At the powerful Winter Solstice on Dec. 21, 2008, the Sun enters Capricorn and conjoins Pluto in the first degree of the sign. In the Northern Hemisphere we have the shortest day of the year. After the Solstice the days get gradually longer and the light starts to increase.

The conjunction of the Sun and Pluto marks a potent time of transformation and rebirth. In mythology Pluto was the god of the underworld. He is the great renewer, bringing hidden truths from depths to the surface and into the light.

The Solstices are times when the Sun, in its apparent annual motion along the Ecliptic, reaches its most northern and southern points. At the Winter Solstice, the Sun is at its southern extreme. It is winter in the Northern Hemisphere and summer in the Southern Hemisphere. The Winter Solstice takes place around Dec. 22 each year.

In the honor of Pluto I am linking Charles Tait’s Maeshowe Winter Solstice page, on which the last rays of the setting midwinter Sun are streamed live on the internet from a Neolithic tomb in Orkney, Scotland.

Maeshowe was built about 5000 years ago in the Neolithic period. It was constructed with great care and aligned so that at the Winter Solstice a beam of light shines through the entrance and along the corridor, illuminating the back wall of the chamber for a few minutes.

The Vikings stopped by during the 12th century and sheltered in Maeshowe. They carved a series of runic inscriptions on the stone walls of the chamber. They left here the largest collection of runes anywhere in the world.

The original usage of Maeshowe remains uncertain. The place gives an idea of a temple. The cycles of nature played important role for the pagans, so it is possible that people used to gather in the tomb for midwinter ceremonies.

The average age of a human at the time was extremely low, and the connection to the dead was cherished to gain continuity. Tombs established a passage to the underworld. Archeologists have suggested that people possibly believed that in Maeshowe their ancestors were aiding to restore the light and break the back of the winter.

To the readers around the world, I want to wish you a happy Solstice!

References:

Wikipedia
Maeshowe Winter Solstice Sunset

By Kirsti Melto

The Sun reaches its most northern point around June 21 each year. This is when it is crossing the first degree of Cancer, one of the cardinal points. The word solstice means to stand still, but a lot is going on in the sky at the moment.

Only a couple of days ago we had a magnificent Full Moon in the late degrees of Sagittarius. The Moon was conjunct Pluto and the Galactic Core. The next day, Mercury made its direct station in Gemini. Mercury will be in the echo phase over the next couple of weeks, traveling through the mid degrees of Gemini for the third time. The Sun makes an opposition to Pluto about four hours before ingressing into Cancer.

The Sun, Venus, Ceres and Cyllarus have remained in conjunction around the first degree of Cancer and opposite Pluto. Venus sextiles Saturn. The Moon is now in Capricorn in wide conjunction with Jupiter, the ruler of Sagittarius. The Moon squares Vesta in Aries. Mars in Leo opposes Chiron and Neptune on the North Node of the Moon.

Uranus is very tightly opposite cubewano 2005 FY9 in Virgo. 2005 FY9 is a big Kuiper belt object, one of the three bright objects whose existence was announced in July 2005. The two other bodies were Eris and 2003 EL61. The discoverer Mike Brown and his team have nicknamed 2005 FY9 as “Easter bunny.”

2005 FY9 is a classical Kuiper belt object. Its size is about three-quarters the size of Pluto. It is the third larges Kuiper belt object after Eris and Pluto, and the second brightest Kuiper belt object after Pluto. The orbital period is 308 years, so it is orbiting the Sun a little farther than Pluto. Like Pluto’s, its orbit is somewhat eccentric and highly inclined. It is sometimes referred as “a Pluto twin”, because it is very similar to Pluto, having its surface covered in frozen methane, and possibly also having a thin atmosphere, like Pluto.

Uranus and 2005 FY9 are both occupying 22+ degrees of the signs that they are residing at the moment, Pisces and Virgo, respectively. They have been traveling in conjunction within one-degree orb since May. Uranus is going to station retrograde at the end of June, while 2005 FY9 goes on in direct motion, so they don’t quite reach the exact opposition aspect this time. The exact opposition is going to take place in April 2009.

2005 FY9 is not yet named by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), but we can expect to hear about the naming any day now. This is due to the IAU’s decision last week to name bright, Pluto-like dwarf planets as plutoids. There are two plutoids named at the moment: Pluto and Eris. The two other objects fitting in the category are 2005 FY9 and 2003 EL61. According to the current naming rules of the IAU, 2005 FY9 will receive a permanent name after a creation deity.

One of the attributes of Uranus is suddenness. People have been waiting for the naming of this new, quite big and bright object 2005 FY9, and nothing has happened. Now there is this very accurate aspect between Uranus and 2005 FY9 in the skies. Also the IAU announced the naming of a new category as plutoids, which came as a surprise even to researchers and discoverers of these new objects. The IAU’s decision now also enables the naming of 2005 FY9.

The fact that astronomers found a planet bigger than Pluto, which led to the demotion of Pluto, and the naming of Eris about two years ago, has left 2005 FY9 for less attention. 2005 FY9 is a notable member of the new solar system, and now it is a high time to give it some heed it deserves.

By Kirsti Melto and Eric Francis

Capricorn solstice — December 22, 2007, 06:08 UT

SOLSTICES ARE TIMES when the Sun in its apparent annual motion along the ecliptic reaches its northern and southern extremes. Astrology at the time of a solstice or equinox (the midpoints between the solstices) are often used as predictive tools by astrologers.

The Sun reaches its most southern point around Dec. 22 each year. This is when the Sun “stands still” at the first degree of Capricorn, hence the term sol (Sun) stice (still, as in stasis). The Sun is crossing one of the cardinal points (also known as the four directions, which are the first degrees of Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn). The cardinal points are highly sensitive, all directly related to one another. They tend to arrive with the message that the personal is political. Planetary events near these points tend to connect us to the larger events and movements in society around us.

The current solstice chart looks noteworthy, accented by many points collecting around the first degree of Capricorn. There is not just the Sun there, but also Jupiter in the same degree, and Mercury and Pluto very close by, too. Pluto is still near the Galactic Core and the Sun and Mercury passed the point only some days earlier. Jupiter entered Capricorn Wed. night, Dec. 18. Mercury entered Capricorn on Dec. 20, and the exact Sun-Pluto conjunction occurs on Fri., Dec. 21. The quadruple conjunction of these planets suggests that something we will all notice is about to happen, a total rebirth or transformation.

True, this is happening all the time, but some times we notice more than others. The involvement of so many planets in a cardinal sign suggests that some pioneering work is going to arise, something that we all are going to notice; the involvement of Capricorn points to government or a large corporation, and the movement in Pluto into Capricorn talks about a restructuring of some kind in any event. When Chiron reached this point in late 2001, we saw massive corporate restructuring and many scandals were revealed.

Sun-Mercury-Jupiter conjunction also squares the Centaur planet Bienor, “the Strong One,” currently in the late degrees of Pisces. Bienor will be arriving in Aries soon enough and will be in a square aspect to Pluto through 2008.

Retrograding Mars in Cancer is also in the aspect structure. It will soon make exact oppositions to Mercury and Jupiter, and then the Sun and finally Pluto. Mars is acting both as a counter-balance in this equation and as a kind of protagonist. But Mars is retrograde in a receptive, emotional sign: it’s not likely making its presence known unless provoked, which would not be that difficult.

The Moon in early Gemini squares Saturn, which stationed retrograde in Virgo on Dec. 19. The Moon opposes asteroid Juno, the queen of the gods who was known for her jealousy, and the Centaur planet Hylonome, which has associations with grief, healing of unnecessary grief, and mass appeal.

Mercury, the planet of all communication, forms a very close novile (40 degrees, division of the circle by 9) to Chiron, who in mythology was a great teacher. The novile series of aspects are related to trines and sextiles, and they are said to be related to the Nine Muses, who offer their inspiration in the arts and sciences.

Venus in Scorpio squares Neptune and opposes Sedna, the goddess of the frozen waters. In this T-square we have two watery planets, Neptune and Sedna, and two goddesses of abundance, Venus and Sedna, aspecting each other. Venus is reminding us to keep our hearts open and to be compassionate, and in Scorpio on any theme associated with Venus: love, eroticism, or materialism. Square Neptune, we have the potential for unrealistic feelings and wishy-washy values slipping in. Those would be the presence of values we don’t really hold, or some form of self-deception.

The theme of universal love is repeated in the conjunction of asteroid Amor and Uranus in Pisces. The North Node of the Moon has recently entered Aquarius, the sign of universal brotherhood. Venus is also trining Varuna, “the great equalizer,” another water god.

In one of the cardinal points in the early degrees of Libra we have asteroid Photographica, which deals with all things photographic and photogenic, often manifesting in a literal way.

In Aries asteroid Hephaistos is in tight conjunction with Eris and 1992 QB1. In Greek mythology Hephaistos was the god of technology, blacksmiths, craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metals and metallurgy, and fire. His Roman equivalent was Vulcan, husband of Venus.

What exactly this chart is heralding remains to be seen.

Full Moon in Cancer — December 24, 2007, 01:16 UT

The Full Moon in Cancer occurs in the early hours of Christmas Eve. Now also the Moon is occupying one of the cardinal points. The chart is having a strong Aries Point flavor.

The Moon has entered Cancer a couple of hours before midnight (UT) and is conjunct Mars. Not much else has changed in the two days since the solstice. In Virgo two binary Kuiper belt objects have stationed retrograde meanwhile, Typhon and Logos.

The solstices are the times when the Sun in its apparent annual motion along the ecliptic reaches its most northern and southern points. The Sun reaches its most northern point around June 21st each year. This is when the Sun stands at the first point of Cancer.

The Sun opposes Pluto in Sagittarius and asteroid 1181 Lilith in the first degree of Capricorn. Eric Francis says that Lilith is extremely helpful because it tells you about the original woman inside the woman: “It is her deeper idea of herself and, in the chart of a man, his deeper idea of what a woman is, and how he relates to her. Lilith can also represent the crisis that ‘being the real me’ brings into the lives of both women and men.”

The Sun forms a sesquisquare aspect to Chiron in Aquarius, a sextile to Asbolus in Aries, a septile to Saturn, a semisquare to Venus, and a novile to Sedna in Taurus. The Sun squares asteroid 1221 Amor, which is approaching the Aries Point in the late degrees of Pisces. Amor is the asteroid related to unconditional love.

The Moon in Virgo and Mercury in Cancer are in mutual reception. The Moon is in conjunction with cubewano 2005 FY9 at 21+ degrees Virgo. 2005 FY9 is currently holding the apex position in a Yod formation (150-150-60 degrees) which is formed by Eris and 1992 QB1 in Aries, 2005 FY9 in Virgo and Neptune in Aquarius. This Yod took shape already in April and will hold till late July. Now the Moon is occupying the same degree as 2005 FY9, triggering the pattern, and offering the energies a release.

2005 FY9, not yet named, is one of the three bright objects whose existence was announced in July 2005. The two other bodies are Eris and 2003 EL61.

1992 QB1 was the first object which was discovered beyond Pluto. Its discovery position was the first degree of Aries, the Aries Point. 1992 QB1 has not yet been named either. Eric Francis has proposed Radharani, after the consort of Lord Krishna. He writes: “Radharani in conjunction with Eris would seem to represent a factor that restores our sense of sanity in clearly insane times; that bridges us with the cosmos in a time when we have no tangible model of the cosmos.”

The Moon opposes the Uranus-Pallas conjunction, trines Sedna, semisextiles Saturn and conjuncts Logos. The Moon forms also some very accurate minor aspects: a biquintile to Chiron, biseptile to Chaos, quintile to Pholus and semisextile to Echeclus.

Mercury forms a quintile to Mars-Asbolus conjunction in Aries and to 2005 FY9 in Virgo. Pholus quintiles 2005 FY9. Mercury = Moon/Mars = Mars/2005 FY9. 2005 FY9 = Mercury/Pholus. I quote Eric: “A midpoint is a kind of aspect that has no specific number of degrees attached to it; rather, it is a point located halfway between two planets. Sometimes there are planets we find at the midpoint; sometimes there is just ’empty space’ that sits there waiting for a transit or progression to come along and call our attention to it.”

Venus opposes Chiron. Venus is trining Jupiter, Ixion and Quaoar in Sagittarius. Venus sextiles Juno in Libra and septiles Cyllarus in Gemini. Juno = Venus/Jupiter.

Mars is applying to a conjunction to Asbolus. Mars is forming a Grand Fire Trine with Pluto and Orcus. Mars quintiles Chiron, noviles Chaos and biquintiles 2005 FY9.

Jupiter sesquisquares Asbolus, sextiles Juno in Libra, and sextiles also Nessus and Chiron in Aquarius.

Saturn opposes Neptune and trines the conjunction of Eris and 1992 QB1. Saturn and Neptune square Sedna. Saturn sextiles Cyllarus and Echeclus, and septiles Juno. Neptune sextiles Eris. Echeclus opposes Eris.

Pallas-Uranus conjunction is trine Varuna, square Quaoar and sextile Sedna.

Chaos in Gemini squares the lunar nodes. According to Eric, “if a planet is square the nodes, then one will not be able to deal with the nodes until they first address the concerns, issues or themes of that planet.”

Eris = 21 Aries 30
2005 FY9 = 21 Virgo 44