This week’s forecast is late because I’ve been busy, but I still wanted to share some thoughts, since this is a momentous time of shifting energies!

The theme for this week is MUTATION OF PLEASURE. We’re in the last week of mutable Sagittarius season.

Jupiter cannonballs into Aries for good, leaving behind its home sign of Pisces (not to return for another 11 years). The very next day, the Sun shifts into winter mode with the Capricorn Ingress of December 21 The Summer Solstice in the Southern Hemisphere is the longest day of the year, a celebration of the peak of sunlight’s increase and a pivot toward the decreasing of the light in preparation of the autumn harvest. The Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere is the shortest day of the year, a celebration of the end of sunlight’s decrease and a pivot toward the increasing of the light in preparation of a new spring.

Here’s a little solstice ritual you can try:

Solstice Gratitude Rituals:
FEAST! CRY! BE MERRY! REST! INDULGE!
Make a Gratitude List
1. Write down 3, 5, 10 (or however many you like) endings, peaks, or culminations from the past 6-12 months that you are grateful for
2. Write down an equal number of beginnings, potentials, or hopes you are grateful for

Weekly Forecast: Immediately upon ingress, the Sun squares Jupiter. Projects that may have felt stagnant could be revitalized, and the desire to jump the gun may be prominent. It’s a great time to celebrate, but don’t feel the need to accomplish all your plans at once–Mercury is about to station retrograde on December 29th, and things will need to be reworked.

Right as Jupiter enters Aries, Venus comes out of the underworld, no longer hidden by the beams of the sun, and enters her phase as evening star, bringing us into a closer relationship with our own bodies and desires. Venus in her nightly guise is associated with Taurus, the verdant, lush, sensory pleasures of the earthly realm. This association is immediately punctuated by an enlivening trine to Uranus in Taurus, which may bring the opportunity for revelry.

Venus in Capricorn speaks to the ability to trust in one’s self to party when it is, in fact, the appropriate time to party. If we tend to be restrained or fear our own desires, this might be the shock that nudges us into letting down our hair just a little bit–evening star Venus beckons us to explore the siren song of our own desire, telling us that it is not sinful or excessive to crave pleasure. It is, in fact, life-affirming and deeply meaningful to do that which gives the body joy.

Realizations about pleasure this week can be meditated upon in preparation for New Year’s Eve, when Venus will flirt with the underworld for another brief moment as she conjoins Pluto in Capricorn. Deeper long term shifts in the way we navigate pleasure and power can be expected–this could manifest in a myriad of ways. One person may focus on setting firmer boundaries about the distribution of household chores, while another dedicates themselves to taking a period of personal celibacy, and yet another comes to a decision to start exploring BDSM dynamics in their sexual life.

Notable Transits of the week:
(Fri 12/16) Last Quarter Moon in Libra
(Sat 12/17) Mercury trine Uranus
(Sun 12/18) Moon into Scorpio
(Mon 12/19)
(Tue 12/20) Jupiter enters Aries, now answers to Mars rx in Gemini
Venus reappears as Evening Star
Moon into Sagittarius, answers to freshly ingressed Jupiter in Aries
(Wed 12/21) December Solstice
Sun into Capricorn
Sun square Jupiter
(Thu 12/22) Venus trine Uranus
Moon into Capricorn

Coming future:
(Fri 12/23) New Moon in Capricorn kicks off Capricorn season
(Thu 12/29) Mercury turns Retrograde in Capricorn
(Sat 12/31) Venus conjunct Pluto in Capricorn