Winter Solstice 2008

by Robert Wilkinson

Winter Solstice 2008 occurs at 4:04 am PST, 12:04 pm GMT on December 21, 2008. This is the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, and from now on the Solar force will get longer and stronger, a welcome relief for those of us who need lots of sunshine to keep our dispositions equally sunny.

Here are a few rising signs around the world. This Solstice has 23 Scorpio rising in Santa Monica (PST), while Washington DC (EST) has 25 Sagittarius rising. London (GMT) has 4 Aries on the Ascendant, while Amsterdam has 16 Aries, Istanbul has 19 Taurus, and Baghdad has 3 Gemini rising. New Delhi has 3 Cancer on the Ascendant, while Perth has 11 Cancer and Melbourne 10 Leo rising.

It is said that a chart done for the Winter Solstice gives us a picture of the next year, or at the very least a snapshot of what is to come the next 13 weeks. With Sun exactly conjunct Pluto at 1 Capricorn, I'm sure there will be major power plays and new leadership come to the fore globally. Last year's Solstice had Sun exactly conjunct Jupiter, so you may bet that this year will be the Plutonic sprouting of seeds of transformation indicated by last year's promise.

Of note is that because of the exact Sun's conjunction with Pluto it is septile Neptune, showing The Grand Irrationality as a dominant feature of 2009. As you know from other articles on this long wave phenomenon, this would indicate humanity as a whole will continue to go through major "forks in the road of destiny" this year, especially for the next 13 weeks.

Expect dramatic results whenever the Moon or any other transiting planet occupies any of the 7 "hot zones" of the Grand Irrationality. When you're done here, please visit the linked article to find where these 7 important zones are at present.

Saturn, ruler of the Sun, Mercury, Jupiter, and Pluto, as well as the stellium of Venus, Chiron, and Neptune in Aquarius, is in a very strong trine to Mercury and Jupiter while in quincunx to Neptune, biquintile to Venus, and the leading edge of a Mutable T-square with Uranus and Mars.

The trines show sound growth and development along practical lines indicating major stability from late April through early July when new dispensations will be known along with retirement from old ways. Many expectancies will have to be adjusted this year to take care of basic needs that open knowledge of what will be, and optimism is a line of productivity to be held as the metaphoric baby is being delivered.

The Mutable T-square will bring forth seed knowledge of larger cyclic processes that all will be able to see, no doubt allowing elements of the Ageless Wisdom to be known to a much wider degree than it has been up to now. It also will bring forth challenges to keep mind, body, and feelings balanced through taking time to rebuild energetically, and archetypal forms will be glimpsed through powerful (If somewhat stark) imagery that allows us to get to the essence of things apart from appearances.

The T-square is mitigated by Mercury, allowing us to coordinate forms of materializing the spiritual in our lives if we are precise in our expectancies and allow the introduction of new blood, new energy, and new strength in whatever we are undertaking through uniting with whatever appears, even if it's not as refined as what has been. Basic needs will be the focus of building and understanding, but you can bet old ideas and interpretations will be severely challenged wherever we have late Gemini in our charts.

Saturn is still at the degree of its retrograde station. The Sabian Symbol indicates this is a degree of "A Royal Coat of Arms," showing a challenge for all to embrace collective cultural values that we are willing to uphold for veneration by those who are unaware or who will follow in our footsteps in the future. It challenges us all to be willing to accept a "royal office" in some area of our life and work, and promises satisfactory spiritual attainment for those who have been learning and applying themselves on some evolutionary path up to now.

It's a Bowl Jones pattern, so expect a lot of self contained activity that offers a clear division between what we know and do not know, what we've done and the "emptiness" that demands our attention. It is said that this pattern requires a lot of humor and understanding to protect our feelings as it allows us to grow into some worthwhile embodiment of some form of value to our society.

The Bowl's leading edge is Saturn, and its closing edge is Uranus, again making this long wave ongoing opposition very powerful in the year to come. Expect more oppositions, tensions, polarizations, and challenging divisions between the old and the new, the crystalized power structures and the revolutionary pulses, as well as the surfacing of forms of new understanding and global awareness.

There will be new dedications to forms of selfless service, many will find themselves performing beyond what they ever believed they could, and many diverse causes will find their rallying points and standard bearers. Observe where the occupied sector between Virgo and Pisces falls in your charts, since those houses will be areas of intense activity for the coming 13 weeks, if not the entire year, while the unoccupied half between late Pisces and early Virgo will be the areas where we will be learning to fill in the gaps in our inner understanding or outer affairs.

The Moon is at 25 Libra in its 3rd quarter, showing that many things are ending even as we are allowed to see the higher Truths that forms conceal even as they reveal them. This is a lunar phase of institution building, so expect groups, philosophical movements, and other structures that help us all reorient and become more future oriented and inventive.

This year we are offered opportunities to embody our personal ideals and beliefs into systems. For those on a path to higher awareness, we can find ways to apply spiritual principles to practical affairs, and learn to see how these spiritual principles are at work behind broader social processes.

Because the Lunar Sabian Symbol is in a sector of the zodiac of "expiation," or dues paying, there will be many things that balance karmas on every level of society, as well as our personal lives. The productive sextile to Mars shows harmony in finding larger rhythms of pushing out futures, though some degree of tender care will be needed as per Mercury's symbol. As Mercury and Saturn are in mutual reception, this pair serves as final dispositors to every other planet in the chart. This very strong trine overall harmonizes what would otherwise be a very volatile set of patterns, what with the T-square and Sun conjunct Pluto in the Grand Irrationality.

On a final note, the Winter Solstice ushers in a season dedicated to "seeds in latency," those that will sprout in March when the light force is stronger, the ground is warmer, and Spring is on the way (at least in the Northern Hemisphere). The Solstices and Equinoxes are special points in the year cycle, marking the end of one season and the beginning of the next one. They are great for getting clear about our resolve, and what we want to see made manifest in times to come.

Whether you're in the Northern or Southern Hemisphere, there is a special ritual I do each year that yields some fairly spectacular results. I wrote about it in the article on the 2006 Winter Solstice, so if you're interested in checking out a simple but powerful thought form exercise that can show up in some interesting ways, please re-visit any Winter Solstice article since 2020.

To close, in this time of transition from the old year into the Winter of the new, take a moment to note what has left your life the past year. This created space for things to come more appropriate to your evolution and well being. Then take another moment to welcome in something better than you've known up to now, putting it up and out into the "Spiritual atmosphere" so that Divine Mother can bring it forth for you in the coming months. And if you feel like doing a Solstice ritual, whether this one or another, open to your greatest good and highest possibility of happiness, and you just may find a measure of that in the coming year.

Mahalo, Aloha, Namaskarams, Aum Namah Shivaya, and Happy New Year!

© Copyright 2008 Robert Wilkinson

Comments

[H]

Truly wonderful, thanks Robert for sharing your gift over the past year (s):-) Your information/insights/wisdom provides an anchor when all around at times appears ... well ... fuzzy for want of a word that describes the word-less!!! Want to wish you & all who are connected thru this wondrous blog much love & light over the festive period & on... Hx

[Chickie]

Your Highness

Will my 23 scorpio moon that the rising sun will be on assist my dance out of the current eye of the hurricane.

Your average car salsman:)
Chickie

[Matt]

Hello Robert,

In New York, we have 25 Sag on the Ascendant - and Mars is all of 17 minutes from being perfectly conjunct. Should those on the east coast expect an extra Martian boost if we partake in the ritual you describe?

Thanks,
Matt

[Pamela]

My ascendent is 24 scorpio. Should be interesting.

Kind regards and blessings to all. Happy Solistice.

Pamela

[Sue Moon]

Everytime I read your posts (I check every morning for new ones)I feel like I am sitting on the grassy lawn where Socrates used to teach his students. Perhaps another life. I am filled with this information today as new and breathtaking winds of change blow in my life. It is good and I am ready. My question for you this morning, dear teacher: I would like to understand the 5/27/09 26 degree exact conjunction of Neptune, Jupiter and Chiron in Aquarius. It's so close all this year and it feels so big to me, but also so crazy. I can't quite get a handle on it. It occurs in my 1st House in opposition to my 20 degree Saturn in the 7th. And if I may ask one more question: This Saturn in Virgo opposing Uranus in Pisces is another powerful pull all year long but on it's 2nd run Feb. 5, Sun/Neptune/Chiron will be in conjunction and I don't want to miss any opportunities. I have that Uranus oppositon in the 2nd and 8th Houses and I am staring at a vast universe of opportunity and not wanting to take any "side roads" any longer. Thanks Robert, you light up my world with knowledge. Namaste Great One.

[Damien]

Happy Yule!! Now only 4 years until...?

[Christine E]

Hi Robert,
I tried out the solstice ritual yesterday and I feel really good about it. It was helpful to take some time and focus my intention both on releasing the past and opening the door to better brighter futures.
Happy Holidays!
Christine

[Valerie]

Dear Robert,
Is it too late to do the winter solstice ritual... this is Christmas Eve. I'm running late with everything because of a family issue (dad having open heart surgery!) Things are crazy just like last year but I think I got a better handle on it this time.

Bless you and yours and have a wonderful holiday season. :)

[Robert]

Hi all - A Very Merry Holyday Season to you all!

Hi H - Very merry to you as well!

Hi Chickie - We're all dancing through our respective hurricanes the best we can. I'm sure you'll come out wiser and stronger.

Hi Matt - The Asc for a given place is a general trend. I don't know that a planet causes anything different when our intention is clear and our heart willing to attract/repel what is needed to fulfill the thoughtform. But there probably WILL be a Mars/Pluto quality to the next year in the larger area under that influence.

Hi Pamela - Get clear about the roles you want to play, and if you feel unclear, it's because you're into something that doesn't really interest you.

Hi Sue Moon - Thanks for the compliment, since it's a very nice thing to say to another human being. I'll be posting specifically on the Jupiter conjunct Neptune in a few weeks, and how it will impact the various signs. The current article on Jupiter in Aquarius will help offer some of the tendencies we can expect. Also remember the stellium in Aquarius is strong in eclipses past and future. I suspect your Saturn will be balanced by forces beyond its control! Be alert, and you probably won't "miss opportunities." Aum........

Hi Damien - Until we're through the mid-point of the Winter of the 21st Century.

Hi Christine - Yes, and you'll see further manifestations with each turn of the seasons.

Hi Valerie - We can always do that particular ritual. I just suggest it at the solstice since it's the beginning of a new year and a good time for doing away with the old and welcoming the new. Sorry to hear about your dad. My own just had surgery as well, and it came out better than expected. May your 2009 (and everyone else's!) be productive, abundant, healthy, and further the best in our lives and worlds. 2009 will be the year of Community building!

[Valerie]

Thanks Robert. Hope your dad will be okay. My dad had a badly calcified valve replaced and the doctor is very positive he will be back on the golf course in the spring. We are all very grateful. Today is the day of my Mars return! I have no big plans but I think something is incubating under the surface. and a happy, healthy new year to you also!

Blessings... :)

[Robert]

Hi Valerie - My dad's doing just fine for a man his age, which is somewhat remarkable in itself! Glad your dad sounds like he's doing well, and welcome to your next two years!