The Winter Solstice arrives at 5:23pm EST on Friday December 21st. This marks the longest night of the year and the Sun’s entrance into earth sign Capricorn. In some ways the energy of Capricorn and the vibe of the winter solstice do not mix. Capricorn is all things business – career, life purpose, goals, structure and foundation, public life, reputation and paternal archetypes – areas that are associated with the masculine. These things are great things to focus on at the end and beginning of a calendar year. The beginning of a calendar year always seems to encourage us to tighten up on things (like making New Year’s resolutions, setting intentions, being more thoughtful about processes and procedures and making goals for the year ahead.)
The function of Capricorn and its ruling planet Saturn is to make sure that you’re living out your life’s purpose. It represents the action part of manifestation – doing the footwork, backing up your wishes and goals with concrete action. Capricorn and Saturn are serious in tone and send the message that magic only happens with your cooperation. It can be difficult to really dive into this energy when it’s paired with such a yin/feminine phenomenon – the Winter Solstice. Even the word “IN” is found within WINTER. It’s a time to go inward and rest. The Winter Solstice brings with it maximum darkness. The Sun (the core of your personality in astrology) is muted and takes a bit of a backseat. The Winter Solstice is about slowing down, hibernating, “rest and digest,” and allowing the seeds some time to germinate in the fertile darkness. A lot of inner work is being done but you can’t see it on the outside yet.
Interestingly the light begins to return, albeit gradually, from this day forward. This is simultaneously a time for celebration – looking forward to the light returning and honoring both phases – the light and the dark. We’ve taken the elevator to the bottom floor and there’s only one direction to go in from here. The Solstice is book-ended with the Full Moon in Cancer just one day later. The relationship between Cancer and Capricorn will come up throughout 2019 as the next set of solar and lunar eclipses fall in these two signs. Stay tuned for my next blog post dedicated to the Full Moon tomorrow.
