*Vedic Astrology, or Jyotish, is one of the oldest sciences on the planet and considered a relative of astronomy. It is an important and valuable part of the ancient Vedic texts. This complex, logic-based and also intuitive science, has survived thousands of years in India’s Vedic tradition and is still considered a highly valuable tool of guidance and life insight. It is not a religion, but rather a philosophical understanding of human and cosmic existence. In Sanskrit, Jyoti means light. Essentially, the study of jyotish is the study of light and how we interact with the cosmic light—within us and within the cosmos. Vedic astrology, or the sidereal approach to astrology, casts charts differently than Western, or Tropical astrology. The meanings, implications and purpose of jyotish is therefor different, as are the details used for prediction and the indications given below.

*Eleditor’s note: Astrology isn’t a religion. We’re not sure it’s a science, either. It’s magic, maybe. But, as with feng shui, say, things affect things. So as long as we don’t go blaming our problems on the stars, as long as we assume responsibility for our own actions…well, hell, a little auspicious coincidence and applicable wisdom can’t hurt. And so, with that grain of salt…enjoy!

Multiple planetary shifts will be felt in this waxing moon cycle.

Sun, Mars and Venus all stir inner and outer change. Rahu and Ketu move to the edge of Virgo and Pisces, becoming sandhi. Winter Solstice brings the darkest day of the year (Northern Hemisphere) and provokes deep introspection and a strong inward gaze—despite the waxing nature of the Moon. Just after Christmas, Mercury shifts into Capricorn, marking three transits in one week. Retrograde Mercury and Jupiter will occur next. Use this time to create as much inner stability as possible. The coming days and weeks will be somewhat unstable and complex. Maintain balance between inner and outer needs, as well as healthy boundaries and extra self-care. Use preventative measures at this time to prepare for the coming changes.

Sun arrives in Sagittarius on December 16th at 00:49 PST, landing in Mula nakshatra as it enters this one-pointed fire sign.

Mula can add to the chaos and calamity that may be stirring within, so take active measures to find greater calm. Sun remains in Sagittarius until January 14th, receiving the gaze of Jupiter all the while. Jupiter offers expansive, wisdom oriented support, which provides spiritual awareness and supports the spiritual body. Jupiter is akasha (space) and aligned with dharma. Pay close attention to dharmic messages arriving at this time. Can you hear the pure messages of your soul helping you to awaken from within?

This is a spiritual and heart awakening transit if used as such. It’s also a transit for deep shadow work in order to heal, transform and awaken from illusion. The critic will be strong and amplified in this cycle so be actively noticing where there’s resistance to hearing new wisdom or getting different types of support. Notice where the ego gets in your way of compassion and liberation- both internally and externally. This includes spiritual ego and the “know it all” that keeps you away from new growth and possibility.

Prepare for more release and letting go—especially with relationships.

Gather resources and support from spirit and those aligned with spiritual wisdom, but make sure you’re doing the necessary personal development work on the levels of mental body and emotional body. Spirit helps those who help themselves. Use consistent action steps and trust these steps will add up with time. Activate healthy boundaries.

There’s a certain impatience with the heart which may cause more suffering than nourishment. Try more compassion for your efforts and lean in with softening and deeper listening. Fearlessly look at parts of yourself that need more light. Heart wisdom arrives when the mind is quiet and calm. Bring more light to your emotional body and allow grief to wash away the years of darkness, pain and suffering. Grief has the ability to heal and soften old wounds, allowing us to deepen our presence and patience.

Ask spirit, therapists, healers and guides for support with your release process. Soften the ferocity and action-oriented agenda with cycles of strategy and release. Take focused action, then let go of outcome and repeat.

Find balance with your words, money and nourishment. Feed yourself well on all levels of life and notice how this feels in your body. Let the wisdom of your pelvis be a resource for deepening your stability, self trust and life balance.

Winter Solstice occurs for the Northern Hemisphere (Summer Solstice for the Southern Hemisphere) on December 21st at 08:49 PST, marking the shortest and darkest day of the year, as well as the official start of winter.

The winter months bring increased soma, more ability to resource from within, while helping us clear away what doesn’t nourish or support our growth. It is a cycle of death, release and endings. As the new year approaches, it’s an excellent time to start clarifying intentions for what you are gathering and carrying with you for the year to come, while honoring your inner needs and extra self care. Meditate, increase physical activity, stay warm, eat simple, light foods. Carefully keep your agni stoked with right diet, routine and lifestyle. Keep it simple. Less is more.

On December 22nd, Rahu and Ketu move into the two degree range, becoming sandhi- or in the gap between signs. Rahu will move to Leo on January 30th and Ketu will move into Aquarius. This marks a delicate, transitional time with your shadows and your liberation. Gather your resources and support for the months ahead. I’ll be sharing more details about theses transits in the next few weeks.

As the Moon enters the 14th tithi, almost completely full, Mars finally leaves its challenging conjunction with Rahu behind.

On December 23rd at 15:46 PST, Mars lands in Libra for an almost two month transit, staying here until February 20th. Intense creative sparks will fly in this cycle. Prepare to maximize this time by carving out designated time and space for your creative endeavors. Seek to balance and harmonize masculine and feminine forces within. Masculine energy is product oriented, which Mars is extremely well suited for. However, the feminine energy of Libra supports flow, fluidity, movement and strong creative pulls. Both are essential, yet the tendency in our Western-centric culture is to neglect our feminine needs. Be sure to honor your feminine side with ample pauses, time in nature, rest, meditation, extra self-care and creative activities. Emphasize process rather than product in this cycle in order to deepen nourishment and cultivate more presence with your creative potential. On the other hand, harness the creative energy and contain it for manifesting desires consciously.

Use this Mars in Libra cycle to harmonize and balance the emotional body. Some of this comes through grief and purging the internal waters, honoring your inner tides and letting them flow more fluidly. Cry and laugh, seek joy yet attend to the pain and struggles. Lean into your challenges, the pain, the hurts and struggles. Massage them with your tears and let your emotional body flow more freely. Let the healing in. Find the balms that soothe your scars. Balance inner and outer realms, past and present, pain and happiness. Stand in the center of your polarities and stabilize through your pelvic wisdom. Soften and awaken your heart center; channel your inner knowing. Let it guide you toward trust, truth and awakening. Walk your path of dharma with conviction and purpose. Don’t bow, bend or back down. The stakes are too high- and getting higher. Not yet sure what your dharmic work is? Lean into your suffering and let your wounds become your gifts.

One more planetary shift takes place in this cycle. Just hours before the full Moon on the 25th, Venus slips into Scorpio, joining Saturn here at 01:25 am PST.

This transit amplifies themes around creativity and the emotional body- for those willing to dive into their dark matter. Emotional intensity is a given in this month long cycle so make sure to gather ample resource for grounding, landing and also moving the emotional body more fluidly. Grief amplifies, yet as mentioned previously, this is a necessity for cultivating deeper balance and inner harmony. The extent to which you can cultivate presence, surrender and balance with your sadness and joy, heavy parts and light parts, darkness and light, is the extent in which you can receive more nourishment. Suppressing your grief will only keep you further away from that which you truly long for—life force energy.

Where are you resisting your darkness?

How can you lean into your shadows more intimately?

What compassion can you give yourself in the process?

Where are you stuck and where do you need more support, guidance and help?

Use your creativity, the arts and courage to cultivate deeper presence with your sorrows. Find balance with your story by writing about it as well as dancing, drawing or making music with it. The Saturn and Venus conjunction requests you get embodied and ground your knowing into physical body presence. Or perhaps you start with the pathway of the body and let its innate knowing seep into your mental body awareness? What are you moving? What is moving through you? What is moving you forward, awakening your core? Don’t back down. Activate with this intensity, but resource yourself with powerful presence simultaneously. Step into an embodied, empowered state. Where do you feel your power landing within? Resource from here.

Just hours after Venus shifts into the deep and mysteries sign of Scorpio, the full Moon arrives.

For many around the world who celebrate Christmas, this full Moon may feel especially potent. The Moon is at its fullest at 03:10 am PST on the 25th, while Moon transits Gemini and Ardra nakshatra. There is a certain emotional tenacity in this cycle which must be acknowledged and managed with intention and care. Ardra is known for its outbursts, over-active emotional body, ferocity, anger and destructive tendencies. Go into this waning cycle knowing that the emotional body will need your extra attention. Arm yourself with resources, guidance, therapeutic tools and wisdom.

Destruction is a necessary part of growth and the creative process. What needs to be destroyed in order to make space for more nourishing and supportive relationships and experiences? For many, the holiday time period (pre, during and post) can be highly charged- amplifying destructive tendencies. Be mindful of healthy boundaries with family members and friends. Be aware of excess—whether it’s too much time with others, over-indulgences with food, sweets, alcohol and intoxicants, or over-spending. Watch addictions and addictive behaviors in yourself and others. Where are you playing the victim and returning to cycles of self-sabotage? Gather a team of support around yourself in order to remind yourself of intentions for balance and stability. Above all, use self-care to bolster your inner reserves. Attend to your needs on all four levels of your being—physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. Rest and restore.

Expect even more change to follow as Mercury shifts to Capricorn on December 26th and then goes retrograde with Jupiter the first week of January. Stay grounded and get embodied. Use self-care diligently right now so that you will be firmly planted for these coming shifts.

*Horoscopes are based on your Vedic (sidereal) rising sign. You can also check your Moon and Sun signs for further insight. Do the same with your Navamsa signs for further clarity. Do not use these horoscopes with your Western sign (Tropical) as there is likely no correlation. These horoscopes are meant to be used as a broad overview of the current transits and obviously do not address the specifics of an individual’s unique chart.

*All timing is given in Pacific Standard Time Zone.

Aries: Seek balance and harmony with relationships. Be honest with yourself and others. Make necessary changes and improvements and notice where you need to unmask. Past struggles and suffering continue to surface, asking you to look at your challenges with new awareness. Where do you need more support, guidance and resources? Heal the critic and notice your inner dialogue. What do you project on yourself and others unconsciously? Start learning new pathways and let relationships be a potent mirror for this.

Taurus: Keep opening your heart in new ways. Allow passion to help you land in your inner wisdom. Where have you been living half truths and false intentions? Heal through softness, balance of inner and outer realms, and through intensive self-care. Relationships continue to prove as tests to your strength, but can provide stability in the process. Keep leaning into the challenges and notice where you are resisting the joy, ease, passion and your tender, sacred self.

Gemini: Your heart continues to feel challenge, conflict and ferocity. Fan the flames and move them through, but try to avoid getting burned in the process. Use your creative powers to channel these conflicts and struggles with purpose. Gather yourself and your power with focus and courage. Heal through grieving and ritual. Attend to your relationship with the ancestors and spirit. Call upon your inner warrior to get the job done, while honestly looking at parts of yourself that need therapeutic guidance, support and new resources. Don’t walk alone. Get your team of support in place.

Cancer: Harmonize the chambers of your heart and let them sing in grateful chorus. Use strategy, concentration and courageous creativity to express yourself. Share this clarity with others and let your potent plan of action draw others in. Career is on the upswing and will become a major focus for you in the coming months. Plan accordingly and gather support for your efforts. Be honest and aware of your critic however. It arrives in many shapes and forms—inside and out. This is where your healing work begins. Call it like it is and befriend the enemy.

Leo: Continue standing in your power and potency without apology. You are learning how to balance the roar of your lion heart with the wounds you carry in your chest. Keep honoring your truth and aligning with your purpose, yet honestly look at where you act from your pain, rather than compassion. It’s time to crack open your darkness. Shed tears and grieve the many losses and suffering you have endured. Move your inner waters with creative action steps. Harmonize inner and outer realms courageously and with creative, artistic resources.

Virgo: Increase nourishment, balance and inner harmony. Watch for over-indulgence and excess with food, intoxicants, alcohol and sweets as well as over-spending. Use healthy boundaries and a radical liberation processes to let go of who and what no longer serves you. There is a piercing clarity in your heart right now. Don’t get distracted or fall off course. Gather your team of support and use healthy mirrors to reflect nourishment back to you. Take it one day at a time. Let your feet be your grounding resource as you build momentum and leap forward.

Libra: Continue to enjoy the inner harmony being cultivated with Venus in your first house. Temper excess and overindulgence—whether it be food, sweets, alcohol, intoxicants or spending. Seek balance with relationships and creative life force energy. Notice where you need to make adjustments in personal habits and behaviors. Lean in, awaken and open with more compassion for yourself and others. Unmask and liberate yourself from the old stories of lack. Find release and liberation from the ties that bind you.

Scorpio: Clarify your words, money, food choices and the throat chakra. Work with grief consciously and attend to the necessary release, letting go and purging that is taking place for you right now. Balance joy and sorrow consciously and intentionally. Seek resources and support for this. Continue to strengthen your empire and share your wisdom with the world. Honestly attend to your critic and the many ways it keeps you from being deeply nourished. The antidote is to lean in with compassion, joy and comfort. Invite in more play and lightness wherever you can.

Sagittarius: Let your dharmic wisdom help you connect with others through a place of service and giving. Align with reciprocity and the understanding that sharing your wisdom serves both you and others. Let your actions truly express your heart and passions. The clarity you are receiving is helpful for pruning away that which doesn’t serve your new life intentions. Cut away the brambles and thorns in your heart and let your truth shine through. Let friends be a resource for gains but find balance here. Career continues to provide challenges. There’s a difference between career and dharma. Can you tell?

Capricorn: Creativity is flowing. Maximize this and open your channels wide. Radically release all that doesn’t serve your life force energy and restructure systems of support to enhance your receptivity. Gains come from ample attention to your divine feminine needs. Extra pauses, softening and quiet time are vital for your ability to receive. Spend quality time in creative process to increase this energetic flow. Recharge your batteries and increase the juiciness of your life with play, laughter and deep surrender. You got this! Don’t sweat the small stuff.

Aquarius: Career continues to request your focus and attention. It requires diligent, consistent action steps and strength. Where can you soften and land more firmly within? Let balance be your guru right now. Seek inner and outer harmony. Integrate polarities and notice where you are stuck, unable to receive the nourishment you need for greater support and stability. Your critical voice haunts you with old stories. Use this awareness courageously and creatively. Re-write your story.

Pisces: Continue to cut away, release and liberate yourself from toxic people and environments. Use your wisdom to help others and deepen your truth. Actively look at your critic and notice how it keeps you from being nourished, supported or in harmony with others. Ask for support and gain new resources for healing and transformation. Past relationships haunt your stability and support right now. It’s vital you re-pattern these old stories. New choices, yield new results. How do your choices truly align with your desires and intentions for your new life?

Ready to make the New Year a powerful and potent year? Get some extra guidance and support from me. I am scheduling January sessions. Schedule a session with me.

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Relephant:

Author: Saraswati J.

Editor: Ashleigh Hitchcock

Photo: courtesy of Andy Charrington, flickr/jeronimo sanz