We’re now firmly in December, and starting to look toward the close of this very strange year. This week, there will in any case be a touch of newness; on Wednesday, at 9:51 am EST (14:51:02 UTC), Venus enters Aquarius.

Image by Violette79.

Venus in this sign highlights the obsession our culture has with romantic (and to a certain extent filial) love.

This is blatantly clear in our storytelling as well as more overt social conditioning: we expect to find lifelong happiness in one romantic pairing, then to devote ourselves to the offspring of said pairing, and little else.

Venus in Aquarius speaks of something palpably different: the kind of love that is universal, unconditional and impartial; what the Greeks named agape. It might be called compassion, although it transcends even that.

Cultivating this form of love is empowering and liberating, because it helps break the confining narrative regarding romantic attachments.

Love has infinite capacity and applications. Of course the love shared between a couple can be wonderful and uplifting; but Venus in Aquarius says it’s equally possible to live with several partners, or be single, or consider the whole planet one’s beloved. Instead, Venus grants the understanding that life can take you anywhere, and potentially far beyond the usual, well-trodden paths. If you’re in doubt as to your calling, set your imagination loose and see what emerges.

In addition, such love flies in the face of the Maggie Thatchers of this world, who would (and did) pronounce that “there is no such thing as society.” Instead, it implies we have a duty to care for our fellow creatures because they exist; that we can, and should, help one another.

And that energy is badly needed just now.

Tuesday [at 7:19 am EST, 12:19 UTC] the Moon and Sun form a conjunction in Sagittarius; this is the annual Sagittarius New Moon. This event is bristling with energy; in part for being in Sagittarius, the sign of cosmic fire, and in part for being amplified by other celestial elements.

Kissing Couple porcelain wedding cake ornament, from a family bakery’s cake ornament archive

With Juno, the consort of Jupiter and the Roman Queen of Heaven, so prominent in this event — the exact conjunction to the New Moon is unusual — the emphasis is on relationships, and agreements within relationships. These are the domain of Juno.

The age-old question of commitment versus freedom may rise to the surface. Sagittarius emphasizes independence and free movement; Juno emphasizes pair-bonding and emotions such as jealousy that would seem to restrict freedom, or even the concept.

Yet with Juno it’s necessary to look deeper, for example at the dynamics in the relationship. Can partners express their needs and desires? To what extent are they autonomous people, and to what extent are they “half of a couple,” as Erica Jong once put it?

Juno is saying that there can be real freedom in a mutual awareness of where people in a couple stand. Are the ground rules agreed to? Or are they silent? And how is it possible to maintain balance in a time of change and even chaos? We live in an era when everything is changing at once, and this often presents a temptation to camp out in overly-rigid forms of relationship.

Juno, for most astrologers, inherently raises the question of monogamy, even though Juno’s consort Jupiter was an infamous philanderer. When discussing monogamy, it’s helpful to remember that everyone has their own definition of what that means. These definitions vary wildly; they often contain internal contradictions; and worst of all, they are rarely articulated.

Juno has one additional concept that’s relevant today: that of social justice. This works in partnerships where people really must stand up for one another, and give one another space, sometimes to their own detriment. And in a more public manifestation, Juno is a call to action by people everywhere, in a time of global crisis.

The New Moon is positioned in a way that emphasizes the potency of the turning point, and the need to turn away from the denial and deception of the past. At a certain point truth must be embraced as a greater value than denial, and it would seem like the time is now.

All Hallows Eve, the last night of the Old Religion’s year (what we call Halloween night), is considered to be when the veil between this world and the next is the thinnest. These are the Days of the Dead in many different traditions, not just south of the border but (from what I’ve read) as far back and east as ancient Egypt.

In the Mexican tradition the way is lit for the souls of our relatives to find their way home. [For a deeper look at the Days of the Dead tradition, read this article by our beloved Jeanne Treadway.]

Walking through the Catacombs of Paris does indeed give a sense of the world of the dead. Along endless miles of tunnel lie the remains of seven million previous inhabitants of the city.

There is a tradition of offering as gifts to one’s ancestors rum and eggplant in cemeteries. The scent of the rum is alluring to the ghosts of our friends, and the spongy quality of the aubergine is pleasurable for them to inhabit for a little while.

Meanwhile, all over the U.S., kids are roaming around in costumes collecting candy on threat of frightening you. You never know. The kids in the skeleton outfits might be an actual apparition.

Something about these nights of the year shifts our relationship to death and decay. While you’re alive, that means growth, evolution and transformation. Yet then there’s the reality of the ultimate fate of everyone incarnate. Nobody can live fully without a conscious relationship to death. It serves as an essential anchor to one’s maturity.

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We’re approaching that moment when the veil between the worlds grows thin; the Sun is now fairly in Scorpio and Mercury is soon to follow, and Halloween is not far away. The magic of the Old Gods and the mysteries of the Earth are beginning to soak into the atmosphere.

Sanctuary of Demeter and Kore and the Telesterion at Eleusis: the heart of the Mysteries. Photo by Carole Raddato.

This week, you get an opportunity to pay an early visit to those deeper places, and to answer the questions now being put: Who are you, really? Who do you want to be, really? What do you actually want and need, most of all?

You know that the solution to the puzzle of you is an ongoing one, not to mention complex and multifaceted. Human beings are many-dimensional.

To travel to the underworld as the nights draw in, or during the dark of the moon, is to travel inside oneself and explore this very thing. If done consciously and actively, profound healing is the usual reward. Your specific mission just now (should you choose to accept it) is to recognize where you have a tendency to limit your own horizons, particularly in relation to other people, their demands on you and yours on them.

Eric points out that in its journey through Scorpio, the Sun will make a series of trines to objects in Pisces, including Nessus, Neptune and Chiron (and Borasisi). This is likely to have two effects: one being additional clarity, especially that found through intuitive means; and the other being the opening of doors. You can seize on these moments, if you wish to do so, and thus expand your world.

Sometimes we forget that we are whole people in ourselves. If this sounds like you lately, take the chance to stimulate your memory.

It was a crazy week last week, we all agree, and the Full Moon that was driving your local frenzy has passed by. The Moon is in cooler, calmer Taurus as we begin the week.

Remember this? Last year’s NASA New Horizons image of Pluto.

There is approaching an aspect of some genuine influence: Mars conjunct Pluto in Capricorn.

Mars has been big news all year, as it went through its retrograde in Scorpio and Sagittarius. Now Mars is well beyond those signs, in mid-Capricorn, and it’s about to meet up with Pluto — the longtime dweller and agent of change.

The first thing you need to know about this is that some people around you are likely to pick up on it as license to be a control freak. These people are always lurking in the shadows looking for an opportunity to exercise their skills, and this is the week to avoid them. I am tempted to say “at any cost,” and it would be worth some effort to spot them in advance and step out of their way; not engage them; acknowledge them minimally if at all.

Apply this idea to everyone: higher-ups, colleagues and people who report to you; to partners, parents and children. For the purposes of this aspect they are all the same. The moment you detect a control drama, or the invitation into one, turn on your anti-magnetism and move in another direction.

This is not the week to be a spiritual teacher to creeps. What makes them creeps is that they don’t care. You could easily slip into a controversy by taking the enlightened role and trying to spread good vibes. You might save your love and light for those who appreciate you.

As I write, Mercury is working its way out of late Virgo as it completes its second shadow phase. That relates to the recent retrograde (Aug. 30 through Sept. 22). It’s still covering the same ground as when it was retrograde, and making similar aspects. There was something special about this past Mercury retrograde, and now we’re getting it in replay.

Photo by Eric Francis.

This weekend, Mercury made an opposition to Chiron, and a quincunx (150-degree contact) with the Uranus-Eris conjunction. It’s about to make a square to Pholus (high-potency centaur).

That’s a lot of aspects for Mercury, which represents the collective mind. You might say we have a lot on that mind, and our individual ones.

Mercury direct making these aspects is offering potential solutions to problems that may have seemed intractable a few weeks ago. Notice the difference in vibe, the sensation of being out of the slog and of getting some traction. Keep your mind in puzzle-solving mode. Be grateful when an observation leads to a tangible question rather than an answer; the question is probably more useful, because it will lead to a more applicable response.

Meanwhile, Mars is newly in Capricorn — making a square to Jupiter, newly in Libra. This is the one that emphasizes the bit about not being too certain of yourself. Be circumspect rather than leaping to conclusions.

One last thought about Mercury. It’s currently in aspect to the Galactic Core. That’s the homing signal, the spiritual beacon, and the thing that’s so wide you can’t get around it. Remember that. You cannot push the Galactic Core any more than you can push the ocean. Keep your mind open, and remember to ask “what if” in the highest expression of that question.