December is holiday season in the Southern hemisphere; we may feel restless as a need to explore life and break though any self imposed restrictions.

Many planets are in Sagittarius and they are ruled by Jupiter in Pisces, meaning they need to dance to his tune; Jupiter in Pisces is in his element. Pisces brings about a foggy type of energy that entices us to explore the unknown. After all Pisces has no boundaries, Jupiter owns the freedom to move through all perceived boundaries and fears enabling us to ability to see the truth and dissolve illusions.

We may find that we are at the end of a journey and feel a bit disillusioned about the life we are living. Being too organised and controlled is not going to work, we need to lighten up and let go of the control we believe is serving us.

This energy has a compassionate feel about it, it brings about a drive to notice and take care of our universe, and highlights the fact that each and every one of us has a role to play as we connect with our creator and respect the gifts we have been given.

Just one word of caution, we may be tempted to get a bit too involved in other people’s business, pick up the signs as your help may not always be wanted.

From the 23^rd Mercury will slow in motion then retrograde on the 29^th just when post holiday sales hit the market. It would be wise to put post holiday spending sprees on hold till the 3^rd week in January.

Mercury is after all retrograding in Capricorn where the normal motion of thought and movement is somewhat limited. Mercury will enter into Capricorn on the 7^th starting the difficulties and restrictions of exploring new ideas.

As this energy is more serious than Mercury’s normal free and happy go lucky energy, an efficient practical drive will emerge. But do understand we may all take our opinions and ideas personally, which could lead to argumentative situations. Being a bossy boots will not serve you well.

Mercury will station aspecting Neptune, be advised that Neptune can trick you and confuse you into believing in an unrealistic ideal.

As this retrograde continues into the New Year we may find taking on new projects and professional moves tedious. Many well laid out plans could be stonewalled or held up due to unforeseen circumstances. Rather do your due diligence before committing to any new business adventure.

Jupiter enters Aries a week before the Mercury retrograde. Jupiter loves to expand and is a very social planet, but can be impulsive, especially when in Aries where this impulsive careless energy is more self orientated rather than society driven. The theme for Jupiter in Aries is all about have the enthusiasm and courage to become a leader, engage with your pioneering spirit and when the time is right make things happen.

When a planet changes sign it brings about a heavy and unsettling energy. So if you are feeling unsettled, understand Jupiter the big energy planet is changing gears and shifting his energy. It can be confusing and tiring as this shift happens around Christmas. He moves from universal love to focusing on a new cycle where the drive for individual discovery and growth is important.

The impulse to act too quickly will have you slipping off your back foot, especially with Mercury and the action planet Mars retrograding. Mars has the potential of acting very quickly when in the sign of Gemini jumping form one project or task to another without completing any.

Gemini brings with it energy of opposing ideas, the trick is to find how to connect these ideas and find the middle path or the truth that can connect or disconnect them.

We are ending the year in a rather agitated way as we feel the need to take action and focus on self growth which will be hindered by the retrograde motion of the two planets responsible for action and thinking. 

We have Saturn connecting with Neptune around the beginning of the Mercury retrograde; this is time for serious thinking. You may feel heavy hearted as you realize the outcome you are seeking could be denied or delayed. This will force you into being realistic and disciplined in what you are doing.

In December we need to slow down and take the time to see through the fog around us. The mood will not be light and at times you may feel a lack of confidence, this will just shows where you are lacking certain skills or knowledge, once that is visible you will understand how to build up that missing link so you can trust your decisions and actions moving forward.

MEDICALLY SPEAKING

With so many negative situations happening in the world it is difficult not to feel the constant crisis’s around us.

Our own lives are challenging enough and we may find we are feeling panicky without really understanding why. It is an interesting fact that even though we don’t have genetic risk factors for depression, we can develop symptoms due to environmental factors.

This can be the reason we wake up feeling flat and tired, I was watching a program with such interesting coping mechanisms. If you are in a situation where you feeling overwhelmed, do some box breathing. This is where you breathe in for the count of four, hold the breath for a count of four, release the breath for the count of four and count four before you start the process again.

This calms the moment and slows the release of adrenaline we produce when feeling panicked.

A great way to kick start your day when you are feeling flat is to have a shower then for the last 30 seconds turn of the hot water and let the sudden cold blast activate your neurons stimulating a positive energy rush.

I wish you all a very happy and safe holiday season, and give yourself a gift of doing something nice for yourself every day. I have just enjoyed taking a 10 minute time out to enjoy a fresh nectarine in my garden while watching a troop of happy guineafowles.