A Makeover
A charming, 1920s era bungalow is the latest in my neighborhood to have been completely made over. Following a now-familiar formula, the original casement windows were replaced with unimaginative vinyl ones, and the beautiful shiplap siding was pulled off to make way for stucco. Any classic built-ins that remained inside are, I’m confident, long gone.
As I once heard someone say, it seems that house’s owners liked everything about it except the inside and the outside.
At another house nearby, workers were seen repairing the original windows, carefully scraping old siding back to bare wood, and finishing it off with a paint job in beautiful, era-appropriate colors. It is a joy to behold.
Venus sextile Pluto (Dec. 2, 2025, 1:07 am PST, 1º55’ Sagittarius and Aquarius), like all Venus-Pluto aspects, loves a makeover, whether it’s refurbishing an old house or helping someone choose a new hairdo and wardrobe. But there’s a difference between bringing something back to life by stripping it back to its intrinsic beauty, and making it over into something else entirely, something it was never meant to be.
We Own This
When I was young, my family didn’t have much money. But each summer, my mother would scratch together enough to take us on a road trip to visit one of the national parks. “We own this,” Mom would remind us, gesturing toward some ravishing natural wonder. One reason I support the National Park Foundation to this day is that as long as we were visiting one of these parks, I never felt poor.
The curious Gemini Full Moon (Dec. 4, 2025, 3:14 pm PST, 13º03’ Gemini) opposes the Sun and Mars in adventurous, outdoorsy Sagittarius, with all three square the North Node in Pisces. This freedom-loving, road-tripping Full Moon is a reminder that a curious Gemini spirit, a wild Sagittarius nature, and an empathetic, ecstatic Pisces heart are our true wealth, and the best gifts we could hope for.
Page Turner
This week, the Sun in Sagittarius squares the Moon’s nodes in Pisces and Virgo (Dec. 5, 2025, 4:22 am PST, 13º37’ Sagittarius, Pisces-Virgo). A planet square the nodal axis is said to be “at the bendings,” applying its focus toward either the North or South Node. The Sun is now at the South bending, meaning it’s pointing toward the South Node in Virgo and focused on releasing patterns of criticism and preoccupation with details. You may feel the quiet, inward call to release these unhelpful tendencies, even if it may feel difficult to make outward changes.
This aspect marks the midpoint between two eclipse seasons. Eclipses are changing points, page turners in the narrative that shifts us from one end of the nodal axis to the other. Now is the time to let go of what you don’t need, maybe things that you became aware of at the Sep. 7, 2025 lunar eclipse (15º Pisces/Virgo); a kind of spiritual yard sale to prepare you for the upcoming eclipses on Feb. 17 (28º50’ Aquarius) and March 3, 2026 (12º53’ Virgo).
Building a Book
This week’s trines from Mercury to Jupiter (Dec. 6, 2025, 5:05 am PST, 24º08’ Scorpio and Cancer) and Saturn (Dec. 7, 8:58 am PST, 25º’14’ Scorpio and Pisces) are the last in a series of three. The first were on Oct. 24 and 25, and the second were on Nov. 22, while Mercury was retrograde.
Astrological wisdom tells us these time frames are connected like pearls on a necklace.
I’ve written a few books, and that’s a good metaphor for Mercury connecting with Jupiter and Saturn. A book begins as big, Jupiterian story. Every writer has their own way of turning that story into something that other people will enjoy. And plenty of people have a book they’d love to write, but it remains a pleasant dream.
What’s the difference between those people and the ones who turn that dream into a book? Saturn. Saturn is the one that makes you sit down and make a plan. Sure, you can just sit down and start writing; start at the point that interests you, see where it takes you.
But with Saturn on your side, you start on stronger footing, usually with an outline. For each chapter, you decide what needs to be told, such as plot elements, and details about the characters.
Once you’ve built this scaffolding, you’re off to the races. You have something to nail your big dream to. And you’re a lot less likely to overlook something important, and a lot more likely to recognize when the work is done.
Writing and images © 2017-2025 by April Elliott Kent
