If you were expecting some kind of sun sign nonsense, forget about it. This is real astrology for the real world, not some mystical mumbo-jumbo psycho-babble word salad. If it's real astrology for yourself that you want, you can get it by phone or in print. And if you need help deciphering the astrological glyphs in the graphics accompanying this article, see Astroglyphs: Astrological Symbols Guide. Please note: this forecast is expressed in terms of Universal Time (UT, aka GMT). Also please be aware that, while I never change a forecast once it's published, I do post errata to acknowledge typographical errors and the like.

PLEASE NOTE: This month’s forecast incorporates elements of (and refers to) my complete 2014 World Forecast Highlights (40+ 8-1/2 x 11” illustrated pages), focused, amplified and elaborated with details for the month as appropriate. The full version of my 2014 World Forecast Highlights is available in hard copy by mail ($75) or as a PDF document by email ($50). Orders may be phoned in (toll-free from anywhere in North America to 800-527-8761), and charged to any major credit card. PayPal orders may be placed direct from your own PayPal account page to rnolle@astropro.com – or by using the AstroPro PayPal order page. Orders for the 2015 edition are now being taken, for delivery at the end of December. Prices remain the same as last year.

The timeless in you is aware of life's timelessness.
And knows that yesterday is but today's memory and tomorrow is today's dream.
-- Khalil Gibran, The Prophet
 

The Skinny

As usual this time of year, I’ve been snowed under with client consultation calls and report orders for the last several months; once again leaving me with only enough time to cover the essentials of December for you here and now. It all comes down to a couple major themes, and a few leitmotifs, as I see it. So here’s the skinny.

In the major category, a carry-over from last lmonth is Jupiter’s retrograde station. It’s exact at 22° Leo on December 8 - but effective within a degree either side of that point, i.e. from November 19 through January 2. All things Jovian are starting to loom larger in our lives, as the Giant Planet and our Earth move in on their mutual close approach. This peaks with Jupiter’s perigee (close approach to Earth), viz. the February 6 Sun-Jupiter opposition at 17° 37’ Aquarius-Leo. So what’s meant by ‘all things Jovian’? Pomp and circumstance, wealth and generosity; all manner of excess, extravaganza, the grand and glorious. Think royalty, opulent traditions . . . and gold (and other precious metals). Watch for gold to make a turnaround and head up again in that November 19-January 2 station window. Excess in good and wonderful things is all well and good - such as around the time of the Venus-Jupiter trine (120 ° arc) on the 7th (in effect from 2nd through the 7th, peaking under the light of the full moon on the 6th.

Excess in not so wonderful things is another matter altogether. And the December 15 Uranus-Pluto square at 12° 36’ Aries-Capricorn is quite ambivalent. Like the December 8 Jupiter station, it‘s a slow-moving celestial phenomenon. It stays within a degree of exact all the way from mid-November well into April. This is no flash in the pan, it’s a long term trend – one that’s been in effect on and off since 2011, and doesn’t really fade away into early 2016. It’s not new, but it’s tightening up and becoming more prominent now. And with the Jupiter station adding an element of excess to the celestial scene, this one is worth watching closely.

You’ll know the Uranus-Pluto square at work when you see social, political, economic, scientific and technological innovation and revolution. This is not Sleepy Hollow stuff. It’s jarring at best. You’ve seen it in the Arab Spring, the uprisings in Ukraine, Thailand, Egypt and the like – and the wars that have been cropping up since 2011 the same way they did in the 1930s, when this alignment last appeared. We all look forward to a time of peace. We need to look beyond 2016, when the Uranus-Pluto square finally begins to separate, and the waning Jupiter-Saturn square prepares the way for the 2020 Great Chronocrator Mutation (change of element).

The long and the short of this Uranus-Pluto quadrature is that you’re completely mistaken if you’re expecting a time of peace and good will heading into the New Year. This remains a time of conflict with and resistance to the powers that be, on the part of the underclasses. It’s the 99% against the 1%, and they underdogs don’t go quietly. And as the turmoil boils over, it tends more and more to overrun all boundaries; such that revolt morphs into revolution, into civil war, and from there into war between nations. This is more or less continuous all month, but especially pronounced 4th through the 13th, judging from Mars alignments to Pluto during that interval.

Meanwhile, there are the leitmotifs. In this case, I’m referring to the lunar pulse that cycles through every month, concentrated around the full moon at 14 Gemini on the 11th and the solstice new moon at 0 Capricorn on the 22nd. While neither of these ranks with a SuperMoon or even an eclipse as an indicator of geophysical (and psychological) stress and tension, they’re still substantial enough in their own right.

That said, look for these two Sun-Moon alignments to signal, within the customary plus or minus three dayS, a concentration of newsworthy storms with powerful winds and heavy precipitation; along with an uptick in strong tidal surges and moderate to severe seismic activity (including M5+ earthquakes and volcanic eruptions). A good time to have your pantry stocked and your go bag ready by the door, just in case. Not good times to be out and about if you can avoid it, so as not to run into bad weather: the 8th-14th and the 19th-25th, in other words.

Bear in mind that these alignments are astronomical in scale and therefore planet-wide in potential scope. They all raise higher than normal tides in Earth’s crust, seas and atmosphere. That said, areas of particular vulnerability during the December 8-14 full moon shock window include New Zealand and far eastern Siberia, the entire Atlantic coast of North America (and back across the Gulf of Mexico into southern Mexico); from Iceland across Scandinavia and down through Moscow into Pakistan and India; as well as far western Europe and west Africa.

And for the December 19-25 new moon shock window, target zones include Iceland, eastern Greenland and far western Africa; a horizon arc sweeping through India, Mongolia and China over to eastern Siberia (including the Kamchatka peninsula) across Alaska down to just off the US Pacific coast and down into Chile and Argentina; and a longitudinal swatch cutting right between Australia and New Zealand.

Last but not least, take note of the superior Sun-Mercury conjunction on the 7th. This sets up a heightened potential for strong solar outbursts beginning around the 21st – give or take three days. Regulars know what to expect: electromagnetic disturbances, strong solar flares (M and X-class), elevated geomagnetism (Kp=5 and up), and the resulting fritziness in all electrical systems and infrastructure, from power grids to satellites to computer networks – and that most intricate network of all, the human nervous system. I’m not expecting a Carrington Event, mind you – just a mild scramble, in the grand scheme of things.

Acknowledgments

All astrological charts as well as eclipse and astro-locality maps are calculated and produced using Esoteric Technologies’ Solar Fire Gold Version 7.0.8. Unless sotherwise noted, sky map images are screen captures from the Pocket Universe app for iPhone, or produced by Starry Night for Windows; storm tracks are screen captures from The Weather Channel app for iPhone; and earthquake maps are screen captures from Quakes Pro Earthquake Alerts or QuakeWatch app for iPhone.

SPECIAL FEATURE: This month's birthdays of the famous and infamous (with astrological birth charts)

Richard Nolle, Certified Professional Astrologer consultations/orders (AmEx/Discover/MasterCard/Visa) 800-527-8761 data/fax 480-753-6261 - email rnolle@astropro.com Box 26599 - Tempe, AZ 85285-6599 - USA www.astropro.com