LIFESTYLE
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READY TO LAUNCH The stars advise working some decor magic now for a fresh start in 2021 BY SUSAN KELLY
Photo by Jamie Street
NEW YEAR, NEW COSMIC ORDER; something completely different is coming. And we begin to see the light in the final days of 2020, glimmers of a time for hope and healing, aliveness and growth, ahead. On December 21, the winter solstice, the Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn occurs. It falls in Aquarius, a sign that’s all about the biggest and brightest picture. Depicted as the Water Bearer, it is the bringer of higher wisdom, hence its association with visionaries and innovations in ahead-of-thecurve technology, avant-garde design and civil rights movements. The Great Conjunction not only sets the tone for the coming year, but also inaugurates a new and vastly different 200-year cycle. Expect change, even revolution, in everything from how we govern ourselves to how we do business, create and design, or relate
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THE WINTER ISSUE
with people around us. It will not happen overnight, of course. In 2021, we will face lingering challenges posed by the pandemic. But there will be breakthroughs and flashes of brilliance as well. Until then, there are the final days of 2020 to navigate. And as days grow shorter, three major planets continue to camp in sombre and controlling Capricorn, casting a pall. Also, on the horizon are two eclipses, a lunar on November 30 in the busy, multi-tasking sign of Gemini followed by a solar on December 14 in party-hearty Sagittarius. Eclipses tend to put a damper on the above qualities associated with the signs, just in time for the holidays. Some people will rebel, seeking distraction and busy-ness as release after a long and stressful 2020. But this would not be the best strategy.
A time for magic If nothing else, the pandemic has taught us all about the value of taking a pause. And eclipse periods always are best navigated by taking one. December’s eclipses can help us focus with laser precision, and they occur in signs that are about learning and truth. Taking time to reflect on the tumultuous year past can bring illuminating insights, dramatically different from what you expect. The first day of winter, too, should be considered a resting time of year according to the I Ching, an ancient Chinese divination text. “Thus, the kings of antiquity closed the passes … And the ruler Did not travel through the provinces.” (Hexagram 24). Many nature-based religions celebrate the solstice as a magical turning point, the return of the light after long darkness. Decorating trees and our homes with holiday
