The June 21, 2022 Solstice with more insights HERE

Our zeitgeist whispers that the planet is alive;
that spirituality is based far more in the body and the earth
than we’ve conceived in centuries;
and that to sustain ourselves,
we must live more simply, more cooperatively,
and bend our energy technologies to tap directly Sun’s power.
.
~Sun Stories Tales from Around the World to Illuminate the Days and Nights of Our Lives
by Carolyn McVickar Edwards

Note: Zeitgeist refers the prevalent ideas of the time and place as well as the spirit of the times we are living.

The Solstices occur when the Sun is rising either at its southern or northern extreme. When the Sun rises at its southern extreme in the Northern Hemisphere we have Winter Solstice or the longest night and the shortest day. When the Sun rises at its northern extreme we have Summer Solstice or the longest day and the shortest night. The opposite seasons are occurring in the Southern Hemisphere.

The exact moment of Solstice, or when the Sun enters Zero Capricorn was on December 20 or 21 up until 1697. Since 1702 the December Solstice has been on December 21 or December 22. In 2080 the Solstice will occur on December 20 due to the slight shift that happens over time.

4 minute visual explanation of the
December Solstice from 2010

The Solstice and Equinox points form the four gates or four directions of the celestial medicine wheel and are activated by the Sun in a rhythmic seasonal cycle. Solstice literally means “stand still of the Sun” meaning the Sun rises and sets at the same place on the horizon for three days appearing to stand still.

Many of our ancestors had an active and conscious relationship with these cycles and seasons, creating standing stone circles and other monuments to assist in tracking these timings for the purpose of capturing or maximizing the incoming energies activated during these seasonal shifts. Working with these seasonal gates strengthens our own relationship with the magical mysteries of the seasonal cycles between the Earth and the Sky.

The seasons marked by the Solstices, Equinoxes and Cross-Quarter points repeat themselves once each solar year. This repetition is part of our experience here on Earth, just as the Moon cycles repeat going from New to New or Full to Full or any other phase every 29.5 days.

The Solstice Sun

 The Sun at the Winter Solstice reaches an ending or death, dying to the previous yearly cycle. The Winter Solstice is marked by the longest night and the shortest day of the year. This time marks the beginning  of the Solar cycle when the days slowly begin to lengthen and the nights slowly grow shorter.

The Sun at Summer Solstice is reaching a point of fullness or the mid-point of the Solar Cycle. The Summer Solstice marks the longest day and the shortest night of the year and the turning point where the days slowly begin to shorten and the nights slowly begin to lengthen.

Both Solstices in current times find the Sun rising on  the Galactic Cross, where the Milky Way (the plane of the Galaxy) and the Ecliptic (the path the planets travel and plane of our Solar System) intersect forming a cross in the sky. There are two Galactic Crosses. One is near the center of our Galaxy located between the constellation of the Archer and the Scorpion. The other is at the edge of our Galaxy located between the Twins and the Bull.

This means the Sun is located on one of these crosses for at least three days during the Solstice or Stand Still of the Sun. Imagine the meaning of the Sun on the Cross for three days? In Shamanic Astrology we understand this is one of the primary factors alerting us to the current Turning of a 26,000 year cycle of time.

The Great Year or Galactic Year

Seeing Galactic Center from Side View

From a Cosmic Perspective – the current Great Year or Cosmic Year – has lasted nearly 26,000 years, suggesting we are witnesses to the end of one Great Year (or 26,000 year cycle), while also simultaneously being witness to the beginning of an entirely new 26,000 year cycle. The ending and beginning of a Great Year spans many years.

Shamanic Astrology proposes that this window of time lasts at least 72 years (from 1962 to 2034) as the processional cycle moves one degree every 72 years. This window could also be extended to last 144 years using a one degree orb on either side of the exact alignment. The dates for the 144 year window are from 1926 to 2070, using 1998 as the center point of the window. (Astronomer John Muess calculated the exact center point occurred in 1998.)

In every death or ending of a cycle, there is also a birth and a new cycle begins, a new year is born. The December Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere typically marks the end and beginning of the Solar Cycle and with this point now aligned on the Galactic Cross near Galactic Center it suggests we are also at the end and beginning of a “Great Year” or Galactic Year that lasts nearly 26,000 Earth years.

Sun at Galactic Center on December Solstice

Astronomers are finding the center of the galaxy gives off a great deal of energy and that energy greatly increases every 13,000 years when the Solstices align with the Galactic Plane. Evidence suggests every 13,000 years magnified bursts of light photons (light codes) intensify their emanations from the center of our Galaxy suggested by the layers of iridium and rhodium found in the Earth’s strata at 13,000 year intervals.

Recent findings confirm that supermassive black holes are not energized by what is falling into it but rather what is being birthed (ejected) from it birthing new smaller spiral galaxies suggesting a close correspondence between the mass of a galaxy’s core (Mother star) and its total mass.

Another thing that comes from these findings is the realization that a galactic core explosion can have a direct effect on the billions of stars populating a galaxy’s disc. It is but a small step to conclude from these observations of a galaxy 2 billion light years away, that the same occurs within our own Galaxy suggesting the core of our Galaxy causes fierce winds to blow outward through the disc of the Milky Way radially propagating cosmic rays; i.e., a superwave, that spreads out in all directions passing through our own galactic disc as well as through our Solar System. More HERE

This confirms what Russian Scientist, Alexey Dimitreiv, published in 1997 saying all the planets in our solar system are dramatically increasing signs of energetic activity including; atmospheric pressure, brightness from the Aurora Borealis, magnetic field strength and cataclysmic activity. This evidence has led scientists to speculate that our entire solar system has moved into an area of the Galaxy where this hyper-dimensional energy is much higher than usual. (More Here)

Winter Solstice is a time in the natural rhythm of the year that helps us remember the importance of endings and dying to the old, while also experiencing new beginnings and being reborn anew. 

The Summer Solstice represents a fruition point where the intent set at the Winter Solstice is fully illuminated. The warmth of the Sun, the abundance of the plants and the fruits of this time of year remind us of the fullness of life and the fullness of the light that gives us life here on Earth.

Attuning to the yearly cycle of the Sun and the mysteries of the pure life force the Sun represents through the magic and power of the light and illumination the Sun provides, is one way to consciously participate with these changing times. Without the Sun we would not have life on this planet as we know it. The Sun is essential to our existence and has much to teach us about life.

Finding ways to honor the rising or setting Sun at these significant gateways is highly recommended. This can be done in many ways either by yourself or with others including: drumming, singing, dancing, speaking prayers out loud, or simply being witness to the Sun with gratitude for the life giving light we receive every day.

Cayelin, just saying how much I like your very clear article (plus the further article it links to) about solstices and equinoxes. Clear images and so well-sequenced to explain both the seasonal movements and the Great Year. Well done! ~BT