The Capricorn Furnace
Weekly Astrology Forecast: Dec 29, 2025 to Jan 4, 2026 - Venus and Mars Combust in Capricorn with the Cancer Full Moon Turning Point
This week opens like a door into Capricorn’s mountain temple, the air is crisp, the stone is ancient and the rules are simple, what you build must be real. From Monday Dec 29, 2025 to Sunday Jan 4, 2026, both Venus and Mars draw close to the Sun in Capricorn, entering a concentrated phase of solar heat. In traditional terms, they are combust, in Alchemical terms, they are being refined in the Suns fire.
If love, money, motivation, boundaries or self-worth feel under pressure this is the sky’s signature that you are noticing. Capricorn is Saturn’s temple and it brings wise clarification to what you are building.
A Capricorn Crucible
On Dec 29, Venus sits at 5° Capricorn, applying to the Sun at 7° Capricorn, and Mars is at 10° Capricorn (exalted) with the Sun applying toward Mars. All three are in Capricorn, Saturn’s domicile and so the tone of the week is Saturnian bringing themes of time, consequence, responsibility, commitment, boundaries, and maturity.
Alchemical correspondence gold, copper, iron, and lead
In the language of Alchemy the Sun is gold, Venus is copper, Mars is iron and Capricorn is Saturn’s vessel the equivalent of lead. Think of it as gold heating copper and iron inside a lead crucible. Desire and drive are being purified and shaped into something that can last. When Copper and Iron are smelted in the forge they produce Copper Alloy which is used to conduct electricity thus alchemically there is not just refinement by fire and heat but something useful is being produced which can act as a conduit for our energies.
The Meaning of Combustion in Traditional Astrology
When a planet is combust, it is close enough to the Sun that it becomes overwhelmed by solar light. Symbolically, the planet’s usual expression becomes more private than public and more internal than external. It also has more intensity, sometimes compressed or pressurised. The Sun is deeply tied to themes of identity, purpose, ego, visibility and vitality and so the planets which are combust the Sun become intertwined with Solar themes. Combustion doesn’t automatically mean “bad” Ii means the planet is operating inside a stronger field and must be handled with care.
Venus Combust in Capricorn - Love, Money, Values, Self-Worth Under Pressure
Venus in Capricorn is love in its grown-up form, it values what can endure and has longevity, it requires devotion with structure, affection with integrity and desire with honour. But Venus is combust therefore your Venus themes may feel behind the curtain this week. There can be private relationship processing, shifting values you can’t quite articulate yet and a sober reckoning with spending, pleasure and self-worth. You may experience tenderness and sensitivity around rejection, scarcity or not feeling chosen.
Questions Venus is asking this week
What do I value now, not what I used to value?
What kind of love supports my long-term becoming?
Where have I been bargaining with my worth?
What is a “yes” I can sustain and what is a “no” I need to respect?
This can expose over-giving and under-asking not to shame you, but to clarify you.
Mars Exalted in Capricorn combust the Sun - Discipline, ambition and burnout prevention.
Mars is exalted in Capricorn, which matters as exaltation is a condition of strength. This is a strategic Mars, he is builder Mars, climber Mars, mastery Mars. But Mars is also combust, concentrating the heat and this can show up as:
heightened drive and productivity
increased ambition and urgency
sharp focus on goals and results
irritability or impatience when things move slowly
pushing the body past its limits
The key teaching is this, exalted Mars in Capricorn wants mastery not mayhem.
A mantra for Mars this week
“ Precision over force, fewer promises, more proof. One strong step, repeated.”
As Above, So Below - Capricorn’s Correspondences in the Body and Psyche
Capricorn corresponds with Saturnian themes in the body and nervous system; bones, joints, knees, teeth, skin, and the need for steady rhythm. So you may notice;
fatigue that asks for structure
tension that eases through routine
a desire for simplicity, minerals, warmth, sleep
a deeper awareness of “what this costs”
Psychologically, this week can bring;
sober clarity about what you truly want
confrontation with avoidance or procrastination
a redefinition of commitment
a more honest relationship with time
This week we are working with inner alchemy not “manifest instantly,” but deeper work to become the person who can hold it.
The Emotional Turning Point Full Moon in Cancer - Jan 3, 2026
We meet a luminous midpoint with the Full Moon in Cancer on Saturday Jan 3, 2026. Cancer is the Moon’s home sign her Temple and this lunation will amplify felt truth and will illuminates the Cancer, Capricorn axis of home vs ambition, needs vs duty and belonging vs performance.
Cancer asks Capricorn a question it cannot ignore “Is what you’re building also a home for your heart?”
Themes that may peak around this Full Moon
emotional honesty you can’t un-know
tenderness and nostalgia
family and home matters rising to the surface
a desire to protect what matters
a need to simplify and return to essentials
Full Moon reflection prompts;
Where am I over-functioning?
Where does duty masquerade as love?
What do I need so my ambition doesn’t become self-abandonment?
Why This Week Matters - The Next Week’s Conjunctions
This week is the threshold and the “announcement” energy comes next week with major activations; Sun conjunct Venus bringing a reset of values and desire, Venus conjunct Mars where our desire and will braid together and finally the Sun conjunct Mars energising a potent recalibration of drive and direction. So think of Dec 29 to Jan 4 as the week where;
motives clarify
impurities rise
inner decisions form
boundaries become real
the heart tells the truth
We can look at this weeks sky as supporting the inner vow with next weeks becoming the outer movement.
How to Work With The Capricorn Furnace
Three Anchors for the Week to help navigate the “as above,” here down “below”
Keep your biggest moves clean and contained by acting with intention, not agitation.
Let desire mature before you announce it, Venus combust is private and we would do well to let our heart speak quietly first.
Use the Cancer Full Moon as the truth test and if it costs your nervous system everything, it isn’t success, it’s extraction!
Closing Mantra and Journal Prompts
Mantra - Build the vessel that can hold the desire.
Journal Prompts
What do I want that I am finally willing to commit to?
What boundary would protect my energy and make that commitment real?
What does my heart need so my ambition doesn’t become self-abandonment?
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