We are now just hours before Saturn leaves Sagittarius behind to ingress Capricorn. Logically enough, inquiring minds want to know what that will mean. In general, the answer will depend on who you are. Each person’s personal astrology (derived from date, time and place of birth) provides a highly unique context for any significant astrological event.

Broadly speaking, the most meaningful astrological occasions fall into four categories: eclipses of the Sun and Moon, lunations, ingresses and retrogrades. One of the highlights of 2017 was the so-called “Great American” solar eclipse of Aug. 21.

Lunations (the period between one New Moon and the next) are quite familiar to nearly everybody. The largest subdivisions of the civil calendar used by most of us (what we now call ‘months’) had both their linguistic and practical origin in the lunar cycle.

Ideally, eclipses and lunations can be witnessed by simply looking at the sky. Ingresses (the Sun, Moon or a planet moving from one sign to another) and retrogrades (which have to do with Earth lapping — or being lapped by — another planet) on the other hand, are more readily seen on a zodiac chart.

Because Saturn moves around the zodiac quite slowly (taking almost 30 years to make a circuit of all 12 signs), its ingresses are a significant occasion. When you consider how Capricorn is considered by astrologers to be one of Saturn’s two ‘dominions’ (where it is most at home), the event takes on even more significance.

Consider what a difference it makes when you are most at home. You can relax more easily and exercise broader discretion as compared to being on somebody else’s turf. For starters, then, imagine Saturn finally being able to put its feet up and grab whatever it wants out of the fridge for the next two-and-a-half years.

Actually, since Saturn’s other traditional dominion is Aquarius (the sign immediately following Capricorn), make that about five years. Think along the lines of a long and extended ‘staycation’ for Saturn, and you get the general idea.

Perhaps foremost among other symbolic characteristics, Saturn itself is an emblem of form, order and structure for astrologers. If you combine that perception with Saturn coming home to stay or a while, you will not be far wrong in knowing some of what’s implied for the handful of years to come. Above all, there is nothing explicitly necessary to fear.

Indeed, you might want to begin the next five years or so by relaxing a little bit yourself wherever you feel most at home. While you do so, take a look around, and allow your thoughts to wander to where you want to be (and what you want to be doing) by the time 2023 gets underway.

After all, every form, order or structure ever created by human beings had its inception in the imagination. Since an extended holiday season is already underway for many of us, the timing of this particular Saturn ingress alone could very well hold all the meaning your inquiring mind might need to know — at least for now. And that’s not bad at all.

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The Art of Becoming, the 2018 Planet Waves Annual by Eric Francis, will be your best guide to the major astrological shifts ahead. If you pre-order now, you’ll not only get all 12 signs of the written reading for $99, but we’ll include three extra videos covering the forthcoming sign changes of Saturn, Chiron and Uranus.

Dear Friend and Reader:

We’re leaving one astrologically busy and “interesting” week behind and entering another that looks like it will meet the bar, if not raise it. I’m witnessing a number of responses in people I know: everything from a kind of curious detachment to stressed-out overwhelm, full-on engagement, and attempts at escapism. And then there are those whose commitment to holiday traditions are like an unshakable fortress.

Star trails over the lighthouse at Cape Melagavi, Greece. Photo by astrophotographer and friend of Planet Waves Anthony Ayiomamitis.

The thing is, we’re not fortresses. We are made up of these amazingly interdependent and dynamic systems. Our physiology, our psychology, our energetic fields — all of these things are in constant flux.

Sometimes we can predict them; sometimes we get surprised. Always, our inner fluctuations and cycles interact with those of the people around us, and with our environments. Again, sometimes in ways we anticipate, and sometimes in ways that are mysterious or that open up a new option, a new way of being.

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By Amanda Painter

What does it mean to be a ‘spiritual warrior’? It’s a phrase that gets thrown around a lot in certain circles, and it often seems (or even sometimes is) meaningless. But the astrology this week and next week appears to speak to that concept in a few ways that may be key, as you make your way through everything from social and familial holiday obligations to the highly charged political and cultural conversations and events dominating the news and social media.

Milky Way viewed at the coast; photo by Michael Matti under CC 2.0

Looking ahead, the major events we’re building toward are all clustered together next week: the Sagittarius New Moon on Monday, Dec. 18; Saturn entering Capricorn on Dec. 19; the winter solstice (marked by the Sun entering Capricorn, and signaling the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere) on Dec. 21; and then finally, on Friday Dec. 22, Mercury stations direct in Sagittarius. (Eric detailed all of these events and more in this week’s Monday Astrology Diary.)

Those events make for a busy astrological week next week, right at the time when the long nights, short days and colder weather urge us to find some stillness, some quiet and some introspection. That can be hard to come by this time of year anyway, due to our cultural focus on celebrating this season’s holidays with gatherings, gift-giving and myriad themed entertainments.

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It’s Wednesday, and the waning crescent Moon has just moved into Scorpio. Today, a lot of people are relieved by the news that a majority of voters in Alabama have opted for the more qualified of their candidates, in a special election to complete the U.S. Senate term previously held by current U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Interestingly, Alabama polls closed yesterday just as retrograde Mercury was sharing the same degree of Sagittarius with the Sun.

Conventional wisdom in astrology says any major decision made during a Mercury retrograde will ultimately be subject to some regret, if not reversal. One reputed exception to that rule is the day when Mercury’s retrograde reaches its midpoint, in conjunction with the Sun.

Hence, we will have an fascinating test of astrological theory when this same Senate seat is contested again for a full term. Meanwhile, however, we all have one shining example to prove that the world is not necessarily plunging headlong into abject insanity.

With about ten days remaining before Mercury resumes direct motion again, now might be a good time to take stock of how things have gone for you since its current period of reversal started on Dec. 3. In particular, you may want to evaluate whether yesterday brought you any personal reasons to breathe a bit easier.

For the longer term, you will also want to keep another factor in mind. It has to do with the so-called elements (fire, earth, air and water) which contribute so heavily to distinguish one astrological sign from another.

Ever the trickster, Mercury’s retrogrades follow a pattern backward through the elements: from water, to air, to earth, to fire and back to water again. With this current backpedal through Sagittarius, Mercury has initiated the first of three retrogrades that will take place entirely within the bounds of fire signs.

By now, you should have at least an unconscious taste of what a fiery background means for Mercury during one of its periodic retreats. Assuming that’s the case, from now until Dec. 23 would be an excellent time to raise your experience thus far to full awareness. (Mercury stations direct on Dec. 22.)

Specifically, take note of issues that are being emphasized this month. Given how the fire element in astrology tends to correlate with energy, desires, instinct (as distinguished from intuition) and — yep — actual fire, you can probably see some trends already starting to stand out for better or worse.

Based on yesterday’s election results in Alabama, for example, you can plausibly associate the outcome with a rather fortunate human instinct known as conscience. On the flip side, recent tragic wildfires in California might be partially redeemed if extra precautions are taken when it comes time for Mercury to retrograde in Aries and Leo.

And for all you men in possession of power over others, remember: don’t say or do anything to a woman subordinate that you would not try with a 300-pound professional football player. As we have already seen, abusers don’t bounce very well.

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Later today, the waning gibbous Moon will move on from Leo, and into an implicitly more pragmatic placement in Virgo. Early tomorrow, Mars will leave Libra behind to ingress one of its zodiac dominions (along with Aries): Scorpio. Meanwhile, here on Earth, what has so far been a messy — but overdue — process of sorting out looks to continue.

Looking back, it might be fair to say that Pluto (co-ruler of Scorpio, along with Mars), and its transition through late Sagittarius and into Capricorn as a new century got underway, signified both a literal and metaphorical change of climate in the making.

Now Pluto is just a bit over halfway through Capricorn, and is approaching the position it occupied when a small group of influential men set forth to found a new nation on the east shore of the continent we now call North America. It was that revolutionary action, among many others at the time (and not any celestial body), which initiated a massive disruption in an order that had prevailed for thousands of years.

Ever since, all those who have lived in the aftermath of the American Revolution have taken their turn in the sorting with choices and actions of their own. In the wake of establishing a highly imperfect union in one nation, every human life on Earth has contributed either to going back, staying in place, or moving forward towards a greater degree of refining the principles upon which that union was based.

Now, it’s our turn. Unlike many who have gone before, we have no excuses for lack of information. Literally at your fingertips are the vast resources of the internet — but perhaps not for much longer. As result, those of us now living will determine (among a great many other things) whether knowledge really is power.

Assuming data (and access to it) does confer power, we are those who will serve to demonstrate what human beings truly are. For as long as we have been around, even the smartest people have not been able to prove conclusively whether we are bright or blight. Now, you are among those who will further settle the argument through the choices you make and the responsibilities you take on.

Foremost among those responsibilities is participation in society. It is no longer excusable for any of us to defer to leaders, doctrine or divine entities rather than think for ourselves.

At this point, one of the most crucial issues has to do with the dispensation of justice. The fate of due process, for example, is clearly at stake. Doing the right thing has always been important, but even more vital now is how the right thing is done.

With the ingress of Mars into Scorpio we will have an emblem of where we find ourselves regarding due process and its implementation. After this weekend, and well into next year, seven of the ten sign rulers (the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto) will be clustered in Scorpio, Sagittarius and Capricorn. Such a concentration of symbols in one quadrant of the zodiac represents an intense focus on principles in a crucible of transition.

The faster-moving objects in that concentration (the Sun, Mercury, Venus and Mars) can plausibly be said to correspond to individuals like yourself. Those objects, and people just like you, will be the first to lead the way into a more fixed and in-common collective manifestation, which would correlate neatly with qualities attributed to Aquarius.

In other words, the example you set during the coming weeks is more than likely to start a trend. The form that interpersonal relationships (corresponding with Jupiter and Saturn) and the world at large (relating to Uranus, Neptune and, most notably, Pluto) will take for decades to come — perhaps even centuries — is now implicitly in your hands to determine.

That determination will come through what seem to be insignificant choices you make in the process of living your life. No one decision will make the difference; rather, it will be a cumulative process. Each moment will offer a chance to change course. Every day will be an opportunity to further this long sorting, and to reduce the mess you have inherited — or not.

The foreseeable future of our kind has not yet been decided, but its general shape seems to be forming up. As this year ends and the next begins, you appear to have a very real hand in what will happen to those not yet born, whose own hands will be either more tied or further freed — depending on you.

Offered In Service

By any standards, 2018 will be a distinctive year astrologically. Get your essential guide to riding the waves of the next 12 months and beyond. Pre-order The Art of Becoming, the 2018 Planet Waves Annual by Eric Francis.

By Amanda Painter

It feels almost as though the world is catching on fire. Between the far-reaching GOP tax bill, Trump shrinking the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments, the continuing wave of sexual harassment and assault accusations, and even actual forest fires in southern California, much seems to be burning in one way or another — and that’s just in the U.S. It can be hard not to feel overwhelmed, but the astrology offers some clues for how to handle it.

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At the risk of mixing metaphors, one particular astrological development earlier today indicates you should keep an eye peeled for jaywalking chickens. Based on the end of Chiron’s 2017 retrograde this morning, any hen or rooster you see crossing a road may just possibly be on its way home to roost for the greater good.

2060 Chiron is an interesting object for astrologers. It was the first of our solar system’s “centaur” objects (distinguished by, among other things, an elongated orbit crossing the path of sign-ruling planets) to be discovered.

Unlike many so-called minor planets, Chiron found its way into astrological canon with astonishing speed. Within just a few years after its identification by astronomer Charles Kowal in 1977, this strange little celestial “maverick” (as Kowal called it) got and kept the attention of nearly every contemporary astrologer like no object before or since.

Witness, for example, the famous Swiss Ephemeris, which conspicuously includes Chiron — to the exclusion of any number of other candidates — in the 13-column elite company of major planets, the ascending lunar node (indicating where eclipses take place) and Black Moon Lilith (the mean value for the point of our Moon’s orbit farthest from Earth).

Imagine a preternaturally talented child being competitive in a professional sport, and you get an idea of what an exceptional astrological phenomenon Chiron has proven itself to be.

Maybe it’s because Chiron was discovered in the single (Taurus) degree in all the zodiac where the Moon is exalted. Perhaps it’s because the late, great maverick astrologer Al Morrison wryly (and ironically, for him) referred to Chiron as the “inconvenient benefic.” Could even be how Chiron’s glyph (astrological symbol) looks like a key. Most likely, there are a yet uncounted number of reasons Chiron continuously punches, for better or worse, above its metaphorical weight.

For instance, consider how Chiron’s current tenure of Pisces started. With clockwork precision, Chiron’s first ingress into the deepest end of the zodiac pool took place on a day (April 20, 2010) which will live in ecological infamy. In case you don’t remember, that was the day when an oil rig named Deepwater Horizon blew up in the Gulf of Mexico to horrific effect.

Keeping Al Morrison’s designation of Chiron as a benefic (an astrological object more likely to produce good than evil), this particular station direct, coming near the end of Chiron’s traversal of Pisces, implies a proverbial balancing of its force in the making. That’s where you (astrology’s most important factor) come in.

Astrology is not destiny. It is either made to happen — or not. And guess who has the role of making that decision? You, and every other individual who has awareness of what’s going on in the sky, are the literal equivalent of Chiron’s emblematic key.

Already, we have a movement preceded by a hashtag (and followed by a “me too”) that is making big changes in how powerful people will henceforth be able to get away with abusing their status. Interestingly, that all started right about the time Chiron moved into the degree where it stationed direct today.

There is every reason to believe more such movements are in the offing. That there will be other ways to bring any number of metaphorical chickens across the road to the flip side of infamy, safely home to a more just roost, is likely. Start thinking. That’s what you’re good at. If there’s anything to Chiron and its proven place in astrology, it’s time for you to do your part and manifest the upside that has been so long overdue.

Offered In Service

By any standards, 2018 will be a distinctive year astrologically. Get your essential guide to riding the waves of the next 12 months and beyond. Pre-order The Art of Becoming, the 2018 Planet Waves Annual by Eric Francis.

It’s Friday, the first day of the last month of 2017. The Moon is in its sign of exaltation (Taurus) until tomorrow. Earlier today, Venus left Scorpio to ingress Sagittarius, and Mars (about to wrap up its tenure in Libra) opposed Uranus in Aries. The stage is thus set for an astrologically eventful weekend.

It might be even more appropriate to say the stage has been reset. It is almost as if one act of a longer play has been completed and a new act (with some change of scenery and costumes) has just begun.

This is not to say your place is in the audience. On the contrary, if November has had anything to teach us, we are all inextricably involved in what appears to be a rather captivating (and, above all, improvisational) production.

Assuming you care enough to play your role well, the astrology for the next few days seems to provide some guidelines.

First off, in many contexts, improvisation is something you do when plans don’t work out. In an artistic performance (especially a collaborative one) being extemporaneous is a creative opportunity, combining preparation with awareness.

If you will consider your observations, choices and actions during November to be your preparation for December, awareness should be all you need to be effective and productive into next year. It would be especially helpful if you were conscious of the fact that you have power, and the responsibility that goes with it.

Sometimes, the best use of power is not to use it at all. If you need an example, take it from the great jazz artist John Coltrane. Whether early or late in his career, it was clear that he listened carefully to his fellow musicians, and played so as to both complement and elaborate on what they did. Even greater was his proficiency for knowing when to sit out. Some of Coltrane’s greatest musical moments came when he played nothing at all.

With Mars now having completed its Libra journey from a square aspect to Pluto (in Capricorn) to oppose Uranus, intentional inaction could very well become the best way to distinguish yourself as a participant with the whole of what’s going on above.

This does not mean you should procrastinate. Just as with nearly any form of action, ‘not doing’ with effect is a matter of discernment and timing. Now that we are beginning something akin to another act or musical movement, it would probably be wise to combine restraint with taste worthy of a Venus that is no longer so needy.

Of course, the astrology this weekend is not without its implied challenges. All in all, Full Moons tend to be climactic, even dramatic. Sunday’s Full Moon in Gemini will be close enough to the lunar perigee (the point in the lunar orbit closest to Earth) to both look and feel bigger than it usually does. That’s reason enough to be both prepared and aware.

The same sense holds true for the start of Mercury’s retrograde — also on Sunday. Simply knowing how a slow-moving and pivoting Mercury implies something less than a long, smooth stride through life will be enough to help you watch your step when it is most appropriate during the handful of days just ahead.

Offered In Service

By any standards, 2018 will be a distinctive year astrologically. Get your essential guide to riding the waves of the next 12 months and beyond. Pre-order The Art of Becoming, the 2018 Planet Waves Annual by Eric Francis.