The Sun enters Capricorn I The Headless Body (as named by Austin Coppock) on 21 December 2023 at 10:28 pm EST. Although ruled by Saturn, it’s administered by Jupiter, whose favorable trine from the safe vantage point of Taurus I promises that things that are seeded and fertilized now shall deliver positive growth in six months or so. Mercury urges us to attend to detail as the Sun prepares for its annual part in the degree of the winter solstice. T. Susan Chang named this decan The Difference Engine for its relationship to the Two of Coins in Tarot, one which the Golden Dawn’s founders named The Lord of Change.
In tropical astrology, the moments of the winter and summer solstices are based on their relationship to the Spring Equinox; each is 90° or a quarter year away from the Aries Ingress, the moment that the Sun arrives at the start of a new astrological year. The last decan of Gemini (The Executioner’s Sword) and the last decan of Sagittarius (the Horse’s Skull) are both associated with heads and their removal from the body to which they are supposed to be attached; and yet, at the season following the solstice, the first decan of Cancer (Mother and Child) promises both life and the continuance of life in a season of victory, the first decan of Capricorn promises nothing but a corpse without its head — a kind of celebration upon the death of a tyrant. What tyrant is this who is being laid to rest? In a very real sense, it is the Sun itself — on the one hand the source of all life, and on the other (before the development of electricity) the one power who commanded us to our labors at dawn and ordered us home again at day’s end. Rest and ease, in short supply in spring, summer and autumn, is now again ours for at least a little while… and it is perhaps for this reason that the first days of the deep darkness have so long been associated with joyfulness, good food and fun!
I have previously written about this season in 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022.
Jupiter is the administrator of the first decan of Capricorn. While Jupiter is in exile or fall in Capricorn, a condition of deep and complex woe — in the first decan he is is jolly and usual self, and indeed merrier than usual, given the tragic circumstances of his coming betrayal and downfall. The image of the Ghost of Christmas Present from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, in ermine-lined green robe, wearing an evergreen wreath of candles on his head, is not out of place as the image of Jupiter in this decan. Yet it must be remembered that the Ghost shelters and hides two figures below his robe — two starving little children dressed in dirty rags and desperately in need of a cleaning themselves. The boy is Ignorance, and the girl is Want — and the Ghost reminds us that of the two, Ignorance is far more dangerous, with “doom!” written upon his forehead: “admit him for factious purposes and make it worse!”
By the Hellenistic era, the Greeks of the Mediterranean world appear to have honored either Akephalos — the Headless One — at this time of year, and used this as an opportunity to dive deep into the celebration of being a soul enfleshed in matter; or more broadly, Asklepios or Asclepius: the god of healing and medicine. The tale may be known to you from sources like D’Aulaire’s Book of Greek Myths — that he was so skilled as a healer that he could bring back the dead to life, real life. And ultimately Zeus had to kill him with a thunderbolt to keep him from hopelessly scrambling the well-being of heaven, earth and hades through this kind of action. However, by the Roman imperial period a few centuries later, this was the season of the Saturnalia, with a topsy-turvy celebration in which good food and drink, small presents and music were common; slaves temporarily became masters, masters became slaves, and the highest ranks of society pretended to be the lowest commoners. Maybe celebration at the turning of the dark toward the light again, is very much the best medicine.
And yet — the Ghost of Christmas Present, while being joyfully Jovial on the outside, nonetheless gives aid and comfort to two ever-present children, desperately unhappy. It’s a reminder that Capricorn is indeed Saturn’s fiefdom and domicile, with poverty and starvation hanging like wolves at the door even in the modern world’s vast prosperity. Ignorance and Want— admit them to your own house at your personal peril; but encourage them for political purposes to your neighbors… and you will light a fire that burns all your hopes to ash.
The four dodeks or twelfth-parts of the first decan of Capricorn reflect this warning, as they recapitulate the signs of Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces, and Aries: the cold misery of the poor becoming the ambitious cold-heartedness and mental acuity of a plotter or conspirator, who uses emotional and rhetorical tactics to win an audience and persuade the bystanders, before engaging in acts of sudden terroristic violence. The man who has never known anything but abuse and exploitation from above, keenly desires to learn to wield the whip himself. Wash the words from Ignorance’s forehead, and feed Want’s belly, and you may yet know peace in your time and the years to come.
Planetary Placements
The Sun is below the horizon in this Night Chart, stealing dignity from all the other planets except Saturn, who are all in the wrong parts of the sky to benefit from sect placement. Even retrograde Mercury, just a day away from cazimi (exact from 1:47 pm to 1:54 pm EST), is currently serving with the night sect planets, and delivering messages from Moon to Sun by back channels, as she prepares to confront the solar system’s king at the full moon on December 26 at 7:13 pm EST.
This makes the Moon’s trine to Mercury and the Sun especially powerful, as she is separating from the Sun and progressing to Mercury, while also being in Taurus the sign of her exaltation. This Third Mansion of the Moon, The Many Little Ones is indicated by the Moon’s approach to the stars of the Pleiades, the ‘seven sisters’ riding on the back of the constellation of Taurus, and followed by Aldebaran, the bright red horn-star on the bull’s head. Indicating “many good things” and promising wealth and favor, the Third Mansion is one of the Moon’s favorite watering holes. It’s a favorable omen for Christmas and other winter holidays, when the Moon will be full in her own domicile — and dominant over the Sun between the Solstice and New Year’s. Expect a heavy emotional ride in the week or so ahead! Far too often this time of year, the Sun (despite being nearly at his weakest in the Zodiac) tries to glory in the last days of the year — this time around, he hands over the management of this season to his queen.
Turning our attention to Venus in Scorpio, we can note that she represents a frustrated, irritated, and unnaturally limited relative in this chart who can’t get what she wants during the holiday season. While normally, we see Venus in Scorpio as limited and debilitated, here she occupies her own triplicity and decan, giving her an unusual limited dignity — denigrated and mocked, perhaps, but not without power. Show kindness and compassion to the relatives that seem to get dumped on this Christmas, protect them from your other family members and you may find yourself waking up to better gifts in 2024.
Mars holds the fourth house while inconjunct or square to all the rulers and triplicity magistrates of fire signs. It’s often a season for candles and fires in the wood stove for that extra-jolly light and heat — but you should still be alert to the risks of fire and the ongoing challenges and fights from relatives across the political spectrum. Similarly, don’t beat the dead horses this week; everyone knows your opinions already, and you don’t need to fight with the unconvinceable just to maintain your credentials.
Mercury‘s retrograde takes them cazimi tomorrow, but for now they’re simply lost in the heat and light of the Sun. As a result, you’re likely to find great clarity and peace tomorrow — but it may not last while the retrograde continues. I’ve had several interrupted meetings this week around things that are normally pleasurable for me. You may find that your hobbies and entertainments get canceled, but the business meetings are all still on-time. Bring your holiday last-minute knitting, and try to stay off camera. Similarly, Pluto is now direct in Capricorn’s last decan; if you need to keep your butt in your chair, have something to do that occupies your hands in a creative way. There’s no need to let potential hobby-time go to waste just because it’s a work-call.
Saturn and Neptune occupy opposite ends of Pisces in the seventh house. Doubt, discouragement, anxiety are likely to play upon your relationships with others: did I get the right gift? Will I be thought a cad or a numbskull for getting the wrong present? Whatever gifts you’re most enthusiastic about, will probably not land well as a gift with your most significant peers and partners; but the thought will be appreciated even if the specific present isn’t loved. Don’t second-guess yourself this late in the game.
The pileup in the ninth house, Uranus, Jupiter, The Moon, and The Lot of Fortune, all point to considerably more travel difficulties by road than usual; this is amplified by the ongoing power of the Mercury retrograde, who has strong influences on the trips you plan to take to loved ones and family (less influence on essential business travel). You can’t fake this by putting your briefcase in the car to go to grandma’s house (wouldn’t it be nice if you could?), but plan to allow yourself extra time, and include some scenic stops along the way to stretch your legs and minds.
Horoscopes by Rising Sign
Decan I of any sign (usually covering the 21st of the month to the first of the following month) is free to all visitors; Decan II is only available to Patreon and Ko-Fi.com subscribers; and Decan III is available to Patreon, Ko-Fi, and MailChimp subscribers.
Virgo: Expect travel times to be lengthened, and for the grades you get at end of semester to indicate unexpected successes. However, home and social occasions with both children and adults may be somewhat emotionally fraught. Keep lines of communication open between you and significant others — business partners, spouses, peers — but also expect you’ll rarely know the whole truth of what’s going on. There’s no need to pry into secrets, but you should plan on having several major plans disrupted by other goings-on. It’ll be a more expensive holiday season than usual.
Libra: Expect at least one major expense to hit your household during the coming ten days. Even though you’re all having a lovely time together with a favorable mix of work and play, there’s still a transport system that may get clobbered during a long-distance trip. Get oil and brakes fixed if needed, and do it soon. The temptation is going to buy all the pretty, pretty things for yourself, of course, but you need to maintain a line of demarcation and boundaries between what you genuinely think you should get for a gift-recipient on your list, and what is really intended for you. You will have to do some work over the holiday, as ‘proof of effort’, but it’s better to make it look nice rather than focusing on the content; changes after the New Year will likely result in significant shifts. Call upon your partners’ resources for your own needs.
Scorpio: Spend more time this week thinking about what you are than about who you are —consider your role in categories like “artist” or “lover” or “writer” or “friend” than the deep existential questions like “am I just stardust temporarily held together with life-force?” You’ll never get to the bottom of the existential questions, but the more practical questions of what and how are likely to yield results. Similarly, buying into your creative talents and acknowledging them is likely to result in quality connections with your lover or spouse on a deep and surprising level; you might not get laid this week, but the intimate intensity could be off the charts. Some stuff may get broken around the house, but try not to spend any time mourning broken junk: sweep up the mess, and go back to having fun with your kin as quickly as possible.
Sagittarius: You may have to be more of a homebody this week than you planned to be. It won’t necessarily be bad — but all the same, watch yourself on the ice or in the snow, and give yourself some extra time on the drive to grandma’s house. Your spouse may be the star of the show, while you’re expected to do a lot of uncomplaining labor behind the scenes; that’s OK, but be open about the issues that you’re facing. A female relative is deeply lonely this week, and you’re in a position to help them, but only if you cancel a gathering or appointment with friends. Bring a basket of hobbies with you to social occasions; you may get more time to work on little projects than you suppose.
Capricorn: It’s a rare season when you get to enjoy yourself, but these ten days ahead are a great time for you to communicate what you want, and take the chair while what you want is delivered to you. Your friends can be asked to go out of their way to make you happy, and they’re likely to bring you all sorts of local delicacies to please you. But, of course, you’re just as likely to decide you need to work on a house project, or to devote your energies to solving a family crisis. This is part of the reason so many of your friends and family love you — but really, this is a season in which you can surprise yourself by naming what you want, and actually getting it. But that ‘name what you want’ or ‘communicate your desires’ is really critical here: you get nothing if you don’t ask for it.
Aquarius: You may feel, this coming week, like you’re in a pause between what you want to achieve moving forward… and what you have to review from the previous year in order to end the nagging elements of the past that still hang over you. You’re not sure you have all that you need to move forward, but you know how to ask for what you need from your spouse or partner — the answer might be “no”… or it might be an overenthusiastic “yes!” so be sure you know what you’re asking for, and can express both the importance of it and the rationale. To the best of your ability, give yourself over to the responsibilities of family and household on your upcoming travel plans, and your goals for learning that you have for yourself and for them. How you behave day-to-day will leave lasting impressions: so, best behavior wherever possible.
Pisces: This week you’re likely to find yourself playing guardrail on the one hand with your significant others (business and romantic partners, mostly), and tidal wave on the other — trying to keep them inside of some real or perceived boundaries, while also trying to give them enough momentum to carry them along toward their next real or perceived goal. That combination of boundary-setting and emotional power-washing hose is going to be tiring, and it’s occurring on top of travel and familial obligations that are both familiar and unexpectedly heavy. Be sure that you set aside time to commiserate (and co-enjoy) with friends about your personal goals for 2024 and your excited memories from 2023. Your boss is going to be furious about something and likely to keep bringing it up, too — so have a core insight or achievement from 2023 to keep bringing up, too, so you can rest on your laurels occasionally.
Aries: It’s a good idea to take inventory of what you have, and what you need to travel with, if the need should arise. A significant other may need to leave for a period of time; you’ll be in touch from a distance, but there will be limits on how deeply you can communicate for a while. There are channels of communication you’ll need to your workplace, but you should also try to keep this a light-hearted and fun review of your own work and that of others, rather than try to deep-dive into the failures of members of your team: no good comes from tearing down your subordinates or yourself this week. Along those lines, recognize that even where things are not going well right now you owe it to yourself and others to celebrate the accomplishments of the year. Connect people to what they’ve done well on behalf of you or your shared organization, and show them their shiniest moments, and you’ll find that you’re able to lead well in 2024.
Taurus: The next ten days will feel like a lot of heavy travel, and possibly a parallel amount of introspection and exploration of the past as you revisit places and experiences from earlier eras of your life. Old religious and spiritual obligations may feel like they’re clashing, and each decision you make will have implications for the immediate future — and for months from now. It’s important to understand that these experiences are just that — experiences that only feel momentous, and need not have monumental status. It’s a season when lots of people experience nostalgia as a bittersweet phenomenon, and you are not immune. Your significant other is likely to feel alternately restricted, engaging and enthusiastic — but may have a hard time remaining fully committed to the work, especially if you’re in your own family’s orbit and not theirs, for this holiday.
Gemini: You may feel quite without help in the next ten days or so, and I’m sorry for that. But all your usual supporters and allies are off on other adventures, or promising you work that can’t be completed except in overtime. At the holidays, this can feel especially trying, particularly to those who have the worst boss of all: those who answer to themselves through self-employment! This loneliness or solitude comes with some gracious new opportunities to have an adventure, though, or to have a series of smaller excursions where you can have any kind of experience you want, with variable levels of uncertainty and peril (real or perceived). If your partner goes off for family matters without you, though, be prepared to communicate your genuine needs to get through the holiday season; don’t spend the whole week glued to your chair in front of holiday romance movies or a game console. Go out, have exploits, do deeds — you’ll be better prepared for the return if you do.
Cancer: Lightly favorable conditions exist for you to travel to and be with distant friends from past eras of your life. Some of this may require leaving your spouse or other partner to their own devices for a few days; those devices are likely to be screens of some kind, either gaming screens or TV screens, where they get to rule the world (or at least rent control for a few hours). Accordingly, you may want to communicate some clear boundaries about having fun vs. cleaning toilets and managing other responsibilities. Your own initial days are likely to be spent in company with your chosen family — with all their well-understood and carefully-considered faults — but under an unfamiliar and perhaps unbalancing roof. Be sure you make time for your own fun, even if it’s in neighborhoods that are somewhat awkward to you. And expect travel delays in getting from one place to another.
Leo: You’re facing a relatively solitary holiday season, and there may be more focus on what you don’t have (or what’s lacking from your daily routine) than on what you do have. You may have to find a better way to approach this: balance what you want in life in the future against what’s currently available. This may require going out on some short excursions to see people who may not normally be in your wheelhouse; and holidays are often a good time to call quits to grudges that have long ago outlasted their usefulness. Make your idea of “home” bigger, and accept that there are people who would welcome you under their roof just as if it were your own. And… not to put too fine a point on a sharp edge here, your professional colleagues think highly of you and would be happy to see you, if only to give them a break from dealing with difficult family members. Don’t bury yourself in your labors: every drop of water in the river eventually reaches the seaside and joins ocean’s vastness for a time of rest.
Colophon
You can hire me for a consultation.
I have a Patreon account for those who want to support this column as it continues its third year. Those funds support artists, artisans and thinkers that I regard as contributing to the well-being of the world. You can also buy me a Ko-fi in $3 increments; any column I write after receiving a Ko-Fi donation will be open to the public). .
If you want to read some of my astrologically-oriented poetry, the largest collection is called A Full Volume of Splendor and Starlight, available through my Etsy shop, and containing poems and hymns to the planets, constellations, decan deities, and Moon Mansion angels. While not astrological, Festae contains hymns to some of the older Roman gods and spirits from the calendar created by Numa Pompilius, the second ancient King of Rome.
I use iPhemeris for my charting software, and screenshot it to make charts. I want to thank the team that develops iPhemeris for the addition of Terms and Decans to their charts. I also use Hugh Tran‘s Physis typeface to craft logos for this blog, as well.
I use Christopher Warnock‘s The Mansions of the Moon as the basis of my Moon placement delineations, and Austin Coppock‘s 36 Faces for much of my planetary delineations. Neither gentleman endorses me.
