winter solstice 2011

by | Dec 20, 2011 | Astrology Blog

on december 21st, 2011 the sun moves into capricorn at 9:30pm PST- marking the winter solstice in the north hemisphere and the summer solstice in the southern hemisphere.  the word solstice is latin for ‘sun stands still’ and that is what the sun does from our perspective on earth at the solstices.  in the north the sun makes it way as high in the sky as it will at the summer solstice and it goes as low in the sky as it will at the winter solstice.  the solstice is the turn-around point at which the sun slowly stops (from our perspective on earth- the sun does not literally stop) and then reverses direction.  the symbolism of the sun standing still and being reborn (as shown by its change in direction) is visible in many myths and stories throughout religion and spirituality.  the birth of many pagan gods coincide with the winter solstice- including mithra, horus, hercules, zeus, sol invictus and jesus.  the latter one may be the one we are most familiar with- but the others all had stories about the Sun/Son of God being reborn after 3 days.  interesting stuff, huh?  :)

this solstice is quite powerful as it is the initiation into the winter season (or summer in the south) that will take us into the year 2012.  as such the chart of the solstice can give us insight into what is to come over the next 3 months.  and as you might guess- the chart is very dynamic and full of activation!

first of all- the uranus/pluto square features prominently in the solstice chart, as well as the new moon chart that occurs 3 days later (on 12/24).  the sun is conjunct pluto and square to uranus- with the uranus aspect being the most perfect (it is 42 minutes away from being exact).  this dynamic transit that is not even exact yet (the first exact square is on june 24th 2012) is getting some major activation with the solstice sun and new moon in the first week of winter (summer in the south).  the sun is a symbol of the conscious self and ego.  it points to identity and brings things to Light for the collective.  with uranus square pluto activating the sun we can be sure that the energies of awakening, rebellion and revolution, as well as destruction, transformation and death/rebirth are going to be a focus over the coming 3 months.  uranus square pluto is like the demolition team that comes in before the new structure can be built.  the foundation upon which we have been building our lives- personally, socially, politically, financially, globally and collectively is toxic and out of integrity.  things must change.  no one wants to change- but there is no choice.  things cannot continue on the way they have been going.  the coming 3 months are a great time to get on board with this reality- as you want to be fully in alignment with change and transformation come june 24th otherwise the shifts might hit you like a ton of bricks.

now i know this sounds intense- and it is!  but there is a lot of positive support to the solstice sun that can help us grow, integrate and embrace change with grace and ease.  the sun is semisextile venus- the goddess of Love, beauty and abundance; trine stationary jupiter in taurus (he goes direct on christmas day)- the planet of expansion, growth and oppotunity; sextile saturn in libra- the planet of stability, maturity and self-mastery; sextile neptune at the tail end of aquarius- the planet of spirituality, compassion and service; and sextile chiron in pisces- the wounded healer and activator of awareness and consciousness.  with so much positive energy and support for the sun in capricorn we have a lot going for us when it comes to working with the energies of change, awakening, elimination and transformation.  now is the time to get on board the Self-mastery train by choice- rather than by force.  anyone not on board soon is going to get a massive wake-up call next year!

saturn, the ruler of the solstice sun and the new moon on 12/24, makes several aspects that give us deeper insight into what is likely to unfold over the coming 3 months.  saturn harmoniously aspects both the sun and moon- showing us that grounding, stability, responsibility and integrity are where it’s at.  when the world gets chaotic- which it will- you don’t want to be so out of touch with reality that you loose it or get knocked off your feet, do you?  ground down now.  deal with reality.  create a solid foundation.  take care of the details.  you will be rewarded for your hard work later on down the road.  this is about delayed gratification.  we all need to learn the lesson of doing the thing we don’t want to do now- and reap rewards from it later.  in western culture we are focused on getting the goods now- fast food, fast technology, speed reading, whatever.  it’s all about quicker, faster, bigger, better.  this can get way out of proportion- so learning temperance and healthy limitations now is the way to go.

saturn also squares venus in the solstice chart.  this exact aspect happened on sunday the 18th- so look to what was going on in your life over the weekend of the 16th-18th to see where the constriction, restriction and/or harsh reality is hitting you.  with venus there is a need to look at and deal with the reality of finances, love relationships and other heart-connections we have.  with neptune soon to enter pisces and chiron already there- there can be a tendency to want to see the world with rose colored glasses.  the whole law of attraction, speak only positive, create your own reality belief system has a lot of good points- but it is ungrounded and imbalanced if we cannot take in reality as it is.  it is only by seeing things as they are that we can envision how they can be.  it’s all about a balance of yin and yang, dark and light, reality and idealism.  working on finding this balance over the coming months is key.  anything not in integrity is going to come up for review.  restructuring is a possibility- but so is letting something go altogether.  rather than stay attached to what you want- tune into what you need.  align your ego with your Soul and make choices from that place.

saturn also opposes stationary jupiter in taurus, trines neptune in aquarius and trines chiron in pisces- showing the need to find balance between practicality and faith, the material world and the spiritual world.  the trine to neptune and chiron gives us support in finding this balance and an ability to experience deep healing- but we have to work for it.  going too far in either extreme can create problems down the line.  the ascension so many are talking about could equally be called descension.  we need to bring body and Spirit together!  we are not going to escape the reality we have not even begun to master.  that would be too easy.  we need to deal with our karma, find our integrity and integrate all the polarities we see in the world- which are essentially mirroring what we polarize within.

did you know that the word apocalypse literally means ‘lifting of the veil’?  yes we are heading into an apocalypse, but it’s not about destruction- its about revelation and seeing the Truth.  this is going to happen globally and collectively- and it is also going to happen personally.  if you start doing your personal work around seeing Truth in yourself and the situations in your life- you will contribute to the collective’s ability to do this work as it arises in the next several years.  there is something called a tipping point- all we need is a certain amount of people to be awake and in their integrity for the rest of the world to catch that wave and have it sweep over the entire planet.  this is possible- and it all starts with each of us as individuals.  we cannot expect the world, the government, the 1%, etc… to take responsibility and own their shadow if we won’t do it ourselves- now can we?

the other major feature in the solstice chart is the plethora of aspects to the nodes of destiny and karma.  the true north node is at 14’16 sagittarius- just minutes away from an exact conjunction with the great attractor.  for more detailed info about this point read my previous astrology blogs or google it- but in short it is like the galactic center of many galaxies/Universes, and it is a point we are all rapidly moving towards.  symbolically it is an major evolutionary point in the zodiac and with the north node of growth and evolution aligned with it- it shows rapid shifts in consciousness and awareness are possible now!

the aspects to the north node are quite dynamic and most of them are tense.  the north node is aspected by mercury, venus, mars, jupiter and saturn- all of the personal and social planets.  this shows a need to radically shift and readjust our personal and social reality- if we are to get into alignment with the evolution and change that is part of our destiny.  part of why people are not making the shift is because they are overwhelmed by all that has to dramatically change in their lives.  it can seem like there is too much to change, and even though the foundation at present is out of integrity- it can seem much easier to stick with what is.  yet we are now coming to a time where that out of integrity foundation has become toxic and destructive.  there is no other way. we have gotten ourselves to a point where we either evolve or die (metaphorically for sure- at times even literally).  the north node in the solstice chart points to this need- and making it a focus over the coming 3 months is highly recommended!

this solstice is one for the books.  as we move into 2012- a year of dynamic awakening, change, death and rebirth- we can tune into the energies of the winter solstice, align with them and work with them.  for the good of ourselves- and for the good of all!

happy solstice my friends :)

~divine harmony

p.s.  if you enjoyed this post and have not tried a free week trial of my subscriber service- please do!  members have access to weekly horoscopes, monthly forecast, lunar insights (upcoming christmas eve new moon will be posted in a day or two) as well as yearly forecast starting with 2012!  check it out :)

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