For an overview of this month take a look at my current Nova article here to flesh out the following…

North Node in Cancer, South Node in Capricorn

The Nodes of the Moon are two esoteric points in our charts, related to the cycles of the Sun and Moon and represent movements and alignments that appear to affect our individual and collective soul journeys. They give us clues about our ultimate soul purposes and seem to coincide with significant karmic connections.
They are always exactly opposite each other and take about 18 months to move through each sign of the Zodiac, always moving in a mostly retrograde direction. More often than not the South Node relates to influences of the past, including past life influences, while the North Node is a more visionary pointer towards the future and its possibilities.
The South Node going into Capricorn last month represents a period of dismantling and deconstructing elements of the patriarch, internal forms of mental, intellectual and spiritual rigidity, and old emotional defences including patterns of self repression. This includes similar debris from our past life histories as well is from early authority figures in this life.
Alongside the disintegration of the above, are opportunities to connect more deeply with the positive traits of Capricorn, it’s earthy and realistic wisdom and authority, as well is as its capacity to physically manifest our creativity and spirituality in the world. This includes getting greater access to forms of knowledge and wisdom gathered by the Wise Old man within over many lives and bought into this one.
This can also coincide with collisions with negative authority figures, outwardly or in our dreams, and with significant individuals who act as positive mentors and guides. In either case, there can be significant karmas driving these relationships.

The North Node going into Cancer is a prolonged invitation to step towards a future ruled more by emotional intelligence, by what connects rather than divides us, by living closer to one’s heart and in healthier relationship with one’s emotions, while giving greater priority to home, family and community.
Spiritually, it is a calling back home to the great mother traditions, to a more indigenous way of relating to the earth and the natural world, which includes our relationship to our bodies and our sexuality. Therapeutically, it calls for more emotional and body based work rather than practices based on formulas, management styles and strategies.
Now movement of these Nodes describes the broad brush strokes and underlying energy available in the collective, affecting everyone on the planet during this next 18 months.
More personally, these twin processes will be manifesting in the affairs of the houses in your own charts that include the latter parts of both Capricorn and Cancer.
Where these transits get really personal is when either Node lines up with a planet, asteroid or other important part in your chart. With each connection is an opportunity to get more in alignment with your ultimate soul purposes.

Jupiter conjunct Persephone in Sagittarius

This is an incredibly spacious transit with a particularly unique twist to it, as it bridges the heavens (or at least the Greco-Roman heavens ruled by Zeus/Jupiter) and the underworld, the chthonic realms of death, rebirth and transformation (otherwise known as Hell!)
Even though these archetypes have a traditional polarity and a chequered history, this conjunction is also an awesome combination of great powers, where the sun-lit, consciousness expanding Jupiter meets the goddess of deep life transitions and psycho-sexual initiations. It is essentially a meeting of grace, power and movement.
(In this reason Sydney workshops, we rather artificially separated out the deep goddess aspect of this union from that of Jupiter, giving each their own designated day. However, it became abundantly clear that each had a major investment in each other’s operations. The underworld work on the goddess day was deep, unusually fluid and with obvious expressions of dark and light grace; while in the Jupiter day, clearly the two deities had joined to produce even more explosive releasing, while opening more and more space for experiences of the joy and freedom we were hoping to invoke)
This month then is coloured by this expansive and potentially holistic joining, in our efforts to heal, evolve and transform. Such a combination gives us the courage and the support to access places previously inaccessible, providing tremendous grace and lubrication to any healing/therapeutic or spiritual process.
The above themes are further reinforced by the presence of both Mercury and Medusa in this multiple conjunction. The opportunities to bring the light of consciousness into the darkness, the unconscious and the mysteries of the deep self are similarly reflected.

Shiva conjunct Pluto in Capricorn

Here’s another exceptional combination of deep power and light. Those of you familiar with my writings will know that I tend to see these two as cross-cultural cousins, not an exact fit but certainly a joining of transformative powers.
While Pluto is the traditional transformer in astrology, a co-ruler of the cycles of death and rebirth along with his consort Persephone, Shiva is simultaneously the highest expression of the sacred masculine and yet is also the third member of the trilogy that rules creation, sustaining and disillusion or destruction.
The main difference between the two is that while Pluto is predominantly an earth deity, Shiva rules both heaven and hell, is energy encompassing the exalted realms of yogic practice and detachment alongside his more primal and Tantric dimensions. He appears to be a much more rounded deity.
Whatever the case, this meeting between them doubles up the already active transformative powers of the month, making personal transformation and subsequent empowerment more available. Both initiate processes of purification and karmic knot-breaking necessary for an individual to eventually become an agent of transformation in the lives of others.
This journey also requires great humility, and great integrity, because if either energy is hijacked for personal gain or in-service of the ego, then the same power can rebound destructively on the individual.
The differences between Pluto and Shiva allow them to offer a great deal to each other.
Shiva offers a degree of healthy detachment which can be such a lifesaver when travelling through the emotionally and psychologically intense layers of the primal self. In return, Pluto can assist Shiva energy in becoming more grounded and engaged, as one shadow of the latter is to become excessively detached and aloof from life.

Pallas Athena conjunct Lilith in Libra

At the time of writing this, there have been simultaneous events in the Australian federal parliament where female members, across party lines and with a few exceptional men, have stood up against unchecked sexism in both chambers.
This is one perfect expression of Lilith and Pallas, who have been travelling together for some time and are now joined through opposition to Kali in Aries and energised by the Sun Jupiter conjunction. Lilith, as many of you know, reflects the journey of the dishonoured and downtrodden feminine evolving eventually into a pure empowered expression of sacred warrioress energy.
Pallas Athena also has warrior credentials, represented by her connection to the Amazons, and is a consistent archetype found in women in leadership roles, whether politically, socially or in business.
Subsequently the two coming together unites powerful feminine forces against injustice, social stereotyping and all forms of sexism, drawing not just from places of incredible intellectual brilliance, in the form of Pallas Athena but also from the deeper layers of Shakti represented by Lilith.
This is the kind of astrological constellation that can create an eventual tsunami of social and political change.

Thank you to everyone for your contributions to my work and writings during this last, and incredibly significant, year!

May we all have a Christmas that allows for quality rest, heart-filled experiences and a sweet love for self and for others.

With love and blessings,

Daniel