12/20/14

Winter Solstice 2014

Darkest before Dawn by Heni Sandoval

Darkest before Dawn
by Heni Sandoval

 

The 2014 Winter Solstice (Summer in the Southern Hemisphere) arrives on December 21st

at 11:03p Universal Time, 6:03p Eastern Time and 3:03p Pacific Time.

In the darkest time of year in the Northern hemisphere when daylight fades in the afternoon hours, the Winter Solstice always arrives in comforting regularity to remind us the light will begin to return –  subtly, slowly but return it shall!

The Farmers Almanac always has interesting Solstice information at Winter Solstice: Facts and Folklore and EarthSky does too at Everything you need to know: December solstice 2014

The chart for the exact moment of the Solstice gives insight into the patterns and trends emerging for this new season.  At every December’s solstice the Sun is stationed at O degrees (*) Capricorn.  Capricorn is the 3rd earth sign,  a solid, stable, mature sign ruled by Saturn. This year   Mercury, Venus and Pluto along with asteroid Vesta are also in Capricorn.  Pluto and Venus are in close communication ( at 12 and 14* Cap) with Vesta and Mercury  nearby. This Capricorn planetary confluence triggers the Cardinal Cross in the heavens (yet again!) forming a tight angle to revolutionary Uranus at 12* Aries, and also to the karmic North/South Nodes at 15* Libra/Aries.  At another turn of the seasonal wheel this familiar cosmic challenge indicates  (violent!) forces of change clash with the Capricorn status quo which wants to maintain control and resists change.

Saturn aka “Lord of the Material World” is the ruler of Capricorn, so it’s always important to note Saturn’s position at the Solstice. This year Saturn is at the very last degree of the most powerful sign in the zodiac – Scorpio.  Saturn actually leaves Scorpio to enter Sagittarius only 2 days later on 12/23/14, but Saturn’s position at this potent degree on this Solstice indicates the poisonous “stinging tail” Scorpion energy maintains, as well as the potential for the deep, profound healing of one of  Scorpio’s other  symbols The Phoenix – dying and rising again triumphantly transformed!

Certainly in the weeks leading up to the Solstice the world has experienced Saturn’s nasty Scorpio-tail  sting. The Torture Report released by the US Senate  is a prime example.  Another example is the Staten Island, NY Grand Jury decision  not to indict the police officer who killed Eric Garner  which reignited outrage and demonstrations begun during the earlier Ferguson Grand Jury decision over the killing of Michael Brown. The many terrorist killings from Australia to the seemingly never-ending chaos and brutality in the Middle East are further evidence of Saturn/Scorpio not releasing its sting yet.  There have been absurd examples too like the cyber hacking of Sony Entertainment thought to be done by North Korea against the Sony movie The Interview a comedic parody about an assassination  plot to kill North Korean president Kim Jong-Il.  Private emails by Sony executives, actors etc. were  released to the media revealing embarrassing “stinging” details never meant to be public – ouch!

The healing power of Scorpio is evident in worldly events too. Most notably the Obama administration normalizing relations with Cuba is an amazing example which I thought I would never see in my lifetime! This surprising announcement made on 12/17  had been secretly  in the making for 18 months with consultation with Pope Francis too – wow.   And of course secrecy is a major Scorpio theme!  Here is the NY Times article about this fascinating development US to Restore Full Relations with Cuba 

At personal levels I heard from many friends and clients about profound healing events at  physical, emotional and spiritual levels.  Perhaps you did too.  I experienced a powerful healing myself from my friend Vyolet who recently incorporated singing bowl/sound healing into her practice – it was amazing!  The energy for powerful positive change is out there assisting us all now, so take advantage!

Another significant factor in the Solstice chart is Jupiter moving retrograde at 22* Leo.  Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system with a huge astrological  impact too.  Jupiter in lordly fire sign Leo shines brightly! It is positive, vibrant and extremely creative.  Jupiter/Leo is a major player and even in reverse maintains power – more internalized yes, but like a clay pot in the kiln heating to that perfect moment when it becomes a beautiful piece of ceramic.  Saturn and Jupiter have been in tense squaring aspect over the last several weeks which added more potency to Saturn/Scorpio’s whipping tail! Although this square is waning at the Solstice, it is still in effect indicating stressed energies are likely to remain through the winter months.

The Solstice Moon is in Sagittarius, another vibrant fire sign like Leo. The Moon influences the public’s mood  and in optimistic Sagittarius indicates people are starting to feel more positive about the direction of their lives.  Sagittarius loves to be on the move and the dropping oil/gas  prices make travel a lot more affordable now and puts extra  jingle in people’s pockets. Just yesterday (12/19) the stock market gained 400 points, a leap not seen in many years. Adding to this “yipee-ki-yay” mode, the Sagittarius Moon and Jupiter/Leo create a harmonious trine together and both reach out to Uranus in Aries, bringing more positivity to the Solstice equation.  On top of  this, the  Moon at 28* Sagittarius is stationed near the powerful gateway of the  Galactic Center  which gives people more ability to reach higher heights than anyone thought possible – so go for it!

Spiritual satellite dish Neptune and Centaur healer Chiron maintain their long term journeys in mystical Pisces .  On the Solstice they  hang out together in their misty cosmic realm relating to each other, but are not much interested in relationships with any other planets.   Mars will catch up with them later in January so we’ll see what gets triggered then, but on the Solstice Mars is stationed at 13* Aquarius.  Motivational Mars in  intelligent air sign Aquarius activates clarity and indicates more ability to reach the 10,000 foot perspective.  Mars works positively with the North Node compass point in peace loving Libra which bodes well for diplomacy.  Mars/Aquarius could aid renewed negotiations with Iran over their nuclear policies and also indicates a more enlightened response to the new Cuba/US policies.

Mars is still the “Warrior” planet so it’s interesting to note that President Obama’s rising sign is 18* Aquarius. This  means  not long after the Solstice, on 12/28,  Mars will enter Obama’s first house for the first time in 2 years.  In plain English this means rammy Mars will be right up in the President’s face!  The Republicans take over both houses of  Congress in January and continue to be steaming mad at the President, some even clamoring to block him from giving the State of the Union address.  This echoes the tense square between Scorpio/Saturn and Leo/Jupiter in the Solstice chart.  We’ll all have a seat on the sidelines to watch how this cosmic show unfolds! Perhaps North Korea will hack Congress next.  (I say with only a slight hint of sarcasm.  Wouldn’t it be fun to know what they say about each other in private? Saturn in Scorpio says, “Watch out or your karma will run over your dogma.”)

I hope only good karma is abundant for you at the Solstice and this new season of returning light brings bright blessings for you and yours!  On this shortest day of the year here’s another thing Saturn in Scorpio might say, through the words of the great Capricorn writer Henry Miller, The world dies over and over again, but the skeleton always gets up and walks.” 

IMAGE NOTE: This lovely, uplifting painting “Darkest before Dawn”  is by Heni Sandoval my very talented sister.  She first posted the painting at her blog on International Peace day in September, and the moment I saw it I knew it would be perfect for this Solstice issue.  Here’s what Heni says inspired this painting, “It is my feeling that the negativity that we are seeing and that many are experiencing will pass sooner rather than later and that actually many positive things are happening under the radar of the sensational news.”  The Solstice chart for 12/21/14 vibrates to this idea as well.  You can read Heni’s  full blog at Heni’s Happy Paintings   and find more of her work at her ETSY site.