WINTER SOLSTICE HOROSCOPES | DECEMBER 21, 2022
image and text created by Shane Powers
originally published in Table Magazine
A few notable astrological retrogrades will color our experience and quality of time this coming winter . Planetary retrogrades support our essential need to slow down, rest and take stock of what is or is not benefiting our ideals. Hence, as we enter late autumn, collectively we remain steeped in the red planet Mars’ smoldering retrograde through the cerebral zodiac sign Gemini until January 12, 2023. This planetary transit continues to revise the passions of our minds and may kindle irrational thinking if not well tempered.
Coinciding with Mars’ retrograde will be Mercury’s retrograde in Capricorn December 29, 2022 - January 18, 2023. This transit, with influence from the sobering effects of planet Saturn, will be beneficial for focusing a cluttered and over-stimulated mind. Among numerous significations, Mars astrologically symbolizes muscles, iron and knives. Similar to iron being honed into a precise cutting instrument, practice whetting your mental brawn for enhanced clarity.
When Jupiter enters Aries on December 20, 2022, Mars and Mercury are still retrograde. But Jupiter offers the gift of balance to lull the sway of simultaneous retrogrades. Jupiter invites us to remain anchored while holding our truths close when life appears to be moving rearward, too hurried or has risen to a dizzying level of commitment.
ARIES
Have you seen images of a spore under a microscope? What appears to be a speck of dust becomes a beautifully expansive prism of sacred geometry. You are curious to magnify the mundane, bridging a gap between what is understood and abstract. To do this, take the scenic route in your own backyard and rediscover your everyday surroundings. Back into your daily routines and reimagine new winter traditions. Ask an elder in town, or read about local history and lore. Swap heirloom recipes with a neighbor. Attune to a pace where you are able to feel and appreciate the pulse of the familiar.
TAURUS
You keenly looked in the mirror recently. Not necessarily for flaws but for an honest and healthy sense of acceptance. Mirrors can unlock portals into new realities. You're intrigued, yet hesitant to walk in someone else's shoes for a change. Prone to listening before speaking, you are receptive to insight from those near and dear. It is a holistic approach to relating. It involves opening up and holding simultaneously the grace of all those around you within yourself as well. You are not an island, but a synthesis and reflector of the world around you.
GEMINI
You’re in your element this winter Gemini. With maverick bravado, you're rapidly shedding metaphorical skin. And it is prime astrological time to try on as many skins as possible. It is not about finding answers necessarily. Rather, learn to tune deeply into your instincts and purposefully roam. Keep one foot in reality and the other in possibility. It is not a this or that approach. It is about all of the approaches at once and recognizing the alchemy found in relishing paradoxes. Embracing paradox is vital for cultivating sympathy and flow. Paradox is your spice of life.
CANCER
You are skimming the dross of your unconscious mind, searching for buried treasure. All the while, patiently and persistently you are releasing your attachments to spoiled pleasures. You sense something is draining the satisfaction you seek from the work you do. Try loosening the tight grip you have on forcing a desired outcome. Allow the fruits of your labor to ripen gradually, developing that delicate balance between nearly rotten yet velvety sweet. While you are at it, begin weaving a nest to house the golden egg you’ve been sitting on. It will soon hatch.
LEO
Nobody's heart beats like a Leo. Like a heart, home is the core through which all aspects of life circulate. Although you may spend most of winter preoccupied with social obligations, make sure to be conscious of your relationship to home and private life. Rearrange your interior spaces in ways that are integral to your passions and whims. Where rooms have become too formal and rigid, realign them in configurations conducive to spontaneous creative pursuits. An easel in the kitchen? Establish a balance between a playful inner life and feeling at home no matter where you are.
VIRGO
Our thoughts and words in part, shape our realities. Words literally cast spells. They don’t call it “spelling” for nothing. Virgos are often gifted wordsmiths. Yet this season you're going to the periphery of your consciousness to mine life defining and world changing language. It will begin rough, like all diamonds worth digging for. Keep a pencil or laptop close at hand to quickly catch sparks of inspiration. Allow the mind to go into nooks and crannies it has not been before. With careful observation, you’ll begin to connect the dots and new found words will frame a new reality.
LIBRA
Have you intellectually plateaued? For a Libra, plateauing may feel balanced and comfortable. You are smooth sailing and nobody is rocking your boat. Soon enough though, coasting along blissfully self assured will lead to a form of psychic amnesia and prosaic reasoning. Fortunately, someone dear to you has been in a very liminal space. It could be a partner, a friend or possibly a person you have met in your dreams. Whoever it is may have a burning, perhaps divine message to share. Patiently adjust your mental aperture to allow this messenger’s light in.
SCORPIO
Humans tend to glorify eternal growth. All things inevitably come to an end. Nothing expresses this sentiment so poetically as winter, when the bounty of seasons past has gone to rest. Scorpio, you are our greatest teacher when it comes to understanding the relationship between process and change. For the following few months, you are fearlessly asking what makes life rich and profoundly meaningful? What are the assets we value beyond what is inside our wallets? What may we inherit from releasing bonds that no longer generate deep soul making. You’re the ultimate magician, transforming detritus into cathartic pearls of wisdom.
SAGITTARIUS
This is a time for you to reinvent what it means to be together. We are living in a world of mass collective information, accessibility through technology at all hours and being able to organize in groups from all over the world. Sagittarius, you are reimagining modes of hosting environments of connection. Although a bit tricky, seek ways of blurring the lines between friends, colleagues, and family through visionary and collaborative endeavors. Who would you invite to the gathering of your dreams? Imagine and weave a homespun web of connectivity.
CAPRICORN
“Hands to work, heart’s to God” - these are the words of Mother Ann Lee, founder of the Shakers religious sect founded in the 18th century. Capricorns are naturally adept to the concept of work. As winter passes this year, discover the delight and love inside the utility of being in true service to something. Develop a devotional relationship with the tasks of life that are of service to something greater than yourself. That could be finding reverence for sweeping the floor, or giving the closets a cleaning worthy of a temple. Lead by your heart and through earnest effort give shape to a better as yet unseen world.
AQUARIUS
Aquarians are dreamers. Your dreams may be lofty yet rooted in a future you are slowly paving for all of us. For a little over two years you may have felt a sense of greater mental autonomy, discipline and self control. You take this responsibility seriously and often personally. Willfully, you may have longed to spend more time in solitude. For the following months the sky’s are favorable for a reemergence. Take a friend on a date. If you’re curious, invite a new romance into your life this winter. Remember that romance is a co creative process with reality that may take many different forms.
PISCES
Pisces you are exploring the fine edge between beginnings and endings. It appears you are reaching the pinnacle of a far reaching aspiration. It is time to place the last few jewels in the crown of a gift you seek to share with the world but have been holding close to your heart. It involves applying your most noble integration of self while transcending the nerves you may be feeling when your foundations are shaken and uncertain. This is a separation and completion process. Wielding a sense of mastery can feel intimidating but is an essential step in the creation of destiny.