Here’s a primer on my intentions for these horoscopes. I may change my mind about the format and/or concept, and I am very open to feedback, so leave your thoughts in the comments or email me privately. They’re primarily written for Sun and rising signs, using whole signs houses, but if you know your Moon, Venus, Mars, Eros or Lilith placements, you might feel resonance with the forecasts for their individual signs, too.
The last month of 2022’s Gregorian calendar calls our love and sex lives ecstatically to attention. As sweet and receptive Venus in sassy Sagittarius opposes a maddening retrograde Mars in Gemini on the 1st, we might find ourselves hungry yet unsated, aggressively searching for an erotic outlet. This opening salvo of December is decidedly sexy, with the potential to feel agonizingly frustrating – which is a major theme of the first week of the month. As Neptune stations direct at 22 degrees of Pisces on the 3rd, a fantasy we’ve been chasing for the last five months might suddenly appear to be possible in real life.
On the 7th, a raunchy, ribald Full Moon in Gemini conjunct Mars might cause us to say too much too soon, causing a lover’s quarrel to end all lovers’ quarrels. It could feel like the last six months of collected antagonisms explode into a spectacular squabble – don’t set it off with a casual aside, because even innocuous comments can feel like daggers during the days leading up to this lunation. This is the halfway point of the Mars Retrograde cycle, and the passion planet is LOUD right now, so loud that agitation and insomnia are very possible in the days before the Full Moon.
On the 9th, a Friday, the two benefics get into it as Venus squares Jupiter in late Pisces, making this Venus Day into an excellent option for date night, although we should note that the square takes place at 7:55 am EDT, so Thursday night could be the better option. Venus then slides into Capricorn, making us feel more serious and ambitious about romantic matters for the remainder of the month into the New Year. On the 19th, this straightlaced Venus squares Chiron in Aries and then makes a quincunx with retrograde Mars, forcing us to grapple with early childhood wounds that formed our attachment style. The good news is that there could be a breakthrough – if we’re willing to work through it. And even though the personal planets have moved beyond the wild terrain of Sagittarius by this time, asteroid Eros shifts into the sign of the archer on the 19th, keeping that anything-goes, bonkers kind of passion alive into early 2023.
All hail the 20th! Jupiter returns to Aries at 9:32 am EDT (yes, I’m a biased Sun in Aries, sue me). This is excellent for finding our inner fire and reconnecting to love and lust in an instinctual, primal way once again. Jupiter first entered Aries on May 11th this year, but went retrograde on July 28th, muting any momentum we built up in the part of our chart ruled by Aries. Now we’re refueled and ready to GO between now and May, when the planet of grand opportunities moves into Taurus. Get ready to GROW.
Quiet contemplation and intense cuddling are great ways to celebrate the Winter Solstice on the 21st, the true beginning of cuffing season. In this piece that I wrote in 2020, I gathered some lovely rituals that lovers and singles can use to welcome winter in an equally sexy and spiritual way. A more serious mood prevails on the 23rd as the New Moon at 1 degree of Capricorn arrives at 5:17 am EDT, within an hour of Chiron stationing direct. Try to spend the weekend with meaningful pursuits (i.e. not giving in to a capitalistic orgy of last-minute shopping).
Giving us one last kick in the groin for 2022, Mercury stations retrograde at 24 degrees of Capricorn on the 29th, remaining out of phase through later in January. The trickster conjoins Venus later in the morning, creating a wobbly, confusing, chaotic energy around relationship communication. Sweet lover Venus marks the final aspect of the year on the 31st, joining Pluto in the chthonic netherworld just as we move in for a New Year’s kiss. With the Moon in Taurus, this is a deeply sultry, sensual NYE, perhaps better for spending an intimate night with a gorgeous spread of decadent food and a naked or nearly naked person (or people).
2023 is on the near horizon and it’s going to bring deep, transformational, transcendental change to our world, our culture, and our personal lives. Love yourself and brace yourself. Below, my sign-by-sign horoscopes for paid subscribers. Wanna get some? Subscribe to my Substack, Pleasure Centers.