In episode 134 of the podcast astrologers Austin Coppock and Kelly Surtees join me to talk about the astrological forecast for December of 2017.
The astrology of December features a Mercury retrograde in Sagittarius that first stations in a conjunction with Saturn, Mars ingressing into Scorpio, and Saturn moving into Capricorn.
At the top of the show we discuss a recently debate about the validity of applying mundane transits to current events, as well as a separate discussion about the use of “should” questions in horary astrology.
Towards the end of the episode we highlight the most auspicious electional chart for December, which is a Scorpio rising chart with Mars in Scorpio conjoining Jupiter.
Below you will find the show notes, followed by links to download or stream the recording of this episode of the podcast.
This month’s episode is available in both an audio version and a video version, and you will find links to both at the bottom of this page.
Initial Discussion and Timestamps
- 0:00 – 05:45: initial news and announcements.
- 05:45 – 14:15: discussion about Saturn returns in Sagittarius and Capricorn.
- 14:15 – 40:20: discussion about the validity of applying mundane transits to current events.Â
- 40:20 – 49:50: discussing a recent debate about “should” questions in horary astrology.Â
- 49:50 – 2:16:10: astrological alignments and forecast for November.
- 2:06:15: the most auspicious electional chart for December.
Major Astrological Alignments in December
- Venus ingresses into Sagittarius December 1
- Jupiter trine Neptune December 2
- Mercury stations retrograde December 3
- Full Moon in Gemini December 3
- Mercury conjunct Saturn December 6
- Mars ingresses into Scorpio December 9
- New Moon in Sagittarius December 18
- Saturn moves into Capricorn December 19
- Sun moves into Capricorn December 21
- Mercury stations direct December 22
- Venus moves into Capricorn December 25
Auspicious Electional Chart for November
Here is the primary auspicious electional chart that we highlighted for November, which was picked out by electional astrologer Leisa Schaim:
There are four more electional charts that we found for December, which we presented in our private subscriber-only podcast on auspicious elections that was released a few days ago.
In this month’s episode of the Auspicious Elections podcast we also answered some questions from listeners about electional astrology, and how to use some of these elections in practice.
If you would like to get access to that discussion, then all you have to do is become a patron of The Astrology Podcast on the $5 or $10 tier through our page on on Patreon, and then you will get access to the 45-minute Auspicious Elections Podcast as soon as it is released.
Watch the Video Version of this Episode
Here is the video version of this month’s forecast episode:
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Listen to the Audio Version of This Episode
You can either play this episode of the podcast directly from the website or download it as an MP3 to your computer by using the buttons below:
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:15:33 — 62.4MB)
I think it is important to note that while this discussion focused more on the shift of Saturn to its new sign expression and that that flavor will be quite different from Sagittarius, the zodiac is an arbitrary division of the sky. As such, there will be overlap from one sign to another – fixed stars in the constellation of one in the beginning of the next for example. Also, there is the progression of the houses themselves and the idea that a segue from one sign (and one house using whole signs) to the next points out that the transits operate on a whole continuum. I think this is most evident with the transits of Saturn, the keeper of time. The current house transit activity is in this light a result of what came before it. This is most obvious for those with Saturn in Sagittarius in the natal chart, as the ruler of Capricorn being Saturn is still pulling in the theme of the last three years by sign. Overlying this is the quadrant that is being passed through and the modality the house Saturn transit is going through. For me this is a succedent (sp) house re-emphasizing the theme of continuum – what was initiated and acted upon in the cardinal house before is now being firmed up and given form, and in what better sign than Capricorn. The security needs and fundamentals of life at its most private (I. C.) now climbing up slowly to the outer world again. As I have the benefit of hindsight I can say this was clearly true with my first Saturn return, and not only that, the issues of security and responsibility experienced while Saturn was in the first carried through the entire quadrant. And by the way – going back to work after taking time out for a baby started the third year of Saturn’s transit in the 5th House, not the ingress to the 6th, again pointing out the overlapping theme from house to house, most especially in a situation where the sign ruler continues, as with Capricorn and Aquarius.
Wonderful discussion. Did you read about the American Airlines glitch that gave too many pilots holiday vacation at the same time? This was announced yesterday 11/29/17 they are working on solving it by offering pilots more pay. American Airlines’ pilots union said “thousands” of flights are without pilots for next month.
To be clearer – the houses would be either angular , succeedent, or cadent whIle the sign would have a modality. These are so similar in quality that this is sometimes confusing. So, we have Saturn ruler of Capricorn, and Aquarius, moving into its dignity by ruler ship in a cardinal earth sign operating in either an angular, succeedent, or cadent house in the natal chart. Cardinal earth in itself is interesting but layered onto the house position even more so. Looking forward to the Saturn in Cap podcast end of the month.
Another excellent session. Thank you. I am seeing that the Saturn in Capricorn with Pluto there is going to be a Life or Death theme, not just for me but for the collective as well. I am a Capricorn: Mercury, Venus, and Sun and Asc. These are part of a 7 planet cardinal T square. As I have aged my health and my physical home have been deteriorating. I have been letting things slide for some time. It is now clear to me that this path is the path to death. I am not yet at a crisis point but this is the year that I must make a clear change of direction and behavior to fix my home and my body if I am going to stop the deterioration process and regain some strength and vitality.
This is exactly the same situation that we are in in the US. We are also approaching our country’s Pluto return. Pluto is actually at about the place where the issues of the Revolution started to heat up in the early 1770’s. That was a Life or Death time too. There was a critical choice demanding a major change of direction and behavior for all people. Today we are facing seriously deteriorating governmental, financial, social, and ecological structures here. All the abusive shadow issues that have been swept under the rug for 250 years are now front page news and up for review. If we as a people continue the complacency of the last decades we will die as a nation. We may actually die of major climate situations too. We are not yet at the crisis point but a clear decision is upon us as to which road we will take. Will we continue on the down the death spiral or will we gather our focus and do the hard work of making the serious changes in our attitudes and behaviors that will take us to a more life giving path? Which ever road is chosen, there will be no going back once the point of no return is reached.
This also connects with the switch from Earth to Air of the Saturn/Jupiter conjunctions that Austin was talking about. Our whole financial system world wide is based on a set of processes and values that are no longer serving the on goingness of the planet or the Human race. I am guessing that some version of the process of either consciously choosing life vs. passively allowing death will show up in everyone’s life in some way or another. The results on the collective level will be fueled by the choices people make on the personal level so everyone’s choices are very important.
On the subject of Hororary questions; when you consult the I Ching you ask “what are the aspects around doing X?”. This allows you to examine several different possible ways of dealing with something. I find that Spirit is very glad to give guidance but it gets pretty pissed if you want it to do all the work and make your life decisions for you. The I Ching even has an answer that is just about “go away stupid and stop bothering me if you aren’t serious”. When you are asking a question the energy is still in its unmanifest form. It is only a field of potential so there is no way to know what exactly is going to happen. It is not until you take some initiating action the the wave of possibility starts to collapse into the actuality of manifestation. So literally the steps you take begin the process of moving from a range of possibilities down to one manifestation. This is why it takes courage to have convictions. To get one actuality you have to give up many many possibilities. Sometimes we get paralyzed by this and just sit there and the whole situation just evaporates and nothing happens.
Janice – I for one am not despairing as I see people coming forward and speaking out who have never been involved in politics before and the more progressive cities, systems and individuals taking quick action. There is a quote about taking the first step and how Spirit comes forward because you have. I think it is Goethe. I am not religious but am also familiar with the quote “God moves mountains, bring a shovel.” I love that and I think it is most appropriate for Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn. Capricorn is a very spiritual sign. When I dream of the higher realm it is always at the mountain tops but then I have Mars in Cap and a Moon in Sag! I think with a stellium of planets in Cap the coming ingress would give me pause. Saturn is a friend to old age. As for convinction – Saturn in Cap will find the one thing to focus on I think. I find this shift to be interesting, and while it can feel too earthbound for some, it is Cardinal earth, and personally, I am very tired of the drama – of the fire. I need this break, I think (wink).
One last comment on Mercury retrograde. I find that if things are falling into place even if Mercury is retrograde that it is best to just continue. The warning sign to stop and reevaluate comes when you start to run into obstacles. I find that if you try to force the issue, this is when you run into trouble. Usually the trouble begins because something has be left out or forgotten or may be hidden. The Universe is warning you “stop a while and get more information”. This is especially true when signing contracts or agreements. Some time things need a bit more time to incubate for all the pieces to fall into place.
There are other times when things are just out of your control. I ordered a new car when Mercury was direct but it got made when Mercury was retrograde. It came in as the wrong car. It got made again while Mercury was still retrograde and I have had various Mercury problems with it ever since. I was ordering another car when Mercury was retrograde so I asked the I Ching. It said “buy it now”. I waited for the retrograde to be over and the price when up $500 so the I Ching was right.
For the life of me I can’t understand why Chris doesn’t come prepared. You’re an astrologer. Exact times and dates are vital.
What are you referring to?
Time stamps are ~:
51 minutes
1:07
1:32
1:35
1:43
Aside from that overall it was very good, Austin being the star of the show. You also had one of the strongest points re: consolidation of power.
Austin and Kelly both write horoscope columns on a regular basis, and I do not. Doing 6+ episodes of the podcast each month has become my main focus over the past couple of years, and I stopped seeing clients a while ago. Therefore they both tend to be more familiar with the specific dates, degrees, and alignments involved when doing each monthly forecast episode, which is why I have them on the podcast to do these episodes. I will sometimes ask them questions in order to clarify the dates or degrees involved, especially since I’m mainly relying on the PlanetWatcher calendar that just lists signs, although I also will sometimes ask people leading questions to get them to articulate the specifics better to the audience, or simply for the sake of keeping the casual banter going while I’m pulling up charts to display for the video version and our live webinar audience.
I had no idea. Can’t believe you don’t even see clients — I was actually planning to get a reading from you in ’18.
Fait enough. Thank you for being reasonable and patient in accepting my criticism.
Excellent!! Love this trio – xo
Thanks Chris for the podcast. I’m not an astrologer but am fascinated by complexity of this craft.
I’m in the dark most of the time during your conversations but I keep coming back for more.
One day I will learn more. Thanks for expertise and your valuable guests.
Just curious – I was trying to get a planet watcher calendar for 2018 and it seems they are not yet available. Am I missing something? I sure hope they are still making them for next year.
There has been a delay in getting it together this year, and the designer is pushing to try to get it out now. I’m guessing that we may not see it until sometime in January though. I have my own wall poster for 2018 that I’m trying to figure out how to distribute as well, and at the moment I’m leaning towards putting it on Amazon unless I can figure out a better option.
Great! Let us know !
Another excellent edition of this series, Chris. I like that the structure of the opening section is becoming more formalized with clearly defined discussion ‘topics’. I really liked the horary discussion. I recently read Lee Lehman’s ‘The Martial Art of Horary Astrology’, and I highlighted the section where she addresses the ‘should’ vs. ‘will’ horary question. Lee’s discussion is in the section on placing the question, a determination which she describes as having the prerequisite that the astrologer must first come to understand the question within the context of the predictive system of horary. Her approach is that a ‘should’ question is ultimately a ‘will’ question, and the task is to rework the question toward that end. Anyway, I had not considered this a philosophical matter. Please keep up the good work. Thanks for having such an open podcast, where your guest contribute to the production. Whether that be assisting with collating all those dates and times or sharing their discoveries. No shame in having the collective effort of friends, especially when it adds so much to the end result. I’m going to try the dynamic reports feature of SF that Kelly was touting. As always, looking forward to the next release!
Wow.. the Mercury-Saturn bit perfectly describes my process with my written projects.
Wonderful podcast, as usual. I listened a few days ago, and came back to see if there was anything posted about Austin’s brief comments about the Jupiter-Saturn mutation from earth to air. This topic merits an episode of its own.