Follow Your
Heart
The December
2006 Forecast
By Terry Lamb
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terry@terrylamb.net.
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Past forecasts
O
n Thanksgiving Day, the day Jupiter entered Sagittarius, I had a purely Sagittarian
experience. I had the great pleasure of seeing The Girl in the Café (on DVD). It is as
uplifting an experience as I have ever had from a movie. I was deeply moved and inspired
to do my part to change the world in a positive way. As of that day, November 23, we started
dealing with a different dominant force than the one we have experienced since July 2005, and
my experience was emblematic of the new energy. Finally! With the ingress of Jupiter into
Sagittarius, the balance of predominance shifts from the fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio,
Aquarius) to the mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces). We haven’t been able to
quite ignore these energies at any time since 1995, but now we are entering a time when they will
be especially important to our development.
There’s more: We get a really fresh, new beginning. So much was cleared away in the
past year, but especially in November. Deep healing energy was available (through the emphasis
in transformative Scorpio), and as with any healing process, letting go of old ideas and structures
is the most essential ingredient. So we emerge — cleansed, renewed, and uplifted into
transcendent Sagittarius. This is how we will experience the shift from a super-emphasis in
Scorpio to a super-emphasis in Sagittarius.
This new pattern will be with us for the year that Jupiter is in Sagittarius, and it will bring
out some issues that have been backgrounded in your life as well as a few new ones. We will also
see some harbinger events that will show us what will happen in the 2010's. This also means that
what we do in 2007 will greatly affect what we experience during the next decade. It’s good that
people in leadership positions all over the world seem to understand the urgency of this period.
It has power in our personal situations as well, if not urgency. In addition, it gives us a
chance to recall and fulfill the inspiration for the future that we had in 1995. In 1995, we were
full of dreams and ideals about how the world could be if we all came together. Then we found
out that underneath the surface unity, deep divides were lurking. These became more exaggerated
after 2001 (which could be predicted from astrological principles, not just world events). Now
we’re at a turning point in so many ways and at all levels, from international to the most
personal. What happens to everyone depends on each one of us. Not only do our actions (or
inaction) have an impact, but the form our consciousness takes — the things we think and
believe — have a powerful affect on the outcome of this time.
It’s All Down to Pluto.
What I’ve been describing is the process of Pluto in Sagittarius. Pluto travels very slowly,
moving through a sign in about 12 years at its fastest clip. It is moving through Sagittarius in 14
years, from 1995 to 2009. As a planet moves through a sign, we experience and express the first
half of the sign in a naive and idealistic way that often results in rather benign events. However,
as it reaches the middle of the sign (at 15°), a crisis point is reached which brings out the ways in
which we are misusing the sign’s energy. As the planet travels the second half of the sign, more
obvious, externalized events take place which bring our attention dramatically to the
consequences of misusing these energies, and it is usually at this time that we begin to respond
more wisely to head off negative results.
While this happens even with the fast-moving planets like the Moon and Sun, it is quite
starkly evident with the slower planets Saturn, Chiron, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. At the time
that Pluto was reaching the midpoint of Sagittarius, 9/11 happened. This was a critical juncture
after which there was much more divisiveness seen around the world. While it is possible for
people to take a more unifying approach (and it would have been much better if such leadership
had been shown in the US), that’s not what happened, and it set the tone for differences between
people to be emphasized rather than minimized. But even that is a necessary learning process,
because leaders could not lead people down the path of fearful division if they understood the
dynamics of union versus division. Since 2001, we have gotten great lessons in the chasms that
separate us from others, whether it is from the splits that have rent apart the Muslim world or the
chasms that appeared to exist between “blue” and “red” America under the manipulations of Karl
Rove, Tom DeLay, and the right-wing media.
Now people are seeing the damage that is done by ignoring these apparent rifts and
allowing them to fester in the minds of those who fall easily prey to fear. To hide from your
neighbor is to fear your neighbor, while to know your neighbor better is to understand and at
least tolerate him/her compassionately. This, finally, is where we are heading, and there are three
astrological factors which push us in that direction:
The first is transformative Pluto, which is finishing its sojourn through Sagittarius. As it
makes its way through the last degrees of the sign over the next three years, we get a chance to
more deeply understand the power of beliefs (more on this later).
The second is Saturn. Saturn is our constant companion in lesson-learning, now in Leo.
Since 2001, it has been in positions which bring out people’s worst fears. In 2001–03, it was fear
of powerful hidden forces (terrorist attack); in 2003–05, it was fear of those who don’t belong to
our “tribe” (terrorists, people of other religions, etc.); in 2005–06, it was fear of social threats
(immigration, people with divergent social values, etc.). In recent years, Saturn has been in
discordant contact with various planets, but it will have two important harmonies from now
through 2007. It will have only one significant inharmonious connection during this time. This
opens a big window of opportunity for progress toward highly beneficial goals. Since Saturn is
associated with structures, rules, and laws, it suggests that we will see positive change in these
areas.
The third is Jupiter, planet of possibility. Jupiter entered Sagittarius on November 23,
where it will remain for a year. This is a position where Jupiter can show its native power, since
it is one of two signs that it rules (the other is Pisces). When a planet is in a sign of its rulership,
it magnifies the planet’s power, because the sign brings out one side of that planet’s natural
energies. What’s more, events and activities that are Jupiter-ruled (that is, started when Jupiter is
emphasized) will turn out positively with less effort on our part, and even much better than we
could have expected.
The Power of Positive Connections
These three planets are making positive, harmonious contact with each other over the
coming year. This will lend the glow of good fortune to our adventures and enterprises,
especially if we’ve put in consistent effort toward our goals before this time. They create a big,
gilt-edged window of opportunity that we only have to dare to step through in order to follow the
yellow-brick road.
Here’s the story. We’ve been dreaming about and feeling compelled toward goals that we
set in 1995. We had a vision then of what our future could hold. Now, many trials and
experiences later, we have sharpened our sense of what hold the most meaning for us and we are
ready to activate it in our lives. (This is Pluto.)
Now Saturn comes along and makes a harmonious contact with Pluto, the first since
1996–98. It gives us the opportunity (but does not drive us) to bring our dreams into
manifestation. Efforts we put into this process now will be met with greater ease than before,
especially during 2005–06. It’s true that what you did over the past two years was a vital part of
your learning curve, but things will now proceed with much greater ease than before, especially if
you can renew your faith in the future and your own enlightened potential.
Pluto is the muscle behind Saturn’s ability to bring our dreams into reality, but Jupiter is
our ability to reshape the world to make it the way we want it to be. Jupiter has been under siege
for the past year, but its fruits will always come to us if we do the work to support it. The
combination of these three planets brings an unprecedented (in recent times anyway) capability to
bring our dreams to reality, perhaps a reality beyond our wildest flights of fancy.
With Saturn and Pluto in late degrees in their signs, they lend to us the will to make real,
dramatic changes for the better. With this will, it is now possible for groups, communities, and
nations to make progress toward important goals for humanity (ending war, poverty, global
warming, etc.). When Jupiter enters a new sign, this huge and beautiful orb lights up the whole
sign and activates everything in it immediately. In Sagittarius, it will contact both Saturn and
Pluto to make heroic efforts and triumphs possible. This pattern will rule the heavens for the
coming year and also give us the optimism to create something new and wonderful in our life.
Caveats and Qualifiers
When we look ahead over the coming year, we can see two major planetary patterns
which, if not harmonious, can serve to spur us onward to our higher goals. Jupiter will be in a
challenging configuration with Uranus, hardening differences between groups based on beliefs
but also making us put our thinking caps on to come up with truly innovative solutions. If we can
think out of the box, we can put ourselves on the path to accomplish significant improvements.
The second pattern is one I’ve spoken about before and that we’ve already experienced
starting in August — the
interaction of Saturn and
Neptune. This planetary
contact has coincided
with fluctuations in oil
prices and availability,
and it will be a primary
goad in moving toward
renewable energy
resources as we
experience more pain in
the pocketbook as we
buy fuel. This will also
be played out through
government
machinations, as between a US Congress bent on significant change and a lame-duck president.
See Chart B.
What’s in It for You?
What’s in it for you depends on what you want to create — and how well prepared you
are to create what you want. If you have a clear vision of what you want and have been laying the
foundation for the manifestation of your goals, then you’re a mere few steps away from
realization! December is the time to create a vision of the coming year and what it will bring you
in the longer term. Power dates for doing so are the 4th, 8th – 9th, and 18th. Most of us will know
what we want, but we will want to refine and define our goals to focus our energies as well as to
focus the response the universe brings to us. If your goals are less well defined, it’s never too late
to do so. If it is difficult for you to define your direction, bounce ideas off your close friends or
seek the guidance of a counselor or astrologer to get a broader perspective.
If you have planets in Gemini, Virgo, or Pisces, you’re in for a time of excitement and
expansion as your dreams begin to take off! If you’re a Sagittarius, you’d better hold onto your
hat and fasten your seatbelt, because the ride will be incredible! If you have planets in Taurus,
Leo, Scorpio, or Aquarius, you can breathe a sigh of relief — the pressure is finally off you, at
least as much as you’ve had since mid-2005. (The rest of you continue to get a break from the
planetary hubbub until 2008.)
December Overview
December is a time of excitement as we acquaint ourselves with this new energy. The
shift will pull us in new directions and give us a different perspective on ongoing issues.
Sagittarius brings us into a deeper understanding of the truth and the ability to adhere to it more
faithfully (perhaps simply through a greater awareness of the consequences if we do not).
Each of us holds a knowledge of the truth within us, even if we are not aware of it. This is
important to realize when we feel that someone else around us doesn’t really understand what’s
true. The fact is, they do. However, just as we have been mistaken in the past and have found this
out, so too must the other who we feel is wrong. And just as we needed time and experience to
discover the truth so too do others, and it works better if we do not interfere in their discovery
process.
Through Sagittarius we discover the power of truth and the correct way to hold to what is
true, through our principles. The way we apply our principles in our life is what gives our life
meaning and develops our self-respect. When we honor our own heartfelt perception of things,
we increase our self-esteem. Of course, we are wise if we are constantly looking for the reflection
that our experiences give us on what is true, because our understanding of the truth is constantly
evolving. From time to time we discover that we have made a mistake, but remembering our own
errors makes it easier to act compassionately toward others when they discover their own
mistakes.
Truth will eventually unite us, just as it does, in fact, set us free. However, in the short
run, people’s perceptions of the truth often seem to divide them. It is only by striving to
understand those who differ from us that we can arrive at what is true at a more unifying
universal level. This is what Sagittarius brings us to — a deeper understanding of others that
leads to unity and the ability to drink from the universal well of humanity with them.
December’s Events
Because so many of the planets will be traversing through Sagittarius this month (Sun,
Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Pluto), we will get a super-dose of this buoyant, fiery,
unfailingly optimistic and adventurous energy. Peak dates for this occur on the 8th and 9th (which
are also important for other reasons) shown in Chart A above. We will feel the most flow in our
direction on these dates as well as on the 13th and 14th.
There’s No Better Time to Transform Your Life.
More challenging experiences will arise on the 3rd, 15th, 18th, and 23rd. These dates will
show the potential for disruption leading to growth that will arise throughout 2007, so it helps to
be mindful of your experiences on those days. In particular, on the 18th, we start a new yearly
Pluto cycle, which unfolds a process of transformation somewhere in our life, on a continuum
with changes we’ve been making over the past few years in alignment with our goals. Another
layer of life will be transformed over the coming year, with peak events in 2007 on March 19 and
31, June 18, and September 7 and 19.
A Chance for Accomplishment
Although Saturn’s yearly cycle began on August 7, we’ll begin feeling the responsibilities
and obligations we’ve signed up for around the 5th (+1 week). If you’re willing to put in five
months of steady effort, you can accomplish your goals. Although Jupiter promises, Saturn
delivers. If you do the work, you get the goodies. Because Neptune is involved in the process,
there’s a leap of faith that is required to get what you want.
A Golden Opportunity Period — Revisited
Remember the golden opportunity period I talked about last month with Mercury and
Jupiter? Well, in my observations, people did not get final results with efforts taken under their
beams except in minimal ways. Much remains to be completed, and those completions are
scheduled to take place around December 8th and 9th, which are very auspicious days for most
undertakings. There are 8 hours each day (in 2-hour segments) when astrology can be used to
provide dynamic support to your efforts with exceptional success.
Throw Your Heart Over the Fence
In December, we can look forward to making new beginnings. Lucy Maud Montgomery
(in Anne of Green Gables) said that “Every day is fresh with no mistakes in it.” If we can take
this approach to the newness that December brings, we will surely succeed in using this month to
its fullest potential. I remember hearing when I was a kid that a good jumper (that is, a horse that
jumps) throws his heart over the fence and then goes after it. If we can throw our heart over the
obstacles we encounter and then go after it as we build our future, we will surely be able to turn
our dreams into reality during 2007 and beyond.
Significant Planetary Events
No planets are retrograde. Saturn is in detriment, Mars and Jupiter in rulership.
Mercury trines Moon’s North
Node (3rd of 3)
|
21°15' Scorpio/Pisces
|
December 1
|
Sun squares Uranus
|
10°53' Sagittarius/Pisces
|
December 3
|
Venus squares Moon’s Nodes
|
21°09' Sagittarius/Pisces-Virgo
|
December 3
|
Mercury squares Saturn
|
25°04' Scorpio/Leo
|
December 4
|
Full Moon
|
12°43' Sagittarius/Gemini
|
December 4
|
Saturn begins backward
motion (stationary
retrograde)
|
25°04' Leo
|
December 5
|
Mars enters Sagittarius
|
0°00' Sagittarius
|
December 5
|
Venus trines Saturn ℞
|
25°04' Sagittarius/Leo
|
December 7
|
Venus conjoins Pluto
|
26°09' Sagittarius
|
December 7
|
Mercury enters Sagittarius
(detriment)
|
0°00' Sagittarius
|
December 8
|
Sun sextiles Neptune
|
17°31' Sagittarius/Aquarius
|
December 9
|
Mercury conjoins Mars (3rd of
3)
|
2°43' Sagittarius
|
December 9
|
Mercury conjoins Jupiter
(3rd of 3)
|
3°39' Sagittarius
|
December 11
|
Venus enters Capricorn
|
0°00' Capricorn
|
December 11
|
Mars conjoins Jupiter
|
3°52' Sagittarius
|
December 11
|
Mercury sextiles Chiron
|
6°27' Sagittarius/Aquarius
|
December 12
|
Mars sextiles Chiron
|
6°39' Sagittarius/Aquarius
|
December 15
|
Mercury squares Uranus
|
11°05' Sagittarius/Pisces
|
December 15
|
Sun trines Saturn ℞
|
24°57' Sagittarius/Leo
|
December 16
|
Sun conjoins Pluto
|
26°32' Sagittarius
|
December 18
|
Mercury sextiles Neptune
|
17°46' Sagittarius/Aquarius
|
December 19
|
Venus sextiles Uranus
|
11°11' Capricorn/Pisces
|
December 19
|
New Moon
|
28°32' Sagittarius
|
December 20
|
Mercury squares the Moon’s
Nodes
|
20°13' Sagittarius/Pisces-Virgo
|
December 21
|
Mars squares Uranus
|
11°14' Sagittarius/Pisces
|
December 21
|
Sun enters Capricorn
(Yule/Winter Solstice)
|
0°00' Capricorn
|
December 21
|
Mercury trines Saturn ℞
|
24°45' Sagittarius/Leo
|
December 24
|
Mercury conjoins Pluto
|
26°48' Sagittarius
|
December 25
|
Venus sextiles Moon’s North
Node
|
19°56' Capricorn/Pisces
|
December 26
|
Mercury enters Capricorn
|
0°00' Capricorn
|
December 27
|
Jupiter sextiles Chiron
|
7°34' Sagittarius/Aquarius
|
December 28
|
Venus quincunxes Saturn
|
24°30' Capricorn/Leo
|
December 30
|
Mars sextiles Neptune
|
18°06' Sagittarius/Aquarius
|
December 31
|
All dates are based on Pacific Time.
Blue = harmonious/Red or orange = challenging
Events in bold are more significant.
© Terry Lamb, 2006. Reprint permission is granted if used in its entirety with full credit given to
author. Permission to quote portions of this article granted by request.