The Longest Night of the Year
Rebirth, renewal, and sun filled days ahead
Winter Solstice
Happy Winter Solstice and Capricorn season. For us Earthlings, solstices mark seasonal shifts and the longest and shortest days of the year. December 21st, in the northern hemisphere, is the first day of winter, the shortest day, and longest night of the year. The Winter Solstice is a time of rebirth and renewal. For solar beings like myself, I’m looking at you Leo suns and Leo risings, we can breathe a sigh of relief knowing sun filled days are ahead.
Despite the lack of sunshine, I’ve been finding more joy in winter, or rather I feel more appreciation for the cyclical nature of seasons. Winter is a time to turn inward. A time for restoration and reflection. Curling up in my favorite armchair with my heating pad, fuzzy blanket, and a book is how I’ll enjoy most evenings for the months to come. Last winter I invested in a full-length parka that goes down to my calves and new snow boots. I feel more equipped to venture out into the cold and sustain my daily walks. For me, there is nothing more cleansing than walking through fresh fallen snow. Now that I’m back in Wisconsin, I’ve set the intention of trying winter activities like snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. I look forward to being more present with nature this season. Â
Astro Chat with Eliot Marzano
Introducing my newest offering, Astro Chat, where now and again I’ll interview another astrologer. This week Eliot Marzano joins me to chat about Capricorn. Eliot has his Sun, Midheaven, Mars, Mercury, Neptune, and Uranus in the cardinal earth sign. Hit play to hear Eliot’s insightful perspective on living life through the lens of the sea goat. Find Eliot on Twitter, Instagram, and emarzastro.com.
Capricorn Season
With the Winter Solstice, comes the first day of Capricorn season. At 3:48 PM CT, to be exact, the Sun ingresses into the cardinal earth sign building until January 20th. As I’ve deepened my astrological studies, I’ve found that Capricorn often gets a bad rap, but there will never be any Zodiac shaming here. On the contrary, this is my love letter to Capricorn because as an anti-capitalist organizer, I strongly believe we need Capricorns in social justice movements to build a better world.
Capricorn is symbolized by the sea goat, a mythological creature from ancient Greek mythology. Half goat, half fish it’s quite a puzzling creature. After doing some research, I learned the Greek god Chronos created the leader of the sea goats named Pricus. At some point Pricus was the only one living in the sea when the rest of the sea goats chose to live on land. Alone and presumably sad, Pricus asked Chronos to relieve them of their suffering. Chronos sent them to the stars, and that’s how we ended up with the Capricorn constellation.1
I find this myth interesting because Chronos is also known as Saturn in Roman mythology, and in traditional astrology, Saturn is the planet that rules Capricorn. Chronos creating the sea goat Pricus makes sense as to why Saturn has rulership over Capricorn.
Since the sea goat is a mythological creature I don’t have a strong frame of reference for, I like to compare Capricorn to the mountain goat. The mountains have always evoked awe in me. Their size, beauty, and the species that call them home fascinate me. I am especially fond of marmots and mountain goats. While I have not yet encountered a mountain goat in real life, I’ve watched nature documentaries about these incredible beings. There’s a reason sports fanatics equate athletic legends to GOATs (greatest of all time). Mountain goats live in some of the most extreme environments on our planet. Calling the alpine world home, they climb and descend vertical cliffs with ease. They’re built for it! Finding ease and stability in such extreme conditions screams Capricorn to me.
Capricorn is the cardinal earth sign. The cardinal modality is an initiating force, the energy needed to progress things forward. Cardinal signs align with the beginning of seasons. The earth element is quite literally the Earth, the planet we call home. It’s the natural and built environment and our material resources. Capricorn is ruled by Saturn, the lord of time, and one of the two malefics in traditional astrology. Mars and Saturn were known by the ancients to be harbingers of bad fortune. I believe in an infinite universe with infinite possibilities, so I know Saturn to be much more than pain and suffering.
As an organizer-astrologer (a new label I’m trying on), I’m always seeking to intersect the archetypes of astrology with organizing philosophy and praxis. As I am experiencing my first Saturn return, I’m becoming more acquainted with the lord of time and the lessons he is here to teach. One of those lessons is letting go of my obsession with instant gratification and embracing consistent routines and mundane practices that build towards my long-term aspirations. The discipline it takes to break patterns and instead choose actions that support our long-term dreams is very Capricornian.
Living in a capitalist society where success equates to financial wealth and climbing the corporate ladder, Capricorn has gotten a bad rap as a career-obsessed, money-hungry sign. I’m grateful for astrologers like Diana Rose Harper who uplift Capricorn beyond the hustle, grind, and profit-at-all-costs culture of capitalism.
World-builder is what comes to mind when I think of the cardinal earth sign. Sagittarius, the sign before Capricorn, is the visionary. In social justice movements visionaries dream up the impossible. The great orators of the civil rights movement, Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X, moved people to action with their fiery sermons and visions of radical transformation. We need those leaders who inspire by planting the seeds of liberation in the minds of the masses. We also need those who bring the visions into physical reality, and that is where Capricorn shines. Â
As a Saturn ruled sign, Capricorn has the discipline, determination, and grit it takes to achieve what may appear to be impossible. Capricorn is practical, sees the vision, and breaks it down into a plan with measurable goals and outcomes. They build structures and institutions that last for generations to come. Movement building is a long game, and there is no one more comfortable with the long game than Saturn. To build powerful movements like we saw in the 60s/70s and the summer of 2020, you need organizers committed to the struggle for liberation for a lifetime. When the masses return to their day to day lives, the most dedicated and Saturnian organizers continue building strategy so when the next uprising happens there is a container to hold and direct agitated people to fight back against oppressive institutions.
This Capricorn season lean into the earthy, Saturnian way of being by creating plans and building strategies to achieve your boldest aspirations. Be willing to say no to instant gratification in service of your deepest desires. Look up at the mountain of your dreams and know you have everything you need within you to make your way to the top with ease. One step at a time, day in and day out, is how we build a better world for all.