by Robert Wilkinson
In this article we’re going to cover more significant factors in the Winter Solstice chart. As I promised, this article includes a ritual I do every year at this time that helps me let go of the old and welcome the new that I want to see in the next year! Yes, it’s fun!!
First, more on the Solstice chart. This sketch will be brief, since I’ll be going into everything in detail in the New Moon chart articles. Saturn, ruler of the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Pluto, is at 30 Scorpio. Rudhyar states this degree symbolizes the “need for giving free rein to unsocial instincts within the pale of social traditions,” and “planned release of inner pressure.“ We’ll all have to figure out ways to manage stuck feelings and both internal and external pressure.
Over the next 90 days Saturn will show us how to go deeper into our faith, and act upon that. As Saturn is in Scorpio, we continue to learn a technique of deeper relationship with ourselves and our patterns to achieve a cleaner and clearer focus.
Now that we’ve paid our dues in 2011 and 2012, and gone deeper in 2013, we’ve embraced a deeper communion with life, the Earth, each other, and our Divine potential of living. Let go of all that you no longer need to bear as you remember you’re on a pilgrimage up a sacred mountain with the rest of us also walking that walk.
The Sabian Symbol for this degree is "The Halloween jester.” Dr. Marc E. Jones, creator of the Sabian Symbols, states that this symbol is one of “a proper informality in the release of the buoyant energies” by which we are refreshed, and/or are freed from living according to “some ideal beyond our potentiality.”
We are told this is a degree that encourages attempts at new ways of relating to others, and “a more genuine spiritual sensitiveness.” He says the keyword is SPONTANEOUSNESS, and when positive this degree is “a gift for making the desires and ambitions of self not only of interest but of actual value to others.”
This implies that the ruler of the Light/Life of the next 90 days is telling us to go deeper and find ways to plan the release of social energies which could turn disruptive if not managed. Here we continue the work of feeling a deeper communion with our Divine Self as well as others, and open to a newer, deeper social or emotional connectedness to enter into unknown spiritual zones.
This chart has much in common with the New Moon chart, so you can find out even more by consulting those articles. Part two will cover the current “Locomotive” and “Bucket” Jones patterns, as well as Sabian Symbols for that Lunation.
The Moon is at 29 Sagittarius, making it a Balsamic Moon at the Solstice. This phase is completely future oriented, while being aware of the influence of the past on the present. This is said to be where ideas and visions of the future are offered to others, often accompanied with a sense of sacrifice to build a future yet to come. This completes the old New Moon cycle that began at 1 Sagittarius, and kickstarts Capricorn into motion in our charts.
The Moon Sabian Symbol shows that we are all getting signs and signals about how we need to get in shape to do something of social value. Many will begin a 90 day training regimen to become more spiritually “goal fit” through “consciously built, thus dependable determination” and “persistent endeavor.”
Dr. Jones says this degree involves “refinement of selfhood” that will allow us to enter into relationship with others. Here “practical attention to the immediate needs of the individual… is the effective evidence of the broader competency.”
He continues by stating “social incentives inevitably come to overbalance the more primitive instincts and appetites.” The keyword is PARTICIPATION, and when positive this degree is “the calm efficiency which enables (us) to pour all our (ourselves) into the mastery of any situation arising to challenge (us).”
Inspiration coupled with practicality will run very high this season, and many will find a shortcut to direct penetration and success. This should be a somewhat remarkably practical season despite the preponderance of Fire. And of course, given that the Moon and Saturn are in the final degrees of their signs, it will often feel like a “before the beginning” type of energy.
We will all be given opportunities to make firm, clear, and quick decisions, which will then lead to new understanding, vision, and communications. Then we’ll have to go to the core of what we’re feeling or experiencing as a result of that knowledge or vision, so that we may make new decisions and follow through with right action. Just don’t lose touch with your feelings, since they’ll help you see and know what to do and how to do it.
Given what’s happening in this Solstice chart and the fact that all of humanity confronts choices in each individual’s “forks in the road of destiny,” I will again offer you something I’ve given you in past Solstices. It’s a few lines from my favorite song, "Two Different Roads," written by Capricorn legend and music pioneer Michael Nesmith:
You might think that I'll wait, but he who hesitates is lost, this is not just a game,
It's the problem of creation and only meditation can make your mind and age the same,
I know, 'cause this all happened once before....
So even as you move quickly to greater accomplishments and contributions, learn to look for new information so that you can figure out what you’re feeling through the process. Stay sensitive to higher visions and truths, go deeper to manage pressure you may not have known how to before now, and keep eliminating whatever you no longer need. Mercury triggering the Cardinal squares will keep us sharp as we move through the next phase of this very volatile and conflicted era, but I’ll also state (using one metaphor making the rounds) that those of us who have trained are already moving more easily through 4D and 5D reality, and so the transformation probably won’t be as jolting for some as for those who haven’t trained in spiritual practices up to now.
The collective field is becoming more dense, and we who have been striving to live in higher awareness of our Oneness and connection to All-That-Is are finally at the threshold of seeing the dawning of a new Age. It may take years or even decades to see the concretization of the New Era, the externalization of the Spiritual Fellowship of Brother and Sister Masters of the Wisdom, as well as know which part of the New Group of World Servers we’re here to work with and within, but make no mistake, the advent of the adventure in consciousness is NOW!
On a final note, in the Northern Hemisphere 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. Whether in the Northern or Southern Hemispheres, 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.
And now for the fun part!
This brings us to the ritual I mentioned at the beginning. Whether you're in the Northern or Southern Hemisphere, there is a special ceremony I do each year that yields some fairly spectacular results. This is not a very elaborate ritual, but it's very powerful in its simplicity.
The Solstices mark points of transition from an old "half year" of the Sun moving South or North (depending on where you are on the Earth) into the opposite direction. In the Spirit of this "coming or going," I first take a moment to note what has left my life the past year while saying goodbye on deepest levels. This creates space for that which is more appropriate to my evolution and well-being.
Then I make a list of everything I want to leave my life in the coming year, and A) find a disposable object associated with each thing (or person, or personal habit) I want to see leave, or B) I draw a picture that represents those things, people, or habits. Then I burn each individual picture in a fire, one at a time, while saying goodbye to each of those. (I make a duplicate list to check the next year to remind me of what I wanted to see leave.)
I also make a list of things I want to see come into my life in the coming year. I try to make it realistic, but also allow my imagination to bring forth what might be or could be, even if improbable. After all, it's supposed to be fun! I play with possibilities, and write them down, without getting hung up on specific forms. This is about content more than form.
Then I draw pictures symbolizing those things, and burn them, one by one, in a fire, welcoming in those better things than I've known up to now, putting it up and out into the "Spiritual atmosphere" so that Divine Mother can bring it forth in the coming months. I also make a duplicate list to check the next year.
Over the years I've done this ritual, I find very often that every single thing I want to leave actually does leave. And, I usually see most if not all that I want to appear show up in the following year. Even when one or both lists falls short by a thing or two, overall I've seen great progress year after year.
It's also very interesting to note how my lists have changed over the years, with some concerns falling away and new things presenting themselves according to my intention. And sometimes, when I have not received what I thought I wanted, it became clear why it wasn't good or necessary for me to have that which I thought I wanted.
So 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, thus creating space for that which is more appropriate to your evolution and well-being. 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.
As "they" say, Mahalo, Aloha, Namaskarams, Aum Namah Shivaya, Happy and Merry Solstice, Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmastide, Joyous Christ Mass, and Happy New Year!
© Copyright 2014 Robert Wilkinson
Thank you, dear Teacher, for this beautifully written lesson!
Blessings to you and yours on this most auspicious day!
Posted by: Elah | December 21, 2014 at 10:20 AM
Once again, thanks for the light and the companionship on the path we walk.
A truly good time for the evolution of humanity as a whole and for the individuals that form the brotherhood of human beings. We have a great chance, lets take it!
Blessings be to everyone
Posted by: Nic | December 21, 2014 at 11:13 AM
Robert how much of a window do I get to make these lists and ritual?
Posted by: Micheline | December 21, 2014 at 03:34 PM