2022 SUMMER SOLSTICE

TIMING THE 2022 SUMMER SOLSTICE

Summer (Northward) Solstice - Cancer Ingress

Called Litha (Norse/Anglo-Saxon for "longest day")
 

The still moment in the still moment.

For three days the sun’s places of rising and setting appear the same. The etymology of the word solstice is from Latin, sol, “sun” and stice, past participle of sistere, "stand still.” The exact moment of the change of orientation of Earth to our star is calculable and the precise timing is offered here.

Tuesday, June 21, 2022

UTC
(Time Zone)
09:13:42 am GMT/Zulu

London
(United Kingdom – England)
10:13:42 am BST UTC +1

Washington DC
(District of Columbia)
05:13:42 am EDT UTC-4 hours

New Orleans
(Louisiana)
04:13:42 am CDT UTC-5 hours

Denver
(Colorado)
03:13:42 am MDT UTC-6 hours

Seattle
(Washington)
02:13:42 am PDT UTC-7 hours

Monday, June 20, 2022 Hawaii

Wailuku (Hawaii)
11:13:42 pm HST UTC-10 hours

The Sun reaches the maximum north it will on June 20. It will appear to stand still and begin dropping south toward the equator while the length of daylight shortens. (Please see the illustration.) The line the Sun reaches northward is known as the Tropic of Cancer. The Sun at noon is very nearly over Cuba at 23.5° north longitude. At noon on the Winter Solstice the Sun is approximately over Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in the Southern Hemisphere. There it reaches the Tropic of Capricorn at 23.5° South, the furthest South the Sun goes. In either direction when the sun crosses the equator we have an autumn or spring equinox.

The Summer Solstice is known as the longest day and shortest night since it provides the northern hemisphere’s greatest period of a day’s sunlight. At the Summer Solstice, the northern hemisphere assumes its most direct tilt facing into the Sun. Earth's mean obliquity (or axial tilt) was 23°26′11.570″ (23.4365472133°) on January 1, 2021 and decreasing (very slowly).

 

It is sometimes regarded as the “Triumph of the Light,” of Sol. Daylight reaches the peak of its reach through time. We celebrate the exuberance with pool parties, picnics, and barbecues. At the same time, we realize this is the beginning of an increase in darkness. From this point, daytime will wane in comparison with night. The night gains but remains secondary to the more extended day until equality at the Autumn Equinox when night begins to be longer than day.

“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

A horoscope calculated for the solstice is one of those used by astrologers to evaluate the Summer season (until the Autumn Equinox or to the Winter Solstice). Astro-meteorologists use it as a “temperature chart,” one of the keys to weather prediction. I use the precision personally and privately to honor the moment.

DOWN UNDER

Are you south of the equator? Then WELCOME WINTER! The Summer Solstice in the north is the Winter Solstice in the south. The solstices mark stillness in anticipation of change.

Happy Solstice! Blessed Litha!