For the northern hemisphere, the Winter Solstice occurs every year on December 21st. During this period, the northern hemisphere tilts away from the Sun, with the southern hemisphere receiving the most of the Sun’s rays. After the 21st of December, the earth tilts back and the northern hemisphere regains the sunlight, towards the summer solstice. In Vedic Astronomy, this northward movement is called Uttarayana, and the southward procession is called Dakshinayana.
Historically, while there are no definite historical birth records for Jesus, the origins of tying Christmas with the winter solstice remain somewhat unclear. There are several theories presented for this. However, when we observe the natural movement of the Sun, the darkest point of the winter solstice and the next few days showing a gradual return of daylight, this does coincide symbolically with several rituals throughout many world traditions and cultures (such as Christmas and Hannukah). Symbolically, we use lights, candles, and fire to bring comfort to our hearts in renewal with family traditions and values, along with the promise that our mental, physical and spiritual goals will become fulfilled in the coming calendar year. We associate the quiet and peaceful stillness of a long, cold snowy winter night with the bliss that comes with manifesting love and joy in our hearts.
Christmas is indeed a celebration of the coming of light into our lives. It is a period of reflection, where we take time away from the hectic-ness of work, and introspect.
I invite you to take the time this holiday season, not to begrudge the trials and tribulations of the past year, but rather to reflect on the meaning of the coming of that light in the coming year. I invite you to ritualize this, in a manner that best suits your heart (by lighting candles and meditating, singing carols, or chanting mantras), and invoking the universal presence into your life. By practicing gratitude. And by sharing your loving presence with your loved ones (even if we are socially distanced at the moment). That is how we invite lasting change into the world.
This Christmas features several transformative Astrological shifts, including a solar eclipse which happened today in Sidereal Scorpio, with a new Moon in the Gandanta portion between Scorpio and Sagittarius, occurring along the galactic center. This definitely is a transition point for the world, which heralds transformation and change. The most difficult portion of this global pandemic (in terms of # of cases and deaths) is at its zenith. Although, as I prognosticated on Social Media, I suspect with the coming of medical support in the form of vaccinations, this will change with Jupiter’s ingress into Aquarius later in 2021.
We also have a very strong conjunction between Jupiter and Saturn, along with a planetary war, which you can read more about on my recent blog (if you have not done so already), which carries additional ramifications.
The main takeaway here is this: Humanity has been handed an opportunity, and the world is experiencing a major reset. Towards what? That’s where you come in.
What light do you want to manifest in 2021? What steps are you prepared to take to make that happen? What fears are you willing to release? What obstacles stand in your way, and how will you overcome them?