TIMING THE 2019 WINTER SOLSTICE

2019 Winter Solstice

This one's from The Washington Post

Southward Solstice
Capricorn Ingress
December 22
04:19:21 AM UT/GMT
December 21
11:19:21 PM EST
10:19:21 PM CST
09:19:21 PM MST
08:19:21 PM PST
06:19:21 PM AHST

Graphic from Earth Sky

At many places on the planet, maybe on every continent, I don’t know, there are monuments, standing stones, or geological realities, that are or can be used for tracking the course of the sun through the seasons. If you pay attention and live at the same location for some years you will be able to mark and track the sun’s seasonal course from its rise and set points. If you haven’t done that, on the day of the solstice (or thereabouts) make a point of noting the location of sunrise and/or of sunset (with a telephone pole or?). In the northern hemisphere, the point of sunrise will be as far south as it will get (Winter Solstice) and will proceed through the year to rise further and further north until the Summer Solstice when it reaches the point as far north as it will get. From then the sun’s rise will proceed to occur a titch more southerly, back to the Winter Solstice. At the equinoxes, the sun’s rise will be precisely due east and it will set due west. That’s what the sun dagger in Chaco Canyon is about, and the better known Stonehenge in England, marking, and measurement. Where you are north or south of the equator makes a difference, in the southern hemisphere, the Winter Solstice is the Summer Solstice in the north, etc.

Imag

The idea that the sun does not move for three days at the solstices is an observational one, not a physical reality. The precise moment of standstill can be calculated to the second, although visually, the sun may seem to rise in the same place for a few days in a row. Since computer programs can give precise timing, I use it. “Mundane” astrologers use the timing of solstices and equinoxes to make special charts (horoscopes) used to evaluate the time to follow. Some astrologers prefer to chart from the Winter Solstice and others chart the Spring Equinox.

What strikes me about the solstice time is stillness. I use the timing privately to honor the moments. I like to acknowledge the times of solstices and equinoxes with meditation and sometimes with ritual.

The Winter Solstice is the same as the Sun’s entry into the Sign Capricorn (goat or sea-goat). Note that Signs are not the same as constellations. The Signs are located by solstices and equinoxes, the constellations are arranged differently, not even adequately explained by Einstein or more recent astrophysicists.

Happy Holidays!

2019 Samhain timing ~ 15° Scorpio

2019 Samhain timing 15° Scorpio

This from history.com, Samhain is celebrated in Glastonbury

The astronomical event from which Samhain arises is midway between Autumn Equinox and Winter Solstice, which is 15° Scorpio in the Tropical Zodiac. Here is the timing for several time zones.

17:24:34 UTC, (UTC +0)
Thursday, November 7, 2019

London, United Kingdom (UTC +0)
05:24:34 pm GMT
Thursday, November 7, 2019

New York, NY, USA (UTC -5)
12:24:34 pm
Thursday, November 7, 2019

Chicago, IL, USA (UTC -6)
11:24:34 am
Thursday, November 7, 2019

Denver, CO, USA (UTC -7)
10:24:34 am
Thursday, November 7, 2019

Los Angeles, CA, USA (UTC -8)
09:24:34 am
Thursday, November 7, 2019

State of Hawai’i, USA (UTC -10)
07:24:34 am
Thursday, November 7, 2019

Samhain or "Summer's End,"(pronounced SOW-in) comes from the “eightfold year,” a division of the year into equal eighths based upon the four solstice and equinox points and the four points midway between those.

This beauty is via Glastonbury Dragons

You may have noticed how many holidays and holy days cluster about the equinoxes and solstices, and the halfway points between those. They make up the eight sensitive points of the season cycle. They are especially noticeable on those parts of the planet that express natural displays like springtime bloom and fall harvest, frozen winter, and hot summer. In the astronomical sense, every part of the planet gets seasons.

The midpoint between Fall Equinox and Winter Solstice in the northern hemisphere (from which most of this information derives) is replete with harvest festivals, county fairs, and the granddaddy of the season, Halloween. The roots of that October 31st holiday are the cross-quarter points (the four midpoints between solstices and equinoxes) long celebrated in Europe by pagans, Celts, and agricultural communities, that bear the Celtic name, Samhain, that’s morphed into Halloween, All Hallows Eve. It is the Scorpio midpoint between Equinox and Solstice

What I am posting is the precise moment of the cross-quarter, not as a correction, a "you’re not doing it right," to those who celebrate Halloween or Samhain at a different time than the actual cross-quarter, but information for those who might like to explore the roots of the seasonal moment in real-time.

Celtic wheel via miro.medium

What follows is my leap to compare the eightfold Lunation Cycle with the eightfold Celtic and Pagan “Wheel of the Year.” The lunar cycle from New Moon to Full and back to New is also studied as an eight-fold cycle. There are names for the eighths of the Lunation Cycle: New, Crescent, First Quarter, Gibbous, Full, Disseminating (that astronomy also calls gibbous, a word meaning humpbacked), Last Quarter, and Balsamic.

I was flabbergasted to find this precise illustration of comparison between the Wheel of the Year and that of the Lunation Cycle. It might be from a book by Demetra Geoge, a book unfortunately not on my shelf to check. In any event whoever is on the same page with me and I love it. I got this via Pinterest - The Lunation Cycle - Claire Higham - Saved from The astrological lunation cycle with astrologer Demetra George.

At Balsamic degrees, 315° to 360°/0° we’ve reached the closing stage of the Moon-Sun cycle. Consider the New Moon not just as a beginning but at the end of a cycle too. The last eighth of the lunar cycle, includes a process of consolidation and of something like loss or failure (in a mechanical, not a moral sense), a kind of enough, what’s next? It’s something like what Tibetan Buddhists call a bardo. You might substitute the word bardo for balsamic, the bardo including the 45 degrees before a New Moon, the pulse of one of the major rhythms of Earth.

Via Zodiac Arts dot com This is a day in the life of the balsamic moon.

There may be something unsettled about this last eighth of the year (which count will be under dispute depending on the beginning of the year at Winter Solstice or at the Spring Equinox – discussion for another time). If we compare the Lunation Cycle with the Wheel of the Year, then this last eighth of the year might be a balsamic time, a time of releasing what is no longer viable and that might pose a hindrance to growth, and a time for reaching to what is new, fresh, and untried for the year to come.

It’s only been a few years that I’ve had the use of computer programs that let me easily and precisely calculate the moments of astronomical events. I like to recognize those moments, to explore them as I do many astrological factors. Those moments, solstice and equinox were first noted and calculated by astrologers as long as a few thousand years ago. They would be so jealous of how easy it is to calculate these things by computer.

(The first Tuesday in November, Election Day in the US, coincidentally falls near the Samhain cross-quarter.)

Rights to the images belong to their respective owners and I will quickly honor any removal requests. The rest is copyright © Tim Rubald 2019.

Autumn Equinox 2019

 Timing the Autumn Equinox 2019

Although the equinox happens at the same moment worldwide, your clock time will depend on your time zone.
The occurrence of the Autumnal (Southward) Equinox, the entry of the Sun into the Sign of Libra (Sun at 0° Libra), occurs on September 23, 2019, 7:50:06 AM UT/GMT.
The time is earlier moving west, September 22, 2019 9:50:06 PM in Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time.

The Equinox in other time zones:
September 23, 2019
UT/GMT 07:50:06 AM
UK/BST 08:50:06 AM
EDT 03:50:06 AM
CDT 02:50:06 AM
MDT 01:50:06 AM
PDT 12:50:06 AM
September 22, 2019
HST 09:50:06 PM Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time

This is via physics.mcgill.ca.

 NCP-SCP - north and south celestial poles of earth, the green spot in the center, extended into space. Earth's equator extended into space is the celestial equator. From our earth perspective the Sun appears to orbit earth annually, that's the "Ecliptic." When the sun seems to cross the celestial equator we get equinoxes.

At the equinox, the Sun shines directly on the equator and there are nearly equal amounts of day and night throughout the world. It is the first day of Fall (autumnal equinox) in the northern hemisphere and the first day of Spring (vernal equinox) in the southern hemisphere. Instead of the Earth tilting away from or toward the sun, its axis of rotation becomes perpendicular to the line connecting the centers of the Earth and the sun. From Autumnal Equinox to Winter Solstice (December 21) the nights get longer.
Mayan monuments, such as this one at Chichén Itzá on the Yucatan Peninsula were used to track the solar season cycle. The photograph via Time and Date shows the sunset equinox illuminating the snake head you see at bottom left and extending to tail at the top of the pyramid.

Maybon is one “name for the autumnal equinox, also known as the Second Harvest Festival, Festival of Dionysus, Wine Harvest, Cornucopia, Feast of Avalon, etc. The first Thanksgiving was held on or near this date, and it is from these early harvest festivals that the modern Thanksgiving feasts developed.” - Kristin Madden (Llewellyn Publications)

The Wheel of the Year Turns Toward Darkness.

Following the Fall Equinox, the energies of the Dark Gods and Goddesses begins to increase and gain attention. The balance described by the Taoist symbol of Yin and Yang reflects the Equinoxes but an imbalance begins at the point of this Equinox as night begins to overtake daylight's duration. The processes of inward turning gain significance. Persephone returns to her throne with Hades in the Underworld.

This is a solar marker of the continual heartbeat of creation, what some traditions know as "the Word." While the heartbeat may slowly alter over eons of time, Earth's relationship with the center cycles rhythmically through the centuries. That essential relationship of Earth to Sun establishes the core pattern that is the basis of tropical astrology, astrology based on the seasons.

And just a reminder, in a few weeks, on November 3, 2019, Daylight Saving Time ends – turn clocks back one hour, 2:00 am becomes 1:00 am.

Because night and day are nearly in balance, the equinox is a great time to work on personal balance. This is the perfect time of year to re-evaluate where you are and take the steps necessary to get your personal and spiritual lives in order.
--Nasco – don’t know who this is or where I got it but I still like it.

Lughnasadh/Lammas 2019

2019 Lammas/Lughnasadh

The third of the four fire festivals held on the year's solstice and equinox midpoints. This one is at the Leo midpoint twixt Summer solstice (Cancer) and Fall equinox (Libra).

Lammas (Loaf Mass) or Lughnasadh (pronounced Loo-nas-ah, Lugh is a sun deity and nasad suggests harvest festivals, fairs, and games). It celebrates the first harvest in the Northern Hemisphere (midwinter in the Southern Hemisphere). It is the third of the Celtic fire festivals which celebration begins on the eve of the day.


Lammas ritualists, students, and the curious might be interested in precise timing for the cross-quarter moment when the Sun reaches the Zodiac degree 15 degrees of the sign Leo, the precise moment between Summer Solstice and Fall Equinox.

Aug 7 2019 AD GC
 
19:12:57 PM GMT
08:12:57 PM BST
03:12:57 PM EDT
02:12:57 PM CDT
01:12:57 PM MDT
12:12:57 PM PDT
09:12:57 AM AHST +10

There’s been a bit of confusion about how the precise timing may not agree with conventional calendar dates. For most of history it was not possible to calculate the precise midpoint in time (above) that marks midsummer. Now it is possible to get that time to the second (I’d give the calculation a couple of seconds either way, regardless). It is not to say that honoring the moment must match the precise timing given. This timing is offered simply because it is possible to make the calculation. It is probable that in other eras, additional factors like a new or a full moon might be included in the decision as to when to light the festival fire. Personally, I often honor the precise time, just to see. Most often I mark the moment with a period of meditation. Please, do not think it wrong to celebrate, to recognize the cross-quarter, at another time.

Barley is among the grains harvested and celebrated at Lunasad (Scottish name). It is immortalized in a Robert Burns ballad, John Barleycorn. There is evidence that versions of the John Barleycorn ballad were sung well before the reign of Elizabeth I. Here’s how Robert Burns hae it in 1782.

There was three kings into the east,
three kings both great and high,
and they hae sworn a solemn oath
John Barleycorn must die.

They took a plough and plough'd him down,
put clods upon his head,
and they hae sworn a solemn oath
John Barleycorn was dead.

But the cheerful Spring came kindly on'
and show'rs began to fall.
John Barleycorn got up again,
and sore surprised them all.

The sultry suns of Summer came,
and he grew thick and strong;
his head well arm'd wi' pointed spears,
that no one should him wrong.

The sober Autumn enter'd mild,
when he grew wan and pale;
his bendin' joints and drooping head
show'd he began to fail.

His colour sicken'd more and more,
and he faded into age;
and then his enemies began
to show their deadly rage.

They took a weapon, long and sharp,
and cut him by the knee;
they ty'd him fast upon a cart,
like a rogue for forgerie.

They laid him down upon his back,
and cudgell'd him full sore.
they hung him up before the storm,
and turn'd him o'er and o'er.

They filled up a darksome pit
with water to the brim,
they heav'd in John Barleycorn.
There, let him sink or swim!

They laid him upon the floor,
to work him farther woe;
and still, as signs of life appear'd,
they toss'd him to and fro.

They wasted o'er a scorching flame
the marrow of his bones;
but a miller us'd him worst of all,
for he crush'd him between two stones.

And they hae taen his very hero blood
and drank it round and round;
and still the more and more they drank,
their joy did more abound.

John Barleycorn was a hero bold,
of noble enterprise;
for if you do but taste his blood,
'twill make your courage rise.

'Twill make a man forget his woe;
'twill heighten all his joy;
'twill make the widow's heart to sing,
tho the tear were in her eye.

Then let us toast John Barleycorn,
each man a glass in hand;
and may his great posterity
ne'er fail in old Scotland!

2019 Summer Solstice – Cancer Ingress

The still moment in the still moment.

You may learn or hear about the three days when the sun stands still at the solstices. The etymology of the word solstice is from Latin, sol, “sun” and stice, past participle of sistere, "stand still.” For three days the sun’s places of rising and setting appear the same, still. The exact moment of the change of orientation of Earth to Our Star is calculable and the precise timing is offered here. While the date is correct, in the initial posting the day was incorrectly given as Tuesday. It is Friday.

15:54:10 UTC, (UTC +0)
Friday, June 21, 2019

London, United Kingdom*
04:54:10 pm BST (UTC +1)
Friday, June 21, 2019

New York, NY, USA*
11:54:10 am EDT (UTC -4)
Friday, June 21, 2019

Chicago, IL, USA*
10:54:10 am CDT (UTC -5)
Friday, June 21, 2019

Denver, CO, USA*
09:54:10 am MDT (UTC -6)
Friday, June 21, 2019

Los Angeles, CA, USA*
08:54:10 am PDT (UTC -7)
Friday, June 21, 2019

State of Hawai’i, USA*
05:54:10 am HST (UTC -10)
Friday, June 21, 2019


The Summer Solstice is known as the longest day and shortest night since it provides the year’s greatest period of a day’s sunlight. There are some technical ramifications so that it might not precisely match a calendar date. For example, see how the Sun enters Cancer (the solstice moment in the tropical zodiac) late in the afternoon of June 21, in Greenwich, but early in the morning in Hawai’i, and in Ulan Bator, Mongolia, the solstice date is June 22.


In stillness there is the anticipation of change. Photographer and writer Teju Cole in an “On Being” interview says, “There’s a beautiful Inuit word ‘qarrtsiluni.’ It means, ‘sitting together in the dark, waiting for something to happen.’”* Of course, depending where you are on the planet, the solstice moment may be day or night. Sitting and waiting.

* https://onbeing.org/programs/teju-cole-sitting-together-in-the-dark-feb2019/

Aware of it or not, we are part of the natural world and subject to the changes of the season cycle, responsive to the waxing and waning cycle of our star. From Summer Solstice to Winter Solstice, daylight is waning and darkness reaches its peak at the shortest day and longest night of the Winter Solstice.

“The Solstices then are a time to stop, and to look back on where the half-yearly cycle has brought you, and a chance to look forward and see the direction in which the next half-yearly cycle may lead you; a moment to be conscious of your life's flow and direction; a time to express your hopes and fears, your intentions; to assimilate your learnings and celebrate your achievements; a time to celebrate the light; a time to celebrate the dark; a moment to be conscious of the way this waxing and waning of the Sun affects our lives, and to celebrate this duality and what it means to us.

“When the light is increasing from Winter Solstice to Summer Solstice, all beings are moving out into the light, becoming more individual and independent, expressing their own identity and uniqueness, expanding outwards into the material world. But as the light is decreasing from Summer Solstice to Winter Solstice, nature and life as a whole is integrating itself into a more social way of life, going within, reflecting and becoming more intuitive, expanding into the inner realms - exploring inner wisdom.”

– from Sacred Celebrations by Glennie Kindred

Maybe the 2019 Summer Solstice is a good time for sitting together in the dark, waiting for something to happen. Have a great summer!

ADDENDUM

Are you south of the equator? Then WELCOME WINTER!

In a few months, my study of astrology will reach a 60 year anniversary. The roots of the astrology that’s involved most of my study lie in primarily in Europe, the Middle East, India, and Tibet, something like 95% or more a northern hemisphere concentration. I’ve given short shrift above to half of the planet and I apologize. The Summer Solstice in the north is the Winter Solstice in the south.

Some of the discussion of the significant turning points that the solstices mark does apply north or south, but much of what might be called interpretive is slanted to concerns of the northern hemisphere. Correcting this one-sidedness would require more attention than I can offer now. What I can do is review and comment on what’s been written above. While some of the solstice stories apply equally, some of it MUST be off-base for direct application to the southern hemisphere. Giving full attention to this requires a book or at least a comprehensive essay. There is much to learn by comparisons between how the Sun’s rounding of the track is experienced differently in the two hemispheres.

Let’s look at some of what’s been said by Glennie Kindred. Her first paragraph is 100% applicable north and south for either solstice. Reading on we might wonder will the south be “moving out into the light, becoming more individual and independent, expressing their own identity and uniqueness, expanding outwards into the material world,” while in the north, “as the light is decreasing from Summer Solstice to Winter Solstice,” the experience is that “life as a whole is integrating itself into a more social way of life, going within, reflecting and becoming more intuitive, expanding into the inner realms - exploring inner wisdom”?

I don’t propose an answer to these questions. I only want to point out that we should probably be aware that there are accepted solstice delineations that should be carefully evaluated.

Spring Equinox 2019

The Vernal (Northward) Equinox, Start of Spring, Aries Ingress

Eostre by AngiandSilas

People have been sharing the post I offered for last year’s Vernal Equinox. I’m honored that they find it relevant. For the ritually oriented and the curious, here are 2019 Spring Equinox times for Greenwich and the USA.

March 20, 2019

21:58:22 PM GMT also known as 9:58:22 PM
05:58:22 PM EDT +4
04:58:22 PM CDT +5
03:58:22 PM MDT +6
02:58:22 PM PDT +7
11:58:22 AM AHST +10:00:00


[Daylight Saving Time, already in effect in the United States, starts in Great Britain and most of Europe on March 31, 2019. When local standard time there reaches Sunday, March 31, 2019, 1:00:00 AM clocks are turned forward 1 hour to Sunday, March 31, 2019, 2:00:00 AM, local daylight time.]

March 20 brings the Vernal Equinox, also known as Ostara, or Eostre, or Eastre,  named for the Germanic Goddess of spring and dawn. When the Sun's path along the Ecliptic (where the Signs or Zodiac are aligned with solstices and equinoxes) crosses the Celestial Equator from the South to the North we have the Vernal Equinox, the first day of Spring, zero degrees of Aries. The longer nights of the winter season are now in equal balance with daylight.  From this point, the length of daylight grows.  It is the beginning point of the Zodiac that astrologers use for measure

All points in the eight-fold year (defined by the astronomical measure of solstices, equinoxes, and the midpoints between those) are marked by human celebrations, holidays, and holy days. It’s my contention that those coincidental celebrations are not accidental but knowingly or circumstantially correspond to the astronomical. There are holy days with the Jewish and Christian calendars (also with Chinese, Hindu, and other systems of reckoning) that combine New and Full Moons with solstices and equinoxes. For example, the Full Moon after the Spring (Vernal) Equinox is Passover. The Sunday following that Full Moon is Easter (the preceding Friday is Good).

Some astrologers chart the Vernal Equinox (Aries Ingress) and derive information about at least three and at most twelve months following. Other astrologers favor the Winter Solstice (Capricorn Ingress) for the twelve months following that event. Many mundane astrologers will chart all four, Solstices and Equinoxes, and utilize those charts for a sense of the three months that follow those. The chart for the first day of Spring is said to be in effect, for the year until next Spring.  It is considered especially strong until the Summer Solstice chart "comes in" in June.

Happy Solstice!

TIMING 2019 IMBOLC

Current technology gives easy access to calculate the precise moment of astronomical phenomena, including of the cross-quarter days, those that are mid-way between the solstices and equinoxes. We’ve already seen one of the reflections of a cross-quarter recognition with the February 2 attention to Groundhog Day, brought to the Americas by European immigrants who used different animals in their home countries. Some didn’t use animals at all but on the morning of notice saw either a clear cold day with sunshine (winter continues) or a damp, cloudy day (the ground begins to warm).

Imbolc Flowers - Church of All Worlds

15° Mid-Aquarius
February 4, 2019
03:14:35 AM UT/GMT
February 3, 2019
10:14:35 PM EST
09:14:35 PM CST
08:14:35 PM MST
07:14:35 PM PST
05:14:35 PM AHST

From Palden Jenkins we have this:
“...there is a distinction between the quarters and the cross-quarters. The quarters represent change-points in energy-patterning, in terms of light. The cross-quarters represent change-points in manifest energy, in terms of visible seasonal changes. The peaks of the four seasons show themselves at the cross-quarters.”

Biddy Murphy Irish Gifts

Imbolc or Imolg is celebrated at the end of January/beginning of February in Celtic and pagan traditions when Winter has reached its peak, the days are lengthening slightly, and the first signs of Spring begin to show. Coinciding events include Saint Brigid’s Day, Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord Jesus, Candlemas, and Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Those who minded such things were advisers to kings and to farmer folk. They had the respect of those whom they advised. Some were scientifically oriented, some were more intuitively minded. They were priests, nuns, druids, shamans, witches, and wizards who had respect as men and women of wisdom. Their attunement to the astronomical had nothing like the precision of timing offered here, and that timing may not be a superior tool for its accuracy. As long as it’s available though, it may be useful for some to incorporate into personal, ritual, or social practice.

Brigid found on Etsy

Inspired by "Sacred Celebrations, A Sourcebook"
The active phase of life in the Northern Hemisphere is beginning as daylight lengthens and the sun returns warmth. This awareness might be combined with intuitive receptive energy and what has been assimilated and understood on inner levels during the winter months is source material for the season ahead. It is a time for new beginnings, emerging ideas, and the outer growth of personal seeds from their incubation period within.
Glennie Kindred  http://www.gothicimage.co.uk/books/sacredcelebs1.html

A nature oriented wise person might also take note of and include lunations, new and full moons, as they may sometimes tie in closely with astronomical days. At the exact moment of the 2019 Imbolc Cross Quarter, the Moon is 8 degrees from the New Moon Sun. She catches the Sun about 15 hours after the cross quarter moment still within the 15th degree of the cross quarter. The final hours before the Moon joins the degree where the Sun is gives a sense of absolute consolidation. The cycle in completion is about to birth a new cycle from the loved or hated stuff of the closing cycle as it is dying and being born. For this a keyword, Emergence.

New Moon 15° 45’ Aquarius, February 4, 2019
09:03:28 PM UT/GMT
04:03:28 PM EST
03:03:28 PM CST
02:03:28 PM MST
01:03:28 PM PST
11:03:28 AM AHST