The Sun enters Capricorn II on December 30, 2024 at 11:51 pm EST. Austin Coppock called this decan The Pyramid and noted its ancient associations with oppressive systems. In ancient times, the arrival of this decan marked the end of Saturnalia and the season of topsy-turvy misrule in which masters and slaves often switched places and roles — and the reinstitution of the harsh penalties and violence for attempting to transcend your place in the official social order. T. Susan Chang called it Time and Materials for its association with the Three of Pentacles in Tarot — which depicts a merchant, a priest, and a stonemason discussing the construction of a cathedral archway. Despite being mostly empty space, an arch is nonetheless the correct application of time and materials — and it also represents the combination of financial and intellectual acumen, and hands-on action that transforms materials into finished work over time…

The Hellenistic Greeks associated this decan with Hygeia, or Health — variously called the daughter or wife of Asklepios the physician-god of Capricorn I. Her Orphic hymn, translated by Thomas Taylor in the 1770s, honors her thus — “and all the world thy helping hand desires, and every house is flourishing and fair, if with rejoicing aspect thou art there.” Health is indeed the first and most essential component of well-being and prosperity, and to the degree possible you should use these first ten days of the vulgar year to work on improving your health.

That’s not to say that you should set unachievable New Year’s resolutions, though. So many people say, “I’m going to lose weight,” on the first day of January, and by mid-February they’ve given up, if not sooner. They promise themselves a weekly gymnasium visit, or a “healthy diet of fruits and vegetables” — as though a ten-day fast could make up for 356 days of bad habits. The times do demand action from us that brings Health into our homes… but we must remember to keep her habits all the year ’round. Easier said than done!

We do gain some assistance here, though, from a New Moon in the Twenty-Third Mansion, Fortune of the Swallower. Represented by an image of a cat with the head of a dog, this is a famous bar near the courthouse, the jail, and the hospital, popular both among divorce lawyers and defense attorneys, and the doctors and nurses that specialize in unusual diagnoses. You’re as likely to meet a fabulously wealthy widow here as the young doctor who’s fascinated by cases such as yours, or a middle-aged nutritionist who can help you design the right dietary advice. Just remember there are as many charlatans as experts in the bar — you still have to perform your due diligence!

Mars rules this decan. Following from a decan ruled by Jupiter under Saturn, it’s a reminder that forcing yourself to the violence of sudden exercise after weeks or years of sedentary behaviors is a great way to injure yourself — but it’s also a reminder that allegedly good physical fitness is a mix of self-discipline (Saturn) and vigorous force (Mars). More than a week of attention is required to see results, though.

The dodeks of Capricorn II are recapitulations of Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, and Leo — paralleling the journey to health that so many aspire to. In it, one rises from a life of lazy luxuriance as a couch potato to an intellectual awareness of what is required to become healthy, to a heart-felt journey through sweat and secret endeavor to become a lion-headed god with a body like Adonis. If only it were that simple… and yet, of course, if you were to start now, and some how journey through the cold months of Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces, and keep working out and watching your eating habits until late summer, you might indeed have the body of a god.

However… it’s worth remembering that the “body of a god” (or at least of a successful model in the fashion industry), is more often achieved through the use of steroids and starvation than healthy eating. The typical pound of human fat contains somewhere between 3000 and 3200 calories, which is more than a person burns in a typical marathon race. Set a goal of health in these first ten days of 2025, rather than physical perfection — and remember to work on habits gently rather than all at once.

House Delineations

The First House is Libra ruled by trining Venus in Aquarius —and hosting the Lot of Fortune, the South Node and the Lunar Apogee. It will be easy to make financial and personal decisions in the next ten days, but you’re going to have to put up with the resulting crap called the consequences of my own actions. Choose good resolutions on New Year’s Eve, but recognize that in the short term, failing to live up to those resolutions, or living by them, are both likely to hurt. In different ways? Yes, but… they’re still going to hurt.

The Second House is Scorpio, ruled by squaring Mars retrograde. You may want to keep your financial issues and concerns secret, but your friends are likely to see right through you — and a spouse or significant other may be the one who leaks the truth!

The Third House is Sagittarius, ruled by opposing Jupiter retrograde and hosting Mercury in mutual reception. Extended family and neighbors bring about both lots of local errand-running and challenging journeys. Plan to travel for hybrid reasons and mix together both work and entertainment.

The Fourth House is Capricorn, ruled by sextile Saturn and hosting both the Sun and New Moon. Both you and your family or household are likely to set resolutions on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day, but you’ll all be better off if you help one another refine and structure your resolutions for greater success — and help one another with developing the habits that lead toward the desired result.

The Fifth House is Aquarius, ruled by inconjunct Saturn, and hosting both Pluto and Venus at opposite ends of the sign. It’s time to put the wealth of your holiday gifts to work in creative ways. Some of the presents you received are deserving of inclusion in your plans and routines, while others should be repurposed as gifts for other people. Put things you don’t want, to work, and prevent things from becoming clutter.

The Sixth House is Pisces, ruled by squaring Jupiter retrograde and hosting Saturn and Neptune. Your daily routines are a mix of new learning (sometimes called AFOG, standing for another ______ing opportunity for growth), structured idealism, and heartache for the future. Accept that these first ten days are going to be a mix of closing out the old and cautiously welcoming in the new.

The Seventh House is Aries, ruled by trining Mars retrograde and hosting the North Node and the Lunar Perigee. Make time for important Others in your life — you’re going to need those folks to have your back in 2025, and making time for them now is essential.

The Eighth House is Taurus, ruled by squaring Venus and hosting Uranus retrograde. Find ways to interrupt your tedium and odium (boring and relentless work) with fun and pleasure; expect that into your pastimes and pleasures some difficulties are likely to fall. Put your intellectual gifts to work in making fun even more enjoyable; turn your duties into games

The Ninth House is Gemini, ruled by opposing Mercury and hosting Jupiter retrograde in mutual reception. Travel is likely to be an intellectual exercise and contain a mix of the routine matters like boarding a plane or exiting a highway… and moments of shock and concern like turbulence in the air or near-misses at autobahn speeds. Safety comes on swift wings. Learning experiences are likely to be anxiety producing but also tinged with surprising successes.

The Tenth House is Cancer ruled by the opposing Moon — meaning that in two weeks our full Moon will be here. You already have the necessary resources for professional success gathered in your household and beneath your roof; it’s just going to take the first few weeks of January to put them into action. Plan to shine professionally by January 13.

The Eleventh House is Leo, ruled by the inconjunct Sun and hosting Mars retrograde. It will be tempting to get into arguments or competitions (friendly or otherwise) with allies, acquaintances, colleagues and rivals. But don’t. Find ways to turn your resolutions into friendly games to cheer one another on, rather than sniping at one another. Remember the game Whamageddon, where the goal is to avoid hearing the original “Last Christmas” by George Michael for as long as possible in December… but you’re not trying to make your friends hear it, either: this isn’t about RickRolling someone into breaking their resolutions, it’s about cheerleading them into keeping them.

The Twelfth House is Virgo, ruled by squaring Mercury. You’ll do better with your long-range resolutions if you identify the major challenges to success and build a plan to avoid the pitfalls. Write your plan down, and start keeping a journal for 2025 for the best successes all year.

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.

I recommend reading your Sun sign, Moon sign, and Rising sign for best results. I write them with rising sign in mind, but several people have told me they find that they do better with all three.

Libra:

Scorpio:

Sagittarius:

Capricorn:

Aquarius:

Pisces:

Aries:

Taurus:

Gemini:

Cancer:

Leo:

Virgo:

Colophon

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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.