Consider this the overarching theme in your December 2024 horoscope: If the best you can do this month is make it up as you go along, you’re doing about as well as anyone else is right now. Between an error-prone Mercury Retrograde that will take us down the least efficient path to our destination and a Mars Retrograde that could derail us entirely, we’re not looking at “business as usual,” and we definitely shouldn’t rely on things going neatly according to plan. There are logistical complications and miscommunications compounding the effects of steeper obstacles right now. For most of us, this could amount to feeling like we’re running out of steam or motivation, needing to bide our time or wait for the right moment to act, or calculating our next chess move as we duel with a complex adversary. A tactical pause might just be the move right now, and you might need the extra time to get your head straight anyway.
Don’t underestimate the effect that an offhand comment could have on stoking the flames of a deeper conflict, though. Particularly in the first half of December, while Mercury is retrograde in Sagittarius until December 15 and Mars is stationing retrograde on December 6, the forecast calls for a higher-than-usual chance of “foot in mouth” and “wounded ego.” While avoiding conflict entirely is probably not the most emotionally mature approach to the current moment, take extra care to not accidentally blunder into an argument you’ll have to backpedal on later. People will be extra touchy this month, and also extra “in the mood to let you know about it.”
Of course, “things not going neatly according to plan” applies a great deal to the realm of travel, too, and there might be literal detours we’ll need to take while these larger life questions hang over our heads. A sense of humor in travel is essential, especially in the first half of December. Delays and cancellations could present themselves, but even the flights that arrive on time could take you on a completely different trip than the one you had in mind. Rather than calcify around your frustrations, try going into things with the expectation of being surprised, and remain open to the experience you’re actually having. Life could have a better adventure in store for you than you ever could have planned yourself.
Astrologer's note: Below we refer to your signs as “rising” signs, also known as your ascendant sign. Horoscopes are more accurate when read this way—using your birth time and location, you can quickly find your rising sign online (it takes less than 30 seconds).
Aries Rising
It’s not a matter of where you’re going, but where you’re not. At least for right now, while you’re rolling up to the stop sign and finding that your path has been obstructed. What won’t be helpful is stressing yourself out more by trying to see the whole map when your immediate task is simply to pause and assess what your current options are. They say “it’s not the destination, it’s the journey”—this month, you probably won’t be able to tell what your destination is just yet because you’re journeying through a process of rerouting.
That sense of obstruction is probably the dominant signature for you right now with your ruling planet, Mars, stationing retrograde on December 6. Since early fall, all has not been entirely at peace in your kingdom: there may have been domestic disturbances, familial spats, and a mounting sense of frustration around early childhood wounds and/or your current living situation. Certain annoyances that seemed manageable a couple months ago could very well be snowballing now. On top of that, your plans might feel less certain. Whether this involves the possibility of a move, a decision that impacts your family, or your sense of direction more broadly, it’s okay not to know what you want to do just yet. In fact, channeling your rage and frustration into creative expression could be the most constructive way to repurpose those ghosts from your teenage diaries that have been woken from their slumber.
Mercury’s retrograde also contributes to your feelings (or literal experience) of being a bit lost on the pilgrimage route. Whether you’re on a chaotic adventure or you’re struggling to make meaning out of life, rambling through back roads and philosophical tangents is how you get from point A to point B this month, no matter how much you’d prefer a more efficient path. Themes of “missing the forest for the trees” and “losing the plot” could come up more than once. You might also find yourself retracing your steps in some way, either geographically or verbally. You’ll find useful breadcrumbs illuminated on your path during the Mercury-Sun conjunction on December 5, and after Mercury goes direct on the 15th, some of these threads will gratefully start to untangle themselves.
Taurus Rising
So maybe you’ve been embracing your maturation into a polarizing figure. Maybe you’ve even grown to enjoy the reactions you get when people find out “what you do.” December might amount to another subtle initiation into your status as a person who the general public may have a love/hate relationship with, although you’ll mostly be feeling the love. Whether it’s your job title, your public persona, or the power structures that feel threatened by you in this latest era of your becoming, you’re about to notice some complicated affection being directed your way. The people who get it, get it—and it’s better to focus your efforts on them than let the haters distract you from your mission yet again.
When your ruling planet, Venus, enters your tenth house of public acclaim on December 7, it does so by making an immediate conjunction to Pluto, which just settled more officially into this part of your chart for the next 20 years. On top of that, Venus will have to face off with a very frustrated Mars on December 12. Love you or hate you, there’s no denying your impact, and if some people might not like it, let them stay mad. Once Venus sweeps into a trine with Jupiter on the 19th, you might be tangibly rewarded for your efforts, so keep your eye on the prize and remain in your integrity. There will be opportunities this month to differentiate yourself yet again, and to keep the opposition guessing.
There are also plenty of other frustrations coming up to be dealt with as Mercury and Mars both retrograde through their respective parts of the sky. There might be financial headaches to sort out this month on top of larger issues within your home and family—perhaps related to a will or inheritance, your rent or mortgage, or your shared expenses if you live with roommates. Inner circle drama can derail you on your best days, and right now, we’re all especially vulnerable to misunderstandings that stir an already agitated pot. Ask for clarification, and then ask again. Hopefully, Mercury’s direct station on December 15 will be the point from which some of these issues start to resolve themselves, but if egos were bruised on the way to arriving at a logistical solution, expect the burn to linger a bit through the winter.
On the bright side (sort of), the Sun’s entry into Capricorn on December 21 marks the beginning of your annual high season for travel, learning, and meaning-seeking. So if your escapism yearnings are supported by your budget, you have a cosmic permission slip to “get away from it all” over the holidays. And if it’s not, a staycation to catch up on your reading list might be the balm your soul craves.
Gemini Rising
It may not feel like it yet, but you are about to find some semblance of order again in what has felt like an increasingly chaotic universe. Your efforts to grow as a person and progress your life forward have been a series of stop and go incremental adjustments lately. To be clear, you’re still very much riding that wave. But right now, what you do next may depend somewhat on the buy-in or participation of a key player in your life, and that conversation has been anything but straightforward. Fortunately, Mercury’s direct station in your seventh house of relationships coincides with the Full Moon in Gemini on December 15, signaling an important turning point for you in the middle of the month that makes it possible for you to move forward, and most likely move forward together.
Until that happens, there are still more inroads you’ll need to make to reach mutual understanding. Most of your attention during the first half of December might be spent on negotiations, or on cleaning up some recent misunderstandings. If there’s a day to schedule that all-important talk, the Mercury-Sun conjunction on December 5 could provide you with a window of clarity in an otherwise error-prone stretch of weather. Try not to be discouraged if things aren’t resolved all at once—Mars stations retrograde the next day as Mercury forms a square with Saturn, suggesting there are still hurdles to overcome. Patience is your best ally this month.
With Venus entering your ninth house of travel and education on December 7 and sliding up to Jupiter via harmonious trine on December 19, you may be in the right place at the right time to have a perspective-opening experience, or just to have fun in an unfamiliar setting. If you’re fortunate enough to be on the road around this time, especially after the 15th, the hospitality of strangers will uplift your spirits, and a mostly pleasurable journey awaits you. However, you don’t actually need to travel anywhere to experience the joy of learning and communion. The spirit of celebration is present as a backdrop for you in the midst of all the other commotion, so don’t forget to stop and smell the roses, even if the messy stuff is demanding a lot of your mental faculties.
Cancer Rising
If you’re finally ready to acknowledge just how burned out you are, you’re in good company, at the very least. Look around you, and you’ll probably see a lot of other people feeling worn down and doing their best to keep it together. This is a simple awareness exercise that can actually help you take some pressure off of yourself to perform at 100% and keep up appearances, so there is that. Your problems will still be there at the end of the day, but maybe there’s elbow room for you to delegate some tasks or put them off until later.
There are larger spiritual concerns swirling in the background this month as Jupiter approaches another square to Saturn on December 24, which prompts another bout of second-guessing yourself and struggling to make meaning out of everything that’s happened to you in the last few years. If you’ve moved recently, you’re probably also feeling the alienation and culture shock something fierce right now, and perhaps even questioning why you came here in the first place. Living in a new place is definitely not the same as traveling there, but if it’s any comfort, these feelings you’re having are a normal part of the adjustment curve. Even those of you who haven’t physically traveled much farther than your mailbox are probably still feeling like a bit of a stranger in your own reality, and you might benefit from some spiritual guidance right now (or just a small dose of a familiar comfort, like your favorite food).
Still, the present demands to be dealt with. With Mercury retrograde in your sixth house of work until December 15 and Mars stationing retrograde in your second house of resources on December 6, you might find yourself having to temporarily shelve a project or sacrifice some income while you do what needs to be done. If there’s no slowing down for you anytime soon, this could also be a period of reorganization within your team or troubleshooting on a project that went slightly off the rails. Couple that with waning energy reserves and questions of what you even have the will to keep doing, and you might be questioning whether the money you’re making at this gig is even worth it, or perhaps sensing that your motivations are shifting when it comes to your material survival. Listen to your inner voice, because it’s cluing you into the root cause of your engine failure.
Leo Rising
Well, here you are. You sensed it without necessarily seeing it, and now you’re bumping up against the invisible limit of how far you were ever going to be able to push yourself before you were forced to slow down. With Mars stationing retrograde in your rising sign on December 6, it is abundantly obvious by now what’s throttling your progress. Whether it’s external conditions that are out of your hands, a lack of gas in your tank, or a combination of all the things, your reasons for wanting to give up now are not necessarily the same as the excuses you’re tempted to make. There are cop-outs that will fall apart under scrutiny, and there are also valid signals your body is sending you that will tell you everything you need to know if you’re able to listen. Your lack of enthusiasm could actually be an invitation to explore other options, and to take it seriously if you respond to any of them with an unmistakable “yes.”
To be clear, a lot of this also has to do with losing and finding your bravery again. There are plenty of reasons to feel discouraged now, and probably just as many reasons to let your rage boil over. It’s high time you got that out of your system and either found a way to move forward without the obstruction of those storm clouds, or let your anger fuel you the rest of the way to the finish line. There are plenty of successful people out there who simply prevailed out of spite.
It seems very possible that you might have reason to externalize some of your frustrations this month, especially in the days leading up to the Venus-Mars opposition on December 12. Other people can either be the source of your ire or a convenient punching bag, so it’s up to you to cultivate the self-awareness to know the difference in real time. And anyway, there is support in your corner. Venus moves into a celebratory trine with Jupiter on the 19th as a full moon lights up your eleventh house of groups and allies on the 15th, which signals that you’re not alone in this, and that your community can lift you up when you lack the strength to do it alone.
Virgo Rising
Oh, the places you’ll go this month on your trip down memory lane. Since late November, Mercury’s retrograde through Sagittarius has been compelling you to retrace your steps, sometimes as far back as your own origin story. Whether you’re digging for clues in your box of childhood things, literally revisiting old haunts from your past, or trying to make sense of the oral histories you were told about your family growing up (that you’re now realizing are mistaken or incomplete in some way), “looking back in order to look forward” is a big theme for you right now.
In the midst of this more poignant quest for meaning, there could also just be a lot of regular nuisances for you to deal with as things break down around your home, the dog eats your notarized lease agreement, or conversations with your family go completely off the rails. Couple that with Mars stationing retrograde on December 6, and you’ve got a recipe for feeling a bit blindsided by something you didn’t see coming in the first half of the month—perhaps even betrayed if life is really serving you drama. Most likely though, these are logistical snafus that contribute to you feeling a bit stuck, disempowered, or unsure of what to do. Persist in your quest for clarity, because after Mercury’s direct station on December 15, more solutions will be available, even if the road is still obstructed for you somewhat.
While there may be literal or metaphorical versions of “can’t go home again” and trips you take this month to former addresses and ancestral lands, this soul-seeking seems potentially connected to some exciting developments that might be popping off in your career. Yes, you could be moving for a job opportunity, but it’s probably not that straightforward. Mercury’s direct station on December 15 coincides with a full moon in your tenth house of career and public acclaim, and there’s also a Venus-Jupiter trine falling in your work houses on December 19. An opportunity might fall in your lap to work on something cool, perhaps even resulting from this exploration you’re doing. Maybe you’ll incorporate an ancestral craft or bit of folklore into this project? Either way, it seems like an important notch forward in building the life you’re trying to create, both in respect to your professional goals and your vision for family.
Libra Rising
There are some clubs you’d rather not be a part of, and that’s okay. But you don’t actually need to have a final verdict now, in spite of any urgency or haste you’re feeling. Dealbreakers are dealbreakers, but you can probably also afford to take your time and watch how these dynamics play out. Whether you’re feeling conflicted about some of your friendships or your membership to a community or network, it might be worth your while to stick it out (for now) and have those difficult conversations.
Needless to say, there’s a lot that’s still up in the air right now. Mars is just beginning its retrograde through your eleventh house of groups, but Mercury spends the first half of December wrapping up its retrograde in your third house of correspondence and close connections. You might be taking a break from social media entirely or actively engaged in discourse that seems to go nowhere and everywhere all at once. None of this feels like an efficient way to figure out where you (or anyone else) stands, but it’s the process you’re having. More will make sense after Mercury stations direct on December 15, but until then, you might as well give people the benefit of the doubt and not jump to conclusions prematurely.
There’s also a full moon in your ninth house of long journeys on December 15, happening in the lead-up to the second paradigm-shifting Jupiter-Saturn square of the year. A brave new world of travel and learning opened up for you this summer, and there’s something you’re meant to do with that in respect to the life you’re building for yourself. After potentially facing your first initial setback (or speed bump) in August, there are more results coming down the pipeline now. You could be getting ready to pull the trigger on a long-distance move, checking off another milestone on your way to a new diploma or certification, or getting the green light for a remote work setup. Perhaps Mercury’s retrograde was more about the immediate logistics of planning for your next steps, writing a paper, or putting an application together. While it’s not ideal weather to submit anything just yet (if you can help it), it’ll be easier to have your argument straight after the 15th. Until then, keep working through those revisions.
Scorpio Rising
Even if you manage to avoid flipping your desk this month, you’re approaching a bit of a stalemate when it comes to your responsibilities, and perhaps when it comes to whoever’s issuing the orders. Whether your frustrations are directed at your boss, The Man, or the demands of your professional and public roles, you’re probably not feeling up to the task of carrying on as expected. Your ruling planet, Mars, has been taking it on the chin for the last couple of months in the gradual lead up to its retrograde, which officially begins on December 6. And now, despite (or maybe because of) your ethical qualms and sputtering motivation, you are probably really resenting the show you’re still expected to put on.
There’s also a simultaneous Mercury Retrograde playing out during the first half of December, which might throw your finances into a bit of temporary chaos, or perhaps a messy transitional state. Whatever it is that’s going on with work for you, it seems like you’re not able to move forward in the way you want to just yet. But whether this time out or holding pattern is voluntary or not, you are getting a chance to actually think about your long-term goals with greater urgency, so there is that. So much of these next couple of months will amount to a game of 3D chess. And so much of playing your cards right will amount to waiting for the right time to act.
Thankfully, money stuff may begin to settle into a more predictable pattern following Mercury’s direct station on December 15. After that point, it might be easier for you to budget and plan for the next few months, so if you’ve been waiting for the dust to settle before you pull the trigger on your 2025 travels or any other nice-to-haves, waiting until late December at the earliest to book anything is advisable.
For now, it does look as though you’ll enjoy spending the holidays at home or with family. Venus is spending much of December in your fourth house, but the better vibes don’t really commence until after Venus passes an opposition to Mars on December 12. Between the 7th and 12th, there might be some added friction in your life that’s not just coming from your work frustrations, but from close to home. There are people in your life who might have something to say about your choices, and for the most part, you should let them. Be transparent with each other now so that there’s less weird energy bottled up between you later.
Sagittarius Rising
You’re in the middle of your personal halftime show, and one thing it’s not doing is “going smoothly.” Maybe the set list got scrambled, maybe the sound system glitched out, maybe the pyrotechnics went horribly awry. Maybe you lost your passport in another country and now you’re stuck there for the foreseeable future… Barring all of these somewhat more extreme scenarios, it does seem as though you’re living through a real-time blooper reel and surrendering to the flow of being rerouted on your path. There are conversations and exchanges you’ll need to have more than once to reach mutual understanding, and there are moving goalposts that will require your flexibility. At the end of the day, there’s more to the story than you originally anticipated, and you’ve got more tricks up your sleeve than you give yourself credit for.
Since late November, Mercury has been retrograde in Sagittarius, which has likely made you more accident-prone in the realm of your mind: miscalculations and verbal gaffes have both put you in some interesting situations. Mars also stations retrograde on December 6, which puts you on a longer journey of questioning your path and internal compass. Though the immediate aftermath could very well involve interruptions to your travel plans or curriculum, the big picture will potentially involve coming up with a new game plan or itinerary (and lots of hashing and rehashing things out with other people during the first couple weeks of December). By the time Mercury stations direct on December 15 during the full moon in Gemini, you’ll have a mandate to move forward again and a newfound appreciation for the perspective that someone else has contributed to your process. Give credit where credit is due, including to yourself.
This month also features another direct hit of the Jupiter-Saturn squares that have been reshaping your trajectory in 2024. This is probably relevant to your vision for partnership and/or family, or it’s got something to do with creating stability in your life more broadly, which might depend a lot on other key players in your life. The first one was back in August, and that was more of a wakeup call. Now, perhaps you’re ready to adjust in the ways that make sense. Don’t discount the importance of all that back and forth you had to do these past few weeks before you reached mutual understanding.
Capricorn Rising
What someone else does with their life is almost always a “them” issue and not about you, but that doesn’t make it feel like less of a betrayal, and it doesn’t reverse the harm or consequences that you now have to deal with. Most of all, don’t beat yourself up for what you couldn’t have seen coming. Everything is always crystal clear in hindsight, and you won’t even reach complete clarity until after Mercury stations direct on December 15. Allow your understanding of the situation to remain flexible, and keep seeking confirmation on any parts of the story that don’t make sense to you yet. The potential for oversights and premature conclusions is still high.
That being said, don’t let anyone gaslight you when it comes to what you’re seeing with your own eyes. You’re not brand new, and you know as well as anyone else that money and greed makes people move weirdly sometimes. As Mars stations retrograde in your eighth house on December 6, a story about debt, sharing, and the vulnerability that comes with depending on others reaches an inflection point. This is probably not the sort of problem that can be swiftly dealt with overnight—it’ll require strategy, planning, and patience that you don’t really have at the moment. For now, just focus on getting all the facts straight. Your best bet for moving forward is seeing the entire landscape first.
In the also-very-likely scenario that there is nobody in your life who’s undermining you that badly, take a closer look at the ways you might be sabotaging yourself right now. You have an opportunity to rewrite some of your own personal narratives and do some meaningful self-inquiry during the first part of December, and there are probably backlogged emotions coming up right now that you weren’t in a place to deal with before. Rage is often grief in disguise. If the option is available to you, try to seek refuge this month in a place that makes you feel protected and calm. Quieting the external noise might be necessary for you to actually hear yourself right now.
On December 21, the solstice (and the Sun’s entry into Capricorn) signals your turn to emerge out of hiding and enjoy your season of rebirth. With the Sun squaring the lunar nodes on the 23rd, this might be a more consequential reset than it usually is, one that allows you to turn yet another corner on your way out the door of your professional status quo (and toward the new vision that’s been emerging for you around home).
Aquarius Rising
It’s not personal… until it really feels like it is. This month, we’ve got Mars finally beginning its retrograde in your seventh house of others on December 6, and Mercury will be completing its retrograde in your eleventh house of groups on December 15. Something that began as a well-meaning intercommunal misfire might actually stoke the flames of a more direct conflict, or put you on the defensive. It might be your workplace that feels especially dysfunctional right now, or it might be another type of team you’re a part of. Either way, someone’s not pulling their weight the way they should be, and the amount that’s on your plate is starting to feel like a real problem. Are there ways for you to delegate that you’re not entirely seeing right now, or to bring up your issues without blaming anyone who’s also, at the end of the day, merely doing the best they can?
While December might feel like an exercise in troubleshooting and nonviolent communication, there are also things working in your favor. Venus enters Aquarius on December 7 and spends the rest of the month flattering you with good lighting and popularity. Though Venus will tussle with Pluto and Mars initially on the 7th and 12th (suggesting that this brief personal glow up won’t be without its controversies or jealousies), mid-month looks kind of cute for you. Venus swoops into a celebratory trine with Jupiter on December 19, reinforcing the positive potential of the full moon in your fifth house of pleasure and creativity on December 15. Symbolically, this looks like you throwing a party, or serving cocktails at your gallery show, or living your best life at a festival. An important matter concerning your children, if you have any, could also culminate under this full moon, and perhaps leave you with better options than you originally anticipated.
If traveling is on the table for you, the vibe you’re seeking might change dramatically depending on whether you go in the early or later part of the month. The first week of the month is complication central, and you might not have a ton of bandwidth left over after dealing with various communication breakdowns. The next two weeks will put you in a much more social mood, and you’ll have the energy to be where the people are. After the Sun slips into your reclusive twelfth house on December 21, you’ll start to withdraw into a more solitary space, and you might crave quiet isolation over noisy festivals.
Pisces Rising
If you’re sputtering out right now instead of feeling productive, you might as well be kind to yourself and avoid the temptation to rail against the current. Mars is grinding down to a halt in your sixth house of work and projects, and Mercury spends the first half of the month completing its retrograde through your tenth house of career and public roles. Suffice it to say that not much is getting done right now—at least in the way you initially planned. There are flaws in the design and curveballs you need to account for, not to mention a small chance of mutiny among your teammates. For now, it’s enough to simply focus on accurately diagnosing why you’re stuck, and what it would take to alleviate the burn. Remember that your health is just as much of a priority as what other people need from you. You can’t pour from an empty cup, and even helpers need to be helped back sometimes.
Mars will remain retrograde throughout the winter, suggesting that this is not an overnight fix—have patience! However, Mercury’s much faster retrograde might help you with some logistical fixes that can function as a stop gap or a temporary placeholder while you step back from your responsibilities for a spell. Things like: updating your website to reflect your current availability, negotiating with your boss, or revising various aspects of your professional materials might be necessary precursors for navigating the next couple of months.
Indeed, you could probably use a vacation right about now, but you might not have it in you (financially or energetically) to go anywhere at the moment. The astrology points a bit more to you enjoying a staycation this month, or pouring more attention into securing your home base. There’s a full moon in your fourth house of family and home on December 15, and your ruling planet, Jupiter, forms its second square to Saturn this year on December 24. The latter speaks to a more foundational process of you settling down in a place that will support your thriving, or perhaps healing your relationship to your roots. Take the lessons of what went slightly awry in August and apply them now as you lay down the next bricks.