Dean’s Update, December 2025

Solstice greetings, everyone! Throughout December, it is hard to miss the many messages of “peace on Earth” and “joy to the world.” Over the last week, I watched a few documentaries about the origin of Christmas and the celebration of Christmas through time. As evolutionary astrologers, most of us are well-aware of the pre-Christian beginnings of the season. We could mention the adaptation of the Roman holiday, Saturnalia, to the Christian calendar or the yuletide customs marking solstice becoming beloved Christmas traditions. The FCEA is a diverse school and I know, for some, Christmas is a taboo word. Please, if you do not celebrate Christmas, simply read my article as an end-of-the-year reflection and a prayer for a better tomorrow. No offense to anyone here! But I would like to bring up a particular Christmas of the past – not long past – Christmas Eve in 1968. Yes, something I saw on TV, a small segment of one of these documentaries I streamed. 

I was turning five in December of 1968 so I have no personal recollection of the event discussed in the film. Apparently, the crew of Apollo 8 were the first humans to orbit the Moon and during their ninth orbit on Christmas Eve, astronauts Bill Anders, Jim Lovell and Frank Borman recited the opening verses of the Book of Genesis from the King James Bible in a televised broadcast. It was said to be seen by over a billion viewers around the world! 

The chart casted for this particular evening is telling for me in light of the tension and strife we see today around the globe. How do we hope for peace in such troubled times? I cast the chart for Washington, DC, at 9:30 pm Eastern Standard Time, the start of the broadcast. That fall, in September, Uranus entered the air sign Libra and by December 24th, the revolutionary planet in the sign of the peacemaker was one-degree away from a conjunction with Jupiter and the south node of the Moon, both exactly at 04°58’ Libra.

Of course, we associate the sign of Libra with “peace”, our abilities to “negotiate” with others, as Steven says, or the need to calm down and find balance in our lives. But we also think about the classic syndrome, “Libriosis;” the desire to seek peace to the point of a lack of action or decision. The team of Apollo 8 found themselves in the awkward position of sharing a Christmas message of peace and goodwill to all the night of the broadcast, when the United States was entrenched in an unpopular war in Vietnam. What was the solution? With Capricorn Mercury, out of bounds at the time, and Venus, ruler of Libra south node, in Aquarius, the innovative strategy of communication was to “dodge the bullet” (excuse the war reference!) and share an image of their orbit in space with the creation narrative, 

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

This was followed by several more verses and a final message of “And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas – and God bless all of you, all of you on the good Earth.”  No mention of peace.

North node on Christmas Eve, 1968, was in Aries and Mars was in Libra, 27°14’. Were the astronauts of Apollo 8 using Old Testament prose to bring people around the world together by describing the coming of Divine light? Were we to see the dawning of a new age of space exploration as in the creation of light from darkness? Were we all supposed to calm down in Libra fashion and discover beauty in the imagery of the Moon? Or was it simply a case of Libriosis, avoiding the realities of war?

Thinking about Uranus in Libra in 1968 makes me ponder the “mental” revolutions we hope for this coming year as Uranus reenters Gemini in April. The planet remains in the sign of the twins until 2032-33. With the return of Saturn and Neptune to Aries also in early 2026, how do we have the courage it takes to speak our minds and hearts, not with “Libriosis” but with the wisdom to help our world heal? Perhaps, we can use technology and innovation to rewrite our understanding of how being an Aries pioneer and warrior can be about peace and about the Divine. How can we restore light to the world? 

I think you would agree that using a simple quote from the Bible is not enough. Let’s practice what we preach: be the evolutionary astrologers in the battlefield. Apply the insights of Uranus in Gemini with the Divine initiative of Neptune and discipline of Saturn in Aries in 2026. Like the astronauts of Apollo 8, who found light in the darkness of space, we bring light to each other through our healing readings as evolutionary astrologers. But we need no Bible verses to dodge the difficulties we face on planet Earth next year! Let’s awaken ourselves and others to truly support “peace on Earth.” I wish everyone a blessed 2026, one filled with the passion and action of Aries healers at work. Happy New year, FCEA community!

Catie Cadge, PhD
December 2025