I want you to get rid of things in December.

My partner has been sharing bone broth recipes with me recently. There’s some regional differences—there’s also the quality of broth. The most high quality broths boil the bones down and separate debris until you’re left with a completely clear broth that tastes like marrow and nutrition. A lot of Cantonese recipes call for chicken and pork bones, layered with fish, but northern Chinese broths are much more gamey. They use star anise instead of ginger.

Venus retrogrades in Capricorn, the sign of the bones, in December. There’ll be a stellium in Capricorn sometime after the new moon this month. Saturn holds its own as the only self ruling planet from the 13th, when Mars leaves its domain, until the 28th when Jupiter enters his.

There’s as much self expression in trimming down the edges, in getting rid of bulk, and in doing things the most efficient and accessible way possible as there is in lavishness and flamboyance. Self expression isn’t just about adding decor or about getting stuff. It’s also about getting rid of things.

I want you to get rid of things in December. Anything that you hang onto because you’re attached to a past possibility of yourself that you no longer believe, anything that you think you might use just in case but no longer do, and anything that you wish you could use but won’t—konmari that shit. Get rid of it.

There was a time, in doing astrology, that I only allowed myself to do things in the most efficient way possible. Any idea had to become the cheapest and most simple version of itself. I did a lot of five minute readings back then—anything to get the point across. A book idea became an article and became a meme. I didn’t have time, because I was working three jobs, and I didn’t have space. I still don’t have time or space.

When you are forced to work with bare bones, you allow yourself the luxury not of imagining yourself in all different ways, which often results in trying to do too much at once, but of focus and of change. Focus relies on change because focus is about imagining who you become and not who you are. When you force yourself to work with bones, you challenge your versatility and, with it, your endurance.

I want you to get rid of things in December so that you are able to take a look at your bones. It’s hard to see your bones because it’s easy to think that you need a bunch of things that you really don’t. I want you to get rid of anything that hangs on your bones so that you’re able to see whether the integrity of the structure upon which you depend is sanctified or disturbed.

Sagittarius

I want you to get rid of actual stuff. Belongings—things that you carry around from one apartment to the next without looking too closely. Put all of your items in a big heap on the floor and only keep a fraction. Get rid of furniture that you kick more than use. Get rid of books that you won’t read again. Get rid of the rotting ketchup in your fridge.

Once you have gotten rid of things, take a look around. Do not hurry to add more belongings. Instead, let yourself live on just the essentials. Adjust so that you are used to seeing gaps and potential in an uncrowded life.

Capricorn

I want you to get rid of steps in your beauty routine, unnecessary hairstyles that hide your face, and clothes that distract from who you are. I want you to find an extremity of essentialism in the ways in which you adorn yourself. Get rid of shower gels and bath bombs that you never even use. Stick to one moisturizer and sunscreen. Wear one pair of shoes.

I want you to do these things so that you look at yourself—really look at yourself. You are not the things that you put on to express or frame yourself. You are the being that survives a great cleanse. Pull your hair back from your face or shave your head and look at the world barefaced.

Aquarius

You don’t know how to rest because you’re too much of a perfectionist. Get rid of the idea that you have to be better than you actually are. You will make mistakes, just like anyone else who ever tried to do a thing. There are some things that only time and experience will give you. Stop expecting yourself to have ten years of experience when you only have three.

Do things crudely if you have to. Do them quickly. Don’t spend more time on something just because you feel like it should take you longer. If you do things badly, apologize and recognize. Try again. Stop expecting yourself to be better at carrying the expectations of other people and start expecting yourself to be comfortable with the weight of your own bones.

Pisces

You’re running around and trying to do too much because you’re pretending that you’re everyone’s prophet, counselor, and assistant all in one. You shouldn’t be a jack of all trades. It’s your hope that keeps you too easy. I know that you have these beautiful visions but, if you’re trying to make them all come true at once, then you don’t really believe in any of them.

Stop dreaming through your teenaged self. Stop dreaming as the kid who was asked who they wanted to be when they grew up too many times. Start believing in the person you have already become. Figure out how you want to bury dead dreams. Grieve them and know that you will always have capacity for something bigger. 

Aries

You need to make up your mind about what kind of future your imagination is best suited for. There are some fanciful things that you might have wanted to be when you were figuring yourself out and experimenting with where you might go with an impulse. You no longer have the time for those things. Pick one vision and put your versatility to find a path. This path won’t already be built for you.

You’re not the person your mother wants you to be. You’re not the person your friends expect you to be. You’re not even the person your children want you to be. You’re the person you decide to be. Get rid of anything that feels dishonest in your bones.

Taurus

Stop taking classes for things that you need to figure out how to do on your own. Get rid of mentors and heroes until they become just regular people who you happen to know. Get rid of idealizations—find the things that you want to do that no one can teach you how to do and focus on those things.

There’s a version of learning that isn’t really about learning anymore but about procrastination. If you want to learn how to do something and your first instinct is to take a long class, then you might be a little scared about starting. This is okay. Needing some guidance is also okay but you need to always know, even when you’re taught things, 90% of the work will be about figuring it out yourself.

Gemini

You know when you feel like you have to leave the country or an entire friend group suddenly and for what can sometimes seem like ridiculous reasons in hindsight? This happens not because you’re not attached to people. It happens because you worry too much about what you owe to others. You get scared. It’s okay—we all do. You get scared over not being able to fulfill expectations.

Get rid of expectations. The best way to do this is by talking about your mistakes out loud. Get rid of things that you hunch over hiding by bringing them out, explaining them, and seeing whether those secrets still bother you after you are seen.

Cancer

If you feel like you can’t physically move or like you are frustrated by the weight of your own impatience, then you might be carrying too many people. Your own bones are lighter than you realize. It’s when you get tired that you shove people away and cut them out of your life. I want you to find the preciousness in your relationships by taking what doesn’t need to be off your back off of it.

Are you worried about people talking behind your back? Are you carrying the worry over whether a family member will fill out their paperwork in time? Are you carrying a baby who is learning how to crawl on your literal back? Straighten up and see what happens.

Leo

Get rid of calendar events. Do you have every single person you know’s birthday on your calendar alongside meetings and check ins that you don’t even want to go to? Stop wasting your own time. Get rid of them, along with federal holidays and anything that doesn’t need to concern you. Stop syncing your own calendar with a coworker or a boss’s.

This way, you are truly able to take a look and see how much free time you have. You need to be able to have weekdays without notifications. This is crucial—you can’t focus on the things that you do otherwise. Get rid of things until you have at least three days a week where you won’t be notified of anything.

Virgo

I want you to pick one creative project and finish it in December. Stop dawdling around and pretending that you are organizing your craft supplies instead of just doing the thing. Finish a poem, a scarf, or a table painting project. Pick only one. Once you have finished, I want you to get rid of the tools that allowed you to finish the project because you don’t need them anymore.

I want you to look through your art supplies with the intention of using them instead of saving them. If you are committed to using any of them, actually use them and finish them. If you cannot see yourself finishing a tube of paint or an old ball of yarn, get rid of it.

Libra

If you were to leave your home forever tomorrow, what would you take with you? Put all of those items in one category and examine the rest. Give yourself permission to chuck out anything and talk yourself down to your most basic and most essential needs. Understand that those needs are sacred ones.

You are able to leave a place if you want, which means that you choose the place you build your life. Think about what keeps you where you are. Stop trying to grow all the time for just one moment and celebrate the reasons you have for being.

Scorpio

You have too many ideas. Get rid of some. You spend too much time getting ready for things that you don’t even want to do. I want you to only do things that you would perish if you did not do. Give yourself the richness of focusing for months over a single idea. Stop doing anything that you think could be cool but are not immediately and physically dedicated to.

Also, work less. You should be able to do what you do best working only five hours a day. There are some problems that you can’t solve by putting more time in. Find out what those problems are and get rid of them.