MONTHLY FORECAST FOR DECEMBER 2018

Dear Reader


I've decided to celebrate the month of December in the spirit of Jovius, ruler of Sagittarius and the season of giving, gratitude and sharing. Instead of the usual pickings, I have an awesome little treat to share with all of you, that I have been inspired to make. So here goes...

Yummy Nutty Balls!

This winter, up in the north, I'm celebrating with memories of my summer solstice camp adventures in Australia. Both happen around December 22, each year. I owe a lot of my inspiration to the summer Confest. It's season of giving love, and a lot of that begins in the heart of any home, in the kitchen.

What you need:

1. A cup of beautifully brown almonds


2. A cup of fresh cashew nuts


3. A cup of sultanas or raisins


4. A cup of delicious roasted coconut flakes


5. A cup of pancake syrup or maple syrup or hotcake syrup- however you choose to call it. I absolutely love this delicious sugar substitute. Good for diabetics.


6. A spice tea of around 100 ml made with water, a stick of cinnamon, 6-7 cloves, 4-5 cardamoms, 1 nutmeg seed powdered, 1 nutmeg flower.

Method:

The method is simple. Only 3 steps. But it will take you a couple of hours. So relax, play some music, and enjoy the afternoon making this treat.


1.Glaze the ingredients one by one in a sauce pan with a tablespoon of the syrup, for each cup.

2.Mix them all together with your hands or a spoon. Add around 30 ml of the spice tea.

3.Make round balls of them. Dip it in the coconut flakes and bottle them to serve later.

How to enjoy this treat?

Perfect when at arm's reach from homework.

Quick pick me up treat in the morning when you absolutely must avoid breakfast.

Mid afternoon desk treat when at work.

As dessert if you want to put together a quick but equally elaborate dish- find some vanilla ice cream, top it up with this ball and drizzle a bit of chocolate syrup. 

Voila!

I love these with stewed and butter tossed apples and pears since raw apples can be so boring. :-)

I got these ingredients from many nice people. The spices are from ecologically protected forests and fair and free trade practices of the Kodagu District. The nuts are grown around the backwaters of Kerala.

Have fun! Happy Thanksgivin' & Merry Christmas.


More on Confest: www.dte.org.au


More on Christmas: www.stellastarwoman.com


More on Amazing Recipes: If you have some to share, drop us a hint in the comments below or ping Swa on Whastapp on 91 9448073848 or Facebook @swasays

I couldn't resist!


Picked up this chart of the moment from the lovely people over at Astrodienst, who have been hosting a terrific forum online for all sorts of interesting discussions. Mind boggling, the geometry of it all.




Big implications for people in design thinking, engineering, cartography or road mapping and such other serious endeavours.




I live in a city called Bangalore or Bengaluru. Folk stories say that it is a shorter form of 'benda kaaluru'. It means boiled beans town or village. This city was a summer getaway for kings and colonial masters since it sits at a cool elevation of around 1000 metres above sea level. I'm bringing you some interpretations with this location for this chart. As we know, location matters a lot, since it has a certain energy to it, it has a certain cultural flavour to it, brought on by the planetary significators in a specific place.


Here, we observe the Ascendant in 0* Pisces, the Sun in 11* Sagittarius conjunct MC and the Moon in 22* Libra. I have been tuned in to this classical, Vedic system of interpretation for a while, and combining that with my western counterparts thanks to Stella Woods, who tutored me in the Celtic/ Chaldean and other systems. So Descendant is in 0* Virgo and IC is in 7*Gemini.


True Node travels backwards and is now in 27* Cancer


It is moving towards 0* over the next year. The South Node is in 27* Capricorn. I'm still sussing this out, honestly. Feeling like the transit energy from Leo is just beginning to hand-over to Cancer. Early days. The Cancerian energy is about home-loving, family-centric actions. Caring for people. It is about loving people and making them feel comfortable. It is in the 5th house, ruled by Leo. But Cancer is a water sign and doesn't like the fire- energy. But it does like the ruler Sun's benefic, growth-oriented gaze over family matters. But to Cancer, the energy of fire will always count as divisive, needlessly dramatic and anathemic to peace, tranquility and the somewhat dreamy, watery, comfort of the ocean. Moon rules Cancer and between the Sun and moon, harmony can be expected to prevail.

Jupiter is conjunct MC and the Sun at 5* Sagittarius.

He is moving through his sign of dignity till the end of the next year. This is like I've been repeating to myself, a gift that keeps on giving. Seeing interesting humour develop here. It's a scary thought too sometimes, to be laughing at the edge of reason. I have a sincere fear of being hauled up to explain the joke and I'm just not so good at telling jokes. I always forget the punchline. And think about why its funny, more than others. But sometimes, it's good to just sit with cackle some people, and I love doing my work around them. Something about that atmos just brings out my best work. Just so long as Jupiter doesn't mind :-) Jovian can be delightfully escapist. If the last 6 lines didn't make any sense to anyone, it's because Jupiter is not sure himself, of what he's supposed to be doing, other than doing what he does- it's a tough month if you are comedian.

Saturn is in 8* Capricorn in the 11th House, for the next 3 years. The 11th house concerns humanity, friendships and reaching out to people. It is ruled by Aquarius, (Kumbh) traditionally and ruler of this sign is Saturn. You could say this is a sign of dignity for Saturn. Co-ruler of the Aquarius is Uranus, in Taurus, now retrograde in 29* Aries. Uranus in Taurus for the next 7-8 years is about revamping the banking system. But the retrograde motion is about listening to the past, before the future can be shaped. There's a great sense of nostalgia and a pining for the old days when a penny or a paisa still used to have a greater value. Commentators, writers and economical scientists have repeatedly published their thoughts on this subject. There is an inflation in currency units across many economies that simple cannot go on. It is not just a matter of day to day, it is not a mundane fix that will work here. It is not just about a teacher and a student and their discussions. This is a matter with wide implications for people all over the world. The need of the hour is financial reform.

1. Unit value of currency has to be restored to its dignity in economies, for instance, like India and several so-called third world countries that are in serious trouble. Until this is resolved, there is no moving on, in terms of happiness, or making promises that can be kept. The GST has not been unified under one percentage. The unit value of the currency is seriously inflated, on the basis of which, many people are making promises that cannot be kept. The inflation index has gone through the roof, into debt, an there is no-one there, at that end. There is no sugar mummy to hand out anything on that day.

The value of the per unit of currency- for instance 1 rupee, comprised of 100 paisa should be able to buy a person all the milk they will need for a day. Rs 2 should be able to buy you a kilo of potatoes with the milk. Rs 5 should be able to buy you groceries for the week. The inflation is so sky-rocketingly high, it is dismal in terms of both psychological and physical quality of life. The forecast is dismal in terms of being able to make ends meet and some people will convince the best minds that nothing can be done about this.

But the truth is, the ultimate ending, final scene of this story is that the greedy who have all along been manipulating people will one day realise their folly. The truth is, whenever promises are made that simply cannot be kept, people should be careful. The overall plan, is that people will see, will understand what they have a right to know, what they are actually entitled- which is to live life with dignity.

In most third-world countries, their own knowledge of what is actually going on, is very limited. Their natural wealth, resources and people are enough, as a basis, to match or exceed the value of the unit of the world's most valued currency units, let's say the Euro, or the British Pound or the US dollar. The third-world countries need not be marked against the criteria of progress as determined by these economies by the International Monetary Fund or the World Economic Forum, since these economies became rich only by looting the third-world countries. And their currencies are even more artificially inflated than the unit value of the third-world currencies. This is not only perception, but also historically true. How can we compare our currency index against the Euro and the Dollar? People in finance live this truth everyday, and everyone seems powerless to do something about it.

This is the way in which the entire financial system of the world has been allowed to go on. Most people recognise these problems if given the chance and opportunity to relate to these identified markers of their distress. The problem is that, what is being discussed in the media is so far from these truths, (Sun in Sagittarius), the refusal to acknowledge the truth is all but destroying our only chance for real survival, and real progress, if there is to be any. The entire system is completely and utterly defunct, as of now. Possibly for the foreseeable future, until leaders jointly take a decision.

And everyone is so over-whelmed now by the nature of these things that have been allowed to go on, that it is again, looking like another Goliath- for leaders, for governance, for businesses, for employment, for any projections on economic growth.

Yes, there is a very big problem to fix, but the good news is that it can be fixed. Firstly, of the above identified problems, start by bringing the unit value of the currency in each third-world economy up. The rule of thumb could be that your weekly groceries, which is enough to feed a family of four comfortably, should be a bill for 5 units of that currency and no more.

The cost of electronic appliances should be no more than 80-100 units of that currency.

The cost of monthly rent should be no more than 300-500 units of the currency.

We need to collectively solve for inflation, by all of us doing this math together. It cannot work, if we don't have unity.

Secondly, people have to see, participate and experience the benefits of fixing this problem, across all these third-world economies.

Thirdly, meanwhile, the confusion arising out of trying to make progress with talk of a new future has to stall. This new future is based on incorrect information, namely inflation-based thinking. It does not offer a solution or benefit while it wants to. But it cannot unless changes happen from the most basic, starting point.

For instance, consider what is happening in a new-model of economic wealth generation?

New models of generating income such as crowd -sourced content and the generation of profit through things like social media were to be re-distributed back to the crowd. Social media especially, attributed under the 11th house of what benefits humanity - it promised to roll-out tangible monetary benefits to people on the basis of which there is so much hype about social media. But has this happened? Nope. On the contrary, people are being asked to spend on these platforms, rather than gain, from their earnest participation. This diversion of their time and resources has already cost people way more than they were willing to spend. There has been no giving back to them, and this has to start happening. People have to stop the hype because they themselves don't understand why they were hyping it in the first place. Now that they know what to expect from the hype, we hope there will be more accountability from these new models of income/profit/revenue generation.

So, the most important points to solve for are inflation and putting back the value in per unit of the currency across affected economies.

Other significant chart points:

Pluto is in 19* Capricorn in the same 11th House.

Mars and Neptune are conjunct in Pisces at 10* and 13 * respectively.

Chiron is retrograde in 27* Pisces and moving direct sometime early next year.


Constellations to watch in the night sky

The constellations of Aquarius, the Southern Cross and the big dipper are visible directly overhead from where I live, at this time of the year, on a clear night. The sky seems far and the light seems dim, but that is due to poor air quality and refraction of light.

Venus Retrograde (Rx) and Direct (D) cycles 2018-19

Venus is retrograde in 0* Scorpio, set to move directly on Jan 8 from 0* Sagittarius. Venus is taking 37 days to transit the sign of Scorpio once again this year, until she moves into Sag. The last time she in Scorpio was from September 10th direct and travelled retrograde from Oct 6th to 0* Scorpius on Oct 31st. In November, she was retrograde in Libra to turn direct at 25* Libra on the 16th November. Still traveling direct on December 3rd at 0* Scorpio. Goes into 0* Sag on Jan 8th. On Feb 4th she enters Capricorn at 0* Cap. She then moves into 8*Aquarius on March 2nd, 2019. She enters her sign of exaltation on 27th March at 0* Pisces. The date of her exact exaltation is 19th April, 2019 in 27* Pisces and Neptune is here at 17* Pisces.

Important dates:

There is an exact conjunction coming up between the Sun and Saturn on 2 Jan 2019 and then, not long after, an exact conjunction of Sun and Pluto on 11 Jan 2019.

For instance, on a personal note...

This date is going to be particularly spectacular in my life. I'm a Pluto ruled Scorp progressed to Sag ( Dec 8) with an on-going relationship saga with a Sun-ruled Leo, progressed Virgo (Sep 8). The saga involves things that I basically wish to know, in no uncertain terms and to figure out where I stand in relation to the other person. This date I think, will definitely bring out the truth of the matter, whether its about money, commitment, or jealousy and remove the hurtful quotient- which has been basically, so many lies, deceit, cover-ups, and running around the law, etc by two Sun-ruled Leos, the both of whom cannot actually bring themselves to end their relationship, because of the benefits the drama brings them, despite the fact that they are in relationships with other people. Which is completely unfair to the other person.

It will mean the end of this relationship for me, since Pluto-ruled endings form my need matrix, in some sense, and I have a dire need to focus on what to re-build and recycle. As this person, I feel horrible when I see a persistence from Leo - the drama, the blindness to the raw truth, the need to keep pretending, the need to keep postponing and never truly respecting people and truly love, for what it is. Always afraid to sacrifice a little. Always arrogant. Always too proud for their own good. This weekend in Jan is going to be my flight from these circumstances and I'm going to sail/ fly away since changing where I live is the way to move ahead from desperate people who won't let a person move on and neither will they make it possible to stay with any real commitment or love in it. I'm tired of being used by people like Leos, who like people to be powerless and victims and constantly wallowing in pity, just so they can float their boats and call it a life. I think Leos really need to get a life. And make up their bloody minds because other people are not powerless. They are not to be used as pawns in their decisions. They are so full of a numb-mind that can't actually think, it's ghastly.

I'm out by 2 years in a horribly damaging relationship like this- and I can't even begin to pick up the pieces of my soul. And I'm supposed to thanks His Majesty, for the great generosity of his heart, and the entertainment. So I do.

But all this can change with one move. And that is the entire shift that people like Leos need to make, to progress into their Virgo personality. To be humble. To stop putting self-interest above others' lives. To see that they serve people and in that way serve their highest good. To grow with the nuturing flow of their own lives. And finally, they can stop standing in their own way. It is a way. A real way ahead. 

If this happens in this conjunction, no-one would be happier than I would be, because it is truly staying true to who we are. 

So, from that sharing, I feel that it really is a great prospect for peace, harmony and a meeting of heart, mind and soul. 

Sun conjunct Pluto. Fans of the Avengers- mark this date! 11 Jan 2019. Pluto, represents death. Of old things that don't work, Pluto is about the natural decay of life, natural end of things beyond their use-by date. The Sun personality can be insufferably blind and very short-sighted, despite being told and despite fully knowing how damaging his blindsighted-ness can be. Pluto conjuncts Sun, it is Death and Life, within 30 degrees of each other. Usually, conjunctions of planets result in something fruitful and the energy of a conjunction is about meeting, rather than opposing. For instance, an opposition of 180* between these planets could have meant all things that come from opposing one another- like divergent views, like an inability to meet, on those views. But here is a celestial event, of the luminary, the Sun, within 30* of Pluto, in the sky in the sign of Capricorn, where Pluto has been for a while. Read more about Pluto and his exaltation in Leo and what that means here.

In related chart points, Sun will call in his exaltation in Aries to advise him on how to approach this transit. Ruler Mars is in 0* Aries on Jan 2 during the Sun- Saturn conjunction. Mars is in 6* Aries on Jan 11, 2019 during the Sun-Pluto conjunction.

Aries, as we know, is considered the most child-like of all the signs, which is thought to represent a sort of a progressive order from child, to youth, to old age, through the colouring of personality, in the arrangement of the zodiac constellations. In Aries, for instance, we find, an innocence which is both endearing as well as dangerous, since it can hurt people without fully understanding itself or consequences of action before thinking it through. Aries can be said to not have as much insight as its opposite sign Libra, ruled by Venus. Here, we find that there is a lot of insight, but on the other hand, very little action. Action planet Mars, when in tune with Venus driven insight, brings very good results.

Venus is in 24* Scorpio retrograde on Jan 2 during the Sun-Saturn episode and she is in 3* Sag direct on Jan 11, on the day of the Sun-Pluto conjunction in Capricorn.

Both Mars and Venus are in fire signs, in Aries and in Sagittarius respectively, on Jan 11, 2019. Mars is powerfully placed in his sign of dignity in Aries. As we observed above, Mars is an action planet, and in Aries, he's a powerful mover on all things that need action. If there are matters that need the drive and energy to be acted upon, for instance, on job security, or on matters concerning building projects, owing to his exaltation in Capricorn, Mars will move on those things- it will be about bringing energy and action to building something new. Interesting. Eye-popping.

The Sun in Capricorn will find support from Saturn, who is not so far away. These planets represent growth, building and the drive to succeed in what has started. Together, by conjunction, they have come closer than ever before, to understanding what the other one can bring, what their story is and how they can work together. The Sun is exalted in Aries and Mars is exalted in Capricorn, they are both mutually benefited from such an arrangement, in building things. 

But Pluto will stay on in Capricorn, and alongside Saturn. Mercury is also in the early degrees of Capricorn. Read more about the story of Saturn here.

A note on Capricorn. 

The South Node in Capricorn may point to the past, especially our collective spiritual past. 

Mercury's movements in the next few days and weeks:


Mercury is Retrograde in the anaretic degree of 29* Scorpio on from December 2nd to December 7th, goes direct here finds himself again in the 29 * Scorpio on December 12.If you are dealing with wishy-washy people, feel free to tell them where to go. The energy of the Sun in Sagittarius will not tolerate any nonsense and the spirit of truth-telling will make it easy for everyone to communicate, be heard, be listened to, be accepted.

It may mean that a lot of things that needed to be said will finally be said, in the sign of Scorpio- this could mean more secrets, scientific research coming to light, previously hidden truths coming to light. It could also mean that a lot of last-minute details add new light to a topic or subject that was previously thought to lead in a particular direction. Usually, the anaretic degree at 29* of any sign, finishes up what a planet does in a sign. Here, Mercury communicates secrets, possibly an ultimate one, or a very well-kept one. Stay tuned to this!

Mercury moves into 0* Sagittarius on December 13th and transits through the sign of the Archer till Jan 5th, 2019. From mid-month all the way through the holiday season, trickster will have lots of games up his sleeves and expert communicator Mercury at work through Sag in Jan will mean that a lot of people will thank heavens- because it's a good start to the year. It means less lies will be spoken, more truth will emerge and this will keep everyone interested in what's going on- at a world level, at a family level and everywhere along the curve where we use speech, writing, or speaking as a tool to reach others.

Truth-telling is an art because always telling the truth as we perhaps feel it could cause us to become un-nuanced and lose people who were listening, with an expectation of the lacing of feelings with the art of diplomacy. On the other hand, candid speech, honest expression has never had a better day, because more and more people are asking others to speak plainly and be heard. It simplifies the world we live in, especially since technological interactions require this sort of simplicity. It could mean a loss of many nuances, the art of diplomacy, indeed, the breadth and scope of the entire field of communication is in the throes of a review. What do we want to say and how do we say it?

Take for instance, I've been talking to Google, Alexa and Siri as well as my friends in different countries in different languages, dialects and even in sign language and animal sounds! That's a crazy world we live in. It'd be nice to understand from Mercury through his transit of Sagittarius, what he distills as truths this season and what people could be inspired by. For instance, is Freedom of Speech and its relevance to peoples in regimes where this freedom may not be exercised to the extent that it could be- is this Freedom of Speech changing our world, is it disrupting how we think, is it a scenario that can lead to co-operative action on creating a better world? How so?

I invite more people to think for themselves and not rely on others to merely give them information, and have these ready-made, packages handed out. Do the research, do your math. See if it adds up. If it doesn't ask why. This is the only way that people can reach what is the truth and how to follow the heart of the truth to a better place, in every person's life.