On December 21, 2022, at 1:48 pm PST, the Sun ingresses into the sign of Capricorn. Along with the other three major seasonal points, this is one of the moments that anchor the Earth’s seasons. In the Northern Hemisphere, this is winter and in the Southern Hemisphere, the summer. Also known as “zero Capricorn”, this point is now aligned with the Galactic Equator (GE).
There is also an unusually timed square between Jupiter and Sun happens about 3 hours after the Sun enters Capricorn, hence the solstice point. Jupiter re-entered the sign of Aries the day before, December 20th, so there is a bit of extra meaning to this year’s December Solstice (though I would contend that the December Solstice of 2020 was more profound due to the Saturn-Jupiter conjunction within hours of the Solstice). I will write more about this toward to the end of this article.
As shared in my previous post on Dec 17th, the Galactic Equator (GE) is not the same as the Galactic Center point, which is located at 27°09’ Sagittarius. The Galactic Center is the primary anchor for all the stars and other objects of the Milky Way, taking millions of years to complete their orbits. The GC is known to be a supermassive black hole, helping to hold the galaxy together in a giant spinning barred-spiral shape. However, the GE is the plane of the Milky Way, which runs about 60° off the ecliptic (the path of the Sun and plane of the Solar System).
Astronomer and mathematician Jean Meeus calculated the once-in-26,000-year alignment of the December Solstice point (and its opposite, the June Solstice point) with the Galactic Equator as having taken place in May, 1998 (shared in his book, Mathematical Astronomy Morsels, pages 301-303 published in 1997). Since it takes about 72 years for the ecliptic to precess one degree, we are currently living in a time where this alignment is still less than a half-degree from the center. This is one of the major markers of how we know we are living in the “Turning of the Ages”.
Cultures have seen the Milky Way in several ways, but typically it symbolizes a pathway, road or trail. For example, in Norse mythology, the Milky Way was the World Tree with the Scorpion, known as Nidhogg, a cosmic serpent, which wraps itself around the base and roots of the World Tree, which is where the GE and GC are located. It is the thickest and most densely-packed part of the galaxy, with billions of stars.
The Solstice itself, along with other seasonal points, were markers for societies to commemorate, ceremonialize and celebrate in a wide variety of ways. For the Northern Hemisphere, where close to 90% of the human population lives, this was the winter solstice. The Sun reaches its minimal point south of the celestial equator (Earth’s projected equator into the sky). This gave rise to a deeper and potent experience of the dying and rebirth of the light. The December solstice is the darkest period.
Because after the winter solstice, the days begin to grow brighter very slowly. Solstice means “solar standstill”. This is due to the Sun reaching its southernmost position at the current tilt of the Earth, which is 23.4°. As the Sun crosses beyond its solstice point, it moves into the Archer constellation, increasing its light upon the Northern Hemisphere.
One of the most powerful modern expressions that is over 2,000 years old relates to Christianity. Many Old World “holidays” and customs were repurposed, including the origins of Christmas. The birth of the “Son of God” comes from the “rebirth of the Sun” and the December solstice. It is intriguing how much we use in Western culture to light trees, homes and buildings prior to the rebirth of the life and love of the Sun or the light.
The dark balances the light each year, which is one orbit of the Earth around the Sun. The tilt of the Earth gives us the seasons and these have had enormous impact on the evolution of who we are collectively but also all other life on the planet. The December Solstice is one of the natural points in a solar year that can also fit the role of the true beginning of a New Year. We celebrate the dark as we embrace the lights best when it is dark. We celebrate the light as it is rebirthed in the sky (and especially in the high and mid-latitudes north of the equator).
If we can experience a New Moon as a time to BEGIN a 30-day period of time, then the December Solstice or New Sun can BEGIN a 365-day period. It would, of course, be opposite in the Southern Hemisphere and take place on the June Solstice. This is a natural time of setting intentions for the coming year, more so than on January 1st (though there is an important alignment of the star Sirius around Jan 1st or 2nd each year).
There are a great number of megalithic structures (i.e. stone circles, temples) and natural sites marked by ancient peoples throughout the world that tracked the Sun, Moon and stars and more commonly, the Earth’s seasonal points. There are people now building smaller-scale stone circles and other natural devices to track the Sun’s apparent movement across the sky. This is a signal that we are craving that natural connection with the sky and Earth’s seasons. And it is one powerful way to unite the Earth and Sky.
As mentioned earlier, this December Solstice unfolds with Jupiter in Aries squaring the Sun only 3 hours after the solstice. This Aries-Capricorn relationship can be fraught with tension in its shadow, but the roles of each of these signs can be in harmony as well. One of the ways this can work is Capricorn, as carrier of the knowledge and wisdom, can serve in this capacity of wise elder and Aries the action-oriented defender. Allowing Capricorn to do the proverbial paperwork and delegation and management while Aries utilizes its instincts to accomplish the common goal of defending and serving humanity and the Earth in tandem.
The square is an intersection in our collective vision quest path or dharma of humanity. What road is taken may be more revealed at the time when Jupiter moves into opposition with the Sun on November 2nd, 2023 when Jupiter is in the sign of Taurus.
Every December Solstice is a chance to renew our intention for our journey and this year includes Jupiter as part of that journey. Capricorn is a practical, matter-of-fact archetypal expression concerned with the long-term viability of civilization. And this renewal of the light to shine for the next year in balance with the dark provides us with the wisdom to go forth and contribute by knowing ourselves and trusting in the cosmic pathway.