Due Process

Fresh out of Mercury retrograde, December opens like a holiday present.  Gift giving dominates this month so it is helpful to know that whatever your shopping schedule, you’re good to go now. Whether you are booking travel, buying electronics, signing significant documents or making major investments such as homes, cars or appliances, the time is right to proceed.

We’re also moving away from Scorpio season with only Messenger Mercury lagging behind in this very psychic sign as it pushes forward out of reverse gear.  Both the Sun and Motivating Mars are already deep into Sagittarius when Valuable Venus joins the duo on December 1st in the final fire sign of the zodiac.  Their combined cosmic energy liberates us from the heaviness of the past few months.  It is important to note here as well that liberation for some may involve being held to account where they could not hold themselves responsible.

Admittedly, autumn 2025 was not an easy stretch. So the liberation Sagittarius delivers arrives in the nick of time.  The pursuit of freedom, knowledge and truth, speaking our minds honestly is the wheel house of Sagittarius.  Yes, it is dark outside; yet there is a palpably lighter energy heading into the first week of December.

We chafe at any constraints, either people making demands on us or situations hemming us in.  Mars rules how we direct our energy; Venus how we relate and spend our time and resources; while the Sun is how we engage with the world. Together these planets form a formidable trio wielding the sword of truth.   

Ruled by Jupiter, planet of expansion and abundance, Sagittarius rules the law, earthly as well as cosmic. Both planet and sign rule knowledge, all forms of education, whether academic or lessons gained through life experience.  Good ol’ trial and error.  Where Scorpio cuts like a surgical knife, a veritable bulldozer revealing both dirt and treasure, Sagittarius holds its findings up to the light of truth for all to see and learn about.

 It follows that under this bright lamp showing us all there is to see, the final Full Moon of 2025 shines on Thursday, December 4^th. In Gemini, this Full Moon is particularly restless.  You may notice even more agita, a pervasive nervousness or anxiety than during most Full Moons.  Gemini is an air sign, ruling communication, thoughts and spoken word.  With both Sun and Moon challenging the lunar nodes in Pisces and Virgo, watch for attempts to control the narrative, or desire to run away and escape a situation. 

No matter how some may try to twist the story or evade inevitable outcomes, they will be exposed for who they are and the deeds they’ve done. The trio of Sagittarius planets tipping the balance makes sure of it.  Sun, Mars and Venus opposing the Full Moon tell it like it is. In short: the truth will prevail, lessons learned and justice served. Take note of court rulings during the Full Moon stretch and even through mid-December.  These will be whoppers. A different kind of due process if you will is served up now, a karmic due process steered by the cosmic rule of law.

Underlying all of the cosmic exposure, Titans Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune have been aligning to Messenger Mercury in emotional water signs for a whole month now due to Mercury’s reverse phase.  I’m not ashamed to say I’ve been calling this the big flush.  Their alliance has served to cleanse, clear and purify the old, unnecessary and irrelevant facets of our lives, either people or situations. 

This extended rinse cycle picks up speed when Spiritual Neptune turns direct motion on Tuesday, December 9^th.  For two whole months, Neptune has been virtually parked at the final degree of its own sign, Pisces, emphatically purging anyone or anything we are not taking into our future.  With yet another six weeks of this historic run in dreamy Pisces, Neptune is bent on distilling and clarifying the soulful essentials necessary for our well-being. 

29 degrees of Pisces is the final degree of the entire zodiac. Pay attention.  Here Neptune scours and flushes away last remaining debris, what we’ve held on to consciously or not. This is a terminal ending, an essential phase because at the end of January 2026, Neptune turns into fiery Aries. It will not return to Pisces for 160 years. 

Think back to 2011 when Neptune entered its Pisces.  Who were you some fourteen years ago?  Where were you living?  What were your goals and dreams?  Personally, I lived a completely different life than I am now which is much more soulfully aligned.  How have you evolved through this deeply spiritual passage?

Neptune is the most nebulous and therefore difficult planet to grasp.  It rules the soul and the spirit, the entire human spectrum, the saintly and angelic to the downtrodden, addicted and despairing.  Along with its sign of Pisces, the final sign of the zodiac, it governs our subconscious, faith and fear, dreams, films, photography, the non-profit and charitable realm.

The more you cling to someone or something not intended to remain part of your life, the greater you will feel Neptune washing it away. After all, it rules bodies of water, the ocean and sea. Best to surrender to Neptune now and swim with its current rather than against it. Allow it to carry you where it will.

In doing so you will find freedom, especially as Messenger Mercury enters Sagittarius on Friday, December 12^th. Where our actions and interests have been seeking expansion and growth, our minds now follow through the end of the month.  Now is the time to book travel, sign up for a class, or step beyond your usual comfort zone to expand your horizons. Sagittarius is game for most anything and loves to explore.  Where will you allow adventure to lead?

Just a few days later, Motivating Mars enters Capricorn on Monday, December 15^th.  Here, in this goal-oriented sign of responsibility and structure, Mars shines. Capricorn is the architect of the zodiac. Mars is the planetary DO-er.  Combined, they accomplish the task list like no other. For the next six weeks, Capricorn assembles the resources while Mars builds.   This is not warm and fuzzy energy, but rather deeply productive. Capricorn Mars sets definitive limits and boundaries.  It isn’t worried about playing nicely.  If you need to say NO to someone or something, this is your pairing.

By the end of that week, the final New Moon of 2025 occurs on Friday, December 19th.  In Sagittarius, both Sun and Moon, our will and emotions beckon us to live our own personal truth, to walk our own sacred path, regardless of what anyone else says, or how they react.  This is a particularly helpful New Moon as we close out the year and chart 2026 ahead.  Mars in Capricorn affords us structure while the New Moon in Sagittarius invites us to cast a wide net. Hand write three to five intentions or goals you seek to manifest over the coming month, season or year.  Set these safely alight then watch your goals take form.

The Winter Solstice draws near along with the final planetary passage of 2025. Sunday, December 21^st, the Sun enters Capricorn, marking the shortest day of the year.  It only gets lighter from here.  Christmas Eve finds Valuable Venus joining Mars and the Sun in Capricorn. Where the trio began the month in truth-seeking Sagittarius, they now close out the month and year in honorable Capricorn. It is not flashy or sexy energy, but reliable and sturdy.

Their combination prompts us to define and build what we seek to create for the long-term, to stand the test of time. Just after the New Year, Messenger Mercury will join the trio.  In such a deeply unsettled time, the planets offer the finest and most capable help.  Capricorn separates the wheat from the chaff, the men from the boys, and the essential from the noise.  Like a road map delineating our destination, the hazards as well as the points of interest along the way, Capricorn shows in stark contrast our choices ahead.  Choose wisely.         

Of special note:

Is your intuition calling you?  The 3 Wise Women are three veteran metaphysical practitioners offering community, conversation and connection via zoom every first Tuesday of the month @6 pm eastern.  For just $10/session, feel safe among like-minded seekers to ask your wildest woo questions and learn from each other.  Join us!  To enroll:  www.cathyripleygreene.com

Mystical Messages features my monthly astrology forecasts if you prefer listening via podcast.  Also featured are cutting edge healing arts practitioners.  Tune in and listen through Youtube, Apple or Spotify or hear previous episodes:  www.hilaryharley.com

Are you in search of a healer?  Don't know where to look to find excellent, vetted alternative and metaphysical practitioners?  Check out The Seekers Field Guide!! I am so thrilled to now be a guide and offer my services with this groundbreaking resource offering a directory of the best healers in the business. Visit:  www.seekersfieldguide.com to learn more!