Tarot Themes for December: Embracing the Light + the Shadow

December 02, 2025By Sheila Ellis

December arrives with a particular kind of weight. The year is drawing to a close, and the darkness deepens before it turns. We find ourselves caught between the desire to celebrate and the exhaustion of simply holding on. If you've felt the pull of opposing forces this month—joy and fatigue, hope and heaviness, expansion and contraction—you're not imagining it. December's tarot energy reflects exactly this tension, inviting us to stand in the threshold between light and shadow without rushing to resolve the paradox.

This month, we're working with a significant astrological and archetypal shift: the transition from Sagittarius season into Capricorn season, mirrored in the tarot by the movement from Temperance to The Devil. And anchoring it all is the Nine of Wands—a card that asks us to acknowledge how far we've come while recognizing we're not quite finished yet.

Sagittarius season, which runs through December 21st this year, carries the energy of the Archer—optimistic, expansive, philosophical, always seeking meaning and truth. It's a fire sign, and it burns with the desire to explore, to understand, to find purpose in everything. As we move through the first three weeks of December, Sagittarius asks us: What have you learned this year? What truths have revealed themselves? Where are you being called to grow?

Then, on the winter solstice, the sun moves into Capricorn, and everything shifts. Capricorn is an earth sign—grounded, practical, disciplined, concerned with structure and legacy. Where Sagittarius asks what's possible, Capricorn asks what's sustainable. Where Sagittarius dreams, Capricorn builds. This is the energy that will carry us into the new year: focused, determined, ready to do the work.

The crossover between these two signs creates a natural pivot point in December. We begin the month still riding the enthusiastic, meaning-seeking wave of Sagittarius, but as the solstice approaches, we're called to land—to take all that inspiration and vision and figure out how to make it real, how to build something lasting from it.

This isn't always comfortable. The shift from fire to earth can feel like moving from flight to gravity, from possibility to responsibility. But it's also necessary. Without Capricorn's grounding force, Sagittarius's visions remain abstract. Without the structures Capricorn builds, the inspiration burns out.

In the tarot, Sagittarius is associated with Temperance (Major Arcana XIV), and Capricorn with The Devil (Major Arcana XV). If you've ever felt like these two cards couldn't be more different, you're right—and that's exactly the point.

Temperance is the card of balance, patience, and alchemy. It shows us an angel with one foot on land and one in water, pouring liquid between two cups in an endless flow. This is the energy of integration, of finding the middle way, of trusting the process. Temperance asks us to be moderate, to blend opposing forces, to have faith that things are unfolding as they should. It's a card of grace under pressure, of healing through harmony.

The Devil, on the other hand, confronts us with our attachments, our shadows, our patterns of bondage. It shows two figures chained to a pedestal where the Devil sits—but look closely, and you'll notice the chains are loose. They could remove them if they chose to. The Devil isn't about external oppression; it's about the ways we bind ourselves through fear, desire, addiction, ego, or the stories we tell ourselves about what we cannot change.

Moving from Temperance to The Devil can feel jarring. We go from angelic balance to demonic entrapment, from flow to fixation, from grace to struggle. This movement is part of the Fool's Journey through the Major Arcana, and it teaches us something essential: balance is not a destination. It's a practice that must constantly reckon with our human tendency toward excess, attachment, and self-deception.

Temperance teaches us to alchemize and integrate. The Devil forces us to look at where we've stopped doing that work—where we've become rigid, stuck, or trapped in patterns that no longer serve us. In December, as we transition from one energy to the other, we're asked to be honest about both: Where have we found balance? And where are we still chained?

This isn't about self-judgment. It's about awareness. The Devil, at its highest expression, is the card of liberation through truth. We cannot free ourselves from what we refuse to see.

If Temperance and The Devil represent the archetypal poles of December's energy, the Nine of Wands is the card that helps us navigate between them. This is our anchor for the month—the energy to return to when we feel pulled in too many directions or uncertain about whether we have what it takes to finish what we've started.

The Nine of Wands shows a figure standing guard, bandaged and weary, leaning on a wand while eight others stand behind them like a protective barrier. This is someone who has been through battles. They're tired. They're wounded. But they're still standing. And they're not done yet.

This card captures the essence of December beautifully. By the time we reach the last month of the year, most of us are running on fumes. We've weathered challenges, celebrated victories, endured losses, and pushed through obstacles. We're bruised and tired and maybe a little skeptical about whether we can make it to the finish line with any grace left.

The Nine of Wands says: You can. But you need to be strategic about it.

This is a card of resilience, but it's also a card of discernment. The figure in the Nine of Wands isn't charging into battle; they're standing their ground, assessing what's coming, protecting what matters. December asks us to do the same. We don't have unlimited energy, so we need to be intentional about where we spend it. We don't have to say yes to everything. We don't have to push through every challenge the same way we did earlier in the year.

The Nine of Wands gives us permission to be both strong and tired at the same time. It reminds us that perseverance doesn't mean pretending we're fine when we're not. It means acknowledging the truth of where we are and choosing to keep going anyway—not through force, but through wisdom.

So what does all of this mean for how we move through December?

First, honor the crossover. Notice how the energy shifts as we move from Sagittarius into Capricorn, from Temperance into The Devil. The first part of the month may feel lighter, more inspired, more open to possibility. As we approach the solstice, we may feel the weight of reality setting in—the awareness of what still needs to be done, what we've been avoiding, what structures need to be built or rebuilt.

Neither energy is better than the other. Both are necessary. Let yourself enjoy the fire of Sagittarius while it lasts, and trust that Capricorn's grounding will help you actually manifest what you've been dreaming about.

Second, work with the Temperance-to-Devil arc. Ask yourself: Where in my life have I found balance, and where am I still chained? What needs to be integrated, and what needs to be released? The Devil isn't the enemy; it's the teacher that shows us where we've given our power away. Use this month to identify one or two patterns, attachments, or limiting beliefs that are keeping you small. You don't have to fix everything in December, but you can start to see them more clearly.

Third, lean on the Nine of Wands. When you feel depleted and unsure if you have another ounce of effort left, remember this card. You've come so far. You've survived so much. You're allowed to be tired and still keep going. You're allowed to protect your energy and still show up. You're allowed to be wounded and still be powerful.

December is not about perfection. It's about perseverance. It's about standing in the space between light and shadow and acknowledging that both are true, both are real, both are part of the journey.

The light is returning. The darkness is deepest just before it does. And you—resilient, weary, still standing—are precisely where you need to be.