We’re about to experience a Full Moon on the Northern winter solstice. This is a lunation in aspect to the Aries Point (the first degree of the zodiac), and no matter what, that promises to deliver something unusual. The most ordinary Full Moon has a way of breaking deadlocks and getting the energy moving.

Full Moon over the Acropolis, Greece. Photo by Anthony Ayiomamitis.

This particular Full Moon, however, is in aspect to Pholus, the second-discovered and by far the most energetic of the centaur planets. When the Sun enters Capricorn on Friday, the first thing it will do is make a conjunction to Pholus. Then the next thing that happens is the Great Wave of the Cancer Full Moon, opposite the Sun and Pholus.

Anything in the very early cardinal signs is in aspect to the Aries Point — that dependable intersection between the individual and the collective (or as I used to say, where the personal is political).

Without overstating the case one bit, this is a big one. It’s also a proving moment for Pholus, a moment when we get to see a relatively new planet in action, activated simultaneously by the Full Moon and the Aries Point.

Pholus (discovered in 1992) is the planet of the small cause with a big effect. Its action can feel like a genie coming out of a bottle; a runaway chemical reaction; a flow of information, triggered by something, that starts and will not stop.

With the Sun and Pholus in Capricorn, we have a clue as to the context: something about government. Maybe something about large corporations, though we live under a corporatist government structure, so in our world, they are basically the same concept.

The Moon in Cancer brings the issue home. We are talking about a development that many people will feel palpably; there will be little denying it, and you can expect an emotional reaction.

Full Moon over Boston, MA, in 2012. Photo by Tim Sackton.

Let’s keep an eye on the news. We’ve had two rather significant weeks in the Special Counsel’s investigation; developments last week included the sentencing of the president’s personal attorney to three years in federal prison, and the acknowledgement that he had the president’s direction paying off two different women to help him get elected.

Then, we learned that the owner of the National Enquirer was cooperating with federal prosecutors — someone with a vault full of stories collected under the “catch and kill” policy that for years the paper used to protect the president.

And we learned that a Russian spy, Maria Butina, pleaded guilty and entered a cooperation agreement with federal investigators, as part of the 2016 election rigging plot. We also learned that the Russians funneled $30 million through the NRA into the Trump campaign. Yes, the same NRA that doesn’t care about school shootings collaborated with the Russians to get Trump elected.

It would seem just from these developments that the Special Counsel’s investigation is coming to a boil. The astrology describes the moment as a critical-mass point. (Another major story that came out this week was the Reuters investigation proving that Johnson & Johnson covered up and denied its knowledge that its baby powder contains asbestos, even as its customers died of mesothelioma.)

On the personal level, this is a time to use your spiritual training, and keep breathing. Maintain your awareness and, at the same time, do everything you can to stay out of reactive mode.

This may not be easy; Pholus has a way of sneaking up on the unsuspecting. The thing to be most conscious of is small emotional triggers. Delete emails that annoy you (you can sift through your trash and read them next week). Get off of irritating phone calls quickly. You know the drill.

Full Moon rising over the U.S. Capitol building, in 2007. Photo by David B. King.

When Pholus is active, I always issue an alcohol warning. A little alcohol can serve as the “small cause” or the trigger. There are those times when even one sip can make a difference. In this environment, a sip can indeed make a difference for sensitive people (it can cut right through your aura). I am not a purist or a teetotaler, but I would suggest that anyone attending a company holiday party this week stick to club soda or hot tea. You want your wits about you.

In the weekly horoscope below, I’ve taken a few other aspects into account. One of them is the Mercury-Jupiter conjunction: incredibly, also on Friday, moments before the Sun enters Capricorn. This aspect, too, has the energy signature of a payoff of some kind, a burst of information or awareness, though on the level of wisdom (we’re talking about Jupiter in Sagittarius after all, gradually approaching the Great Attractor).

And while we’re at it, looking ahead to next week, Mars is about to make a conjunction to Chiron in very late Pisces, doing that thing Mars sometimes does of serving as the cue ball when an outer planet changes signs (Chiron enters Aries, to stay, in February).

I continue to immerse myself in 2019-2020 astrology, doing the RESET 2019 readings. Those are still available as audio only or as part of the INTELLIGENCE package of readings. Stay tuned for publication details.

Reminder to those in the Hudson Valley, New York City or anywhere nearby: you’re invited to our 20th anniversary house concert Friday night. RSVP to get on the guest list.