We have arrived at the depth of Winter. On December 21st, the Sun will reach the Tropic of Capricorn, the lowest point in the Sun's journey south of the equator. And it will stay there for 3 days as the 'sun stands still' before it begins its journey back North for the year. For those of you who live in the southern hemisphere, Happy Summer Solstice! It's the marriage of heaven and Earth for you.
We celebrate the Winter Solstice as a festival of the Rebirth of the Sun, or the birth of the Divine Child of Light. The mystery of this time of year in the northern hemisphere is that in the darkest times, the Light is reborn. We have not only arrived at this yearly celebration, but we've also arrived at a collective 'dark time' and we have to re-birth our faith in life, our hopes for a better future and our determination to 'make it so' as my hero, Captain Picard would say.
Many years ago, as I watched my children grow up in an already darkening world, I wrote a Winter Solstice story about a mother who went in search of the Light, so that her children would know it and be grounded in it. That Light is the awareness of our own destiny, our inner knowing of our divinity and our responsibility to our humanity to help re-shape the world. As the mother searches for the Light, she encounters greed and selfishness, but also hope and magic. It is the magical power of the imagination which leads her to the Light at last, and it is an open-hearted love that nurtures and carries the Child of Light back into the world to share it.
That's the grace and the gift we're given each Winter Solstice. To birth and nurture the Divine Light within us, as well as to search for the Light like the Magi, the Wise Men who came with gifts for the Christ Child. What a shame if we turn away from this task! For then we spend another year imprisoned in a patriarchal worldview that wants us to stay asleep and unaware of our ability to die to the old so we can birth the future.
Search and grace will help you birth the Light.
Capricorn New Moon 2014
The Winter Solstice occurs just hours before the Capricorn New Moon. The only difference in the two charts is that the Moon is at the very end of Sagittarius for the Winter Solstice chart while the Moon meets the Sun in the very first degree of Capricorn for the New Moon. The Solstice chart gifts us with faith in the cosmic laws of the universe for this New Moon and in fact, to the whole New Year. That faith and belief is what will motivate us to become self-aware and to work toward our collective welfare.
This is a perfect time to imagine and create a new cosmic story that can shape our awareness of the possibilities before us. Leave behind the patriarchy's story of terror and fear, greed and domination. With Uranus in Aries, we can access our 'inner warrior' and reclaim the knowledge of the ancient pioneers we were in other lifetimes. If you believe that over many lifetimes our souls grow in awareness and wholeness, then we can also go within to reclaim the gifts we've developed in those lifetimes. Just the fact that we're here now, in this time and age, means that we've probably done this before. So begin your new story. It's time. The Cosmos is waiting.
Capricorn is the sign not only of our collective social institutions but also the sign where we develop our responsibility to others, our individual destiny that serves the world. As Pluto continues to move through Capricorn, our failing social structures will come down, but we need something to replace them with. Nature abhors a vacuum. And it is up to each of us to help rebuild a fair and just society. It's our responsibility.
So let us create a new story. A story about freedom and equality, peace and unity, community and abundance. Our ideas of life's purpose have to evolve. We can no longer sit in the story of rugged individualism and self-interest. The time for that story is over. Now we have to shape stories of shared interests, shared responsibilities and equal opportunities.
So on this very special New Moon, plant the seeds of a new story for our world, a new social order that actually lives up to its press. Let "Peace on Earth, Goodwill to All our relations" be the focus, theme and achievement of our new story.
The Sabian symbol for the Sun and Moon at 1* Capricorn is: An Indian chief claims power from the assembled tribe. Here is the archetypal leader, taking up the power and responsibility to claim leadership and succor the tribe in times of trouble and need. Being a leader implies staying centered, grounded and flexible, having the self-respect to live by your own authority. This is a Cosmic call to the leader within each of us.
May you find your Child of Light this Solstice season!
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