Cancer, December 2024: Your Monthly Horoscope

For sentimental, reliable, and creative Cancer: Here’s what you can expect to enjoy, work through, and receive throughout the month of December.

Your ruling celestial body begins the month of December in its darkest phase in Sagittarius. This placement sends out a cosmic call to reflect on our beliefs and principles. What has the past year taught you? Have the events of the previous eleven months strengthened your values or challenged them? Under the introspective shadow of the new Moon, diving deep into these questions will become less intimidating. A conjunction between the new Moon and the Sun makes this process even easier, helping to highlight the road ahead. An opposition between this conjunction and Jupiter retrograde does indicate a potential shake-up. But just because something is new doesn’t mean it’s inherently negative. 

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Be wary of falling into hyper-emotional ways of thinking in the first few days of the month. As the tiny sliver of a waxing crescent Moon moves into Capricorn, it forms two challenging aspects. The first is a direct opposition with Mercury, and the second is a tense square with Neptune retrograde. This potent alignment indicates a disconnect between your perception of reality and what the truth really is. Make sure you’re reacting to the actual words and actions in front of you and not what you perceive them to be. Ask questions. Dive deeper into vague conversations. Seeking others’ support can also help you get through this celestial turmoil a bit more easily. Vulnerability can certainly be a great strength, Cancer. 

On December 6, Mars turns retrograde. As the planet that typically governs our sense of movement, assertion, and aggression, its retrograde phase can conjure feelings of lethargy, indecisiveness, or stagnation. Much like Mercury retrograde, this nearby planet’s retrograde period can bring with it chaos or errors that stall progress. This can make it feel like you’re taking three steps forward and four steps back. Remember that wasted opportunities are incredibly rare. Even if the cosmos shakes things up during Mars’ initial shift backward, there will be a lesson to take away from the transition. Pay attention. 

The following day, a waxing crescent Moon forms a challenging square with Uranus retrograde as Neptune retrograde returns direct. All of this occurs under Pisces, an infamously sensitive celestial domain. As this growing lunar phase urges us to action, its tense alignment with Uranus suggests the way forward won’t be as simple as you might like. With Neptune returning direct, there is also a higher likelihood of being deceived by yourself or others. During this time of uncertainty, it might be wiser to stay put and observe your surroundings instead of forging ahead before you have the full picture. 

On December 10, the first-quarter Moon forms an auspicious trine with Mercury retrograde. This lunar phase calls for greater courage as our neighboring celestial body forces us to consider the positives and negatives of our innermost environments. With Mercury’s chaotic energy in the mix, be on the lookout for errors or mishaps that can reveal deeper, more significant issues lurking underneath petty grievances. Indeed, this is one of the most notable silver linings of the infamous Mercury retrograde period. It’s certainly far easier to troubleshoot when there’s actually trouble as opposed to when things are going smoothly.

December 15 will be a particularly potent day in the cosmos. To begin, Mercury returns direct, restoring communicative clarity and understanding. Additionally, the Moon reaches its peak fullness as it opposes the Sun and transits from Gemini to Cancer. As the only Zodiac sign governed by the Moon, full Moons always tend to affect you more tangibly than the rest of the celestial players. The Moon’s placement in your cosmic domain only exacerbates this heightened sensitivity and emotion. Pay close attention to internal cues today. Your subconscious often knows far more than our conscious mind realizes. 

It won’t take long for the cosmos to call you to act on the discoveries illuminated by the full Moon’s glow. On December 16, the waning gibbous Moon locks into a harmonious trine with Saturn, providing a much-needed boost of celestial motivation to pursue—or, alternatively, release—emotional obligations. In either case, the process will be somewhat arduous and nerve-wracking. Allow Saturn’s disciplinarian energy to embolden you as you draw and enforce boundaries around your emotional well-being, Cancer. 

As the Moon continues its waning phases through Leo and Virgo, the stars urge you to release what no longer serves you. This metaphorical “clean-up” becomes even more rewarding and necessary toward the end of the year as we stare down the beginning of a new phase in our lives. On December 20, a trine between the waning gibbous Moon and the Sun reinforces the direction of your life path. Trust your instincts, and be on the lookout for directional cues from the universe, too. 

The final days of the year will see your ruling celestial body continue to shrink into the second new Moon phase of the month. This couldn’t come at a more opportune time as the natural conclusion of 2024 promotes reflection and introspection. On December 27 and 28, the waning crescent Moon directly opposes Uranus and Jupiter retrograde, respectively. These oppositions aren’t necessarily surprising as the giant planets’ retrograde patterns encourage new ways of thinking, innovation, and action. Pick your battles wisely during this time. Not every endeavor is worth the energy it takes to pursue, Cancer.

The second new Moon of December reaches its darkest phase on December 30 under Capricorn. With Capricorn’s pragmatic, logical energy in the cosmic mix, honestly assessing your emotional reactions of the past month will become easier. This type of self-reflection can be difficult, of course. But you almost always come out stronger on the other end, and isn’t wisdom and fortitude worth temporary discomfort? If you run away from past mistakes or shortcomings, then you’re almost guaranteed to run into the same roadblocks later on. Save your future self the trouble, and learn from these errors the first time.

Thus concludes your monthly highlights. For more specific celestial analyses, make sure to read your daily and weekly horoscope as well. Good luck, Cancer! See you next month.