Astrology for December 2009 / January 2010

by Jollean Schaffer

 

Sagittarius: November 22 – December 20

 

Do your personal best to meet people on equal footing from December 1st through 4th, no matter how insecure or anxious you feel. You’ll be glad of this on the 10th when you bask in the love and approval of the very same people who caused your anxiety. Dark, short days from the 16th to 22nd open magical doors to the crystal cave of your imagination. Tend the spark of a new idea or impulse at this Solstice time and it will grow into a creative fire to warm you throughout the winter, even as the year grows lighter and brighter. Misunderstanding your significant other is easy after the 26th if you don’t listen. So listen! The issue of where to live or who to live with arises after January 17th. Choose a neighbourhood you enjoy strolling through and/or someone you can talk to. The rest will be easy. Friends have got your back on the 22nd through 26th. Show them your appreciation on the 29th through 31st. What goes around will always come around.

 

Capricorn: December 21 – January 19

 

Get ready for the holidays with a little clean out between December 1st and 4th. This includes body, mind and/or closets. Meet the challenge of a seemingly impossible, great idea on the 7th. It just needs time. By January 15th things will be very different. From December 20th through 26th you are extremely touchy about the way people appreciate you. Value yourself and by the 28th through 31st, you will see the same situation from a radically different perspective. The New Year gets off to a better start after January 15th. Spend the first two weeks preparing. From the 17th to 20th, a subtle shift in planetary energies encourages you to turn toward the people and things that you love with a sense of appreciation, because life is short and bittersweet. From the 22nd through 31st this awareness makes you wise and helps you to adapt to a world in deep transformative angst. Be the leader you were meant to be.

   

Aquarius: January 20 – February 17

 

Celebrate your friends from December 1st through 4th. Without them, life would be a rougher go. The shortest days and the darkest nights of the year are from the 15th to 17th of December. Be still and seek the tiny, steady light of pure idealism. Call it faith or hope. Inspiration sustains your determination to remain centered when people behave strangely from the 20th. Nobody makes any sense for a while. So be it! Your aim is high and true on the 21st. This is not the time to lose heart even if you are surrounded by negativity. Be contemplative for the first two weeks of the year. You could do well financially after January 17th, as long as you don’t trust all to Lady Luck. We all know how fickle she is. Through your own efforts you will be rewarded. From the 22nd through 24th, you are sought after for your wisdom. A confrontation between the 27th and 31st goes your way if you do the Aquarian thing: Think outside the box, even as a loving heart guides your actions.

 

Pisces: February 18 – March 19

 

So much is required to make a life work. Details are endless. To some, this is exhausting to contemplate. For others it is a spiritual reality: Everything depends on everything else. There is no separation. Let this second perspective guide you through the next two months. On December 2nd you are expected to manage the 10,000 things that need doing. On the 7th your support team comes through if you don’t micro-manage. From the 10th through 20th, keep the candle flame aglow in your heart and/or your window to inspire others. Panic is never useful. Don’t backslide into old addictions over the holidays. Your mantra is, I want what’s good for me. Bring in the New Year as simply as possible. January is slow at the start. Don’t push the river of love on the 11th. Your life is noticeably blessed from the 17th for months to come. What will you do with your blessings? Be strategic from 22nd to 31st.

 

Aries: March 20 – April 19

 

If the full moon keeps you awake on December 2nd, write down the thoughts that stream through your mind. At worst, you will release a demon or two. At best, you might have a brilliant new idea. Someone who seems limiting on the 7th is trying to keep you safe. It’s a thankless, pointless task, but try to love them anyway. You are up for anything from the 10th to 18th. From the 19th through 31st, temper the intense extroversion of seasonal celebration with an inner appreciation for the seed of light that will become the New Year. January is slow to take off. Continue to nurture the tiny spark of possibility. From the 15th to 22nd let people know your intentions for 2010. Declare your love! Commit yourself to your life’s path! Resolve to be successful in the most authentic way you can imagine. From the 27th to 30th reconsider everything. On the 31st, listen to your partner’s fears, but don’t act on them.

 

Taurus: April 20 – May 20

 

What holds the world together for you? Who pulls the strings of your life? Is it the past or the future that calls you? Ponder these thoughts throughout December. From December 20th until mid-January, the need to understand the past collides with the realization that many of your beliefs are a reaction to your conditioning, not necessarily a well chosen path. Asking the right questions is most important because answers may change with the seasons, but the changeless nature of the questioner remains. Aspire to nothing less than truth on the 21st through 24th. Live life accordingly from the 25th to 29th. 2010 starts quietly. Do not push the river. After the 15th things shift and you are propelled forward. From the 22nd through 30th you ask all the right questions, and as long as you are willing to do the work your life is righteous and purposeful.

 

Gemini: May 21 – June 20

 

Take a long look at love, relationship and communication from December 1st through 8th. Who are you talking to when you try so hard to work things out – yourself or the other person? Are you still trying to get your parents to hear you? No shame if that’s the case. Get your journal out and write your heart out. Listen to yourself. Exciting new ideas or holiday travel ignites your heart and mind from the 10th through 22nd. It’s all good, but stay grounded in any case. Nothing lasts. Include your primary other in your plans. From the 26th on, you enter a kind of mini initiation. There is no way back, but you are not forward enough to be done with it. You must stay the course even if it seems costly on December 31st. After January 13th your direction becomes clear. Wait until the 18th before acting on this awareness. You are brilliant and dedicated from the 22nd through 27th. Believe in yourself, and on the 28th through 31st make decisions as if you are grounded and self-confident. Fake it till you make it, as they say!

 

Cancer: June 21 – July 21

 

Walk the relationship line from December 1st through 8th. It matters how you treat the one(s) you love. From the 10th to 18th, you are uncharacteristically drawn to spend money. The days are short, the nights are dark – anything to make it seem brighter. But be careful because the piper will want to get paid at the end of January. This is straightforward if I am speaking of finances, but if the coin is time or love it may be harder to work out. Your partner lets you know exactly what his/her expectations are around the 21st. Meet them or not, but at least understand them. S/he needs you to actively listen to who s/he is from December 26th through January 15th. Love flourishes if you do. Travel and/or higher learning are in your stars starting on the 17th of January for a few months. Take advantage of this. Balance your books – the financial ones as well as the books of the heart – from 27th to 31st.

 

Leo: July 22 – August 22

 

It’s a wild ride in your corner of the universe. New beginnings are promised – some more appealing than others. You are propelled forward. In this darkest time of the year, faith is what we cling to. Maybe you travel to sunny climes, but even so the metaphor remains: Where are you going? What is required? Which questions are the right ones to ask? From December 16th to 26th, shift happens. Consider your creative priorities. Is it romance, children, art or business that calls you? Don’t answer this in a rush. Give yourself until January 15th to consider many possibilities. At that time, you begin to understand the world and your place within it differently. Best to respond to the world you are given, than to rail against the world you think should be. Your partner – if you have one – your closest friends if you don’t, challenge you in the best way to be alive and present. Open your heart to them in the last days of January. Be humble in the face of what is required of you and everyone else on the 31st. We have a job to do on this planet at this time – individually and collectively.

 

Virgo: August 23 – September 22

 

There is an edge to everything: Possibly the edge of Decembers past. Feel free to drop it anytime. Empower yourself to express what is in your heart in a Virgo-esque way. No need to shout from the rooftop. Say what you need to in as creative and skilled way as you can. Possibly you could use the poison pen, but even better might be the well-crafted letter – or even something you make. Craft of any kind will save you every time. Let those with greater insecurity than yourself take centre stage from December 10th to 20th. Their light will arise and pass. Your commitment to your own self expression will endure if you shelter, respect and use it. From the 26th to 31st, it’s easy to feel unloved. Struggle against this by cultivating love inside yourself, for yourself and all others. Relationship figures significantly in 2010 after January 17th. Who do you love? How can you let them in without feeling that they trample your roses with their army boots?

 

Libra: September 22 – October 22

 

Social whirlwinds are right up your alley until December 20th, as long as you remember to care for yourself, your home and family. Neglect will not do. Listen to the sounds of the night on December 12th through 16th, when a still, small beauty flickers in and out of the heart of the world. Return from the stillness on the 17th when you know exactly how to look great and charm the folks. Truth, beauty and love conspire to give you something around the 21st. Spend time with your family from the 24th – even if they are difficult. You will often be responsible for them over the next couple of years. Changes in the way things are done start to appear after January 16th. Be flexible. Resistance is futile, and most likely grounded in fear. A strong interaction at the end of the month requires you to be aware of the subjective nature of truth, beauty and justice. You are a natural diplomat so this could be fun.

 

Scorpio: October 23 – November 21

 

Be poetic in your speech if you have it in you. Your public wants to hear from the right side of your brain. This is true in general, but especially on December 7th and from the 24th through January 15th. Look deeply into anything regarding your values from December 10th to 20th. You stride forward towards what? Whether you accept it or not, you have actually brought yourself to this place and if you think it’s not what you want, then consider what you did to get here. Change is good. You may grapple with this for a few months. Open your heart and your doors to all your relations around the 21st. It’s what we are supposed to do in the dark days of early winter, but it is also good for you specifically. Scrooge is not a Scorpio this year. 2010 has some surprises for you that only start to unfold from January 17th onwards. Consider radical change domestically and professionally at the end of January.

 

Jollean Schaffer is a practising astrologer in Toronto. She would like you to understand that Sun Sign astrology has its strengths and its weaknesses. Take it lightly; use it as you will. Consultations (416) 424-3079. Visit her website at www.lighttravels.com/JulieSimmons