Time to Be Still: Celebrating Winter Solstice
Dear Reader,
I hope this finds you well. I'm writing to you from my candle-lit kitchen, wrapped in a warm blanket and sipping warm tea. While it's raining furiously outside, I'm comforted by the memory of a sunny walk by the river the other day that felt exquisitely mystical.
How are you experiencing this time of year?
What are you noticing in your world?
The beginning of winter
The end of December features a major seasonal turning point in the solar year. At Winter Solstice, the Sun enters the sign of Capricorn in the tropical zodiac, marking the shortest day and longest night of the year and the start of winter in the Northern Hemisphere. This year, the exact Winter/Capricorn Solstice falls on December 22, 4:28 a.m. Central European Time (convert to your local time).
At the beginning of winter, the Sun (sol) is standing still (sistere) at its lowest point in the sky, rising and setting in the same place for a few days. Winter Solstice is the 'New Moon' and 'midnight' of the year when darkness is peaking. We're in the heart of the dark half of the year, and it's from this depth of darkness that new light is being born. From here on, the Sun will gradually ascend in the sky, raising its arc across the horizon and lengthening our days.
Entering stillness
At a time when the Earth is holding its breath, we're being called to pause and come into a receptive state so that we may be open to receive the gift of new light and new life from our home star. It's a time of deep contemplation, taking time to renew ourselves, and sowing seeds of intention for the new year. Whatever vision for our life we're planting into the fertile darkness at this time will stand a chance to see the light of day at Spring Equinox and be fully illuminated at Summer Solstice.
What kinds of rest and nourishment do you crave?
What would help you enter into a receptive state?
Capricorn, the Sea-Goat, is a cardinal earth sign and signifies a season of reshaping reality. Belonging to Saturn, the Elder, Capricorn promises a time of slowing down and seeking wisdom and guidance so that the reality we build will be worth living in and sustain us for generations to come. Capricorn is here to help us focus on what matters to us most and remind us that good things take time.
Are you ready to enter the portal of winter?
How are you arriving in the winter season?
What is being revealed in the dark?
What is wanting to be reborn in and through you?
What is ready to be let go of that is holding you back?
What are you ready to commit to in the new year?
You can take the questions sprinkled throughout this post on your walk or into your journal, your dreamtime, or any other kind of creative or contemplative practice. I hope they tickle you and help you weave yourself into the mysteries of winter.
What this time of year is good for:
Rituals of spiritual renewal, regeneration, rest, reset, reflection, reading, journaling, redefining priorities, reassessing commitments, meditation, contemplation, prayer, preparation, planning, nondoing, dreaming in the darkness, dropping into stillness, setting intentions, being with candles, divination, slowness, solitude, self-care, cuddling, napping
Building the new year
This year's Winter/Capricorn Solstice features a Sun-Mercury conjunction, which will perfect on December 22 at 7:55 p.m. Central European Time (convert to your local time). With Mercury, the Messenger, being in the heart of the Sun, this is an auspicious time for receiving insights and inspiration, aligning our attention with our intention, and reclaiming the power of our thoughts and words to shape reality.
Saturn, being the ruler of Capricorn, is the presiding deity of this Solstice and forming a soft sextile (a 60-degree angle) to the Sun-Mercury conjunction, helping the Sun and Mercury with Saturnian qualities of focus, devotion, and integrity.
The exalted Solstice Moon in Taurus is applying to a conjunction with Jupiter, and both are forming a flowing trine (a 120-degree angle) to the Sun-Mercury conjunction, supporting the Sun and Mercury with lunar transmission and Jupiterian qualities of enthusiasm, meaning, and purpose. If your skies are clear, look for the waxing Moon with Jupiter as night falls.
I'm really liking this chart, and I hope you'll take advantage of this auspicious time to be with yourself and your thoughts, enter deeper states of consciousness, explore unknown realms, ask deeper questions, and listen with an open heart. It might be nice to choose a word for the new year.
Horoscope for Winter Solstice on December 22, 2023 at 4:28 a.m. CET
Until next time…
I very much look forward to writing to you again around the time of Winter Cross-Quarter, which marks the peak of winter in the Northern Hemisphere and heralds a time of quiet quickening and re-emergence. It falls on February 4, 9:28 a.m. Central European Time this year (convert to your local time).
In the meantime, I'm wishing you a beautiful start of winter wherever you are. May you be blessed with renewal and wisdom in your life.