Astrology Highlights for Dec. 22-28, 2025: Silent Night

Shadow Puppets

Picture yourself in a forest, making camp for the night. You’re luxuriating in the beauty of nature, looking forward to a little stargazing and a quiet dinner by the bonfire.

But it’s cloudy, so you can’t see the stars. And just as you get your bonfire roaring, the skies open up and dump rain on it. You crawl inside your tent and indulge in a moment or two of self-pity. But then you catch a glimpse of your shadow on the wall of the tent, illuminated by your lantern. You remember something your family used to do on camping trips – and you spend a happy hour entertaining yourself by making shadow puppets by lantern light, listening to the patter of rain on the roof of your tent.

When Venus in Sagittarius squares Neptune in Pisces (Dec. 23, 2025, 9:31 pm PST, 29º25’ Sagittarius-Pisces) Oct. 26, 2021, 6:06 pm PDT), a particular fiery pleasure risks being extinguished by disappointment. The challenge lies in finding enjoyment in whatever happens – and fortunately that’s a talent that Sagittarius and Pisces, both ruled by Jupiter, share in common.

Blueprints

Venus symbolizes the things that give us pleasure, and one thing my Venus in Capricorn sister has loved since she was a teenager is blueprints and floor plans for houses. Back when I was designing my own imaginary, Venus in Cancer dream home by the sea with cabbage rose print throw pillows, my sister dreamed of becoming an architect. Her path eventually led her into into banking (also a good fit for Venus in Capricorn), and later bookkeeping and raising a couple of awesome kids. But to this day, you’ll find a book of blueprints tucked amongst her more conventional coffee table reading material.

Venus in Capricorn loves the bare bones of things, the elegance of functional forms. So as Venus enters Capricorn (Dec. 24, 2025, 8:26 am PST, through Jan. 17, 2016), think about what you want to build in the coming year. Be sure it’s something that’s useful, that you truly consider it beautiful, and that it’s got great bones.

Silent Night

There are no major aspects this Christmas Day. The tone of the holiday is set by the Moon in gentle Pisces, engaging in positive sextile aspects with the Sun (12:13 am PST) and Mars (7:45 am PST) in Capricorn.

For the two-and-a-half days each month when the Moon is in Pisces, we alternate between being delightfully sociable, and finding our fellow humans unendurably exhausting to be around. Suddenly, we find that we absorb every emotion around us – joy, anger, jealousy, inspiration. Holding all that emotion can make us feel heavy, like a rain cloud before a storm or a sponge that needs wringing out.

Like the sleek, vulnerable fish for which it’s named, Pisces is a gentle creature with only a few scales for protection. No matter how tough we normally are, especially in a week dominated by planets in indominable Capricorn, today we may feel vulnerable, prone. Wiley escape may feel like our only defense, and this is good astral weather for sneaking away from the Christmas festivities to spend time alone in rest, reflection, and meditation.

An Unforgiving Landscape

The Moon in Aries is a pioneer at heart. And this particular Aries First Quarter Moon (Dec. 27, 2025, 11:10 am PST, 6º17’ Aries and Capricorn), is a pioneer set out on an unforgiving western landscape – not out of a love of adventure, but because it’s burned its bridges in the lush, verdant hills of its birth. Or perhaps, because its home had become a dustbowl with no economic opportunities, and the only solution was to seek opportunities elsewhere.

I’ve found myself watching a number of modern westerns recently (News of the World, the Power of the Dog, Godless), depicting a lawless 19th century American west that was no place at all for the gentle, kind, or weak. I see echoes of these stories in the Aries First Quarter Moon, square the tough combination of the Sun and Mars in Capricorn. Even Venus, symbol of the feminine principle, is in Capricorn and conjoined the Sun and Mars; this is rugged terrain we’re entering.

It’s a tough combination, Aries and Capricorn. Mars, the brutal warrior planet, is the ruler of one and exalted in the other, and that pretty much tells us what we need to know about its ferocity. But it’s a fearless and determined combination as well. Whenever we find ourselves on a hard road, beset by danger, these two signs serve us well. Neither will give up, give in, or be denied their objective.

This First Quarter has a connection to the Aries New Moon on March 29, a Solar Eclipse near the same degree. So, what was the quest you set your wagon to back at the Aries New Moon? Maybe you don’t remember, or maybe it wasn’t even a conscious decision; New Moons are dark times, after all. Sometimes we don’t realize what we planted at the New Moon until the First Quarter shines a light on the first tiny, stubborn shoots emerging on the dusty plain.