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Happy Holidays Everyone!

The holidays are upon us and everyone is scurrying around like mad trying to get last minute preparations completed, but I would like to take some time to review the significance of the Winter Solstice which is happening, technically, at the very moment I am writing this missive for you.  The Winter Solstice marks the day when the Sun enters 0 degrees Capricorn in the Northern Hemisphere and we associate this with the first day of winter.  Capricorn is one of four cardinal signs.  Every time the Sun enters a cardinal sign we have a change of seasons: 0 Aries is Spring, 0 Cancer is Summer, and 0 Libra is Fall.  Cardinal points are points of activation: they signal a time when a new energy needs to express itself.  The Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year, a day with more darkness than light.  This is the time of year when we need to turn inward and tend to our own subconscious needs.  The longer days of summer are a time of enjoying the outdoors, vacations, and general external involvement, but the longer nights of the winter stimulate more introspection, review, and goal setting for the upcoming year.

The ruler of Capricorn is Saturn, who is currently in Libra.  Libra is the sign that deals with relationship, balance, and harmony.  Capricorn is concerned with structure, tradition, and authority.  From now until the Sun enters the next cardinal point of Aries in March 21, our mission as defined by the solstice is to cultivate balance and harmony with respect to the authority we recognize in our lives, the traditions we honor, and the structures or habits we have created over our lifetimes.  Relationships in general will be balanced, including our relationships with ourselves.

At the time of the Solstice, the Sun is conjunct Pluto.  Pluto is the planet of evolution.  Just as fish lost their gills so that they could move onto land, Pluto always requires that we let go something in order to grow.  The loss is necessary so that we can evolve to the next higher state of our development.  Growth cannot occur without change, and Pluto is the agent of that change.   Pluto pressurizes our experience, and as the pressure increases, the weak spots in our structures begin to fail, and we experience crisis.  Usually, this crisis requires that we let go of the weak area so that it can be rebuilt anew, stronger and more in tune with our needs.  With Saturn in Libra, this will be an especially good time to identify those weak spots, because Saturn, the builder, will balance out the weak area by building it back more strongly.  Once this has happened, we will feel great, like we have a new set of internal armor able to protect us from further assault.  Of course, identifying the weak areas wont be so fun, but this pain is necessary to make us aware of the need for growth.

The day before the Solstice, Mars went retrograde in the sign of Leo.  Mars represents the animal instincts: the need to for us to create action in order to satisfy ourselves.  Mars usually spends about two months in each sign, moving through its cycle with the Sun in roughly 2 years.  Mars entered Leo on October 17th of this year, went retrograde at 19 Leo on December 20th, and will turn direct at 0 Leo on March 10th, remaining in Leo until June 6th, 2010.  Whereas Mars usually only spends 8 weeks in a sign, he will spend 31 weeks in the sign of Leo!  This is certainly significant.  When a planet is retrograde, this gives us a chance to correct something that we have done poorly — or not at all — certainly not to the best of our ability.  When direct, Mars is a warrior, but when retrograde, Mars is a guardian.  Leo rules the heart, and as such is always concerned with vitality and that which makes us feel alive and vibrant.  With Mars retrograde, the challenge is to sit still and to protect the source of our connections with Life.  When Mars is retrograde, the time is not right to pursue or to challenge.  Sitting still and protecting what makes us feel vibrant and alive will allow us to reconnect with our Source so that, when the time is right, we can move forward again with renewed strength, vigor, and clarity about what is important to us and what is not.

Of course, the fact that Mars goes retrograde in Leo at the same time that we enter winter, the time of introspection and goal setting, is very convenient.  This past year has been one of great turmoil and upset for many, many people.  Even if not directly, we have all certainly been affected indirectly by the meltdown of the economy, the shift in the financial markets, the slump in the housing markets, the governmental reforms, and emotional meltdowns of many of our friends and loved ones.  Well, Pluto has been doing his pressure checks and the weak areas have been exposed.  We are all responsible for taking care of what needs to be taken care of.  With all of this change and upheaval, it makes sense that now would be a good time to regroup, to acknowledge our losses and our weaknesses, and to reconnect with the source of our happiness and to set new goals so that when the time is ripe for action, we can move forward and continue to evolve towards our higher selves.

For even more assistance with this review, Mercury will go retrograde on December 26th.  Mercury is the messenger, and when he is retrograde, the message is for us!  Mercury will turn retrograde at 21 Capricorn and turn direct again at 5 Capricorn on January 15th, 2010.  When Mercury is retrograde, we have a second chance to do something, to correct a mistake, to adopt a new perspective.  When Mercury is retrograde, it is never a good time to begin something new, to sign contracts, or to buy big ticket items because we do not have all of the information we need to make an informed decision.  Mercury retrograde is a time to re-do, re-think, re-organize, and re-connect.  It is rare that Mercury and Mars retrograde at the same time, but the message is CLEAR: do not push, do not be aggressive, do not start anything new.  All of this retrograde activity, happening at the time of the Solstice, is designed to give us time to reconnect with our heart and the things which nourish us when nothing else will.  If we are spending all of this time chasing rainbows or fighting dragons, we will miss our chance to reconnect with our inner Source, and when we return finally ready to rest and re-connect, we will have missed our chance.   As mentioned above, Mercury is ruled by Saturn in Libra for this retrograde, and our thoughts should be focused on redefining the authority of our lives, our understanding of what it means to be responsible, and nurturing harmony through the creation of balance in our relationships.

Now more than ever, it is important that we take the time we need in order to reconnect with the deep inner workings of our own psyches.  Change is upon us, surrounding us like an angry swell on the vast ocean.  Allowing our attention to wander could have grave consequences, being irresponsible will certainly create havoc.  If we are clear about who we are, what is important to us, and what we need to protect, then no amount of change can threaten our security, even if our external experience shifts, rocks, or rolls.

My wish for each and everyone of you, as well as for all beings everywhere, is that this time of introspection, protection, and reconnection will create more happiness and more growth in each individual experience, thereby creating a society of people more in touch with themselves and better to able to love everyone else.

With love

m

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009 at 10:09 am and is filed under Seeing Stars with Mark. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.