December 17/18: Mercury and Jupiter aligned with Aldebaran and Antares indicate opportunities to materialize projects, travel, good business, to improve our mood ... and overspend

December 17/18: Mercury in contra parallel and in opposition to Jupiter, conjunct star cluster M4. The fleeting passage of Mercury in ecliptic conjunction with star cluster M4  can revive good, perhaps unfinished, old projects, ... M4 contains one of those rare pulsars or neutron stars that resurrect through a close contact with another star, with which it forms a couple. The interaction revives the pulsar and makes it rotate at a rate even higher than it was before their new partnership. Hence Mercury, in its M4 transit, can relive past projects that promise to develop positively. Mercury begins to make its annual conjunction to the star Antares in the constellation Scorpio, a red giant that has a definite effect on the material plane, either in the physical body, our economy or our immediate environment.

     Mercury has a natural association with trade and negotiations, and the contact with Antares, a  particularly gigantic star, can represent good opportunities for development and strength in the financial plane. It is possible to do excellent business, to achieve great sales and enriching exchanges, so we must not lose the opportunity to be involved in them if we can. Financial activity is greatly increased in the holiday season! But this trend must be used carefully to avoid impulsive spending.

     On the other side of the sky, Jupiter is forming an opposition to Mercury, although only really accurate for a few hours. Jupiter is in turn associated with Mercury's zodiac sign, Gemini, indicating that this opposition can bring a positive exchange, because as bis as Antares is, Jupiter is the champion planetary size in our solar system . Further, Jupiter has been conjunct for several days to the star Aldebaran in the constellation Taurus, traditionally named "the eye of the Bull". Aldebaran is an orange giant, but not as big as Antares. It stands out visually by its color and astrologically by its tendency to emphasize both emotions and material productivity. Jupiter, which tends to optimize things, indicates a good opportunity to raise the disturbing emotions and see the positive side of life despite all the destruction in the world. Look for joy and share it with those who need it!

     Antares and Aldebaran are located on opposite sides of the celestial sphere, so the ancients saw them as always confronted with one another. This, coupled with their reddish and orange glow, became a symbol of struggle, war, confrontation. Hence the name Antares, which means "the antagonist", in this case of Aldebaran. The current astronomy reveals the large size of both, especially of Antares, and its reddish color comes from its relatively low temperature compared to other stars. Red stars have a relationship with the most basic functions of human experience, such as survival, health, sexuality, emotions, and money.

      All this mixed in an unstructured way during the holiday season may end up emptying our pockets, but  we can fill them full instead if we are in the right place. Jupiter is the Santa Claus among our planets, and while its optimistic euphoria can make us spend impulsively, do not let go this oportunity.Through the Aldebaran-Antares channel, we can obtain advances in several areas of our life. These may include studies, short or long trips (to plan them and undertake them), excellent business, an increase in productivity, a positive sexual expression, improved emotional states ... But due to the confrontational nature that can this astrological combination can have- these stars are opposites in the sky after all, it is best to avoid open sincerity, impulsive comments, verbal rawness, which can easily occur with the combination  Mercury / Jupiter.

      Of course, there will be cases where assertiveness will be necessary to clarify things, but there there is always the risk that this will cause a confrontation. To get the most out of this combination, better double check that you are up to the situation, that you have a balanced exchange with people with whom you are interacting. Transform any possible confrontation in integration, in complementary views, a balance, a harmonious pact that can bring benefits for all those involved. But that, it's up to us, not to the stars.