NEW YORK (WHN) – The air outside bites with a crisp, almost brittle chill, carrying the scent of woodsmoke and something undeniably festive, yet tinged with a wistful promise of snow. It’s the kind of December air that makes you want to pull a cashmere throw tighter, to linger by a crackling fire with a steaming mug of mulled wine, its spices warming you from the inside out.
But even as we settle into the cozy embrace of the Northern Hemisphere’s coldest months, a subtle, insistent hum calls us to look beyond our immediate comfort. Saturn’s steady march through Pisces, according to astrologer April Elliott Kent, is nudging us toward a more profound engagement with the future, a future that can no longer be politely ignored.
This week, as the Sun in Sagittarius squares Saturn on December 16, 2025, at 8:33 pm PST (at 25º28’ Sagittarius-Pisces), we might find ourselves questioning why our carefully constructed cocoons of warmth and well-being feel a little less secure. Obligations seem to loom larger, and a faint, persistent unease suggests that the landscape beneath our feet is shifting.
December, with its long nights and biting winds, typically invites us to retreat. It’s a season for drawing inward, for the comfort of familiar songs and the bright, almost desperate cheer of holiday gatherings—a kind of spiritual CPR, as April Elliott Kent puts it, to carry us through the deep freeze.
Yet, there’s a particular spirit, perhaps with a hint of Sagittarius’s adventurous soul, that thrives in this stark beauty. The long, dark nights, studded with distant stars, become not a threat but an invitation. They whisper of faraway lands and the thrilling possibility of discovery, a silent assurance that no matter how far we’ve traveled, there are always new horizons waiting.
As the Winter Solstice approaches, marking the Sun’s entry into Capricorn on December 21, 2025, at 7:03 am PST, we reach the year’s lowest point in the midday sky. The calendar year draws to a close, and the familiar urge to plot resolutions for the coming one begins to stir. But before we commit to grand pronouncements, the Sagittarius New Moon on December 19, 2025, at 5:43 pm PST (at 28º24’ Sagittarius) invites us to simply explore.
Picture yourself standing by a frozen lake, the winter light flat and white, a soft, hand-knitted scarf—a gift from some tender, Cancerian soul—warming your neck. You ponder the great and small questions: what lies beyond our current existence? What if we’ve forgotten to truly live? Overhead, a few determined birds fly in formation, and you wonder, as April Elliott Kent suggests, where they’re headed, and if their journey might be worth following.
The Sun’s square to Neptune on December 20, 2025, at 5:02 pm PST (at 29º24 Sagittarius-Pisces) can feel like stepping off a familiar path into unfamiliar territory. Imagine being far from home, where the language is a mystery and your usual self-presentation feels a little… melty. Your confidence might waver, your sense of identity blurring at the edges. It’s the disorienting, yet profound, experience of being a stranger.
But it’s precisely in these moments, when our usual coping mechanisms and established identities no longer fit, that we gain a unique opportunity. We can discover who we are without those familiar constructions, realizing that the core of our being has little to do with them.
If a certain yearning for home settles upon you around this time, consider that it might not be a place or people you miss. What you’re truly homesick for, as April Elliott Kent observes, is yourself.
Venus in Sagittarius squaring Saturn in Pisces this week, specifically on December 20, 2025, at 9:09 pm PST (at 25º37’ Sagittarius-Pisces), doesn’t exactly promise unadulterated glee. Think of it as planning a delightful day of ice skating only to find the rink is muddy and sleeting, or a festive party derailed by a sudden cold. Last-minute holiday shopping might prove frustrating, with desired items elusive or overpriced.
Perhaps a longed-for weekend with loved ones is disrupted by work commitments or travel delays due to a storm. Venus in aspect to Saturn often brings these kinds of delays or disappointments. But the lesson here, April Elliott Kent notes, is patience and, with Saturn in Pisces, acceptance.
Sometimes, the thing you wanted most gets cancelled, opening the door for something different—perhaps even more enjoyable—to emerge later. And the waiting might just make the eventual joy all the sweeter.
The Sun enters Capricorn on December 21, 2025, at 7:03 am PST, marking the Winter Solstice and its lowest point in the midday sky. Energy levels can feel low as we approach the year’s end. Looking back, we might be tempted to tally our unaccomplished goals with a critical eye.
Yet, at the Capricorn solstice, there’s a distinct feeling of having nowhere to go but up. In the months that follow, the Sun begins its slow ascent, a gradual return toward the light that will culminate at the summer solstice.
This is the time for resolutions, for considering the heights we might aspire to in the year ahead. Even in the darkness and cold, we light fires, candles, and strings of lights, gentle reminders that this deep chill won’t last forever.
Many of us, April Elliott Kent reflects, are craving that light. The recent past may have felt shadowed, and it’s a profound comfort to remember that everything operates within a cycle, and the light is indeed making its way back.
The Sun will remain in Capricorn until January 19, 2026.