As I sit down to write a very long-overdue blog post for you, it’s a rainy Sunday morning here in sunny Brisbane. I’ve just wound up an online webinar that completes my teaching commitments for 2018 and finally, I can breathe.
In reality, I’m crazy – busy. I’m working on a massive writing project through the holidays, juggling my commitments as a Mum, an astrologer and supporting a special someone as they shift through major changes. While on paper, my diary is still choccas, I can feel the stillness.
On Saturday 22nd here in the southern hemisphere and Friday the 21st in the north, the Sun reaches the Solstice = sun standing still. Where I live in Australia, we reach the heights of the Sun’s summer strength, where our northern friends reach the depths of their cold, dark winter.
When I was a kid, I remember explaining to my grandfather that I didn’t like that my birthday was in the winter. He said to me that I was lucky that at least it wasn’t June 21 (it’s on the 26th) on the shortest day of the year. He explained to me the shortest and longest days, and even though I didn’t understand the mechanics at the time, the conversation struck a chord with me.
From then, I always associated my birthdays with the turning points of the year. Having a mid-year birthday, then Christmas almost exactly 6 months later, I always felt intimately connected to the Solstices. Before I knew much about astrology, in my mind, life became divided up this way.
The way I experienced joy as a child was connected to the Solstices. Celebrations, presents, food, friends and family. Time stood still then. It was about joy and being in the moment. Being thankful for what has been, yet hopeful for come what may.
While the Sun does have a very constant rate of motion, it does hold still slightly over the upcoming days. Then gradually, the days will grow longer, or shorter depending on where you are.
The Solstices represent a time to be still and celebrate the light and the life affirming forces within us and around us.
This Solstice occurs under the Full Moon in Cancer. This brings a more potent or dramatic influence to the Solstice, where emotional connections, family, friends and your clan are highlighted. Being in places or with people who nurture your soul and spirit will be important.
As the essence of the Sun at 0 Capricorn is about stillness, there is a flurry of ideas in the form of the Mercury/Jupiter conjunction at 9 degrees Sagittarius. The big picture plans you might have for 2019 have an opportunity to be discussed with friends or family. As this is the second conjunction between these two planets, the first happened during Mercury’s retrograde in late November, you might need to revisit or get clear about plans that didn’t get off the ground then.
With the stillness of the Sun, combined with the fullness of the Moon, use this time of stillness and reflection to ponder and plan the broad horizons you want to explore in the upcoming year.
As I reflect on the year that has brought so many changes and new experiences both professionally and personally, I look forward to what lies ahead in 2019.
To everybody I have connected to or shared astrology with, online, in person, client consultations, astrology conferences, exchanges on social media and in my daily round in life, I sincerely wish you all every happiness, joy and abundance that your heart desires in the year ahead.
For more insights about the Solstice and the upcoming astro weather, you might enjoy a new podcast featuring yours truly and my dearest friends in astro-action and in life, Kelly Surtees and Alicia Yusuf, otherwise known as The Water Trio.
My very first e-book, featuring your horoscope for 2019 is available!!!! All 12 signs, including topics such as love, career, wealth and more are all featured!
You can get your copy here!
