Dear Readers,
Happy Solstice!
I thought I’d drop you a quick line about the current astrology before things get too crazy in the next few days.
Last night I joined some friends for a solstice ceremony. We each took a turn walking an evergreen spiral with an unlit candle toward a central flame, lighting our candle and returning carrying the light. We entered the spiral carrying our burdens and left behind that which was complete or no longer had a place in our lives. As we retraced our steps, we carried only new light.
This evening, I’m writing under a fire Moon in Aries perfectly trine the fire Sun in Sagittarius. Within the next couple hours, before you read this, the Sun will pass through the solstice portal, the moment when the Sun stands still in the sky between the lengthening days of sacred darkness and the return of the glorious light. What we celebrate this night is both the darkness and the rebirth of the Sun; the light and fire that brings life to Earth. The Sun and Moon are both at 29°, ready to step over into earth signs, Capricorn and Taurus respectively.
Mercury is sitting at 1° Capricorn, already going through the death and rebirth process in the heat of the Sun’s fire, ready to pass through the heart of the Sun (cazimi) tomorrow morning as it crosses back into fiery Sagittarius.
As noted by another astrologer1, the fire here can be seen as a symbol and mandate of and for transformation. We must be willing to walk through the flames of our old passions and allow the impurities to be burned away. The fire will light our way and consume all that no longer brings life. The way I see it, we all carry around dreams and desires that have nourished and inspired us but are no longer viable. As the Sun and Mercury moved through Sagittarius perhaps we’ve become inspired by new ideas or new dreams, but if we hope to bring these to fruition, we’ll first have to release the old ones. Grieving is fire work. Feeling all the feelings that come when dreams die can feel like being burned alive. On the other side of the conflagration however, the phoenix promises new life.
Mercury, still retrograde, symbolizing our thought processes and communications is showing the way. When we leave behind our old ways of thinking and communicating our lives change. As Mercury crosses back into Sagittarius, there’s room for new inspiration. Now is the time to keep an ear and an eye open for new ideas looking for a home for us to nurture and grow through the next Mercury cycle.
Capricorn and Taurus are interested in making things real—in the practical and tangible. With the Sun and Moon here, we are asked to focus on what’s doable. We emerge from the blaze with new vitality, then Capricorn demands that we work toward whatever ideas, dreams and goals have survived the fire responsibly, with a plan and the appropriate tools.
The Sun crossing into Capricorn not only speaks to the moment, but it sets the tone for the next three months. At this time, unsurprisingly considering all that’s going on in the world, it’s a bit of a mixed bag. I won’t go too far into the nitty gritty because I imagine that you, dear readers, are likely to have other things on your mind than astrological details this close to Christmas. Suffice to say that we have some ease and joy balanced by the potential for fiery dogmatism, confusion, delusion and deception. You may recognize some of these as Neptunian words, and indeed Neptune is still a major player in the current astrology.
This year, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are graced with a beautiful Venus-Neptune trine which portends love, forgiveness, kindness and generosity. This is a very idealistic combination, so strong that we might not care about whether what we’re feeling is real or imagined. The old-fashioned word “glamour”, as in a magic spell comes to mind.
The messy part is between Mercury, Mars and Neptune. Retrograde Mercury is already known for communication issues so when we add the tendency to righteousness of planets in Sagittarius, speediness of Mars, and Neptune’s propensity for confusing things, the chances of opinionated tirades or foot in mouth disease are high. I might wear a string around my finger reminding me to pause before my Gemini mouth, taking a cue from the Gemini Moon in the sky, gets going. But in general, we’re likely to be busy, feeling sociable, and flexible around the 24th and 25th.
On the 26th, we have a Full Moon in Cancer, the sign most associated with home, family and memories. It is a Full Moon, and emotions are likely to be running high, but it’s a nurturing Moon, interested in safety, feeding and caring. A small gathering of family and friends could be just the thing. Jupiter is lending a hand here, bringing optimism and faith, expansive feelings and the warm nurturing vibes of this Cancer Moon. If Jupiter brings “plenty” then we should be feeling rich with love. Balancing The Moon in Cancer however, is the Sun in Capricorn, which won’t let us float off into dreamland. The practical realities of life remain present in our awareness. And… we still want to be careful that our mouths don’t get ahead of our hearts and minds. Neptune continues to mix it up with Mercury and Mars and we don’t want harsh words to spoil the vibe.
At the Full Moon, Chiron turns direct, perhaps bringing ancestral or family healing. In brief, Chiron’s mythology is that he was wounded twice in ways that would never heal, yet he became the mentor and teacher to many heroes of the ancient world. The idea is that the way or ways in which we feel damaged, ashamed or inadequate become the doorway to our healing gifts and capacities. Perhaps we will have moments when we revisit formerly painful memories that no longer hurt us and thus have the power to heal relationships. Our lives are our own. We don’t have to fall into the old emotionally fraught patterns we may have experienced in old family dynamics, and this is freedom.
This morning, I awakened to find a poem sent to me by a dear friend in honor of the solstice. It brought me around to another by the same poet that speaks to darkness and that I thought put much of what I’ve been feeling about the astrology of this time into different words.
Blessing for the Longest Night
All throughout these months
as the shadows
have lengthened,
this blessing has been
gathering itself,
making ready,
preparing for
this night.It has practiced
walking in the dark,
traveling with
its eyes closed,
feeling its way
by memory
by touch
by the pull of the moon
even as it wanes.So believe me
when I tell you
this blessing will
reach you
even if you
have not light enough
to read it;
it will find you
even though you cannot
see it coming.You will know
the moment of its
arriving
by your release
of the breath
you have held
so long;
a loosening
of the clenching
in your hands,
of the clutch
around your heart;
a thinning
of the darkness
that had drawn itself
around you.This blessing
does not mean
to take the night away
but it knows
its hidden roads,
knows the resting spots
along the path,
knows what it means
to travel
in the company
of a friend.So when
this blessing comes,
take its hand.
Get up.
Set out on the road
you cannot see.This is the night
when you can trust
that any direction
you go,
you will be walking
toward the dawn.
—Jan Richardson2
This fall, I’ve had the pleasure of consulting with some of my readers. It’s such a treat to put names and faces to the email addresses on my list. If you’d like to begin 2023 with a better understanding of yourself or what the year might hold for you, I’d be delighted to serve as your guide to the current astrology and how it relates to you personally. 2024 promises to be a big year astrologically and I love doing private consultations.
If interested, please email me: camelliablossoms@gmail.com
@Emmijen, X post, 7:05am, Dec 20, 2023 https://twitter.com/Emmijen/status/1737489410554274231
Peaadmin. (2017, December 24). Blessing for the Longest Night by Jan Richardson | Free for all. https://www.peabodylibrary.org/freeforall/?p=9222