Veronica Perretti [00:00:00]:
Hello and welcome back to the Essential Astrocast. I am your host, Veronica Peretti and this is where you come to find out what's going on in the heavens so that you can dictate your fate down here on Earth. So last week we talked about the big things that are going on right now in the heavens. We've got Mars, opposite Pluto, Pluto newly in Aquarius, staying there for 20 years. Jupiter is preparing to square Saturn. This is the quarterway points from our 20 year cycle that started in December of 2020. So we have a lot of big astrology happening and that is taking us into 2025. And 2025 is going to be a remarkable and chaotic year.

Veronica Perretti [00:00:57]:
We have all of the outer planets moving into new signs, which does not happen frequently. So we're having all of the planets, I mean Pluto, we can lump him in there because he just moved into Aquarius. But the rest of the outer planets will also be moving into new signs, which is very unusual for all of them to be moving into a new sign in the same year. So 2020 was a wild year and I actually think this is going to be even more wild, if that's possible. So definitely get your rest. Right now Mars is retrograde. He is imploring us to take some rest. He is imploring us to slow down.

Veronica Perretti [00:01:47]:
He is letting us know that it is time to really fill up your energy reserves. You want to be well rested as we move into 2025. And funnily enough, the beginning of the year will have Mars retrograde up until February 24th and then in March, Venus will retrograde. So the first like, you know, almost quarter and then some of the year is going to be marked by two of the most potent retrogrades. So you know, the planets are telling us go slow, make sure that you see everything that's in front of you. With that I wanted to let you know that I have the link up for my 2025 year ahead astrology forecast workshop. Every year at the beginning of the year I teach a workshop. It's called Dictate your fate an astrology workshop to welcome 2025.

Veronica Perretti [00:02:50]:
And I' teaching this since 2020. Maybe 2019. Actually I did it in person in 2019 I believe. But anyway, all of that is to say that I've been teaching it every year. It's my favorite thing to teach. It's so much fun and I would love for you to be there. So if you are a member of Cosmic Yoga Club, then you have free entry. If you are not a Member of Cosmic Yoga Club.

Veronica Perretti [00:03:20]:
Then you can use the link in the show notes below and go and sign up for it on my website. And it's $35 and it's so worth it. It's two hours. I give you all of the overarching themes and all of the stuff that's going on for 2025. And at the end we take some time to get quiet and reflect and set some intentions for how we want to show up in the new year. So I hope you'll join me. Okay, onto the astrology. As I talked about last week, we had Mars opposite Pluto.

Veronica Perretti [00:03:58]:
We're seeing that play out in the mundane astrology. So mundane astrology is the astrology of the world around us. You know, the collective. What do we see happening in the news? What's happening with world events? That is mundane astrology. We are seeing that Mars opposite Pluto play out in all of the news stories that you're seeing. Between this fight between ego and power and this push pull of who has the power and greed and taking the power back and everything going on, we see this happening with this story that has really captivated the country, at least the U.S. i don't know what's going on in other countries, but this story with this man who allegedly killed the CEO of United Healthcare and, and I was doing a little bit of digging and research and I was thinking, okay, well certainly this has Pluto and Aquarius vibes because Pluto does unearth where there is greed, where there is misuse of power. And Aquarius is the sign of the people, of the community.

Veronica Perretti [00:05:09]:
It is a sign of revolutions. It is the sign of the rebellion. The last time Pluto was in Aquarius was the French Revolution. Was the people rising up because of economic inequality and misuse of power from the royals. So we see this similar thing playing out in some ways, right, in terms of how people are projecting their own opinions on this tragic murder and what it is bringing up for people. And I mentioned that last week, not condoning anything, just watching it from an astrological point of view, see that people are putting their own emotions, their own opinions, their own agendas on this. So that is all very Pluto in Aquarius. But what it is also indicative of is Uranus being in Taurus.

Veronica Perretti [00:06:07]:
Uranus is currently retrograde. Uranus will go direct in a few weeks. So in January, I believe I'm going to check that. But Uranus has been on Capulus, which is a fixed star. It was on Algol, a fixed star that is associated with beheadings. Both those Stars are associated with beheadings. And of course, when we get into astrology lingo, especially some of the older astrology, the terminology seems sort of archaic to us now. Right.

Veronica Perretti [00:06:43]:
But beheading is also a metaphor for someone being taken down from their position of power. And this man was murdered and he was the head of a very powerful company. We just saw that in Germany. The government collapsed and a new government is going to have to be formed. The Chancellor was taken out of his position of power. We have seen across the globe that there have been all of these incumbent parties in various democracies across the globe have been ousted. Even here in the U.S. right.

Veronica Perretti [00:07:25]:
Our incumbent party, the Democrats, were lost the election. So we're seeing that energy. And that's because Uranus has been on these. Uranus moves slow. And so Uranus is the shaker upper. He's the, I always say, he's your favorite real housewife. Love her or hate her, she moves this story forward. She's interested in shaking things up for the sake of shaking things up.

Veronica Perretti [00:07:54]:
So there is a story. And Uranus is always interested in breakdowns or breakthroughs so that we can experience some sort of liberation, some sort of shift in perspective. And Uranus has been on those fixed stars. So there is certainly a taking away of power or a, if want to use the metaphor of beheading, taking people down from their positions of power has been something that we're seeing globally and we saw it in Syria as well last week. So we're seeing the presence of Uranus on Algol and Capulous playing out in mundane astrology. And I just wanted to point that out because yes, it is Pluto in Aquarius. And yes, this is planting the seeds for what this 20 years of Pluto in Aquarius is going to bring up. These are some of the seeds that we'll be working with and cultivating and harvesting.

Veronica Perretti [00:08:54]:
And you know, the last time Pluto entered a new sign was in 2008 when he went into Capricorn. And of course 2008 was the recession and the mortgage crisis here in the US So that was pretty dramatic as well. And Pluto certainly likes to make an entrance. And some astrologers say the first, first hit of Pluto is the hardest hit. So certainly all of these things can be attributed to Pluto in Aquarius. But I also want to just point out that Uranus is in a very interesting and challenging part of the sky on those particular degrees of Taurus. So that would be at 24 degrees Taurus to about 27 degrees Taurus. So, so that part of the Taurus, part of the sky just is a little challenging because those fixed stars are there.

Veronica Perretti [00:09:45]:
And if you have planets in that part of the sky, if you have your sun there or your moon or your Venus or your Mercury, whatever planet, you know, you're working with that energy. It's not going to be the same as in mundane astrology. You're going to be working with that energy in terms of how you work with passion, how you work with power in your own life. But those fixed stars are associated with passion and violence that stems from passion. And so we're seeing that globally, and I wanted to touch on that. But this week, we will be moving into a more dreamy place, because I am recording this on December 17, 2024, and while all that major stuff is playing out in the background, you might be feeling like, I just want to sit and look out the window and forget about my responsibilities and my troubles and just be. It is really a hard week to be checking things off the to do list. It's a really hard week to be deep in the spreadsheets.

Veronica Perretti [00:10:52]:
It's a week for enjoying being absorbed in something, whether it is some really fun Christmas music or a great novel or creative work or decorating or shopping. You know, all of those things that are joyful for you and joyful for this season are going to be really well supported this week because the sun is squaring Neptune. Now, Neptune is associated with our ideals. It creates a fog. It creates a haze. We have had a ton of rain here in New York, and yesterday the fog was so thick, it was unbelievable. And I always notice that we have a lot of fog, which is not common when we have big Neptune transits. So there's a lot of fog in these parts.

Veronica Perretti [00:11:57]:
Not today, thankfully, but yesterday. And I was like, oh, man, that Neptune is. Is coming in the sun. Squaring Neptune can be inspiring and an opportunity for following your creative muse, but it also can really deplete your vitality, and it can make you feel like things are changeable. Like, one minute, you might want this one minute, you might want that one minute. You just don't really know what you want. And if that is what's going on for you, just let yourself be in that not knowing, because part of this is sitting with what is. Neptune always wants us to strip away all of the constructs of what we think are reality and get to what is really real, right? So that essence of spirit, our subconscious, that's what Neptune is interested in us getting acquainted with.

Veronica Perretti [00:12:58]:
If you feel like you have, your energy is zapped and you just don't have the bandwidth to be doing all the things that maybe you want to be able to do. I encourage you if you have the privilege to go with that and lighten your load and let yourself be a little bit in the dreams, in the daydreams. Journaling is really, really great. Reflecting is really great. Daydreaming is great. Reading is great. Listening to music, taking in any art, making art. These are all things that are going to really please that Neptune.

Veronica Perretti [00:13:39]:
But because he is squaring the sun, it can feel like a drag. It can feel like your energy is zapped or your vitality is just not what it normally is. And Neptune is associated with the immune system. And you'll notice that everyone's getting sick. And of course, everyone always gets sick this time of year because it's the holidays. We're doing a lot of, you know, socializing and parties and it's the winter and we're inside and there's germs spreading. But right now there's a lot of illness out in the air. I know that we got an email that walking pneumonia is really spreading right now.

Veronica Perretti [00:14:16]:
We got an email from our pediatrician because it's just there's so many cases coming into the pediatrician's office. So just, you know, be cognizant and if you have any symptoms, stay away from people, particularly the young and the elderly and anyone with who is immune compromised because our vitality again is being challenged by that Neptune. This week. Neptune wants you to slow down. So the good news is that that sun square Neptune does increase the intuition. It increases our ability to access our subconscious. So this is a great week to go to therapy. This is a great week to work through some of your patterns, to work through some of that deep seated stuff.

Veronica Perretti [00:15:07]:
Prepare yourself for going into those family gatherings around the holidays. The other lovely transit that we've got going on this week is Venus Trine, Jupiter. So Venus, Trine, Jupiter, Trines are harmonious. We have Venus in Aquarius and we have Jupiter in Gemini. And so these are the two benefics. These are the planets that generally were very happy when they show up and when they are in harmony with one another, it creates an opportunity for good things to come up, for good things to come our way, for blessings to arrive. Now, that doesn't mean that you're going to win the lottery because Venus is trying. Jupiter, you generally have to lean into Trines to reap the benefit.

Veronica Perretti [00:15:58]:
The trines are not going to knock down your door. But if you know it's there on Thursday, you know that we're working with that energy and you know that we're working with it throughout the week. You can lean into it. So it's going to increase our ability to be generous. It's going to increase our ability to receive generosity. It is going to increase our ability to connect and have conversations and feel a sense of community with the people around us and the people that we want to connect with. Venus is an Aquarius. Aquarius is a sign associated with groups and communities and friendships.

Veronica Perretti [00:16:39]:
So if you're wanting to connect with your friends, your neighbors, the people that share your values and share your interests and share your dreams and ideals, then this is a wonderful week to be doing that. The sun now is moving through the last degrees of Sagittarius. And the last degrees of Sagittarius are actually considered the gates of Capricorn because there are some challenging fixed stars in those last degrees of Sagittarius before we get to Capricorn. So 29 degrees is the last degree of Sagittarius, and then 0 degrees is the first degree of Capricorn. When the sun enters Capricorn, it gets to zero degrees of Capricorn. That is the winter solstice. So we will have the winter solstice on Saturday because the sun will enter Capricorn at 4:21am Eastern Time on Saturday, December 21st. That is also called Yule.

Veronica Perretti [00:17:49]:
So this is awesome because the sun will be moving into an Earth sign. And while Uranus is in Taurus, as I talked about before, it is in a spot in Taurus that's kind of challenging. The rest of the planets in the sky are in fire, air and water. So there's no Earth in the sky right now. So that feels a little ungrounded. So if you've been feeling really frazzled, if you feel like your head's in a million places, because remember, Sagittarius is a mutable sign. Mutable signs tend to. They teach us about transitions.

Veronica Perretti [00:18:30]:
So Sagittarius is the sign that transitions us from fall to winter. The mutable signs are the ones that are the gateway to the next season, to those four corners of the year that are particularly potent. The winter solstice, the summer solstice, the equinoxes. So the mutable signs have an important job, but they can make those times of the year, or if you have those placements, they can just make us feel a little more indecisive. Not quite sure of where we want to go. Now, part of you might be thinking, well, didn't Mercury go to rec last week? Yes, Mercury was retrograde. Mercury went to rec last week. Granted, Mercury stationing direct last weekend.

Veronica Perretti [00:19:23]:
We're still in the post shadow. So it takes a little while for Mercury to pick up his pace and really start to get going forward and clear those degrees that he retrograded through. But we have a lot of mutable energy and we've got no Earth. The full moon in Gemini last weekend, which we didn't talk about, but I talked about last week, you know, the full Moon in Gemini last weekend, on Sunday, it was a really nice full moon in a lot of ways. Now, granted, it was squaring Neptune, which we're feeling all through this week. So you might have felt zapped in terms of your energy or vitality, but it did give us an opportunity to see things in a new perspective and a new light. Full Moons are generally illuminating the darkness, but this one had an adjusting aspect and in conjunct to Uranus, which wants us to see from a new perspective. It was a wide conjunction to Jupiter in Gemini, and that moon in Gemini was answering to Mercury stationing to go direct.

Veronica Perretti [00:20:28]:
And Mercury retrograde always invites us to see things from a new perspective. We get to reflect and we catch things that maybe we didn't see the first go round. So I think the full Moon, that was our final full moon of the year. I think that full Moon was an aberg opportunity to change our perspective, to change the vantage point that we're looking at things from and to do things differently. And so that is a welcomed shift in energy. And it's a shift in energy that's really going to help us if we take those vibes of adaptability, of being flexible and open to seeing things in a new light, to being not so sure that we have the right way or we know the right way, that's going to be really useful next year because things are going to be shifting and changing all the time next year, and we are going to need to remember to stay nimble, adaptable and available to shift. So all of that to say that things might not feel so clear at this moment, but the sun will move into Capricorn and that will ground us a little bit when that happens. And that's going to be again on Saturday, the 21st, with the winter solstice, also known as Yule.

Veronica Perretti [00:21:50]:
So this will be an interesting shift in the energy. These late degrees of Sagittarius can be a little bit challenging because of the fixed stars that live there. It's also a time that was honored in ancient Rome as Saturnalia. Saturnalia was the festival on December 17th that at one point was extended to the 17th to the 19th, and then extended from the 17th all the way to the 23rd to honor the God Saturn. Rome. So Saturn was. In astrology, we use the Roman names of the gods, which are all very similar to the Greek mythology, but have different names. So Saturn was.

Veronica Perretti [00:22:41]:
Is the ruler of Capricorn. This week before winter solstice, this week before the sun enters Capricorn is this time of celebration in ancient Rome. And many of our traditions for Christmas come from that ancient tradition of celebrating the Lord Saturn and Saturnalia. And Saturn was considered the God of agricultural bounty. He was actually seen as an immigrant God who had come to Rome or Italy from another place and brought this understanding of agriculture and then eventually was made into a king. So that's some of the mythological stories around Saturn. And I think that's really interesting because the festival of Saturnalia was about flipping the norms. So the people that were the wealthy would serve their servants, and people were allowed to gamble, which they weren't normally allowed to do.

Veronica Perretti [00:23:53]:
And there was just general debauchery, and then there was gift giving, but they were gag gifts a lot of the time. And there was a lot of greenery, very similar to Christmas. So honoring that agricultural bounty. So this was the original, or one of the original festivals or celebrations that pave the way for what we now understand as Christmas and the Christmas season and epiphany. So it's really interesting to look at these things and their astrological connections. Saturn both being the immigrant and the king, so both having the power and being the person that comes with nothing, but brings this wisdom, this knowledge that helps society. So I thought that was interesting and metaphor and a nice metaphor for our times and what some of the conversations that we're having as a society. I also think it's indicative of Capricorn and Aquarius because Saturn is the traditional ruler of both Capricorn and Aquarius.

Veronica Perretti [00:25:07]:
And Capricorn is considered the status quo, the hierarchy, the patriarchy. And Aquarius is the breaking down of that and the equality of all people, the community, having the power. So it's both, and Saturn is both. And things can be new, nuanced, and things can be complex. It's an interesting thing to consider with the times that we're living in, especially since we are moving from this big chunk of time, almost 20 years that Pluto was in Capricorn. And now we have 20 years of Pluto in Aquarius and still answering to Saturn because he rules both those signs. So that's what I got for you today. It was a little bit of an in the Weeds episode.

Veronica Perretti [00:26:04]:
I hope that it was interesting and I hope that it was helpful to you. Remember, the takeaway for this week is that you want to give yourself space to dream, you want to give yourself space to rest, you want to give yourself space to slow down. And hopefully I will talk to you next week before the holiday. Happy Holidays. I hope you're enjoying this time. Remember, Mars is retrograde, which is really a huge invitation to take it easy. So don't, don't force yourself to, you know, make a million types of cookies or do all the decorations. Really try to find the the spots in the holiday season that bring you joy and focus on those things and give yourself plenty of time for rest and I'll talk to you soon.

Veronica Perretti [00:26:59]:
Oh, and don't forget to sign up for Dictate your Feet and Astrology workshop to welcome 2025. You can use the link in the show notes below and if you're on my email list, you will get a link to sign up in my email. All right, see you next week.