shadow puppet
Imagine yourself camping for the night in the forest. You soak in the beauty of nature and look forward to stargazing and a quiet dinner around the campfire.
But the sky was cloudy and no stars could be seen. While your campfire is roaring, the skies suddenly open and it pours with rain. You crawl into your tent and wallow in self-pity for a minute or two. But then you see your own reflection on the tent wall, illuminated by a lantern. You remember what your family used to do on camping trips – you had a great time making shadow puppets by the light of the lantern and listening to the patter of rain on the tent roof.
when Venus in Sagittarius square Neptune in Pisces (December 23, 2025, 9:31 PM PDT, 29°25′ Sagittarius-Pisces) October 26, 2021, 6:06 PM PDT), a particularly passionate joy may be extinguished by disappointment. The challenge is to have fun no matter what – luckily, this is a talent shared by Sagittarius and Pisces, ruled by Jupiter.
blueprint
Venus symbolizes the things that bring us joy, and one thing my Venus in Capricorn sister has loved since she was a teenager are blueprints and floor plans of houses. When I design my imagination, Venus in Cancer dreams of a seaside home with cabbage rose print throw pillows, and my sister dreams of being an architect. Her path eventually led her into banking (also a good match for Venus in Capricorn), later into bookkeeping and raising several wonderful children. But to this day, you’ll still find a Blue Book among her more traditional coffee table reading materials.
Venus in Capricorn loves the essence of things and the elegance of functional form. So as Venus enters Capricorn (December 24, 2025 at 8:26 AM PST through January 17, 2016), think about what you want to build in the coming year. Make sure it’s useful, something you actually think is beautiful, and that it has great bones.
Christmas Eve
There are no major events this Christmas. The tone of the holiday is set by Moon in gentle Pisces, proactive Sextile to the Sun (12:13 AM PST) and Mars (7:45 AM PST) in Capricorn.
During the two and a half days each month the Moon is in Pisces, we alternate between happily socializing and finding our fellow humans feeling unbearably exhausted around us. Suddenly, we find ourselves absorbing every emotion around us—joy, anger, jealousy, inspiration. Holding all these emotions can make us feel heavy, like a dark cloud before a storm or a sponge that needs to be wrung out.
Like the sleek and fragile fish for which it is named, the Pisces is a gentle creature with only a few scales for protection. No matter how strong we normally are, especially during a week when the planet rules the indomitable sign of Capricorn, today we may feel fragile and vulnerable. Willie’s escape may feel like our only defense, and this is great astrological weather for sneaking away from the Christmas celebrations for some alone time to rest, reflect and meditate.
ruthless scenery
The Moon in Aries is an inner pioneer. And this special First Quarter Moon in Aries (December 27, 2025, 11:10 AM PST, 6°17′ Aries and Capricorn), is a pioneer setting out on the unforgiving Western landscape – not out of a love of adventure, but because it broke the bridge in the lush green hills at birth. Or maybe, because its hometown has become a dump, with no economic opportunities, the only solution is to look elsewhere.
I’ve been watching some modern westerns lately (world news, dog power, atheism), which depicts a lawless 19th-century American West, is not at all for the meek, the kind, or the weak. I see echoes of these stories in the First Quarter Moon in Aries, squaring the difficult combination of Sun and Mars in Capricorn. Even Venus, the feminine principle, is in Capricorn, conjunct the Sun and Mars; we’re getting into rough terrain.
Aries and Capricorn, this is a tough combination. That Mars, the ruthless warrior planet, is the ruler of one of the planets and revered by the other pretty much tells us what we need to know about its ferocity. But it’s also a combination of fearlessness and determination. These two signs can be helpful to us whenever we find ourselves on a difficult path, surrounded by danger. Neither side will give up, give in, or deny its goals.
The first quarter is tied to the New Moon in Aries on March 29, a solar eclipse of nearly the same degree. So, what is your mission to set the wagon at the New Moon in Aries? Maybe you don’t remember, or maybe it wasn’t even a conscious decision; after all, new moons are dark times. Sometimes we don’t realize what we’ve planted at the new moon until the light of the first quarter illuminates the first tiny, stubborn sprouts emerging across the dusty plains.
Text and images © 2017-2025 by April Elliott Kent
