In this forecast, I will be covering the astrology of December 2023 and January 2024.
It’s a long one so go grab a cuppa, I’ll wait.
Got it next to you? Good. OK put your feet up, let’s begin.
Some cool things are happening, and I must admit that while writing this one, I struggled. I found myself overwhelmed with all my deadlines and planning for the end of the year. It wasn’t until my yoga class (a couple of hours before I sat to write this) that my yoga teacher said, “Why are we rushing? We are not built to multi-task. One thing at a time and self-care is very important.”
As much as I wax lyrical about self-care, it also made me wonder why we rush. December 25th (whether you celebrate it or not) is a day. Why are we trying to shove everything in before then? If a meteor was due to hit the earth that day (like in the movie Don’t Look Up (Netflix)), would we rush to submit that article or get that report done? Why are we making ourselves sick or exhausted for a day?
The financial year (at least in Australia) isn’t over for another six months or so. In Europe, you are looking at another four months. Those deadlines, I understand. So why are we doing this to ourselves? Why don’t we do something different this year? Let’s embrace the planetary energies in our lives. The retrograde season this year has put the brakes on things. So as more planets are turning direct (Neptune goes direct on 5th December as Venus moves into Scorpio) we will be looking to see our real motivations.
We are being invited to slow down and look at the bigger picture of 2023 (New Moon in Sagittarius on 12th December). With Mercury going retrograde a day later (13th December) in Capricorn, apart from the usual things to look out for, it is a good time for an intro- and retrospection on the year that was. What have you achieved? What haven’t you achieved? What was the reason and what can you do next year to meet that goal? Do you want to meet that goal anymore? The ruler of the season Saturn, is going to be asking those hard questions.
You see as we enter Capricorn season on 23rd December (Happy Solar Return Capricorns!) we will be entering a more grounded time. This solstice point is where the Sun will stay in the same place in the sky when it rises and sets (around three weeks) so as it hovers, we are invited to sit with ourselves in reflection. Mercury will move back into Sagittarius (24th December) asking us to look where we may have put our foot in our mouths and take a more sensible approach to the season…well as sensible as Saturn would like us to be.
If the festivities take over and you don’t find the time to do this, the Full Moon in Cancer on the 27th is the best time to do this reflection. Sit and look back on 2023. I like to think that the last Full Moon of the year is the best time to move on. This one in Cancer may force us to stay home, meditate, and do so. One thing I have taken on doing (influenced by lovely Aussie astrologer Yasmin Boland) is to write a list of things I didn’t like in 2023. Everything ugly, painful, and disappointing. I then destroy it by flame or bin (please do this safely!). Then I write a list of the things I’m grateful for in 2023. Look back in a diary if you have to. You’ll be surprised by how much you have accomplished in the space of 12 months. I thank the Universe/God/Goddess. Then I make a list of what I want to achieve in 2024. Full Moons are fantastic for letting go but also planting the seeds for a new beginning. Now hold on to that list as we will use that in January (a few paragraphs below in this instance).
The asteroid Vesta moves into the sign of Gemini on the 29th of December. I liken this placement to a loving memory from my past. I remember sitting in front of the fireplace in Greece in winter in our ancestral home. It would be cold and windy outside. We’d be wearing our warmest winter clothes with my mum, cousins (one of many), and my now-deceased Aunt Christina. She was a lovely soul who I would call our family’s CNN. If you want to spread the news around the family, don’t call everyone, call her and everyone will know within an hour. Anyhoo, she would start telling us stories of family passed and all the juicy gossip of the family line going back as far as she would remember. I would feel safe, cozy, and connected to my ancestors in those moments. This is Vesta in Gemini. Time to connect to the ‘mother story’ as the year winds down. Indeed there is an air of nostalgia as we approach 2024.
We will enter 2024 with Venus in Sagittarius (from 30th December), Jupiter going in direct motion (31st December) and on the second day of the year Mercury will go direct. Even if we are in Mercury’s shadow period, we will start to see more clarity in our lives again. Vesta will go retrograde (8th January), she is asking you again to honour those stories of old. What she is trying to tell you is that sometimes we need to be aware of the past to prevent history from repeating itself. Remember those stories and loved ones from the past. There is a lesson there.
Now remember that list I was talking about on the 27th of December? Look at it again. Is what is on that list still conducive to what you want for 2024? The New Moon in Capricorn (11th January) is perfect for setting in Saturnian ‘stone’ what you want to achieve this year. There is a feeling of solidity about it. This New Moon makes a square to Chiron and the North Node, so if you are looking for something new to do that is scary. Well, guess what? That is what you are meant to be doing. It will push you out of your comfort zone, but it will also be healing beyond what you ever imagined.
In the middle of January, asteroid Juno goes retrograde in Virgo, making a Mutable grand cross with Ceres (in Sagittarius), Vesta (in Gemini), and Neptune (in Pisces). Venus is conjunct Ceres, before moving into Capricorn (24th January). These goddesses are being challenged by the god of the sea. He is posing the question, are we happy in our relationships? Are we being honest with ourselves and our partners? Do we feel comfortable at home and if not how can we change that? Are we seeing red roses for what they are or are they red flags? Depending on what we discover, once Venus moves into Capricorn, we may find ourselves to be quite passionate or quite reserved. It will be a time of interesting discovery.
So starting from December we do have quite a bit to assess. The exciting thing is that once we have done that and the Sun moves into Aquarius (21st January, Happy Solar Return Aquarius!) and so does Pluto the next day. That’s it for Pluto! Except for his minor and last retrograde dance later this year into Capricorn, his time spent in that sign compared to 2023 is less. The majority will be in Aquarius. What you experienced in March to May of 2023 is coming back with a breath of fresh Aquarian air!
We will be invited to release the past and our pride with the Full Moon in Leo (25th January). It is time to love ourselves and not let our ego get in the way. If you find yourself looking into the mirror and saying, ‘You are gorgeous! You rock!’ Make sure you mean it from your heart.
And as the school holidays come to a close in Australia, Uranus wants to get those kids' minds working and buzzing again (on 27th January). I find that timely as it is not only my Master Aquarius’ 6th birthday, but it will be in time for him to start Year One. Where did the time go, this astro-Mumma wonders?
This has been a big forecast, but we can see with all that is happening in the skies, they are beckoning us to review and finalise things before we forge ahead. We should take heed to slow down. This way, we will be ready for the new cycle. So let's not rush toward a deadline. Let's take our time. Instead, we can rush toward a deadline of listening to our higher selves. A deadline to take care of ourselves, reflect, and plan for the new cycle ahead.
From my family to yours, I’m sending you wishes for a wonderful and restful Christmas/Hanukkah/Holidays and a fantastic start to 2024. See you in a couple of months for the next forecast.
Astrological blessings,
Georgina
xxx