It’s hard to believe that we have arrived at Winter/Summer Solstice already. Am I just getting old or is the world moving faster? While I write about the northern hemisphere, I’d like to acknowledge that those of you in the southern hemisphere are about to enjoy the warmth and beauty of Summer Solstice.
Mother Earth gives birth to the Sun at Winter Solstice.
Winter Solstice occurs when the Sun reaches its most southern declination – it arrives at the Tropic of Capricorn and stands still (solstice) for about three days until it starts moving back north again. That’s why we celebrate Christmas as the birth of the Son/Sun, as the Sun begins to move back North after those 3 days of standing at the Solstice point.
Winter Solstice is always a time of new birth and new beginnings. In the darkest time of year, a new light is born. Our work is to nurture it throughout the next year. But now more than ever, we’re all called on to make sure that light burns brightly within each of us. For we are the light of the world. And we are the ones who will hold the darkness of humanity’s worst selves at bay.
This has been a tumultuous year, not only for Americans but for everyone around the world. World events are moving quickly now, and we have no idea how anything will turn out. We are entering a time of many transitions, and they’re not ever easy. We are called to face the Unknown with courage and even excitement.
Everyone I know feels like change is coming, but we don’t know exactly what that change is or will be. And we’re not supposed to know, because we need a brand new life, a new society and a new attitude about life. That’s all coming in the next few years, but for now, these next few months are about releasing what no longer serves us.
Which means, letting go of patriarchy – its beliefs, its rules, its goals. Take the air out of your connection to the institutions that feed the old powers. They are bloated enough. We really just have to step away from all those institutions of consumerism, and place our attention of the important things and values of life. We can make our own music, create our own beauty, celebrate with heart friends, as we envision a better future.
Instead of being disappointed in our culture, let’s create a more interesting culture where we live. Let’s bring our interests into our communities. We did it in the 70s, and we can do it again. As they sang in Godspell, You Are The Light Of the World.
So, what do we value? What is just clutter from the patriarchal push to consume? Can we let go of the extraneous and hold onto the important stuff? Clean out space and time in your life, so that as your future comes to you, you have room for your soul’s purpose.
Mars and Mercury are retrograde in the beginning of December, turning our thoughts inwards and our actions on hold. Neptune, the energy of our imaginal, spiritual knowing, turned direct on December 7th, and will be heading into Aries for the first time since 1861, on March 30th, 2025.
Neptune in Aries is usually a time of bold changes in society and these next few years will be even more important because Saturn will also move into Aries in late May 2025 and will conjunct Neptune at 1* Aries on February 20, 2026, giving form and structure to what we collectively imagine. Right now, Saturn in Pisces is helping us release old patriarchal patterns and beliefs that shaped us – the fear of poverty, of cultural disapproval, of breaking free of society’s rules. It is dissolving the bounds that constrict our true Self, so we can begin to live a more soulful life.
The last sign of the zodiac, Pisces can be illustrated by the wave crashing back into the ocean, the end of individuality and a return to a larger, all-encompassing identity. Pisces depicts the end of a cycle while serving as a womb for the next one coming. Thus, the passage of Saturn in close proximity to Neptune, the modern ruler of Pisces, represents a great cycle ending, a global karmic purge, where our standards, institutions, role models, and overall references may now decompose to reform later into a new template. Maurice Fernandez
Neptune will transit back and forth over 29*+ Pisces next year. 29* of any sign is a liminal space, a space of Unknowing, a Void space where new creation can occur. 29* Pisces is the degree of the very end of the zodiac, and therefore it will bring to an end those things that no longer serve our souls.
Uranus, the planet of revolution and awakening, will transit over 29* Taurus next year, as it begins its 7 year journey through Gemini. What will it tell us about the Earth and her needs? Jupiter will also change signs next year, going into Cancer in early June. And Pluto made its final entrance into Aquarius on November 19, 2024.
All of the cultural and generational planetary energies – Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto – will be changing signs in these next few years. This is a moment of breakthrough if we’re courageous enough to work with these energies. This, too, is part of the beginning of the Age of Aquarius.
As you can see, this Winter Solstice Sun will see the beginning of tremendous changes next year, and what we give birth to now will see us through the coming changes. So this Winter, go within yourself and find out what your soul longs for. Learn to listen to Lady Wisdom’s whispers, for our soul will be the thing that gets us through these world-changing times.
And a portent appeared in the heavens.
A woman, clothed with the Sun.
Standing on the Moon, Crowned with 12 Stars
In labor, giving birth to the Savior.
Beginnings are hard and exciting, but also fragile. Beginnings are like newborn babies – that’s why we celebrate the Birth of Jesus at Winter Solstice – the child of God within Humanity.
John O’Donohue describes Beginnings as part of our soul destiny.
Beginnings often frighten us because they seem like lonely voyages into the unknown. Yet, in truth, no beginning is empty or isolated. We seem to think that beginning is setting out from a lonely point along some line of direction into the unknown. This is not the case. Shelter and energy come alive when a beginning is embraced. Goethe says that once commitment is made, destiny conspires with us to support and realize it. We are never as alone in our beginnings as it might seem at the time. A beginning is ultimately an invitation to open toward the gifts and growth that are stored up for us. To refuse to begin can be an act of great self-neglect.
Beginnings precede us, create us, and constantly takes us to new levels and places and people. There is nothing to fear in the act of beginning. More often than not it knows the journey ahead better than we ever could. Perhaps the art of harvesting the secret riches of our lives is best achieved when we place profound trust in the act of beginning. Risk might be our greatest ally. To live a truly creative life, we always need to cast a critical look at where we presently are, attempting always to discern where we have become stagnant and where new beginning might be ripening. There can be no growth if we do not remain open and vulnerable to what is new and different. I have never seen anyone take a risk for growth that was not rewarded a thousand times over. ~John O’Donohue, To Bless the Space Between Us~
So don’t be afraid to begin. We’re all in this together.
One way to begin this year is to remember your dreams during the 12 days of Christmas. I’ve been doing this since the mid-80s and the dreams are often prophetic of what the coming year will bring us. If you start on Christmas night, that dream will represent your Aries Dream. The next night will be your Taurus dream, etc. Until you get to 12th Night, which is Epiphany, January 6th. You can coordinate these dreams with your astrology chart or just use them as windows on the coming months.
Here’s a blog I wrote about how to work with your dreams during this season.
If you want to discuss your Solstice dreams, let me know and if enough of you want to, I’ll do a free zoom talk on them.
Winter Solstice Chart 2024
The Sun arrives at its furthermost southern boundary – the Tropic of Capricorn – at Winter Solstice on December 21st at 1:21am PST/ 2:21am MT/ 3:21am CDT/ 4:21am EST/ 9:21am GMT.
The Sabian symbol for the Winter Solstice Sun at 1* Capricorn is: An Indian chief claims power from the assembled tribe. This image is one of the hopes and gifts of Capricorn – the rise of the good king, the wise leader who has the blessing of the people. Where are our wise leaders? Where are the young people who need to lead us into the future – away from destructive individualism and into community.
The only major aspect this Solstice Sun makes is to the Aries/Libra lunar nodes. Our task has been to stop giving ourselves over to other’s expectations and to learn to stand up for ourselves. You can still be true to yourself in relationships if you speak your truth.
The Sun squares the Nodes and so our cultural identity is being confronted with our uniquely individual identity. Can we own our own vision and purpose in society? Ask yourself: Who am I?Who do I want to be? Who am I meant to be? With Pluto, at the beginning of Aquarius, supporting the Aries North Node gift of self-identity and then standing off in the wings as the Capricorn Sun takes center stage, our new birth, our new identity needs to be aligned with taking group consciousness to the next level through our individual lives and purpose.
Will this new embodiment of Self-ownership raise the awareness of the group?
If the Sun gives us our identity in the world, the Moon shows us our inner Soul. For this Solstice, the Moon is in Virgo. Our operating system (our instinct) is to be of service to the Sun, this ideal leader, and as with Virgo, to understand and integrate our experience. Also, this Moon is part of a mutable grand cross, so there are multiple ways of doing this.
The Sabian symbol for the Moon at 14* Virgo is: A splendid family tree engraved on a sheet of parchment. This tree encompasses your ancestors and your past lives. Root yourself in your life – your past, your family’s past, your soul’s past – and know that you have deep roots here on Earth. Don’t be afraid to stand as that leader, whatever you are called to.
This disseminating/teaching Virgo Moon is opposed Saturn in Pisces and squares the Jupiter rx in Gemini opposition to Mercury in Sagittarius. This forms a mutable grand cross. How can we/Moon be of service to the collective needs and new beliefs Saturn in Pisces is forming? How can we discern (Virgo) what information (Gemini) is needed to discover our truth (Sagittarius)?
Perhaps this Virgo Moon’s inconjunct to Venus in Aquarius will keep us unsure of how to embody service to the new collective mindset just yet. Wait til the Spring or early Summer for that.
Next year, both Neptune, the planet of imagination and spiritual vision, and Saturn, the planet of form and structure/3D reality, will leave Pisces and move into Aries, the first sign of the zodiac. Something new is being born this year. And each of us is birthing it!
Speaking of birth brings me to the Mars retrograde, which will take place mostly in Cancer, the sign of Mother, and of the needs of our soul.
Mars turned retrograde on December 6, 2024 at 7* Leo . The Sabian symbol of 7* Leo is: The Constellations glow in the darkness of desert skies. In modern, light-filled skies, we no longer experience this closeness to the universe. In the desert, we do. It’s beautiful and overwhelming. We see how small we are and also how alive. We are connected to the archetypes of life. Now they need renewal. And it’s up to us to renew them by choosing to leave behind their stereotypes and let them live within us renewed and replenished. (I will be writing about different archetypes in the coming months.)
Before Mars turned retrograde, on November 3, 2024 it opposed 29* Capricorn Pluto when it was at 29* Cancer. This was right before the American election. Pluto at the last degree of Capricorn showed us the power of money shaping our world, just as its entrance into Capricorn showed us that same power with the financial crisis of 2008. The wealthy are controlling the world. But the next two oppositions between Mars and Pluto will be in Leo and Aquarius – the signs of leadership and group consciousness. These next two oppositions occur on January 3. 2025 and April 26, 2025. There could be violence and power struggles, because patriarchy doesn’t want to die. Or it can be about working on our own sense of power, as an equal to others.
Mars retrograde in Leo is in a grand fire trine with Mercury in Sagittarius and the Aries North Node. Open to lots of ideas and creativity. Mars connecting with Mercury will also turn the grand cross, spreading out the new ideas and potentials next year can bring us.
An important minor aspect is that Mars retrograde is on this Solstice chart’s "Part of Spirit" (also called the "Lot of Spirit"), which is a mathematical point in a natal chart that represents a person's inner essence, motivations and soul purpose. Mars retrograde there will question us: how will I utilize my spiritual energy and potential? Will I choose to let spirit manifest through me in the physical world?
Uranus retrograde in Taurus sextiles Neptune in Pisces, opening us to cosmic consciousness and suggesting ways to shine our light into the world. Uranus square Venus in Aquarius – they are living in each other’s home sign. So they can work together to awaken us to the Earth’s needs so we make that a part of our new paradigm of life. Venus also trines Jupiter in Gemini, so we are open to loving everyone, even those who hurt us. Choose love instead of hate. That doesn’t mean you are a pushover – it means you can love people at the same time as you disagree with them. You can have boundaries and still be flexible. Own your worth.
Finally, we’re still in the Jupiter square Saturn energy, that began a new cycle at Winter Solstice at 0* Aquarius – where Pluto is now. These are our social planets, which set the energy for where society is heading - our zeitgeist. It begins with a mindset (Aquarius) of rebellion and freedom, social connection and unity. So, what are these two planets deciding? Jupiter in Gemini is overwhelmed with ideas and information, while Saturn in Pisces is dissolving old beliefs and paradigms and opening us to trust in our heart’s wisdom and our spirit’s vision. Together, they challenge us to unite head and heart. What information can feed our Wisdom?
We can create an evolutionary moment with these changing cosmic energies. We can consciously evolve and create the possible human. As we grow in consciousness, our eye becomes single and our whole body is full of light.
You are the Light of the World!
May the peace and the love of the Goddess and the God be ever in your hearts. Merry meet and merry part. And Merry Meet again!
Cathy
You Are the Light of the World.
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