Yule 2023

22nd December 2023, 3:27 am GMT

It may seem counterintuitive to discuss the birth of light at the darkest point of the year, the time in the Northern Hemisphere when daylight is at its lowest output and night seems to have won the battle. However, that is the lesson we learn through the Sun’s journey in Sagittarius.

It is often wondered why a jovial Jupiter-ruled sign leads up to the darkest point of the year. Sagittarius, the constellation, is that of the centaur, the mythical half man half horse famous for its carousing, trouble-making nature. (The centaur Chiron is often mistakenly associated with Sagittarius, but Chiron is depicted in another constellation known as Centaurus.)

The cheerful Jupiterian way can be felt in the lead-up to the holiday season and festivals of many religions worldwide. Folks generally enjoy catching up with their chosen family and friends for dinner, drinks, and parties. Even shopping and overindulgence, so common at Yule season, are associated with Jupiter at His over-exuberant finest!

We can better understand how zodiac signs speak symbolically to the seasons when we consider their modality. Scorpio, a fixed sign, is the point in the year when the night is increasing from darkness into further darkness. Sagittarius, with its double-bodied, mutable nature, has a foot in both seasons: the one it is in and the one that comes next. In the Northern Hemisphere, it’s the darkest part of the year that leads to the spark at the end of the centaur’s sign signaling the tropical turning point, the Winter Solstice. I often think of the strike of a match that is used to light the Yule log at the beginning of the festivities.

The Yule log traditionally is the wood from the English Oak Quercus Robur, a symbol of the Sun and the light half of the year. Each year Lord Oak and Lord Holly duel through their eternal competition to see who can come out on top. Holly takes over and dominates the Summer Solstice as the light begins to dwindle. At Yule, the Winter Solstice is the time for Lord Oak to reign as the return of the light is heralded. Each year a small piece of the Yule log is kept to be used as the kindle for the new log the following year, a symbolic passing of the light from one year to another in a continuous circle.

To light a wood as solid and sturdy as oak, it needs to be dry to allow the spark of the match to catch and burn. Capricorn is an Earth sign. The cold dry nature of its domicile lord Saturn combined with the hot dry nature of its exalted lord Mars is the fuel for the spark that the Sagittarian Sun carelessly flicks as it hands over at the exact solstice degree. It is also worth giving Mars credit here for the energy that is then required to push forward through the darkest, coldest season of the year. Without the raw natural force and energy of Mars, we would be stuck in eternal winter.

Once we hit the Solstice point at 0° Capricorn, the responsibilities and obligations move from friends and colleagues toward family, and maybe those meetings are not always as free and easy as those we choose to make before the holidays. It may be no surprise that tensions can get frayed over the period when Saturn has the honour of stewarding the sign of Capricorn while hosting Mars as its exalted guest. No wonder we often hear stories of family get-togethers with a mixture of dogmatic beliefs, begrudged responsibilities, and maybe even warring siblings, uncles, aunts, or grandparents who just cannot be trusted to keep the status quo!

The Astrology

As we reach the Solstice, the theme of our Scorpio rising charts through 2023 continues, though this one has a more positive feel to it. As we reach the Solstice, we continue the theme of our Scorpio rising charts through 2023, this is the fifth out of the eight festival charts where the Scorpion rises here in the UK. I am writing this in Sagittarius season, and as a Sagittarius rising native, I am hopeful that there are some aspects in this chart showing gradual movement towards harmony in the coming year.

The Ascendant inches past the opposition to a very lethargic Jupiter. He may take a while to wind up, but everyone will be anticipating the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction in April 2024. Jupiter also has a rare opportunity to host both Saturn in Pisces and Mars in Sagittarius, the planets that are the domicile and exaltation lords of Capricorn. Jupiter turns direct on New Year’s Eve (followed on the 2^nd of January by Mercury turning direct at 3.07 GMT). Having a traditional malefic hosted by the Greater Benefic about to station direct feels telling, and dare I say hopeful?

The Ascendant will then oppose Uranus and immediately conjoin an in-sect Venus. Yes, I know she is exiled and opposing Uranus, but exciting surprises can come from this combination. The Moon, having just ingressed into her exaltation in Taurus, makes an exact trine to the newborn Sun, with Mercury bearing witness. I think of neighbors cheerfully singing carols at our doorsteps, bringing the joy of love and connection into the season.

Saturn, Capricorn’s sturdy ruler, is in a whole sign trine with the Ascendant from the fifth house and in a supporting sextile to the new Sun. Joy may come with responsibilities, like a proud grandparent welcoming a new family member. Opportunity abounds as Saturn also sextiles Jupiter. The resources you need to manage are there if you know how to receive the blessings.

Feisty Venus in Scorpio applies to the trine with Neptune in the fifth house. She could wear down those boundaries and rough edges, too, as can be expected at high holidays. The winter solstice was originally the Roman holiday of Saturnalia, where truly anything goes with the revelers. I would caution against letting one’s hair down too far, though, as there are still responsibilities to keep in mind.

As we move into January, the time of year where, in the UK, days are cold and short, nights are colder and longer, and summer seems either a distant memory or a journey long ahead. The Sun bravely traverses the Capricorn season, boldly taking one degree at a time as notice the days starting to lengthen. I believe that hope for a warm, joyful 2024 is there, tucked away in this chart. We just have to be a little patient.

I thank each and every one of you who has journeyed through 2023 with me, and I look forward to my first year anniversary with you at Imbolc 2024. I wish you all a prosperous New Year ahead.

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Saffron Dennis is an astrologer, crystal therapist, horticulturalist and tarot reader based in the East Anglia region of the UK. You can book her for a reading or as a speaker at your local or online event at divinebaytree.com