Dawnings

 Those of us, who are live in countries like Australia where long distance travel is part of our lives, know well this plea from the child, restless and impatient to reach the destination. It is so well known that it is a title of a children’s book.

It is definitely applicable to the Solstice* approaching. Yes, the Solstice point is a marker in the Solar year. It refers to the passing of that landmark in time and space whereby we know we have travelled halfway around the sun.

The Northern hemisphere leans towards the Sun so it is the Summer Solstice: on the southern half of the planet tilted away from the Sun, it is the Winter Solstice. We may as well be on different planets! One part of the world is entering the peak of the summer season. Down Under here in Southern Ozland, it is icy cold. Snow is falling on the mountain ranges. The wind blowing from the Antarctic shrieks through the layers of clothing and stimulates the exposed skin to ‘wake up’. A warm fire purrs away in the hearth and soup is on the stove. Much needed rain is slowly seeping into the layers of parched earth, still resistant after years of drought. New bulbs are peeking above the icy ground. Promises of scented blooms in the spring are nestled in their protective cocoons.

Where I live, the sunlight is always bright. In winter, when the air is crystal clear, this light takes on an intensity that can be blinding.

So it is for us all on this wonderful planet of ours: The Light shining forth and awakening our minds is also stirring our deepest feelings. It is intense!

We are only halfway through a number of cycles. Mercury Retrograde is doing its bit in helping us to rethink and review. Sorting through the receipts and bills to complete my tax is a winter evening or two’s work. In the process, I traverse my own history.

So also is humanity in review and organisation mode. The Solstice is accompanied by Saturn opposite Neptune holding our awareness about dreams and reality. Chiron opposing Venus is also holding awareness of our relationships and our values and how these have been shaped and influenced by woundings and sorrows, by myths and legends. Pluto poised in its alignment with the Galactic Core is trined by Mars in Aries. This is wonderful for the courage needed for new beginnings and personal healings.

In Melbourne a brave man went to assist a woman being attacked and was shot dead by the aggressor. The city is in shock and we honour his heroic behaviour. Sacrifice and moral strength is uppermost in our minds.

In some ways, this is an auspicious Solstice. It seems to be providing us with the pause needed in our busy lives. Think of marking time, treading water, the stillness required when standing in a queue. In yoga practises, noticing the space between in and out breaths, out and in breathing, are doorways to silence, inner stillness and peace. What has been automatic and unconscious can become a tool for self awareness and the grasping of opportunity to insert a new way of thinking and being, right at the change point, the zero of the swinging pendulum.

When we ‘stop and think’, we put the forward motion of life on its journey, on hold. If the child within is restless, we can stop the car, look at the scenery, review the map and try to plot the time and distance ahead.

The Moon will be in Virgo at the time of the Solstice, when the Sun enters Cancer. It IS a time to cocoon and ponder. The Virgo moon can seem harsh in its analytical applications: “These are the facts”, and “What do we do now?” will be toning in our collective ears. The Moon quincunx Neptune is anchoring the helium balloon of dreams and ideas, of yearnings for the spiritual, of dashed hopes and painful disillusionments. Urged to clear out our satchels of beliefs and inspect the damages this Solstice is a poignant one. Intuition and the fifth elements of ether are seeping slowly into our physical evolutionary environments. These provide us with clues as to how to travel through the mists on the road ahead into an unknown future.

Careful planning is required, yes. Contingency planning is a good idea in recognition of the fears and insecurities that are part of human doubt.

Political and societal organisations take note: the emergency services we create and develop now, will be important in the times ahead. Shifting resources from defence, from grandiose schemes that may amuse but are unnecessary – to local community services, utilities and back up systems – would be wise planning from the oracle’s perspective!

Indeed, from the personal to the global, our consciousness will be increasingly drawn to the practical applications and organisation of those aspects of our lives that are caring and nurturing of ourselves, our homes and our deepest wishes, hopes and dreams, our highest ideals.

It is a gentle time, a time of stillness and silence and calm. An evening under the stars or in the warmth of the nest to celebrate the Solstice can provide time to feel our way and ponder upon that which is most valuable to us.

Embrace it.

Blessings – may the Light shine forth and guide you on your Path ahead.

* Solstice for Melbourne, AEST, 3.53 am Friday morning the 22nd of June.
** Pic of Winter Sun on Port Phillip Bay at Blairgowrie, Victoria, Southern Australia.