Astrological update for the week of December 5-12, 2022

artist unknown?

I don’t know about you, but the past few weeks have felt very much like Mercury retrograde, with lots of glitches and communication breakdowns. There’s a reason for that: Mars is retrograde in Mercury-ruled Gemini. Because of this retrograde phase, Mars will have been in Gemini for seven months and you can read more about that here. In Gemini, Mars inspires quick and rapid-fire thinking and communication, and we often speak without considering the ramifications of what we say. With thoughts and actions operating at a higher rate of speed, we can become exhausted mentally and need some rest time to regroup and re-strategize.

In any case, this retrograde Mars is featured in this week’s Gemini Full Moon which takes place on December 7th at 11:09 pm EST. Here the Gemini Moon is hungry to learn as much as possible about many different things – there tends to be a lack of discrimination and a deep curiosity about a broad spectrum of topics.  The Sagittarius Sun is more focused and seeks a more specialized understanding and tends to be less verbal than Gemini. At the Full Moon these opposites can most effectively be integrated, and with the energy of the peak of the lunar cycle all kinds of magic can happen.

The Mercurial focus on the mind and information processing is also present in Mars which is retrograde in Gemini and conjunct the Moon. Mars is at its closest point to Earth right now where its effect of aggression and motivation can be more pronounced. Under this combination of Mars opposing the Sun and conjunct the Moon we may find ourselves struggling to contain these impulses, with a racing mind and lack of ability to focus. The Moon’s ruler (Mercury) will have just entered Capricorn to help ground the airy flexibility of Gemini and help us to focus all of this energy on a particular point of desire or achievement. Ceres (care of the soul) harmonizes in a trine to Pluto to aid in the synthesis of the experience and help us to ground more fully into our bodies.

The energy of a Full Moon dominates the lunar energies for a few days before and after the event, and I expect this time to be somewhat chaotic. A Full Moon typically stirs the emotions and the hungers of the soul, but with Mars acting with so much force and pressure at this time any emotional upheavals will tend to lack focus and require a conscious effort to harness these energies into something productive. After the Moon makes the shift into Cancer (December 9th 2:48 am EST) the frenetic mental energy will begin to calm and we will be more easily able to attend to our inner nature, the feelings and intuitions which make up our inner voices.

On December 9th Venus leaves social Sagittarius for the more insular sign of Capricorn, and there may be more of a tendency towards solitude and more stability in our relationships. With the Moon in Cancer at that time we will likely prefer spending time with a few close friends rather than a large social circle – until, that is, the Moon moves into Leo on December 11th (3:08 pm EST) and the party can begin again. The weekend will be a lovely time for social gatherings, and the Sun harmonizes with steadfast Saturn to help us to organize and harness and focus our energy.

I hope you have a great week! ❤️


For the interface between astrology and current events, follow me on Twitter. Love the art? You’ll find it on my Pinterest board here.

Yes! I do readings. Learn more here.

Share this article...