Spirit at the Crossings IV
Winter Solstice 2014
Tradition and Progress Kiss Under the Mistletoe
Joyce Mason
The Winter Season
Joyce Mason
Winter Solstice opens a deeply mystical time for much of humanity. It’s the prelude to a season where more loving kindness blesses the world. The winter holidays are diverse and rich in symbolism. Celebrating the Winter Solstice goes back as far as our earliest spiritual traditions of Sun worship. (See Celebrating Winter Solstice for a fascinating summary of the ways people have celebrated this Crossing over time.)
In essence, Winter Solstice represents an internal and figurative battle of Light and Dark, not unlike the Jedi Knights fighting Darth Vader in Star Wars. It’s usually more subtle than black-and-white and light sabers. The longest night of the year is a time to go deep inside yourself. Be willing to face the dark night of the soul in exchange for the reliability of the Sun’s return to its full glory come spring. Winter Solstice is a turning point, as are all the solstices and equinoxes. We touch the darkest night only to have light begin to build up again as the days grow longer from then on. This is a gentle reminder that the dark night and fearless examination of self are meant to be a place we visit, learn from and then move on—not a permanent residence. When we linger there too long, we invite depression, a malady more common in winter and sparse light.
The Spirit of this Crossing is joining, endings, and introspection.
It’s the cusp of a rest period. Winter replenishes the soul.
This Winter’s Sky
Winter arrives on December 21st this year at 3:03 PM on the US West Coast. Check HERE for your solstice moment, if you live in a different time zone. If you’re in the Southern Hemisphere, Happy Spring and new beginnings! For the majority of readers who live “up North” (fits right in with Santa), here are some highlights as we welcome the season of love and generosity but also of quiet, self-reflection and rest. Here’s a share on ways to wish everyone Merry, while respecting the many traditions held by various spiritual paths, celebrated this time of year: “Happy Holidays,” Another Kind of Peace Sign.
Now onto the special sky hints twinkling in this year’s Winter Solstice sky.
Holy Cap!
Winter welcomes us with a four-planet stellium in Capricorn, five if we include the asteroid Vesta (and I definitely think we should consider her). Mingling closely with Vesta are the Sun, Mercury, Pluto and Venus. This quintet sings “Tradition” as loudly as Tevye and his fellow villagers in Fiddler on the Roof. The plot of this musical is about a Jewish milkman, Tevye—a simple man. The action revolves around the customs in the tiny Russian town of Anatevka. It’s 1905, and life there is as precarious as a “fiddler on the roof,” yet, through their traditions, the villagers endure. [1] However, what Tevye and the villagers must learn is that they can’t completely fight progress—that some changes are good in the end, even if not during the adjustment. “Progress” in the winter Astro profile is represented by Uranus, squaring the lot of the Capricorn singers. Vesta in the center of the Caps reminds us of the importance of home and hearth, whether the hearth is literal or figurative. Someone has to hold the fire for the family constellation—the family of friends and humanity, too.
This holiday season; seize the opportunity to round out the edges of any familial old fogeyism by gently sharing more progressive ideas, should the opportunity come up, assuming you’re Uranus in your own family’s version of Fiddler.
Squares don’t have to mean squaring off—they often simply apply the pressure needed to resolve the disconnect between two different energies. (Remember, even a kiss is created by lips pressing or the pressure of two different entities meeting in a tender moment.) Conversely, if you play Capricorn in a house full of unicorns, share the value of traditions and rituals and how they bind us to one another, indeed to our ancestors. In fact, why not watch Fiddler together as a family? See what it evokes besides a Sing Along with Tevye? Who can resist such music? And who cares if it’s not exactly a Christmas, Solstice, Kwanzaa or even a Chanukah flick for that matter. It’s all about family and generosity of heart and how love changes minds. What could spell winter holidays better?
Aside from its family applications, the tradition versus progress theme and the tension between the old and new will be present in many other aspects of collective life: how we think/communicate (Mercury), how we transform or begin again (Pluto) and how we love and find beauty (Venus).
Sag Moon at Galactic Center. With Moon in the generous, fun-loving, sign of Sagittarius, the cusp of winter has a lot of ho-ho-ho, gifts and potential for the kind of learning that embraces a broad viewpoint. (This complements the idea that different generations and divergent believers can come together to see a View from on High his holiday season.) Winter Solstice just precedes a New Moon. New beginnings are on tap, even while the calendar year winds down. A philosophical Archer Moon offers potential for a bulls-eye in breaking through emotional barriers to common ground, offering support to the Uranus-in-Aries square with the Capricorn planets. Chiron’s purpose, represented by its orbit between Saturn and Uranus, is to mitigate that Old/New standoff. Chiron’s position at the Solstice is in a friendly sextile with Venus and Pluto, helping love transform and heal all rifts (one of Chiron’s other main jobs).
Mars in Aquarius. Uranus has an ally while playing Progress this Solstice season. Mars is in the sign Uranus rules, Aquarius, and the two in close sextile are able to stand up to twice as many planets in Capricorn “ganging up on them” on the side of Sameness. Look for opportunities to mix things up, especially in matters of the heart. You can also be the change, offering unusual and unique gifts to loved ones and by suggesting or trying new traditions that take a more modern spin on old faves. Borrowing from customs other than your own, too, is supported by that expansive Solstice Sag Moon.
Jupiter trine Moon. Fanning the Sag Moon flames is more fire from Jupiter in Leo. It’s retrograde in the Solstice chart, a more subtle expression. Holiday interactions might lead to blessings not obvious in the moment that may expand and prosper all involved over time. You may feel the urge toward a lot of introspection about your beliefs, which fits winter’s call to go within. Jupiter in Leo asks, How do I bless others by expressing my true Spirit?
Saturn in Sagittarius. Just two days after the Winter Solstice, Saturn moves into Sag on Dec. 23rd. My favorite pairings of keywords about this change is Getting Serious about Fun! (Conversely, it’s a time to have fun with serious subjects.) Also up to bat, this transit favors more structure and building blocks on these topics: learning, travel and spirituality or worldview.
Winter Rituals
In over 25 years of doing winter rituals, three components have evolved as “keepers.” They are the Ceremony of Appreciation, Burning the Old, and a group Candlelighting. There are other, supportive pieces worked into these celebrations, including winter-related readings, drawing an oracle for seasonal guidance, meditations, prayers, chants and songs. To create your own ceremonies, the Internet is an amazing source of ideas and inspiration. The key themes are the dance of light and dark, appreciating our gains and growth, and finally, being willing to let go of what no longer serves us.
Here’s more on how the main rituals work:
Ceremony of Appreciation. This ritual grew out of Burning the Old and now always precedes it. We are usually clear on what we want or need to let go of, but many of us are not good at acknowledging how far we’ve already come or how much we’ve grown. This is a list of milestones or things we’re proud of accomplishing since last winter solstice. What a wonderful complement self-appreciation is to burning what no longer serves. The latter often feels like “what we haven’t done” for ourselves, while the self-appreciation ceremony helps us start with acknowledging our triumphs and strengths first.
Burning the Old. Participants write on slips of paper things they want to get rid of in their lives, whether it’s 25 extra pounds, over-reacting to their spouse or an old anger that still seethes. Some women write a long time and are rabid about burning their papers to a crisp in the fireplace. Others seem to only have a few burdens they release to transformation. It is a beloved part of our winter rituals.
Candlelighting. I was first introduced to this idea at my local Unity church in the 1980s. Each person takes a taper from a basket. The leader lights her candle from one on the altar, then we pass the light, one to another. This, of course, has poetic significance. We are always passing and sharing our light. When everyone is “lit,” we raise our candles above our heads to see how our combined lights illumine the room—indeed the world. It’s a visual prayer and thank-you for the role light plays in our lives and its constant interplay with darkness. At the end, we blow our candles and return our light to within us, to our hearts where it’s always available for sharing.
Every blessing for a joyful Solstice, Winter Holiday Season and Happy New Year. I have loved spending this year with you at the Cardinal Crossings.
© 2014 by Joyce Mason
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Notes:
[1] Photo Credit: © Eireann – Fotolia.com
[2] Thanks to Utah Shakespeare Festival for this plot synopsis: http://www.bard.org/education/studyguides/Fiddler/fiddlersyn.html#.VHN9AMmDySo
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