“If you’re frightened of dying and you’re holding on, you will see devils tearing your life away. If you have made your peace, then the devils are really angels freeing you from the earth.”
– an interpretation of the works of Meister Eckhart from the film Jacob’s Ladder
This week is the darkest week of the year. Thankfully, the tension between Saturn in Sagittarius and Neptune in Pisces is finally easing, meaning that the storm of unrest that brings no answers will begin to mellow out. The nights have been growing steadily longer and longer, stretching the ratio of darkness to light. Next Monday, December 21st, this momentum of darkness will reach its crescendo at the Winter Solstice. But until then, the last galloping legs of the Sagittarius season will drag you onward into the barren night, lost in visions of the future! Whether that future is a verdant paradise or a scorching hellscape is entirely dependent on you.
Under cover of night, your psyche reveals its insides. Think of this darkness at the end of the year like an inkblot upon which you may project your biggest imaginings. This week, think of your experiences as an extended Rorschach test: a time when the shadows will reveal to you the order and disorder of your cognition, personality, and motivations.
If there are devils, know that their vicious nature was born inside of you. If there is bitterness, then you are tasting your own resentment. And if there are angels, then you will know that you are primed and ready for the dawning of the light!
Monday/Tuesday – The Princess of Pentacles (reversed)
At the beginning of the week, the Princess of Pentacles reversed urges you to change your approach to something important in your life which has been holding you back from progress. This might indicate a shift in morality, a change in opinions, or a confession of guilt. Use the experiences of frustration early in this week to find the will and the humility to admit error and change your tactics.
On Monday, December 14th, your intentions for this lunation cycle will be hugely expanded by the Sun’s square with Jupiter in Virgo. The New Moon in Sagittarius last Friday also squared Jupiter in Virgo, lending a weary dissonance to the holiday spirit of idealism and hope. With the Sun and Moon making the same square to Jupiter just a few days apart, there will be many themes of healing and a demanding process of learning that will be repeated. Let this square between the Sun and Jupiter expand the visionary potential of the New Moon and bring into order some of the parts of your life that remain incoherent or out of control.
Also on Monday, the Moon in Capricorn will sextile Neptune in Pisces: the imagination may run wild! Under an influence like this both meditation and prayer will feel deeply moving rather than stiff and unyielding. This can become a great source of inspiration, but also acts as a momentary detriment to whatever solid plans or new routines you are trying to enact.
Wednesday/Thursday: The Devil
The middle of the week is hugely important for discovering more about your internal conditions, your current beliefs and your true values. The Devil is a card that evokes fear and this reaction is one of the intended purposes of the Devil card, so do not try to avoid the feelings that come up. Facing the fear that enslaves you is the healing intention of the Devil.
In regards to this week’s reading, the Devil teaches that repressed thoughts and feelings do not disappear, but instead mirror back to you, amplifying their negative expression.
All your thoughts and emotions engender your psychic reality, and if you do not recognize your own hand in the creation of the shadow-sides of experience, then a devil may appear, interfering with your sense of self and all of your conscious intentions.
You must encounter the darkest and most unconscious parts of the self in order to maintain a true sense of autonomy that is not subject to escapism, fear, and manipulation from anything.
“The only thing that burns in hell is the part of you that won’t let go of your life: your memories, your attachments.” -Jacob’s Ladder
On Wednesday, the Moon will be in Pisces, conjuncting Neptune late in the night. The Moon will also be squared to Saturn, which is an aspect that creates tension and conflict, but may also allow you to interpret your dreams as aspects of conscious reality. Signs and omens and synchronicities will abound. An excellent activity under this influence would be to write down your dreams, for not only will you be able to recall them with greater detail, you will also be likely to find that the dream contains a vivid revelation.
On Thursday, Venus in Scorpio will sextile Pluto in Capricorn, making it a favorable day to have an intimate connection with others, which may change the status you have with friends, family or consorts significantly. (Love becomes deeper or business relations become tighter.) If you sincerely offer yourself, someone will sincerely reciprocate.
It is also a good day to have a therapy session of some kind. Conversations will veer towards deep truths and will lead you to realizations that will aid you in releasing the devils that haunt you.
Friday/Saturday/Sunday- The Queen of Pentacles (reversed)
The Queen of Pentacles reversed is a card that asks you tend to yourself this week before tending to anyone else. There will be lots of time for putting others first next week, but this is an introverted time to heal and contemplate.
Even for yourself, do not try to overstretch. If you have been facing the demons inside, you can not simultaneously be fully engaged with the mundane world. The Queen of Pentacles asks that you focus on the quality of your inner world before the New Year so that the quality of your manifest world can flourish in the months to come. 
Pull the weeds, flush out the poisons, and plant things in your life that are beautiful for beauty’s sake.
On Friday, the Moon will enter the sign of Aries, and that offers a little extra energy to anyone who has been suffering from inertia.
On Saturday, December 19th, Mercury in Capricorn will conjunct Pluto in Capricorn at 14 degrees. You may find that the effect of this transit deeply magnifies your powers of persuasion, and that is because the power of your words will be profoundly enhanced. Rather than wasting time attempting to overpower others, use the energy wisely to empower yourself.
With a little extra magic in the words that you use, what might you do to improve your life? What might you grow in the garden of your mind?
(write a letter…a journal entry… an introduction to a novel…make a sigil…try self-hypnosis)
You should also know that when Mercury goes retrograde in January, this conjunction with Pluto will happen again. Therefore, whatever deep work you begin today will be revisited again later. If the truth is not yet known to you regarding a certain issue, it will be revealed before January is over.
The contemplation of Saturday will explode into some kind of revelation on Sunday, when Mercury squares Uranus in Aries at 16 degrees. That sense of a golden tomorrow will overtake you! There will be excitement about the possibilities for the upcoming New Year. Since Sunday is also the second to last day of Sagittarius, it is a perfect time to gulp down as much optimism as you can handle before settling down into Capricorn’s austere season of accomplishment through struggle.
By the end of the weekend, you will feel the imminence of the Winter Solstice as a sparkling jewel upon your crown of joy!
Happy Holidays! Book a Reading.
❤ Aeolian Heart ❤
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