And an equally Happy Summer Solstice to those “down under!” The 2023 Northern Hemisphere Winter Solstice/Southern Hemisphere Summer Solstice happens at 8:28 pm PST on December 21, 4:28 am GMT on December 22, 2023.

This is the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, and the longest in the Southern! In the North the Solar force will begin to get longer and stronger, a welcome relief for those of us who need lots of sunshine to keep our dispositions equally sunny. The Winter Solstice is a special time for me, where I do a specific ritual every year that yields great results which I'll explain in part 2. For now, let's discuss the Solstice chart.

Since antiquity Astrologers have believed that charts done for the Solstices and Equinoxes give snapshots of what we can expect during the following season. In this article, I’ll offer you some insights about the Solstice chart, and discuss how this Solstice relates to very important past Winter Solstices which were conjunct Pluto (and in both 2017 and 2018, Saturn!) at the Galactic Center, since those profoundly impacted how we will experience the major shifts happening at this Solstice.

Southern or Northern, We Enter A New Season

We are now at the end of Autumn in the Northern Hemisphere and the end of Spring in the Southern. If you’re wondering how I reconcile the seemingly opposing energies between the hemispheres, when you’re done here please take a look at The Mirroring of the Northern and Southern Hemisphere Year Cycles in Astrology. It may help readers “down under” see how the important points of seasonal change, though opposite in physical manifestation, actually have similar challenges at each point of shift.

There is an old tradition that offers us two times when "the year begins," one at the Vernal Equinox, the other at the Autumnal. Perhaps that tradition came from explorers who saw the seasons flip between the Northern and Southern, going from the beginning of warm to the beginning of cold as they moved up and down the latitudes.

This is an excellent time for looking at what has ended, what is emerging, and making decisions about how we want to live in 2024. We up North have now reaped the harvest of what we've done and not done, and can figure out how we want to express our power in 2024. In the Southern latitudes, you've finished your "Spring planting," and will now see how these labors will come to fulfillment over the next 90 days.

Whether North or South, keep following through on the emergent archetypes you've already begun to live, since this is the time to embrace personal power in some public way. Regardless of where we live, what follows explores elements we all can expect to experience over the next 13 weeks.

The Grand Mutation, Aspects, and More!

As mentioned, the charts for the Summer and Winter Solstices provide guideposts for what will follow in the 90 days after those points in time, just as charts for the Vernal and Autumnal Equinox each show what will follow in the period after those points in time. In the 2020 Solstice chart, the HUGE factor dominating the entire chart was the Grand Mutation of Jupiter conjunct Saturn at 1 Aquarius which began a new 20 year Aquarian era, and a new 200 year Air era!

This year’s chart is future oriented, expansive, stabilizing, and should make the next 13 weeks enjoyable, with “Divine help when human efforts seem to fail” and inner powers coming forth. This is an educative season, with “learning through imitation” on the front burner. Some will understand why they had to break away from an old social pattern in October and November to embrace a new life adventure which has already begun to unfold.

While there will be a fair amount of tension and agitation, it’s also equally fair to say there will be high productivity and capacity for great life enjoyment for those who have “built their bridges” and found new answers to old questions and new approaches to accomplish what needs accomplishing. The Sun is totally unafflicted, showing this should be a relatively stable season coming.

The biggest news is actually the Inferior conjunction of Mercury retrograde with the Sun shortly after the Solstice, occurring at 1 Capricorn, the Galactic Center! This indicates there is old power to be renewed, old authority to be reclaimed, and new ways of exercising authorship in 2024.

So this is a season of rehearsals, returns, reviews, reflections, with all of it serving to open many doors in a measured steady way. High specialization is shown by Mars quintile Saturn, and very favorable movement to planets we have at the beginning of the Earth and Water signs. We enter a seasonal “learning process” involving the need to have information transferred in the midst of the intensification of energy so we may bring forth latent powers as we focus our creative feelings.

Obviously, since the Sun is the key to the Solstice, the aspects it makes are extremely important. In this December 2023 Solstice chart, the Sun has the Moon at 1 Taurus in an exact trine, with Mercury and Jupiter also participating in the harmony party. Mars in Sag is the entry planet to the Light, indicating the next 90 days will be highly active along future oriented paths teaching us more expansive social and emotional skills.

Since the Solstice Sun is ruled by Saturn in Pisces, it’s helping us contact our “indestructible elements of Self” in productive ways due to the sextile between the Sun and Saturn. Add the Moon and Jupiter both sextile Saturn and ruled by Venus in Scorpio in trine to Neptune, this will help us continue to purify our values and relationships so we may again touch the foundations of our faith and refuse old patterns which no longer serve us or which we no longer value.

As Saturn is in the actional-physical level of “Federation,” it offers us the promise that we can intuitively find our Spiritual Brothers and Sisters with whom we are to do a larger work. Saturn is ruled by Jupiter, which is ruled by Venus. Venus in Scorpio is ruled by Mars in Sagittarius, which is ruled by Jupiter. So all the planets except Neptune are ruled by the “chain of dispositors” involving Jupiter, Venus, and Mars. This set of dispositors will dominate the Stage of Life these next 90 days.

The main Solar aspects include a conjunction with Mercury, a novile with Venus, a trine to Jupiter, and sextile to Saturn. This creates a “three note chord of harmonious productivity” with a spiritual element added by Venus, who is showing us the value of why we had to let go of things in October and November. This year we have the Sun, Venus, Mercury, and Mars all tightly compacted between 21 Scorpio and 2 Capricorn in a 40+ degree span, showing that area will be the primary focus these next 13 weeks. Expect a lot of activity to begin once Mercury goes direct and Mars crosses the Solstice Sun!

I’ll do a more extensive analysis of the aspects in the coming Full Moon articles, but for now, the main influences in this chart (besides the Solar aspects) include Moon trine Mercury bringing the Mercury trine Jupiter back into play via Translation of Light, the Moon just separating from the square to Pluto, Venus biseptile Saturn and opposed Uranus while trine Neptune, Mars quintile Saturn, quincunx Uranus and square Neptune, and Jupiter sextile Saturn and novile Neptune. The solidly favorable Earth aspects favor practicality and the stabilization of the permanent elements of our Being.

So What Brought Us to Here and Now?

In a brief nod to what “brought us to this dance” in years past, the conjunction of the Sun with Pluto was exact or very close when Pluto was exactly conjunct the Galactic Center between 2006-2009. This set some extremely long wave energies into play on our Earth, and marked a huge renewal for the next 250 years, mas or menos. We are now solidly launched into that new Era.

The Sun square Uranus was close or exact on Winter Solstice 2010, 2011 (exact!) and 2012. So the seed forms created by the Sun and Pluto when they powered up the Galactic Center energies for the next “season of the Millennium” back in 2006-2009 were moved into revolutionary newness by Uranus in the first sign of the zodiac in the years after that Plutonic once-in-250 years event.

Pluto offers us seeds to sprout or seeds of future weeds to be pulled before they grow, and so the years Pluto spent at the GC sent the world “galactic seeds” that were hidden until 2017. The 2017 Solstice brought those hidden seeds into manifestation via the Sun conjunct Saturn at the Galactic Center; those structures began to be modified at the 2018 Solstice. We have now turned the corner as a planet and humanity relative to the Galactic Wisdom we have been learning to know in seed form these past 16 years.

This is the seventh year of a new era which is setting long terms structures into play. The 2017 and 2018 Solstices codified some of the Galactic energies because of the conjunctions of the Sun and Saturn on the GC. In December 2017 Saturn was exactly 1 Capricorn, and in December 2018 it was 11 Capricorn. The 2019 conjunction of the Sun and Jupiter had Jupiter at 5 Capricorn, indicating our Saturn response to the new GC outpouring of 2018 and 2019 opened many doors in 2020 based in how much we’ve accepted Jupiter’s opportunities. This year Mercury is conjunct the Sun at the GC, showing “the Great Light” will shine forth GC consciousness into our lives these next 90 days, even if in an indirect or roundabout way.

Other Factors

This is the first December Solstice with Saturn in Pisces. Because Saturn is the ruler of the Sun, the next season (and year) will open us to deeper connection within collective consciousness, and challenge our ability to be compassionate, intuitive, empathic, or just bless whatever to flow down the time stream when it’s time is over in our lives. This of course is playing out wherever we have the first decan of Pisces in our charts.

The Winter Solstice of 2015 had Saturn at 11 Sag, so those were the lessons of 2016. The 2016 Solstice had Saturn at 21 Sag, making them the lessons of 2017. Those years restructured wherever we have Sag in our charts. 2018 was about the lesson of 1 Capricorn. 2019 was about the lessons of 11 Capricorn, and 2020 featured lessons related to 21 Capricorn. The 2020 Solstice saw Jupiter and Saturn conjunct at 1 Aquarius, making that the theme of 2021.

The December 2021 Solstice found Saturn occupying the 11th degree of Aquarius, so that was the theme for 2022, and last year’s Solstice had Saturn at 22 Aquarius, putting that area of our chart in the spotlight. This year Saturn’s at 3 Pisces, making that the Solar theme of the coming season. A study of these things reveals where the emphasis was in your charts for those years. You can also find some interesting information by putting the Solstice chart on top of yours, and see where those transits fall.

Saturn ruling the Sun is a primary dispositor influence, and so Saturn always plays a big part in the December through March season. On this Solstice, Saturn makes only spiritual or favorable aspects to all the other planets. Be patient, see the big picture, understand what you’ve been learning since last March about compassion, empathy, and knowing how and when to bring things to a close.

Saturn: Spiritual Master, Spiritual Friend

Because Saturn plays such a large part in any December Solstice chart, if you haven’t gotten your copy already, please give yourself the timeless gift of my book, Saturn: Spiritual Master, Spiritual Friend. We all need to make friends with our inner Saturn if we would claim our power to fulfill our higher purpose for being alive as Spirits in the material world.

This book shows you the way to take command of your power to steer your life in a conscious way, using Saturn’s strengths and skills to be led to mastering life on our own terms. By knowing how to become the best of Saturn in our world, we take command of our destiny and become the living purpose we were born to make manifest!

It was written for both astrologers and non-astrologers, and will assist your understanding of how your life experiences assisted your Soul growth and power to turn away from unhelpful karmic cause and effect patterns. Each time you re-read any part of it you’re sure to find undiscovered gems of insight helping you throw off attitudes which frustrate your ability to live your higher Purpose on your own terms.

So if you don’t already have a copy, please order your copy today! You can go to the Saturn: Spiritual Master, Spiritual Friend  page on Amazon and this should be all you need to order your copy. And if you would, please write a review on the Amazon site, since the more reviews, the bigger the boost on their site.

Enjoy digesting the information in this article, and I’ll post part two soon!

As "they" say, Mahalo, Aloha, Namaskarams, Aum Namah Shivaya, Happy and Merry Solstice, Happy Hanukkah (slight return!), Merry Christmastide, Joyous Christ Mass, and Happy New Year!

Reprinted on crystalwind.ca with written permission from Robert Wilkinson. Copying this article to other blogs is strictly prohibited. It is copyright protected. 

© Copyright 2022 Robert Wilkinson

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