The Zodiac Signs as USC Schools and December Finals Horoscopes
By: Talia Walters ‘20
It is the time of the greatest strife during the fall semester; classes are coming to an end, and we’re gearing up for a turbulent time for all of us. We’re squirming to get out of classes, escaping back to our snowy home landscapes or the sunny beaches of vacation paradise. After Thanksgiving break, we enter a season that makes us ready to drop out of college and move onto bigger and better things.
I’m talking, of course, about Sagittarius season.
But, in all reality, finals season is also upon us, and in the face of the stress that is my exams, I figured a fun little romp through the planetary alignments might be just the distraction we need before we all ace our exams.
Check out your star sign below, and you’ll be matched with a USC school and given a December Finals Horoscope. No worries - they’re all good.
And stay strong as we move through a stressful Sagittarius season!
Aries – USC Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy for Arts, Technology, and the Business of Innovation
Unsurprisingly, the trendsetters and the trailblazers would find their home in Innovation! “The Academy”, as it’s lovingly referred to by the select students who study in that school, focuses on staying ahead of trends and finding solutions to big picture problems for major companies. In order to thrive in such a demanding environment, IYA students have to be competitive, determined, and go-getting – just like an Aries. You can also count on Aries to execute a winning plan, which is a great trait to have when you’re working on marketing with the Grammys or creating your own startup (which is a common theme among IYA students). An Aries is full of powerful and competitive energy, just like a Capricorn, but has the social zest that a Capricorn just can’t keep up with – perfecting for networking and fundraising. An Aries will always find a way to solve the problem that they’re given, sometimes through sole force of will, which is strong enough to get them what they need when they need it. They are unstoppable, bold, and devoted to winning, especially in the face of a challenge. Aries stay ahead of the game, and the IYA “degree in disruption” is the perfect way to do that.
Aries’s December Finals Horoscope:
Mercury’s retrograde is finally ending on December 6th, and as it redirects forward again, you’ll likely find communication will be easier. However, with easier communication comes dredging up past mistakes. It’s always better to own up to your mistakes rather than try to ignore them, so the best way to re-center your energy towards success during finals is to forgive and move on from your past. As the new moon in Sagittarius pops up on December 7th, you’ll feel ready to wipe the slate clean and get down to business like a true Aries. Make sure you take your passions and use that energy to be a boss at your Finals. Don’t let any secrets hold you back – with the clean slate, you should release any pent of energy or else you won’t see the results you want.
Taurus – USC Roski School of Art and Design
While Taurus people are usually thought of as being down-to-earth and content with just going with the flow, they also have a tendency to use their pent-up energy once they find something that’s worth the investment. For many Taurus people, that’s in the arts! In particular, a Taurus loves photography or painting for galleries, and they love experiencing art almost as much as they love making art, which means Roski is just the place for a Taurus. In this school, a Taurus can spend their days with all different forms of art, as they can choose their own emphases once they find the outlet that’s best for them! A Taurus is persistent and elegant, with just enough sensuality to make their art soulful and emotional. It’s the art of expression that brings out the Taurus – most don’t like to verbalize their emotions, so when they’re handed a paintbrush or a camera, they find that they can finally let go of what they don’t want others to see. They are cautious individuals who don’t like to be rushed, so they would thrive best in an environment that allows them to self-expression on the timeline that they set for themselves. Taurus people don’t want to waste time on something that isn’t worth it. Roski encourages interdisciplinary and progressive approaches to art, and the school is rated #1 for best colleges for design and #4 for best colleges for art, so the Taurus would definitely find Roski a worthwhile school for all their leftover energy!
Taurus’s December Finals Horoscope:
Mercury’s retrograde is over on December 6th, so all of those problems you’ve been having with communication will FINALLY let up, which is great news as you’re about to face a bunch of finals where you have to explain concepts and write papers. Many of the professional and academic conflicts you’re experiencing are due to the retrograde, so those problems should also be smoothed over in the next few days. As the new moon enters Sagittarius the next day, you’ll find you’re eighth house, which controls things like death and transformation, activated. It’s not nearly as intense as it sounds – it just means that this will be a time of reflection for you. So think about how you did on your past finals, what went well and what didn’t go well, and shoot for the stars this finals season!
Gemini – USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism
Geminis love a good conversation, and they just don’t feel at home unless they’re talking to someone about the latest episode of Game of Thrones (#finalseasonfeels) or the latest tweet by our reigning president. Communication is the game, and Geminis always win, which is why they would feel just at home under Annenberg. They are an inventive, adventurous, and collaborative sign, and they love to explore and have new experiences. Geminis can bring fun banter and interesting perspectives to journalism, especially in the face of the major upheaval we’re seeing in the journalism industry. They’ll feel accomplished in their work when they’re able to share information for the greater good of society – especially if it has to do with the latest clothing trends. In fact, many Geminis already use their social media pages and profiles as pseudo-forms of new outlets, sharing the newest story or the latest update with all of their friends. If you want to know what’s happening in the world, then you should find a Gemini because they’ll be able to update you on politics, celebrity drama, and everything in between. While Geminis are usually seen as two-faced, this is actually just their ability to see things from multiple angles and perspective, which is perfect for a non-biased news source.
Gemini’s December Finals Horoscope:
The end of Mercury’s retrograde on December 6th is going to be great for your organization, Gemini, so take advantage of this time to plan your study schedule for finals. It’ll also be a great time to find ways to boost your productivity, which is perfect in the face of a daunting finals season. Now that Mercury isn’t working against you, use this time to up the ante on studying, and you’ll be sure to succeed this finals season! You love to think critically and come up with innovative solutions, so use this time to change your study systems to reflect these values. You’ll feel better about studying if your methods mesh well with who you are as a person. The new moon on December 7th will be a great time to recognize new partnerships – so if you’re staring down the barrel of any group projects, you should be fine!
Cancer – USC Suzanna Dworak-Peck School of Social Work
Cancer’s desire for safety, security, and comfort makes them a perfect match to the Peck School of Social Work. Cancers are naturally very nurturing and sentimental, so social work naturally fits into their passions and desires. The School of Social Work focuses on preparing students for leadership positions in organizations that help individuals, families, and communities in need; the jobs are usually selfless and difficult, but a Cancer loves helping too much to turn down the opportunities. Cancer loves working with children and the least advantaged, making social work the best place for Cancers to channel their energy. Of course, this can be a little strenuous for a deeply emotional cancer, but the differences that they can make outweigh any negatives. Cancers are sensitive, creative, and caretaking, and the School of Social Work is always looking for new and innovative ways to help those most in need. Described as “the chicken noodle soup for the soul”, a Cancer’s energy leaves you feeling soothed and cared for. They’re always ready with a sympathetic ear and a shoulder to cry on if you ever need them, and they love to take care of the ones they love. A nurturing Cancer would feel just at home creating safe spaces for people who don’t have them for themselves, making Social Work the perfect match.
Cancer’s December Finals Horoscopes:
The end of Mercury’s retrograde on December 6th will bring success to self-expression, and you’ll realize that the success of your finals was in you all along. Turn your dreams into a reality. A new moon enters Sagittarius on December 7th, and this will activate your charts in home and work, so this is your time to revamp your study routines. It’s a good time to start finding ways to incorporate creativity into your daily schedule – maybe find creative ways, like mind maps, to study or simply take a few seconds away from the biology book to journal or draw. A new moon usually corresponds to the beginning of a new lunar cycle, so this is the time to manifest your intentions. Make great grades on your finals a reality!
Leo – USC School of Dramatic Arts
Unsurprisingly, a Leo feels most at home in theatrics and drama, making the USC School of Dramatic Arts the perfect match. They’re sometimes described as drama queens, but that’s more of a compliment than it is an insult. Leos have vibrant personalities that feel most at home in the limelight, like on a stage acting in a play. Dramatic Arts tend to be an avant-garde form of self-expression, which is really just another way to describe a Leo’s personality, and Leo energy tends to be naked and endlessly entertaining, making adopting characters and performing on stage for people a passion project for most Leos. They are proud, expressive, and flamboyant, bringing people in and making friends and fans at every turn. They make a story feel authentic and give the audience a reason to care about the characters and the story that they’re telling, no matter what it is. The only thing they love more than going to the theater to watch a performance is starring in the production themselves, and all aspects of performance are mastered by an entertaining Leo. Even though Leo energy can sometimes turn aggressive and attention-seeking, for the most part, their powerful leadership and genuine story-telling abilities make them a natural up on stage.
Leo’s December Finals Horoscope:
For you, Leo, the past few months have obviously felt kind of wonky thanks to Mercury’s retrograde travel through the universe. However, this strife will end on December 6th, which will be a relief for you as you enter finals season. Life should get a little easier, and maybe that math test isn’t going to be as hard as you originally thought. The new moon on December 7th is going to set the stage for the 2019 year, so make sure you start off on the right foot and ace your finals. You’ll want to look for ways to secure and stabilize your foundation; these don’t have to be restrictive, just supportive. Look for your support structures in friends and family as you head into finals, and you’ll feel more confident and ready to take on whatever those tests have to throw your way!
Virgo – USC Viterbi School of Engineering
A good Virgo loves to find a solution to any problem. Controlling and organized, a Virgo makes the perfect engineer – someone who appreciates finding the most efficient way to fix the world. Viterbi is home to the calm (even when stressed) and hardworking (even when dying on the inside) USC students, channeling the internal energy of a Virgo. More often than not, Virgos are attached to physical realities and are very down-to-earth, which is perfect for engineering students. As an engineer, you have to be able to find reasonable solutions to sometimes unreasonable problems, and Virgos love to spend their time sitting and organizing around solutions. If you were to imagine a bookcase, Virgos are often described as “categorizing [the books] by color, book title, and author, usually just for fun.” They have a desire for order and for perfection, and they’re naturally very analytical and rule-abiding. Logic puzzles and building games will keep a Virgo’s attention, as they’re constantly seeking challenges to their orderly conduct. They want to make right what seems wrong in a specific organizational sense. Viterbi allows these minds to put together an orderly plan and execute it flawlessly.
Virgo’s December Finals Horoscope:
With Mercury’s return to a direct path on December 6th, your communication skills are going to increase greatly, which means wonders for all of those papers you’re dreading. The planets’ realignment is going to have a beneficial effect on your agenda, so expect everything to fall perfectly into place for you while you study for finals. You’ll find time to do it all – and then some – so don’t stress about getting everything done in time. The last new moon of the year happens the very next day on December 7th, and this will make you feel like a homebody. Don’t turn down the opportunity to study on your couch in favor of Café 84 – you might just get more done at home!
Libra – USC Gould School of Law
A Libra epitomizes balance and fairness; they are someone who may not like to fight but will stand up for what is right if they must. While lawyers tend to have a bad rep, you can’t deny that at least some have humanitarian goals, which is where you’ll find your average Libra. They seek out equality, justice, and the “morally right thing” – all ideal traits for a future lawyer. On the other hand, Libras can also be incredibly charming and are active socialites, making the networking aspects of law a piece of cake. They find friends in high places quickly, and they get what they need in order to make the difference that they’re dedicated to a reality. As a natural diplomat, a Libra will do everything they can to find a compromise to a dispute and resolve it in the most equitable way possible for all parties involved. Also, your sign is literally the scales of justice – what else were you expecting?
Libra’s December Finals Horoscope:
With Mercury going back into direct motion on December 6th, your bank account is going to be thanking you. Whether you’ll hear back about your dream (paid) internship or you’re going to realize the monetary benefits to making coffee at home, there are going to be surprising new financial opportunities for you in the last month of the year. The new moon in Sagittarius happening on December 7th is going to encourage you to reach out to your surrounding community. Now might be the time to set up a group study session!
Scorpio – USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance
Scorpios are the sign of intimate creativity and emotional work, which can thus be channeled into dance. Kaufman is the newest school at USC, only starting to accept applications for their BFA during the 2015 cycle, and at the beginning of its life, the school is constantly changing and transforming itself – just like a Scorpio. The mysterious nature of a Scorpio is brought out through dance, which is just performative enough to keep a Scorpio interested but not revealing enough to scare a Scorpio away. Categorized as intense people with even more intense emotions, Scorpios tend to take the people who have earned their trust on wild adventures with crazy stories, and this same passionate and powerful energy can be transformed and directed into a performance. The naturally overly-emotional and sensitive nature of a vulnerable Scorpio doesn’t need words to tell a story – perfect for the movement-based art of dance.
Scorpio’s December Finals Horoscope:
Let’s all be real with ourselves – our birthday season was rough this year. A fellow Scorpio speaking, I was promised a lot of things that I was not given, and I am not happy. However, with mercury ending its disruptive retrograde on December 6th, we’re not only going to be in a better position overall but have literally a cosmic do-over. Thankfully, as we move into finals season, the planets will finally be on our side again, giving a second chance at redeeming those grades. Your feelings of reinvigoration should go into studying for exams, and that power you’re feeling should take you a long way towards getting those As this semester.
Sagittarius – USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
A Sagittarius can’t just choose one thing – they need all of the things. And thus, enter Dornsife, the OG smorgasbord of studying everything and anything your little Sagittarius heart desires. Want to major in philosophy? Go for it. How about you sprinkle some chemistry in there? There’s room in your schedule. Missing those Spanish lit classes you took in high school? By all means, squish that in too! Sagittarians thrive in a university setting because they love learning all things that they can, and they love the natural Socratic discussions that come with a good humanities class. They are adventurous by nature, so studying abroad is a must, and they’re curious individuals who seek to understand all of the world’s secrets, so they need the freedom to study and take classes in whatever they want. Dornsife easily offers the most freedom in courses and areas of study, giving Sagittarians the well-rounded and liberal arts style education that they flourish best in.
Sagittarius’s December Finals Horoscope:
The conclusion of Mercury’s retrograde on December 6th is the ending of a rough couple of months for you, Sagittarius, and thus it brings forth a new revival of forward motion for you in your life. Use this forward momentum to be successful on your finals – once you start studying you won’t want to stop the ball rolling, and you’ll feel accomplished and proud when you realize all of the work you were worried about is already finished! The new moon is going to enter your home sign of Sagittarius on December 7th is going to make you feel more emotional and vulnerable. This is great since it’s a renewal as we enter a difficult finals season soon, but also make sure you’re practicing self-care and taking time for yourself if you’re feeling overwhelmed.
Capricorn – USC Marshall School of Business
Ambitious, competitive, and cut-throat, a Capricorn thrives best in the business world. As we’ve all seen on the USC Meme Page ™, Marshall is usually described as full of snakes, and to this, a Capricorn just laughs. Call them a snake and then watch them achieve their goals. They have a steely grit and unmatched resilience that makes them the perfect candidate for the business world. They are not one for an adventure, and they don’t tend to value the journey – they’re the kind of person who only wants the destination, and they will find the shortest and most efficient route to get there. The top is where they want to be, and they will do anything they can to get there. Marshall is a stepping stone in the pathway to success, and Capricorns flourish in the networking, fast-paced environment that is USC’s Business School. If a Capricorn has an outcome in mind, they will get to that outcome, and business is the perfect place to nurture that winning nature in a Capricorn.
Capricorn’s December Finals Horoscope:
The end of Mercury’s retrograde on December 6th is going to make achieving your goals much easier since you won’t be climbing the hill against the planetary grain. Expect your studying to get easier as study days go on and as mercury moves back to its direct path, it’ll finally feel like you’re accomplishing things again. However, more importantly, the new moon in Sagittarius on December 7th is going to cover your decision-making abilities. This means setting your intentions now before the new moon hits so you know exactly what you want to get done before the planetary shift causes you some problems. It’s also going to be really important that you keep up with your sleep schedule – you’ll access important information in your sleep, so make sure you’re not staying up late studying. A little self-care will go a long way to your success.
Aquarius – USC Sol Price School of Public Policy
As the mad scientist and the humanitarian of the zodiac signs, an Aquarius is the perfect leader for the utopian, social justice revolution. They have lofty ideals fueled by a desire for equality and justice, like a Libra, but unlike their Libra brethren, Aquarians don’t want compromise – they want an entirely new world order. They have a natural ability to encourage others to rally around a social cause, and they’re usually at the front of the marches with the megaphones and the giant signs. And so, here we have USC Sol Price School of Public Policy – the birthplace of new ways to reinvent the system and change it to better society in a grander way than ever before. Aquarians are rebellious and are able to show the rest of us possibilities that we never considered before, making them perfect candidates to study the institutions and then do whatever they need to so they can flip them and use them to help communities in need. The school’s mission is even to “improve the quality of life for people and their communities … [and] engage in solving some of society’s most pressing issues” – a perfect place for an Aquarius to devote their revolutionary energy.
Aquarius’s December Finals Horoscope:
You’ve likely felt really burnt out and lacking energy these last few months, Aquarius, and you can blame all of the planetary retrogrades that have really been doing a number on you. However, as mercury ends it’s retrograde on December 6th, you’ll feel back on track. Channel this newfound energy into studying, and you’ll be sure to ace your finals this season. The new moon in Sagittarius on December 7th, however, is going to make you feel a little disoriented as the sun and moon align. This just means that you should take your time and double check everything – especially those due dates and the times of your exam. Keep on top of yourself, and everything else should fall into place!
Pisces – USC School of Cinematic Arts
A Pisces rarely lives in reality. Instead, a Pisces is more intrigued by dreams, fantasy, stories – the imaginary world is always more interesting than the real world. They would best thrive in a place where their natural creativity and strong imagination are nurtured and used to their greatest extent, making their homes the USC School of Cinematic Arts. As screenwriters, producers, directors, game-makers, and interactive media artists, their job would be to build worlds and stories that are more interesting than the banalities of daily life in order to entertain and capture their audiences, which Pisceans do in their sleep. Literally. In addition, a Pisces is compassionate and empathetic, meaning their characters and storylines will not only be relatable but also sympathetic to even the strongest-faced audiences. They know just how to play with emotions enough to get you to leave the theater in tears, ready to watch again. The cinema school, a quiet and serene place that is closed off to the general public, is the perfect home for a Pisces who wants to get away from the craziness of Leavey or Starbucks, and it would give Pisceans the space to develop their sense of the world, both real and imaginary. Pisceans weave their knowledge of the world into their stories, and their ability to recreate their fantasies on the screen is the true definition of movie magic.
Pisces’s December Finals Horoscope:
On December 6th, mercury’s ruthless retrograde will finally end, and all of the slowdowns you’ve been feeling will finally end. You’ll rediscover your artistic sensibilities, which means you should use those abilities to study for finals. Don’t use study methods that don’t harness your creative tendencies – working against yourself is harder than working with yourself, and as you gain your creativity back, it’s better to lean into it instead of stifling it some more. The new moon in Sagittarius on December 7th will activate your career zone, and you’ll be faced with exciting opportunities this month. Take this time to focus on your feelings and your emotions and use this self-centering to explore your full range as a person. This will ground you as you enter a stressful finals season and keep you from getting too lost in the clouds.
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