The Verdict

In the wake of the Thanksgiving holiday, Jupiter offers up its final lesson, an examination if you will.  It asks:  what have we learned over the last 12 months?  The end of academic semesters are near.  No coincidence there!  Now is the time to demonstrate your knowledge, apply the lessons and show the truth as we experienced it. 

When Jupiter enters Capricorn on December 3^rd, it gradually joins Pluto and Saturn, the verdict (our grades) will be delivered, next month in January 2020.  Will you pass or will you fail the tests of life posed to you now this month?  This is no game or trial run.  It’s nothing less than your life at stake.

How well you integrate learned experiences from the past year is on the line.  Prepare to deliver your defense.   Just after Jupiter turns into Capricorn, Messenger Mercury enters Sagittarius on December 9^thafter its extended retrograde cycle through Scorpio in October and November, digging up information and bringing it to light.

The shift in energies is unmistakable now as truth seeking Jupiter turns into cold, calculating Capricorn, black and white energy, what works and what does not.  Check off all boxes that apply:  have you been honest in all of your dealings?  Have you honored yourself and your own path?  Have you practiced live-and-let-live with all others?   True or False:  You either did or did not.

This is not a multiple choice test.  Messenger Mercury in Sagittarius draws up the exam and outlines the questions while Jupiter in Capricorn is the presiding judge and jury.  You know the answers or you don’t.  Jupiter is not at its best in Capricorn, the sign ruled by fellow cosmic titan Saturn.  Jupiter expands while Saturn restricts with set limits and boundaries. In short, Jupiter feels hampered and hemmed in by this restrictive sign. For the next year while Jupiter cycles thru Capricorn, our ability to grow, develop and expand only occurs to the extent we obey the rules.

For much of December, four out of six planets keep us grounded in earthy Capricorn:  Pluto, Saturn, Venus and Jupiter, the two heavyweights and the two benefics.  Capricorn is practical and pragmatic energy, realistic and goal oriented.  At its best it is responsible, honorable and focused on doing the right thing.  At worst, Capricorn is status conscious and overly preoccupied with reputation:  what will the neighbors think? 

In our own lives, we can see how Capricorn draws lines in the sand and says, “you better stay on your side” or “do not cross that line, but if you do ___________ will happen.”  Fill in the blank.  Capricorn is playing its hand in the stark, raving divisiveness of the United States.  This is not warm and fuzzy energy and has a grim reaper quality.  Much like the winter season it governs, Capricorn is reserved and discriminating.  Creatures die out in the icy, raw elements unless they adequately prepared their homes with necessary food and protection.  If not, so be it.  “You get what you deserve,” says Capricorn.  “You had fair notice and warning.  Not my problem, not my job to save you.”  Capricorn and its ruler Saturn deal with the biggest guns of all: karma and dharma.  It is deadly serious.  A matter of life and death:  will you live or will you die?

Hamlet and For Whom the Bell Tolls come to mind.

For most, we are focused not on a physical death but rather the life or death of the spirit.  Your own spirit, not that of any particular religious order.  Have you honored your spirit within the boundaries life afforded?  Or have you tried to game or cheat the system?  It is OK to break the rules if you also do no harm to yourself or others.  So be honest:  have you?  If so, time is up.  It is time to face the consequences.  Capricorn rules both time and consequences:  The Verdict.

The Verdict rolls in on the Full Moon, December 11^th, glaringly obvious to all underneath its spotlight in talkative Gemini.  With Messenger Mercury now in wise Sagittarius, the truth is delivered and the law applied.  The prevailing Capricorn energy dominates this Full Moon with gentle Venus wedged tightly between taskmaster Saturn and powerful Pluto.  Venus rules love, money and relationships.  In the weighty position at Full Moon, she reminds us that time is money and money is power.  Capricorn is all business, all the time, efficient, with no time, money or energy to waste.  Get your facts straight or get out, or get on with it already. 

With Mars in Scorpio at a vital, world-attention getting degree aligning exactly to Neptune, our razor sharp intuition underscores what we know what is real and accurate beyond the shadow of a doubt.  We know what’s up.  BUT: this Gemini Full Moon does challenge Neptune, making a last gasp effort with slippery sleights of hand, smoke and mirror special effects to test our understanding of the lessons.  The test is this:  do you trust yourself more than another?    Or are you giving your power over to someone else to lead the way?  Will you fall for and be tricked by illusion, smooth words and bombastic claims, OR will you trust the facts and reason, based on all you have learned, what you know to be true and underscored by your own intuition?

The most beautiful, useful and effective angle of this December 11 Full Moon is the alliance between Generous Jupiter and Radical Uranus in earthy Capricorn and Taurus.  Jupiter is the Santa Claus of the zodiac, the titan of abundance and blessings while Uranus is the Great Awakener and cosmic Change Agent.  The two harmoniously align only for the month of December but do grant us a magic wand.  In grounded, realistic signs, Jupiter and Uranus afford myriad opportunities now.  Manifestation is nigh and breakthroughs abound.  Want to break through cultural barriers, psychological or tribal conditioning?  Want to break free from what has held you back or confined and say YES to what or whom is knocking on your door, or on your own heart?  Want to follow that PING that tantalizes and excites you? 

In short, this grand alliance invites us to follow our soul’s calling now despite the cost or what others think.  And we are granted abundant support at the same time, December 1- January 4^th.  Use this cosmic magic wand wisely and you will accomplish so much! 

The days leading into Christmas spy several planetary shifts.  Friday, December 20^th, Venus turns into inventive Aquarius.  We now feel inclined to include rather than exclude others, to be part of a group and network.  Aquarius connects us and is the Great Humanitarian.  As much as Aquarian Venus has us marching to our own drummer, it also values those who are a little bit different, those who do their own thing in their own way.  Venus’ placement in this sign is awesome for Christmas gatherings as we can detach from the fray yet still partake in the whole.

The next day, the Sun shifts into Capricorn joining Saturn, Pluto and Jupiter to mark the winter solstice.  This sets the stage for the New Moon solar eclipse the day after Christmas.  As legendary Irish poet wrote his epitaph, “Cast a cold eye, on life, on death,” we now feel every icy inch of this deadly serious Capricorn energy. 

We are heading into the Great Saturn-Pluto conjunction in a few weeks, later in January. These two meet up only once every 36 years.  There is no margin for error now.  The dye has been cast.  Closing out 2019, Messenger Mercury joins four other planets in Capricorn on December 29^th.  It renders the verdict we have been waiting for, or, trying to avoid.  There is still time to change course.  How do you want your verdict to read?