Astrology is an ancient practice of mythology and divination, which we can use to interpret our individual selves and shifts in humanity at large. This cosmological art helps us to make sense of seemingly random events, patterns, and energies, which we experience collectively as human beings. We all know that the Moon pulls on the tides. Since our bodies are comprised of mostly water, it’s no wonder that all of planets and their shifts seem to affect us also.
We are all impacted by the collective unconscious. According to the stars, we are just now entering a new age in humanity. If we look at a timeline of human history, a new age begins each time Saturn and Pluto form a conjunction in Capricorn. The next time this will happen is 2020. It’s difficult to deny that the current paradigm is coming to an end. It’s clarifying and comforting to map out seeming chaos and uncertainty, and discover the patterns of planetary influence and their meaning. It connects us to the profundity of human experience when we see that we are reflected in the stars. It helps us develop greater awareness around who we are and what we feel.
The following calendar maps out upcoming transits so we can tune into the cosmic influences. It can help us determine how best work with the energies that arise. This calendar also contains recommended herbal remedies for each of the major planetary transits. The suggested herbs have been determined using the ancient practice of Medical Astrology, a tool that links human anatomy and physiology to plant and fungi spirits.
As these ancient practices become increasingly popular in modern times, we are learning to join heaven and earth. We are discovering powerful ways that we can relate not only to our bodies, hearts, and minds, but also to the Earth, its seasons, and our collective unfoldment.
Astrology by Juliana McCarthy of Ethereal Culture.
Follow Juliana on Instagram: @etherealculture
The suggested herbal remedies in this calendar are brought to you by medical astrologer Emily McDonald of Ethos Rising.
Winter 2018
Winter Zodiac Signs: Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces
We begin winter on the Winter Solstice, the darkest day of the year, before the turning of the light. It’s not only the portal to winter but also Capricorn season. This is a time to dive into our innermost beings, feeling the warmth of solitude and retreat. It’s an opportunity acknowledge our regrets, resentments, and fears, offering them to the light of our self-awareness and acceptance. Sitting by the fire, we can feel loving-kindness embracing our imperfections, messiness, and vulnerability.
As this year’s Solstice portal opens, we have the chance to up-level energetically—to recognize any old patterns that have returned to be released. We’re now calling in higher dimensions of ourselves and our relationships. As we begin winter, Venus is forming a harmonious trine with Neptune, the planets of love and transcendence dancing in synch. They’re allowing us to establish deep harmony, forgiveness, and open-hearted connection. After two seasons marked by retrogrades, frustrations, and challenges, particularly in our relationships, we can begin to feel our struggles and misunderstandings soften and dissolve. We’re learning how to love each other as we approach the new paradigm, which officially begins in 2020. Stepping into new calibrations of our inner feminine and masculine, we can stand up straight, fearlessly offering our tenderness, care, and love in our personal relationships, and to the world at large.
Supportive Remedies for Winter:
As the sun returns to the Northern Hemisphere, winter brings forth the opportunity for reflection on the deep, conditioned patterning that came to light during the autumnal darkness.
Red Clover (Trifolium pratense) — stimulates lymph, imparts confidence
Shatavari (Asparagus racemosus) – nourishes pelvic tissues, fosters spiritual compassion
Dong Quai (Angelica sinensis) —promotes reproductive circulation, warming embrace
Winter 2018 Astrology Transits
December 22–January 20 — Sun Moves into Capricorn
Good time for: Slowing down, Planting seeds for our long-term future, Making plans, Re-organizing, Working together with others, Spending time with family
December 22 — Cancer Full Moon
0° Cancer, 12:48pm
Good time for: Emotional release, Reconciliation and forgiveness, Romance, Honest exchanges, Storytelling, Intimacy, Making meaningful art
Full Moons are a time to let go and release anything that no longer serves us. They’re a moment of culmination and fruition, particularly around relationships. Here, the Moon reaches maximum brightness—falling directly opposite the Sun. She exposes the night, tapping us into magic, hidden dimensions, and our unconscious minds.
The Cancer Full Moon is a time of great emotional release. Forming a harmonious sextile to Uranus, we are now able to break out of our emotional ruts and stagnation, liberating from the past as we move into greater authenticity. With Venus forming a trine to Neptune, this is a beautiful moment for love and forgiveness, whether with romantic partners, friends, or family. Our hearts are ready to expand, transcending disagreements, strife, and turmoil.
Supportive Remedies for Cancer Full Moon:
Cancer, ruled by the Moon, is a water sign that oversees the mucosal membranes, the stomach, and breasts. The Moon resonates with bodily fluids, emotional memories, and biological rhythms. The Cancer Full Moon is a powerful time to work with nourish, lubricate, and relax.
Sweet Violet (Viola odorata) — moistens and softens tissues, helps dissolve energetic boundaries
Chicory (Cichorium intybus) — liberates nutrients for assimilation, helps focus energy inward
Marshmallow Root (Althea offinalis) —lubricates digestive system, connects heart to lower chakras
January 5 – Capricorn New Moon / Partial Solar Eclipse
8:28pm EST, 15° Capricorn
Good time for: Major rebirth out of old traumas and patterns, Bringing dreams into reality, Forgiveness and reconciliation, Balancing spirituality with practicality, Setting intentions, Starting projects that are aligned with our highest ideals
New Moons are a time for fresh starts and setting intentions. Solar Eclipses are supercharged New Moons, bringing intensity as they swiftly catapult us onto our true life paths. With the Moon partially eclipsing the Sun, our deeper emotional natures are taking precedence over ego. At the same time, this marks an epic beginning of a new cycle, offering a clean slate that helps us recharge and begin again. What projects, dynamics, or relationships do we now want to initiate?
Capricorn rules structures, history, business, and patriarchy, so with a Solar Eclipse in Capricorn, we’re ready to regroup and break from the past, releasing unhelpful family and societal conditioning. Forming a conjunction to Saturn—Capricorn’s ruler—we are truly on our way to a new paradigm. We’re setting a fresh tone, building new, inspired structures in our personal lives and the world at large. With Neptune sextiling the Moon, we’re making sure our connection with the divine is incorporated into all that we do. Commitments, projects, art, and business will be supported if they’re aligned with our highest ideals. In relationships, we’re learning to balance dignity, respect, and loyalty with a deeper sense of acceptance and unconditional love.
Supportive Remedies for Capricorn New Moon Partial Eclipse:
Capricorn rules the skeletal system, while the Moon rules our bodily fluids, emotional memories, and biological rhythms. This New Moon Partial Eclipse is a powerful time to work with herbs that relax tension and open space for expansion.
Gotu Kola (Centella asiatica): supports tissue repair, alleviates nervous tension
Mullein (Verbascum thapus): softens energetic blockages, promotes honesty
Thuja (Thuja occidentalis): relaxes thoughts, purifies self-doubt
January 21 – Leo Full Moon / Lunar Eclipse
12:17am EST, 0° Leo
Good time for: Letting go of inauthentic relationships, Finding deeper purpose, Exposing truth, Orienting toward the collective good, Emotional honesty.
Full Moons are a time to let go and release anything that no longer serves us. They’re a moment of culmination and fruition, particularly around relationships. Here, the Moon reaches maximum brightness—falling directly opposite the Sun. She exposes the night, tapping us into magic, hidden dimensions, and our unconscious minds. A Lunar Eclipse is an exaggerated Full Moon. It can draw issues to the surface that have been long-brewing, bringing final endings and revealing our shadow selves or uncomfortable truths about others. Memories and dreams may surface, eliciting our deepest emotions.
This Leo Lunar Eclipse is the last eclipse along the Leo-Aquarius axis, ending an eighteen month cycle of exploring how we can bring our gifts to the world for the benefit of all. How can we balance our pleasure and joy with our service to the collective well-being? How can we better open our hearts and inspire others to do the same? With Uranus forming a square with the Moon and Mercury, the planets are jolting us into the next phase. We’re confronted with the question of whether or not our lives are aligned with our authentic hearts. We’re being spurred to find balance between friendship and romance, our personal lives and humanity at large.
Supportive remedies for Leo Full Moon Lunar Eclipse:
Leo rules the heart, while the Moon rules bodily fluids, emotional memories, and biological rhythms. With this eclipse squaring Uranus, now is an excellent time to work with herbs that can help us stay grounded as we realign.
Dandelion Root (Taraxacum officinale): releases emotional expression, relaxes tension
Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla): restores equilibrium, promotes internal ease
Calendula (Calendula officinalis): circulates warmth, brightens mood
July 21–February 18 – Sun Enters Aquarius
Good time for: Considering the bigger picture, Looking to the future, Breaking out of old patterns, Friendship, Building community
February 4 — Aquarius New Moon
4:03pm EST, 15°
Good time for: Deep alchemical transformation, Powerful creative work, Relationship breakthroughs
New Moons are a time for fresh starts and setting intentions. Falling into complete darkness, the New Moon marks the beginning of a new lunar cycle—when the Sun and Moon meet at the same degree. It presents a clean slate that helps us recharge and begin again. What projects or relationships do we now want to initiate and continue over the next six months?
Aquarius is the sign of humanity, creative ingenuity, community, and friendship. This Aquarius New Moon asks us to look to the future to see how we might reorient our lives, breaking free from the past and moving into greater truth and authenticity. Conjunct Mercury, the theme of communication is strong, and we’re finding new ways to exchange ideas with one another. Venus is forming a positive angle to Uranus, while Mars is close-by. This means that we’re liberating our notions of love and creativity and forming new patterns around our inner feminine and masculine—and how the two relate with one another. This is not a time to stay stuck in the past, but to embrace all that is novel, new, and aligned with the greater good and our highest selves.
Supportive Remedies for Aquarius New Moon:
Aquarius rules the ankles, while the Moon rules bodily fluids, emotional memories, and biological rhythms. With this eclipse squaring Uranus, now is an excellent time to work with herbs that can help us stay grounded as we realign.
Yerba Santa (Eriodyction glutinosum): clears congestion, opens energetic channels
Calamus Root (Acorus calamus): improves mental focus, shifts energetic pattern
Schizandra Berry (Shisandra chinensis): reproductive tonic, instills youthful vitality
February 18 — Chiron Returns to Aries
4:09pm EST
Good time for: Healing of all kinds, Learning new healing modalities, Working through anger and grief, Becoming tender empathetic warriors and leaders
Chiron entered Aries last April, then retrograded back into Pisces. Now, Chiron again returns to Aries, where he will now stay for the next seven years. Chiron represents the Wounded Healer, while Aries rules the head, our inner masculine, aggression, and initiation. Chiron in Aries is a time to join body, mind, and spirit, and to discover more holistic ways of healing. It’s also a time to heal our aggression, psychological traumas, masculinity, and grief, and to connect more deeply with our vulnerability, both individually and as a collective. Healers, and those unafraid of feeling deeply, are ready to step up into positions of leadership as we begin a whole new cycle of healing on our planet—our bodies, hearts, minds, and our connections to Spirit and the environment.
Supportive remedies for Chiron in Aries:
Aries rules the head, brain, and adrenals, while Chiron opens our deepest wounds. Now is an excellent time to work with herbs that soothe pain from long-standing emotional turmoil. Flower essences could be particularly helpful with this transit.
Self-heal (Prunella vulgaris) – promotes tissue healing, supports psychological wholeness
Linden (Tilia americana) – relaxes tension around the heart, evens the breath
Hawthorne (Cratageus monogyna) – brings blood to the heart, imparts courage
February 19-March 20 — Sun Moves into Pisces
Good time for: Spirituality, Meditation, Retreat, Imagination, Magic, Feeling, Music and Art, Heart Expansion, Forgiveness
February 19 — Virgo Full Moon
10:53am, 0°
Good time for: Purifying hearts and bodies, Reorganizing and decluttering, Cleansing digestive system, Breaking old mental patterns
Full Moons are a time to let go and release anything that no longer serves us. They’re a moment of culmination and fruition, particularly around relationships. Here, the Moon reaches maximum brightness—falling directly opposite the Sun. She exposes the night, tapping us into magic, hidden dimensions, and our unconscious minds.
In Virgo, the Full Moon asks us to declutter, clean our digestive systems, and partake in rituals of health and deep self-care. This way, we can offer our emotional service to others, which is one of Virgo’s enlightened potentials. The Virgo-Pisces axis is the most magical of the zodiac, and we have the opportunity to align our physical selves with our spiritual, to sit in meditation and stillness and purify our bodies and hearts. Forming a trine to Uranus and Mars, we have the chance now to break mental patterns and establish new ones. and to stop spinning over anything that’s been causing us mental anguish.
Supportive Remedies for Virgo Full Moon:
Virgo rules the digestive system, while the Moon rules bodily fluids, emotional memories, and biological rhythms. This Virgo Full Moon calls for alleviating tension in the mind so that energy can flow with limited impedence to maximize magic.
Codonopsis (Codonopsis pilosula): energizes immunity, increases vitality
Blue Lotus (Nymphaea caerulea) – heightens spiritual senses, brings tranquility
Borage (Borago officinalis): strengthens resiliency, soothes grief and sorrow
March 5 — Mercury Retrograde in Pisces
Good time for: Music, Art, Poetry, Sending love letters from our hearts, Channeling, Wordless communication, Magic, Healing, Tapping into our psychic abilities, Meditation
Mercury retrograde occurs when Mercury appears to move backward from the perspective of Earth. Energetically, this has the effect of making our communication wonky. It can mess up our listening, speaking, writing, texting, and negotiating. Travel, shipping, and computer codes can also become wonky, earning Mercury Retrograde its negative reputation.
However, this transit is also beneficial. As the planet of intellect and communication turns its powers inward, we enter a wonderful period for reflection, review, and introspection. The influence heightens dreams, magic, and psychic communication. We can find deeper ways to communicate now, beyond ordinary language and mundane reality.
Falling in Pisces, the magical potential is heightened, as well as our potential to create art, music, poetry, and dance, and to channel from the Divine.
Supportive remedies for Mercury Retrograde in Pisces:
Pisces rules the feet, while Mercury oversees our cognitive capacities. Working with flower essences to unite with spirit can assist us in processing during this Mercury Retrograde.
Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata) – alleviates agitation, eases into sleep
Mimosa (Albizia julibrissin) – stabilizes mood, facilitates processing of grief and sorrow
Kava Root (Piper methysticum): promotes peace, softens sensitivities to others’ energies
March 6 — Uranus Returns to Taurus
3:28am EST
Uranus first entered Taurus last May, then retrograded back into Aries. Now, Uranus returns to Taurus, officially beginning a major new seven-year cycle in humanity. Uranus rules revolution, while Taurus rules the earth. As Uranus shifts into Taurus for the next seven years, we are beginning a great collective shift, revolutionizing the way we relate to resources, food, farming, money, and the earth. It’s time to reconsider how we relate to material things—where we’re being wasteful, stingy, selfish, and even vain. We’re ready to unstick from the places where we’ve been most stubborn or stuck, and build community around caring for each other and making sure all beings have their basic needs met without unnecessary struggle, not just the very wealthy elite.
Mushrooms rule this period since they live in the soil, communicate in sophisticated systems, and hold the potential to revolutionize both the environment and our minds.
Supportive Remedies for Uranus in Taurus:
Taurus rules the neck, throat, and recuperative forces, while Uranus rules the endocrine system. Now is an excellent time to work with remedies that deepen our intimacy with the Earth. Mushroom infusions would be particularly helpful with this transit, for reasons mentioned above.
Chaga (Inonotus obliquus) – enhances immunity, grounds, and calms
Lion’s Mane (Hericium erinaceus) – neuro-protector, facilitates learning
Cordyceps (Cordyceps sinensis) – stimulates energy, provokes sexuality
March 6 — Pisces New Moon
11:04am EST, 15°
Good time for: Beginning a creative imaginative project, Establishing romance, Connecting with dreams and spirituality, Spiritual awakening
New Moons are a time for fresh starts and setting intentions. Solar Eclipses are supercharged New Moons, bringing intensity as they swiftly catapult us onto our true life paths. With the Moon partially eclipsing the Sun, our deeper emotional natures are taking precedence over ego. At the same time, this marks an epic beginning of a new cycle, offering a clean slate that helps us recharge and begin again. What projects, dynamics, or relationships do we now want to initiate?
New Moons are a time for fresh starts and setting intentions. Falling into complete darkness, the New Moon marks the beginning of a new lunar cycle—when the Sun and Moon meet at the same degree. It presents a clean slate that helps us recharge and begin again. What projects or relationships do we now want to initiate and continue over the next six months?
Supportive remedies for Pisces New Moon:
Virgo rules the digestive system, while the Moon rules bodily fluids, emotional memories, and biological rhythms. This Virgo New Moon calls for herbs that support introspection and longevity.
Spearmint (Mentha spicata): improves memory, attention, and reasoning
Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia): calms nervous tension, opens energetic channels
Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora): mitigates hypersensitivity, draws energy downward
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Astrology by Juliana McCarthy of Ethereal Culture.
Follow Juliana on Instagram: @etherealculture
The suggested herbal remedies in this calendar are brought to you by medical astrologer Emily McDonald of Ethos Rising.
Image: Charles Burchfield
