Bright Solstice Greetings to All!

Winter Solstice 2021 arrives on Tuesday December 21 at 10:59a Eastern Time, 7:59a Pacific Time and 15:59 Universal Time. This is the Summer Solstice in the Southern Hemisphere which is on Wednesday December 22 at 02:59 AEDT

In times like these when nothing is certain and if you grab hold of something to steady yourself it’s not there anymore – there is comfort in the fact the Winter Solstice arrives as it has since the dawn of time.  The Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere is a powerful moment when the dark begins to recede and the yin-yang cycle of the return of the light arrives and the days gradually get longer. Winter Solstice traditions around the world is an interesting article about how people around the world  celebrate the light’s return.  EarthSky always has good info about the science of the solstice at December Solstice

The astrology chart for the Solstice represents the birth of this new season and gives indications of what to expect.

The Sun is always at 0 degrees Capricorn the moment of the Solstice and in some years the Sun faces challenges from many planets. This year the Solstice Sun is getting along happily with other planets which bodes well for a good season.  Messenger Mercury is conferring with asteroid goddess Juno both in Capricorn, about how to commit to Capricorn ideals in different ways than the old entrenched patriarchal model. They beam out to cosmic cell tower Uranus in Taurus who is happy to help this process but he is retrograde on the Solstice, so his broadcast comes along later. Venus who just turned retrograde and Pluto are also close together in Capricorn (more about their meeting below).

The ruler of the Solstice Sun is Saturn in Aquarius and Jupiter is still in Aquarius too.  These 2 biggest planets in the solar system made a major conjunction at 2020’s Solstice, but this year mighty Jupiter is close to the end of his Aquarius journey leaving Saturn behind to maintain the Aquarius progressive values established this year.

Mars is bounding merrily in Sagittarius and gives a vigorous blast (trine) to Centaur Chiron who just turned direct in Aries on 12/19, so he’s feeling feisty! This combination creates boisterous energy that gives a nice boost to lift people’s moods. However this energy can be used in aggressive ways too, which wounded healer Chiron has more to say about in the Solstice chart.

Chiron, not quite a proper planet but who has a sufficient punch, is the only one annoying the Solstice Sun with a loose square at the Solstice but as the Sun moves forward in Capricorn this square tightens at the end of  December. Examples of this can be seen already with the Omicron variant spreading so quickly that some countries (The Netherlands is one) are mandating lockdowns over Christmas and New Years – pushing fed-up citizens over the edge.  While Russia continues a massive troop buildup estimated at 70,000 at the Ukraine border escalating tensions for the US and Nato.

Chiron’s symbol looks just like a key, appropriate to Chiron’s positive function as a healing key opening up to higher dimensions. Let us hold hope that world leaders and all of us too, can use the vibrant exchange with Mars in Sagittarius to Chiron to finally turn a key to higher vibrations of peace and cooperation.  As Jimi Hendrix said, (whose natal Moon in Cancer is at the same degree as the Solstice Moon) “ When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.”

The Moon represents the mood of the public and is in Cancer at the Solstice. The Moon rules Cancer and is very persuasive in her own loving, nurturing sign. She wants everyone to be peaceful, happy and care for each other.  The Moon beams her gentle gaze upon us and says, “With the stress you’ve all gone through, please just love and support one another!”

At the exact moment of the Solstice, the Moon at 27* Cancer is opposite the important conjunction of  Venus at 26* and Pluto at 25* Capricorn. Venus represents beauty, love, harmony and just turned retrograde on 12/19, 2 days before the Solstice. Pluto like a cosmic Phoenix represents complete transformation and rules life’s transitions – birth, death rebirth – so powerful! Pluto and Venus have been dancing together since 12/14 and now Venus retro returns continuing to convince Pluto to ease up and be less relentless in his transitions.

However when Venus is retro, especially in the no-nonsense sign of Capricorn, she is busy setting boundaries in the outer world so that we recognize we must go inward to find our own peace, harmony and creative force. For example Venus rules the arts, and  just as Venus was reversing, Broadway is shutting down again, the Rockettes canceled the rest of their season! and (a bummer to me!) SNL had to scale down their final show of the season with no audience and no live skits, which sets a more subdued tone to come. Yet this also creates more opportunity to define your own values versus what the outer world is telling you your standards should be.

Cancer Moon is the most sensitive Moon of all, and at the Solstice reminds us that we need to be more sensitive to one another and to yourself too. Oppositions act like seesaws, playing back and forth, up and down. The emotional Cancer Moon at the Solstice jumps on her end of the seesaw to help Venus in her quest to soften Pluto’s revamping of … …. everything! Tune into her grace to help you become more gentle with yourself and others throughout this new season, and it might last forever!

A major challenge at the Solstice is a tight, tense square between Saturn in Aquarius and Uranus in Taurus.  Here is what one of my favorite astrologers ElsaElsa says about this: “ Saturn square Uranus is disrupting the status quo or perhaps the disruption (Uranus) is completely controlled (Saturn). Many believe this to be the case. If so, the “control” part of this may be disrupted .” This square has been an ongoing challenge for the last 6 months and is re-emphasized at the Solstice.

Here is what I wrote when this Square first became active in June (Saturn was retrograde at that time) “Lord of Structure, Saturn retro in Aquarius says just leave me alone please and also delays progressive agendas. Lord of Chaos Uranus in Taurus continues agitating people to realize Mother Nature needs our help and at the same time propels those afraid of change to resist at all cost! Perhaps these forces are always in conflict (that’s why the signs involved are called “fixed”) but they are certainly obvious now!” Because this square is active again at the Solstice, we can expect more of the same for a while longer. At the macro level for sure, as governments and the elite resist change, but at the micro level many average folk are rising to the challenge with local innovative solutions. Read about that at Behind the scary headlines, the human race is making a tremendous amount of progress . Way to go people!

Neptune is moving forward again in Pisces at the Solstice and the Cancer Moon reaches out to this spiritual satellite dish adding her nurturing energy to help Neptune tune us into higher vibrations, which brings me to a summary of the Solstice energy.  The Solstice chart even with the stressors is basically favorable with plenty of nice energy to help you stay on the positive side this season. Yes there is challenging energy, but it’s not out of the blue stuff, we’ve been dealing with similar forces since the last winter solstice.  As always it is up to you to tune into the higher vibrations and if you do, you’ll be able to capture the yin-yang tail and rise ever upward into the light!

Philosopher Albert Schweitzer born with Sun in Capricorn and Saturn in Aquarius resonates to the current Solstice energies  He said,
Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust and hostility to evaporate. ~ Albert Schweitzer
So let us lift up with the light this Solstice by following Schweitzer’s advice!