). Realization (Full Phase) contributes to Responsive Action (Full Phase/Tri-Septile). There is a growing clarity around any given situation & from that clarity come strategies to address whatever needs to be addressed. Remember, when the Moon is Full, there is potential for the ‘AHA’ moment; a sudden illumination of circumstances that frees one up to ACT accordingly. Again, if we have been resisting reality, this moment of full perception can be uncomfortable & even devastating to us. The key is to stay open to ANYTHING & not bet on only ONE HORSE. If we are flexible & adaptable, then we can integrate even the most contrary realizations into our psyche. Do not get stuck on only one interpretation. The scientific model demands that you continue to QUESTION everything.

MARS, @ 5* Sagittarius is conjunct the South Node, ruled by a lovely Jupiter in Aquarius. Check in with your spiritual direction. Are you still living your truth? Are you still pursuing the highest of ideals? Dig in to the FAITH OF YOUR FATHERS (ancestral wisdom), & fortify yourself with the wisdom that you have earned. If all of your intuition is telling you something, and if that something is not in sync with the advice of your contemporaries, take the time to TEST YOURSELF OUT. Just because you are one while the rest are many does not mean that their truth is YOUR truth. Find your own truth & be stubborn about it. You will feel better in the end if you do.

Yet another critical relationship in this mandala is the one between Saturn & Uranus, made even more so since Saturn rules the chart & is ruled itself by Uranus. The energy-filled contact between these two archetypes has been forming & re-forming for most of this past year. Authority in all of its various manifestations has been facing down Freedom in all of its various manifestations. Personal liberty juxtaposed against authoritarian control. This confrontation climaxes at this significant shift time. What is the point of all this control? What is the end game? What have we been fighting for? How do we express ourselves & still ‘go along’? Do we want to go along? Is it time for a complete sea-change in the way that we live our lives? Expect to get some insights around all of the above as the NEW YEAR begins its turn.

The energy around this Winter Solstice is potentially powerfully transformative. There is a sense of excitement, a feeling of impatience to get moving. We want change. We want clarity. We want to remove the restrictions that have been placed upon us & shake off the lingering heaviness that has permeated our psyches. We want to be alive while we are alive. This new year promises us that maybe, just maybe, the resurrection of the dead will start to occur!

as the wheel turns

we look to the SUN

as he gathers his strength

in the winter sky

we breathe in his vibrant force of life

into the depths of our souls

we are made mighty

we are made strong

we are warriors of the light

we will never cease

to fight the fine fight

 only victory will be our end…