Chodesh Tevet 5786
December 20, 2025 - January 18, 2026
Constellation/Mazal:
Capricorn (Gidi) ♑︎ – The Goat
Tribe: Dan
Letter: ע (Ayin) | Sense: Anger
Element: Earth (Cardinal- Initiating Manifestation)
Planetary Ruler: Saturn / Shabbtai
Rosh Chodesh Tevet stands at the luminous bridge of Chanukah, linking Kislev—ruled by expansive Jupiter—with Tevet, governed by disciplined Saturn. Chanukah is unique among our festivals in that it unites these two epochal planetary forces: growth and restraint, vision and structure, faith and responsibility. Tevet begins on Shabbat, December 20, Rosh Chodesh Day One, with a New Moon in brave and bountiful Sagittarius, coinciding with the sixth night of Chanukah—an auspicious threshold into a consequential month.
Tekufat Tevet, the Winter Solstice, arrives on Rosh Chodesh Tevet, Day Two, also the seventh day of Chanukah, ushering in a striking celestial convergence. We are met with a rare triple square: the Sun in the final degree of Sagittarius squares Neptune in the final degree of Pisces; Mercury in Sagittarius squares Saturn in Pisces; and Jupiter, retrograde in Cancer, squares Chiron in Aries. It is profoundly fitting that the shortest and darkest day of the year culminates in the lighting of the eighth candle of Chanukah—Zot Chanukah—just as the Sun enters Capricorn and the slow return of light begins.
Venus squares Neptune shortly before she herself enters Capricorn on December 24, underscoring the need to temper idealism with discernment, longing with realism. The First Quarter Moon in Aries on Shabbat Vayigash, with Mercury inconjunct Jupiter, cautions against haste, exaggeration, and reactive judgment. Mercury’s trine to the Wounded Healer, Chiron, on December 28 adds emotional permeability, calling for doubled—and even tripled—measures of sensitivity and care.
As the month unfolds, Mercury’s square to Saturn on December 30, followed by its inconjunct to Uranus on December 31, emphasizes the friction between tradition and disruption, responsibility and impulse. The solar year 2026 begins on the 12th of Tevet, with Mercury still in Sagittarius, squared by Neptune before entering Capricorn later that day—an invitation to clarify intentions before committing them to form.
A luminous Full Moon in Cancer rises on Shabbat Vayechi, accompanied by the peak of the Quadrantid meteor shower and a close lunar embrace with Jupiter throughout the night. Shortly thereafter, the Capricorn Sun opposes retrograde Jupiter in Cancer on January 6, highlighting the tension—and potential reconciliation—between external security (Capricorn) and inner emotional safety (Cancer).
From January 7–9, Mercury and the Sun conjoin Mars, marking a potent window for focused, passionate, and practical action. Venus opposes Jupiter on January 9, whispering the ancient truth that beauty and truth must ultimately answer to one another. The Last Quarter Moon in Libra on Shabbat Shemot, with the Sun and Mars opposing Jupiter, keeps Jupiter blazing through the night sky, magnifying questions of justice, balance, and proportion.
Mid-month brings a series of challenging yet constructive aspects: Venus, the Sun, and Mars square Chiron (January 11–13), revealing real vulnerabilities while simultaneously offering workable solutions. Mercury’s opposition to Jupiter on January 14 reminds us that sincerity is measured in deeds, not declarations; grandiosity falters where reality draws its boundary. Harmony returns as Venus sextiles Saturn and trines Neptune on January 15, affirming that the Holy One, blessed be He, indeed “makes everything beautiful in its time.”
Mercury’s square to Chiron on January 16 serves as a sober reminder: words wound deeply, and their echoes can last a lifetime. Yet hope surfaces from unexpected quarters on Shabbat Vayeira, as Venus sextiles Neptune, the Sun sextiles Saturn, Venus enters Aquarius, and the Sun trines Neptune—an opening for compassionate clarity and inspired realism.
The month concludes with a New Moon in Capricorn on January 18, with Mercury conjunct Mars and sextile Saturn, laying firm foundations for Chodesh Shevat, which begins that night. Both Tevet and Shevat—Capricorn and Aquarius—are ruled by Saturn (Shabbtai), long regarded in Jewish tradition as the planet most closely associated with the Jewish people. Saturn now traverses the final degrees of Pisces, preparing to enter Aries in mid-February. This passage offers a final opportunity to gather the elusive gifts of Piscean wisdom and compassion. Reach for them with both hands.
We began the month with Zot Chanukah, which stands at the threshold of Chodesh Tevet, marking not an ending but a passage. On Tekufah Tevet, the darkest day of the year, we kindle the final light and affirm that illumination does not negate darkness—it inhabits it.
Tevet unfolds as the bridge between worlds: between miracle and responsibility, vision and structure, Kislev’s expansive faith and Saturn’s exacting discipline. What Chanukah reveals in flashes, Tevet asks us to sustain. This month teaches that holiness is not only found in moments of elevation, but in endurance, accountability, and the willingness to carry light into constraint.
Zot Chanukah gathers the radiance of what has been revealed; Tevet tests whether it can be lived. Crossing this bridge, we learn that redemption advances not by escape from limitation, but by faithful presence within it.
