This coming Yule, in which the birth of the God is celebrated, has, like all Yules, its own unique qualities. One way in which we can observe and celebrate this is by observing its astrological aspects, much as you would the natal chart for a child born this day, at the precise time of the Winter Solstice.
It is, in effect, the astrological birth chart of the God himself. Just as an ordinary birth chart can give us valuable insight into the latent potentials inherent within a human being, this is true as well of the God, and the way in which he will manifest throughout nature in this year.
Pluto is now at a degree of close conjunction with the Sun, while Mercury is at a similar closeness. The Sun in fact will be almost exactly between the two, separated from both by a mere two degrees. At the same time, the Sun is at a near complete opposition with the planet Mars, which is retrograde, and will be at a complete opposition to the Sun by midnight Christmas Eve and throughout Christmas Day. During the Solstice, however, Mars is more in opposition to Mercury. That Mercury is the planet of messengers, and on the opposite side of the sun from Pluto, the planet of destruction, while faced with this opposition to Mars, the planet of war and strife, need not necessarily amount to an omen of destruction. However, it might well herald an adversarial aspect, one that might well be described as a hindrance to growth and advancement, if only temporarily.
Fortunately, we also have Jupiter in perfect conjunction with the Sun, which gives us reason for optimism in the face of gloom and doubt. Nevertheless, look for a series of serious weather conditions, with possibly brutal cold in some regions, with near blizzard conditions under harsh winds. Earthquakes are also by no means out of the question, nor should volcanic activity be surprising. Here is the reason for this-
Jupiter Sun Mercury Earth Mars
These four planets line up in exactly this order, with our planet being situated between the Sun and Mars, while Jupiter is on the far side of the Sun from earth and Mars. The gravitational pull from such an alignment, at this time of the year, might well have considerably serious consequences.
The reason Venus is not in this graph is due to the fact that it is not lined up in such a way with the Sun as to be in direct or close alignment with us from our perspective. She is, in fact, at an angle which is of minor effect in any way, though her trine aspect to Uranus in Pisces, and her square one to Neptune in Aquarius, could bestow an illusory feeling of calm and peace, even beauty, in some areas.
The moon is waxing full, though not completely so, nor will it until that midnight of Christmas Eve and the night after, when it will then be in conjunction with the planet Mars and thus become a part of that mass opposition to the Sun, Jupiter, Pluto, and Mercury. On the day of Yule, however, it moves into a square aspect with the planet Saturn in Virgo, foretelling an impatient quality, moving toward emotional turbulence and release on the night of Christmas Eve.
All things considered, a damn good night for an old-fashioned fertility ritual, due to the conjunction of the Sun with Jupiter, in celebration of the birth of the god.
YULE
22nd December
Sun enters Capricorn-in conjunction with Mercury, Jupiter, Pluto, opposition to Mars
Moon enters Gemini-square Saturn, moving into conjunction with Mars
Mercury 2nd degree Capricorn-superior solar conjunction
Venus 19th degree Scorpio-squared Neptune, trine Uranus
Mars retrograde 3rd degree Cancer-solar opposition, opposition Jupiter, Mercury, Pluto
Jupiter enters Capricorn-solar conjunction
Saturn 8th degree Virgo
Uranus 15th degree Pisces-trine Venus
Neptune 19th degree Aquarius-squared Venus
Pluto 28th degree Sagittarius-solar conjunction