By Nicole Goicuria and Sharon Isabel Curley
The sun has entered the Cardinal Earth sign of Capricorn, signaling the “return of the sun” and the Winter Solstice. From here, the days get brighter as we witness the cycle of death and rebirth that leads us into spring. This winter, we see Pluto conjoin the Sun at the last degree of Capricorn, entering into the sign of Aquarius together, where Pluto will remain for most of 2024. This remarkable transit offers us potent energy to work with on a personal level, as this Aquarius season opens up a portal for complete transformation.
It takes Pluto about twenty years to travel through a sign. Its lengthy transits can mark turning points on a global level, and distinguish one generation from the next with a collective vibration of purpose to experience and work through. Pluto also does this on an individual level based on its natal house placement, and as Pluto transits through our charts over time, it can lead us through an epic process of individual growth and evolution, through aspects with our personal planets and points that can signify specific areas of change and growth that require our focus and attention. If Pluto contacts our personal astrology through harder aspects, we may be jolted by internal or external events that force us to step into our personal power. Pluto penetrates deep into our psyches and will destroy what is no longer serving us, so we can start the rebuilding process. Due to its slow movement and retrograde cycle, we have been experiencing the tension of the dance between 29° of Capricorn and 0° of Aquarius since February 2023, and we will continue to, until Pluto’s final ingress into Aquarius in November 2024, where it will remain until Jan 2043.
As we are experiencing Pluto’s pendulum swing between the 29° of Capricorn and 0° of Aquarius. These powerful degrees signify both completion and initiation, respectively. Known as the anaretic degree, or “degree of fate”, the 29th degree is the last degree of a sign. For a transiting planet, that means it is experiencing the stress of moving into the unfamiliar territory of a new zodiacal archetype, element, and modality. This space that Pluto is occupying “in between worlds” can manifest in energy that is disorienting, chaotic, disruptive, frightening, and depleting. We are laboring the birth of a new era. So if the vibes have been off, both collectively and on a personal level, know that you are not alone in feeling this way. This winter, expect Pluto to motivate you to dig deeper into your psyche, patterns, relationships, motivations, and power dynamics to find opportunities for renewal.
This winter you may feel the rumblings of change within you, and it is best not to resist. Pay attention to what is coming up now, as this regenerative journey is just beginning. Mindfulness can help us stay grounded as we are in the midst of this chaotic, cosmic journey from one archetypal energy to another, and Tarot and Astrology can be illuminating tools that can help us navigate seasons of change by finding meaning in the moment with a heightened sense of self-awareness. If this sounds appealing, try this Tarot exercise this winter:
The Tarot card that corresponds to the 29th degree (and last decan) of Capricorn is the 4 of Pentacles. Grab your Tarot deck and shuffle. Find the 4 of Pentacles as your significator. The card behind the 4 or Pentacles will reveal what is coming to a completion, and the card in front of the 4 or Pentacles will signify what process of initiation awaits you at 0 degrees of Aquarius. The 4 of Pentacles is the bridge between these two worlds, and offers us both a sense of stability and an invitation to release and surrender to the unknown. As the saying goes, “you can’t take it with you”. Use the symbolism that emerges as a personal guide into this new season.
Horoscopes are best read according to your Rising sign, or your Sun sign (if you were born during the day), or Moon sign (if you were born at night). If you would like to learn more about your unique Astrological profile and how Pluto shows up in your life, or would like a more detailed, personalized horoscope based on your birth chart, contact Nicole at The Astral Botanica (theastralbotanica.com).
Aries: (TW for those who have suffered from ED. If you are someone suffering, please know you are not alone.) Whenever I think about winter hibernation, I think first about my early onset eating disorder and then about how wild it must be to eat so much to hold you through a whole season. It brings me a lot of anxiety, actually. I recently learned that the snail hibernates the longest. Up to 3 years, even, in the “right” climate. What is the snail doing to prepare for that? Well, I didn’t feel like all that research, but I did learn that they also hibernate through hot months, too! Depending on the species and the environment, some snails skip out for the hot times. How I’d love that option. A few Aries I know prefer to leave a very tepid winter climate here in Philly for a warmer one every winter season. I think it could be time for some realization and less escape for those who follow that ritual, despite me saying I’d love it for hot seasons. Live in the moment, ground yourself, Aries. Stay where you are and start the new year and winter season without escaping.
Taurus: I was going to write a whole little ditty for you about how fascinated I was when I read “The Portable Jung” and sensual introverts. I no longer own a copy of that book (Christmas is coming, folks…), so I went to Google to refresh my memory. Well, I can’t find anything, so instead, we will perform together what I recall learning. Imagine this: you feel like you want to travel to Alaska. You obsess over it, you study everything about it, you check out places you’d stay, you sign up for Google alerts on cheap airfare. You do it all. You plan it all out, you daydream about it so much that the urge to go eventually just disappears as if you’d actually gone there. Maybe that daydream vacation is what you need right now while you’re actually working here in the cold, dark northeast season waiting for that Carribean holiday you’d probably prefer.
Gemini: Owls can turn their heads 135 degrees in either direction, making a full 270-degree view around. They have fixed eye sockets, so this helps them to better stalk their prey. Owls are good at quietly perching high above in the dark, staring down at their next meal. Just up there in all their beauty, a little breeze blowing through their majestic feathers waiting to attack. Could this be a metaphor for something? Is it for you? Perhaps the shorter, colder, darker days are causing you to want to act out in a way that doesn’t seem to be who we all perceive you to be. Maybe for the time being, stay perched up there; close in on those you love and stay there a while. They know you don’t bite.
Cancer: In one of many Metallica hits from their album “…And Justice For All,” some repeated lyrics are, “Hold my breath as I wish for death, oh please, God please wake me”. I remember listening to that song hundreds of times as a kid, and I always thought, “Pick one, dude. Do you wanna die or wake up?” Have you ever felt that way? Like you can’t decide which would be better? Me, too. Cancer, you may be waking from one of those moments now. Coming out of complete agony into waking into what is the actual mundane reality of life, what do you want to do now? It’s time to shake things up a little, Cancer. Change the norm. It’s time to do all the things in life you’ll wish you’d done on your deathbed, except (hopefully) you aren’t actually on your deathbed. Need inspiration? Try listening to the aforementioned album on repeat as loud as you can. And good luck!
Leo: When I asked Nicole to join me in the horoscope adventures, I simply wanted her expertise. I’m always shocked at how she will send me the outline for the season for each astrological sign, and what I wrote matches so sweetly with that. Leo was particularly intriguing to me, because I was recently spending time with one of my favorite ever Leos, and her life is in a new chapter where she is figuring out new ways, new relationships, new home, etc. She spent a long time figuring out what this next step would be, and as she did that, things seemed to fall in place just so. Leo, this is a time for you to channel your inner you, and what you want. Maybe read The Secret or something and get an idea of how to envision your new reality. From what Nicole said, and from what I’ve witnessed, this is certainly your time.
Virgo: Apparently, it is time for the Virgo to reintroduce their creative time this season. Oddly enough, I never knew it ever left you. I’ve always been partially envious of Virgo. What is that process of yours like where you travel inside and think of something cool and then obsessively carry through? Perhaps you can pull that energy out and use it toward something or someone else. Instead of being hard, maybe try going hard. Get yourself out there, show up to parties, dates, what have you. Like a proper Comme des Garcons shirt, wear your heart on your sleeve. Give yourself a Wim Hof breath in, and hold it until winter’s end, and then let it all out in a sense of rejuvenation.
Libra: It’s a good time to mix up your life a little and settle into something more domestic. It’s time to think more toward your future and begin taking those steps. Is there something in your life that you feel like you could settle into? Maybe a new project, a new house, a new anything that interests you. Take the Solstice as a sign to begin something new and nestle in without letting go. Speaking of nestle, does Nestlé still have the bunny mascot for their Nesquik brand? What’s the longest-running food mascot? I just looked it up, and it’s Elsie the cow. She doesn’t look that familiar to me, which wasn’t too shocking, considering I just recently learned that the order of the largest fast food companies (by number of locations) starts with Subway, then Mary’s Gone Crackers (wtf), then Starbucks, then McDonald’s. Your projects should go beyond internet researching stupid shit, but make it something heartfelt and beautiful.
Scorpio: My mother used to bring the newspaper in every morning, do the crossword puzzle and then clip coupons. With 4 kids and sometimes a turtle or fish or two, my parents lived on a budget. I imagine the Scorpio thought process living on a budget. Getting the most with the least; the bang for your buck, as it were. To make something out of nothing takes a thought process which is patient enough with itself to work toward that goal. Like being on a budget, times may get tough, people may not want to support you, but don’t give up. For it’s that final product you’ve been working toward. It’s the paper route to your first guitar, the pizza shop to your college degree. You will in the end reap the benefits.
Sagittarius: Every year around this time, I buy a new calendar book. I have used these religiously since 2017, and the habit has helped my type-A organizing skills tremendously. I’ve found that keeping certain habits has aided in little ways of success. I’ve been buying shared calendars for my husband and me to keep our schedules somewhat known to one another, but I seem to be the only one who uses them. I will put something on as soon as I hear of it or get home to the calendar and remember it. He will not, but I try to get him to. There is something about the habitual things that seem so good until the habit is broken, and sometimes this is out of your control. If you’re feeling a bit shaken up this season, there are things you can do to make things better. Don’t try to perfect things, as you like to do, but maybe try to incorporate new things like meeting new friends and gaining new insights on potential new habits to form.
Capricorn: Here’s a hot take—I don’t think, outwardly at least, that the Capricorn changes much in different seasons. Always even-keeled, working on something, and most likely working harder than you think. You know who else works really hard this time of year? Santa Claus. And maybe even harder, his reindeer. Also, Santa’s pretty even-keeled. Just always some kind of joy or whatever. This season ought to bring you a sense of joy and accomplishment. Like some ridiculous idea of some dude hopping down every chimney in the world, even to bring toys to the houses without chimneys, you will have the ability to continue to produce happiness in others through your accomplishments. Though you may secretly pretend that this isn’t a goal of yours, we all know it is, and we appreciate it.
Aquarius: It’s said that Charles Darwin’s tortoise Harriet was born in 1832 (maybe 1830, stories vary) and passed away in 2006. That would mean that Harriet was a whopping 174 years old when she died. I often think about death. I think about the age I’ll die at when I am choosing a volume on the radio or TV, so I make it every even number, but I allow 27. The even numbers are not by choice, but all my work computer will allow. Living until 174 seems unreasonable, doesn’t it? I lived with a tortoise in Tucson, AZ, and she spent a lot of her time burrowing in the ground. Why live so long to be in the dark for so much of it? I suggest stepping out of the dark and into the forefront this winter. Take the years of accomplishments and put them all into something that matters.
Pisces: I have these dreams sometimes which feature a house that I’ve never known in my waking life. It will vary accordingly; sometimes it’s lived in, sometimes lived in by me, and once it was my deceased grandmother’s house, and sometimes it’s abandoned. One thing always remains the same – the 2nd and 3rd floors are sort of a split-level style. The second floor will feature bedrooms with beds in them and those are always some sort of familiar. The split 3rd floor is always empty. It looks so amazing on the 3rd floor, although I always know a spirit is there, so I always leave that floor immediately. I suppose I am assuming the spirit doesn’t want me there by my dream-like state of consciousness, but what if I were to stay a little longer? Trying to control your destiny from something that was steadily not feeling well to feeling good can be difficult. It takes a shift or change in you to get to that point. Would you be willing to sit a bit longer to meet this spirit, or will you always run from it? This winter, take this metaphor into a place in your life that may need it.
About Sharon and Nicole together:
A little over a decade ago, Sharon and Nicole met as neighbors living in the same apartment building in South Philly, where they bonded over a mutual love and respect for boxed wine and L7. While both were experiencing their individual trials and tribulations that one goes through as they transition into their 30’s (ahem…Saturn return!) Sharon was also in a difficult relationship at the time that Nicole was able to help Sharon process as she was embarking on her healing journey. Years later, this past experience helped inspire Sharon to book a Natal Chart Session with Nicole, as Sharon was in another transitional phase of her life. This session reconnected them, and now they are collaborating to provide your monthly horoscopes for Title Magazine.
About the individual people:
Sharon is an artist living in Philadelphia. She began writing horoscopes in 2016 for a local newspaper called The Spirit, which has since gone under. Not an astrologer, and knowing only the basic characteristics of each sign, she simply did this as a form of self-expression and performance art. When the Spirit was no longer, Sharon found other places to publish her work, syndicating it in The Secret Admirer and online art publication Title Magazine. During the pandemic creativity sort of disappeared for Sharon, and so she came up with the idea to collaborate with Nicole. When “I” is used, it is referring to Sharon. Nicole’s writing is the truer astrology parts.
Sharon says, “Maybe with Nicole’s expertise and my hopefully enjoyable writing style, we can help to at least entertain people.”
Nicole is a clinical therapist and community organizer living in Philadelphia. She is passionate about her purpose as a healer and her practice of trauma-informed Therapeutic Astrology and Tarot. Nicole says, “All I want is to share my love and enthusiasm for Astrology with as many people as possible. Through sharing my astrological insights and knowledge I hope to help others empower themselves with the information that the planets and their cycles provide for us.”