One Origin of Christmas

Greetings and Merry Christmas!

One of the origins of Christmas is the pagan holiday of Yule. And Yule is one of the eight sacred days of the year... all of which correspond to the Sun being at 0° of a Cardinal Sign or 15° of a Fixed Sign.

The Cardinal Signs are Capricorn, Aries, Cancer and Libra. Respectively, for the northern hemisphere, the zero degree is the Winter Solstice, the Spring Equinox, the Summer Solstice, and the Fall Equinox. (Reverse the seasons for the southern hemisphere.)

Fifteen degrees of the Fixed Signs are the Cross-Quarter days, that is the days that are halfway between the beginnings of the seasons.

Each of these eight days--all about 45 days apart--was a sacred day in the religion practiced in Europe before Christianity. When Christianity arrived in Europe, the sacred days were introduced into the Christian calendar.

Yule, then, became Christmas, and corresponds to the entry of the Sun into the sign Capricorn. It is actually a couple of days off, which may be due to calendar adjustments over the centuries.

I'll take up the other seven sacred days as they come along. But we have one more vital point about these eight days. These degrees, 0° of Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn, as well as 15° of Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius, are important more than any other degrees because they indicate connections to the entire world.

Thus astrological phenomena that occur at these degrees are much more important than those that happen at other degrees--giving an orb around these degrees of plus or minus 2°.

That is why astrologers predict events with charts for the ingress of a planet, usually the Sun, into the Cardinal points (especially). And that is why people with Personal Planets (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus or Mars) or Personal Points (Ascendant or Midheaven) at these degrees are fated to impact the world in some way.

Best of the Season to you!

The Jolly Santa and the Bah Humbug of Christmas

We have just passed the Solstice, the change from the Sun passing through the sign of Sagittarius into the sign of Capricorn. These two signs, and their rulers, show the wide responses to Christmas.

Jupiter, the ruler of Sagittarius, is seen as jolly, magnanimous, generous in all his activities. Saturn, the ruler of Capricorn, is seen quite differently—as stingy, self-serving, withholding love, gifts and affection.

One view is Santa versus Ebenezer Scrooge. This is an unfair comparison to me. Jupiter has a down side and Saturn has an up side.

So, Jupiter can be Jolly Old Saint Nick, but he can also be unaware of how his gross style of humor and affection affects the more sensitive of us. Saturn is not just a stingy old person, it can also represent anyone who has taken years to master something to become an authority.

This year, as the Holidays are upon us, and we flow from Sag to Capricorn, let us flow, not be overcome with the burden of the season. Don’t go there! Let yourself enjoy the season.

Instead of social obligation, see the joy in being around others. It can be fun!

May you find the joy that is possible for each of us!

The Chart for this Blog

It occurred to me that the chart for the blog might be that set for when and where I was--Oak Ridge, TN, at 9:25 ET--or for the location on the West Coast where Google is headquartered--Mountain View, CA, at 6:25 am PT.

The charts are different. The ET chart has a Scorpio Midheaven (14°58') and Capricorn rising (24°10'), with Jupiter conjunct the Ascendant and the chart ruler, Saturn, in the 8th House.

For Mountain View, CA, the chart has a Libra Midheaven (05°07') and Sagittarius rising (17°04') with Mars conjunct the Ascendant and the chart ruler, Jupiter, in the second house.

Do you have an opinion about which chart will be more important? Why?

Welcome!

Greetings on the Solstice! May all the joy of the season find its way into your heart!