December 20th ~ 27th

This is the solstice, the still point of the sun, its cusp and midnight, the year’s threshold and unlocking, where the past lets go of and becomes the future; the place of caught breath, the door of a vanished house left ajar… ~ Margaret Atwood

The Solstice chart for December 21st, not only marks the ingress of the Sun into Capricorn, it also sets the tone for the next quarter of the year. And when looking at the Solstice chart for December 21st (4:20 AM here on the Eastern Coast of the US), it appears to be tying up all of the prevailing and some of the incoming trends. Like a snapshot of our lives we can see where threads are weaving, and where others are merely dangling, and perhaps even unraveling. 

1.

There seem to be 3 important pieces to this chart. The first is that the Sun, who is the star of the show, is currently at the bending, or square the Nodal axis (the eclipse axis). In and of itself this points to a time of transition and change. As we stand here, we can see some doors closing and others opening. We have some idea of what the past represented for us. But what makes this a little exasperating, is that the door that is opening is veiled by Neptune, still in its very last degrees of Pisces. We literally cannot see what the future foretells. Rather it feels like we are stepping into a fog, with neither a road map, nor a light to guide the way! 

It is hard to see a clear path when Neptune sits on the Nodes, and so we enter into this new era with a great deal of unanswered questions, misunderstandings, and confusion. In order to learn the truth, we turn over every rock, we investigate every clue, wanting to solve the mystery of the future which remains inscrutable. 

Living with uncertainty and contradiction can be very difficult and frustrating. And because we have been disappointed and let down in the past, we don’t know who or what to trust any more. So we attempt to fill in the void with our imaginations and our fears, which, to be honest, is not usually that reliable.  

However, even if we cannot see our way clearly, we have nowhere else to go but forward. Like lemmings to the sea, or as if swept along by an ephemeral fog, we are being beckoned. We may not find the clarity we are seeking, but we are nonetheless being asked to have faith. The faith that somehow, some way, by following our inner guides: our conscience, our hearts, our own realizable truth; we will be led precisely where we need to be. We are all being swept along on this tide. But we are also finding our own way as well. The former feels unavoidable. The latter is dependent on our choices. 

2.

When the path is uncertain, you go a little slower. It’s not unlike driving on a foggy night or walking into a dark room full of furniture. You just slow down. ~ Jerome Powell (Chair of the Federal Reserve of the US)

On December 24th, there will be the 2nd of 3 exact squares between Jupiter and Saturn. And this is at the focal point of the second piece of the Solstice chart. On the day and time of the Solstice, the Moon, which is in Virgo, will make an exact opposition to Saturn and square to Jupiter, creating a T-square, which is an aspect of conflict, or perhaps some reticence and indecision. This also ties in the 3rd Mercury/Jupiter opposition which is exact on December 26th. 

Mercury and Jupiter have been doing this dance in each other’s signs (Mercury in Sagittarius, and Jupiter in Gemini) for weeks. This has been responsible for much of that scattered dissembling we’ve all been experiencing since mid-November. The retrograde of Mercury did nothing to help the circumstances in the weeks that followed. Overwhelmed by an abundance of information permeating the airwaves as well as our minds, left many feeling overwhelmed and unable to process anything. And the poor beleaguered Moon in Virgo in the Solstice chart, is attempting to make sense of the insensible. 

Like herding cats, or shoveling snow in a snow storm, we have our work cut out for us. The difference being the square to Saturn. Mercury/Jupiter in the movable signs of Sagittarius and Gemini, is boundary-less, and unending, as we were bombarded with information from all sides, unable to look away, and yet unable to make sense of any of it. Saturn is asking us all to set appropriate boundaries, to fact check, to limit our consumption, to screen out the noise. Unfortunately, it will likely have other ill effects as well.

Gemini and Sagittarius contain the sources of our information. And the truth is that much of the media has been floundering. Some well-respected sources have been waffling about, and not necessarily taking a stand where they should have. Others have been acquiescing. Some are in danger of folding. Saturn is asking us all to get a grip. 

With Neptune on the North Node, we are needing to learn how to discriminate, to process, to edit, and to organize. We need lighthouses, and lodestars, and road maps. Not frenzied click bait, exaggeration and innuendo. Sometimes all we need to do is slow down. 

Jupiter has been trying to get us to see things from another perspective, and to grow beyond our previously limited beliefs and assumptions. To see the truth, to know the truth, and to hold to it, to believe in it even when the reliable sources of information are being tamped down, and the unreliable sources are wreaking havoc. Jupiter wants us to grow and to learn. Saturn might hold us back out of fear, and maybe even control. But Saturn can also help us to sift through the myriad of information, organize it, and then make sense of it. 

When Jupiter and Saturn work together we see a clear plan unfolding before us. When they are pushing against one another in this way, we may feel simultaneously like there is way too much to process, while being limited from receiving the information that we really need, in order to make clear decisions moving forward. 

3.

The third piece of the Solstice Chart is a configuration called Thor’s Hammer, centered around the sesquiquadrate between Jupiter and Pluto. The Moon in Virgo, in the Solstice chart, is also making a sesquiquadrate to Pluto. This is the very definition of Thor’s Hammer: 2 planets in square to one another (Moon and Jupiter) while both sesquiquadrate another (in this case Pluto). The very name sesquiquadrate on its own sounds like a mouthful. 

These minor aspects can be indicative of circumstances that we had perhaps been living with for many years, perhaps decades, perhaps lifetimes, and just assumed that this was the very heart and nature of the human experience itself. So why change it? Why question it? Even if it was demeaning, even if it may be racist, unholy, demoralizing, controlling or inhuman in nature, we lived with the inequality, the discomfort, as merely being a part of life itself, and so don’t necessarily ‘do’ anything about it. 

These are things we didn’t question. But when we are made aware of these circumstances, and we can see them for what they are… it can no longer be ignored! We might have put up with them because we were used to them, or we put up with them in order to not rock the boat, or we felt there were no other options but to contend with the internalized friction it was causing. 

But Pluto, perhaps part of the problem itself, is now in Aquarius. And in Aquarius, we come to realize that  popular sentiment can be quite powerful. On our own, individually we might not have much of an impact. But when we join forces in solidarity with others, we have the capacity to overcome even the most extraordinary forces. And that is where the transition begins. 

On January 3rd, Mars will come to oppose Pluto bringing us the results of causes that have already been set into motion. Mars is a catalyst. In its retrograde, however, it is also gathering to it a huge morass of resentment, anger and frustration, which could be unleashed with the opposition at the end of the year. This could be unstable. It could be volcanic in its effects. But it could also be an impetus for us to understand what it can actually feel like to be empowered. To be strong. To be a force for progressive change. And then carry that knowledge with us into the New Year.

This is a LOT to digest. Especially for what is supposed to be the most spiritual time of year. All the more reason to hunker down, make wreaths in gratitude to the Lord of Light, make obeisance to the gods of our choice, and offer prayers to the New Born Sun. 

On December 21st, the Sun appears to stand still. After this day, the Sun will gradually make its way up North again, bringing with it longer daylight hours. In the darkness before the dawn, we are confronted with our own soul journey searching for that ephemeral light of enlightenment. Whether we seek this thru ritual, religion, community, prayer, parties, holiday lights and candles, love, and embracing the wonders of nature: it brings also a hope for renewal, for rebirth, for wisdom and light. And if we can ride this wave, it can and will bring us where we need to go. We just need to keep the faith.

This is perhaps the basis from which New Year’s resolutions evolved, recognizing that with this shift comes a renewed surge of purpose and growth. This will be all the more so, with the Capricorn New Moon just before the New Year. May our hearts and minds be open to goodness and truth, that these may be our guiding lights, even and especially in the face of uncertainty. 

The Real Christmas means something to the Real Man, and it applies to the whole of man’s nature. Let us take advantage of the resurgence of spiritual, mental, and moral force that comes with the Christmas time. It is the feeling and the thought in our hearts which reach people and stir their hearts to a better feeling, a wider and stronger action, for all our hearts are based in the same One Life. ~ Robert Crosbie

For this week’s horoscopes, click on the link below:

HOROSCOPES

Image: CrystalWind.ca

The original article is copyrighted by the author listed above and is posted on CrystalWind.ca ©2024. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction, distribution, or use of this content, in whole or in part, is strictly prohibited without prior written permission. Discover the wisdom of CrystalWind.ca! Since 2008, we've been dedicated to awakening, enlightenment, and self-help to empower your spiritual journey. Dive in and grow with us—your next step awaits! #CrystalWind #SpiritualJourney