2010 Winter Solstice: December 21, 2010 / View Chart - [link to www.handclow2012.com]

When the Sun moves into Capricorn, those of us living north of the equator celebrate our entry into winter's deep contemplation, a time for us to renew our trust in Earth, spirit, and self. During winter's quiet darkness, we can review our intentions for this year and evaluate them in light of collective needs. [For readers living south of the equator, you begin to experience the start of summer, followed by your sunlight waning. This is when your intentions created during your Spring Equinox (September) intensify and deepen.]

This year's solstice period is extremely potent: The Sun moves into Capricorn about fifteen hours after an extremely close lunar eclipse in 29 Gemini, which puts the opposing Sun in 29 Sagittarius very close to the Galactic Center, where Mercury sits exactly conjunct. The close lunar eclipse just before the Solstice has an enormous impact on this year's formative solar entry into Capricorn. You may want to refresh yourself by rereading my thoughts on it at the end of my reading for the New Moon in Sagittarius.

The rising solstice Sun is very close to the Galactic Center for about fifty years, and its closest alignment occurred in 1998. [See The Mayan Code: Time Acceleration and Awakening the World Mind by Clow.] The Full Moon eclipse, with the Sun on the Galactic Center just before the solstice, is like a huge fireworks celebration to remind us that this is the final December Solstice before the end of the Mayan Calendar, October 18, 2011, according to Carl Calleman. This hot drama in the sky during the lunar eclipse through the Solstice is a Galactic Center activation that will open multi-dimensional consciousness in all of Earth's elements. This high-energy jolt will prepare many people for our entry into the Universal Underworld in March 2011. Take note that the eclipse lines up with the Galactic Center; Mercury is exact on the Galactic Center during both the eclipse and solstice; and the lunar North Node and Pluto in Capricorn are still very close to the Galactic Center.

What does all this mean? To find images for such great cosmological events, we have to factor in our entry into Day Seven of the Galactic Underworld [January 1999 through October 2011] on November 3, just before the New Moon in Scorpio on November 5. Day Seven of the Galactic is the fruition of technology that is moving our species into Oneness, so many of us working with Carl Calleman created a weekend of global celebrations. Regarding mass consciousness, the whole world is getting diplomatic secrets through WikiLeaks, which is creating global-unity consciousness. We really are beginning to move like synchronized flocks of birds and schools of fish as we cease being sheep who obediently return to the keep run by powerful and arbitrary shepherds, the Global Elite. As we free ourselves to fly in a free sky or to swim down streams of our own choosing, reality also feels like a huge entanglement that confuses our bodies, emotions, and minds. Remember, we've already experienced previous shifts into new evolutionary pathways, such as when we adjusted to living in villages after abandoning the hunter-gatherer lifestyle. Our intelligent cells know how to progress forward by taking the first hard steps, just like when we were amphibians that came up on the beaches and walked onshore.

With the lunar eclipse on the Galactic Center, our maturing neurological systems are bombarded with potent gamma rays right before the Solstice. Then, inspired by this potency, our species will be imprinted by the first sacred winter light; we will be jelling in all nine dimensions this winter. Miracles are happening now; for example, right after Day Seven began, scientists announced on November 3 the discovery of great energy bubbles extending 25,000 light years above and below the Galactic Center. These bubbles contain the energy equivalent of 100,000 supernova explosions! [Astrophysical Journal, November 2010, or search, Dennis Overbye, "Bubbles of Energy Found in Galaxy".]

As I describe it in Alchemy of Nine Dimensions, the Galactic Center is the location of the ninth dimension (9D), where intelligence emanates from the Mayan Calendar. So, this discovery of so much energy in the Galactic Center, just when Day Seven of the Galactic Underworld opened, is very exciting. Scientists do not yet know whether this is a new phenomenon or something they've just detected. But, in light of the intensity of current time acceleration, I think these bubbles are signs of remarkable light arriving that scientists can actually see. Going back to my reading for the 2010 September Equinox for a moment, recall that the equinox released great individual potential within cluttered and collapsing old systems. Many people began taking charge at the local level this fall, when they finally realized nobody was going to take care of them. Perhaps the energy bubbles in the Galactic Center are fragments of our newly emerging selves being birthed, as the old systems fall away?

Considering the eclipse and the latest scientific findings about our Galaxy, I will interpret the December Solstice chart as a guide for how we can receive and integrate very advanced levels of consciousness during this winter. I will also search for dynamics that are transforming us into something new while old structures disintegrate. Considering the advanced consciousness levels coming in now, this is not an easy reading. My Lunar Eclipse reading suggested that many people are healing their inner sexual identity complexes, which is the big step toward Oneness. Then the solstice chart offers advice on how we can grow personally during the next three months while we weave ourselves ever closer together. Simply put, the December Solstice chart is all about embodying high frequency states of an entirely new order, which can cause us to relate to each other in many dimensions.

The Sun moving into Capricorn is close to the lunar North Node and Pluto, and then it conjuncts the North Node on December 24 and Pluto on December 26. The North Node describes our karmic paths at the collective level, and so we are completing eighteen months of intense structural change. Moving backwards, the Node goes into Sagittarius in February 2011, and the karmic agenda shifts to spiritual activation and the struggle for justice. So, we only have a few more weeks of intense focus on the deep restructuring of fundamental designs at the soul level, and this process will continue to be driven at the collective level by Pluto in Capricorn through 2024.

When the North Node is in Capricorn, we mature our souls, and with these new understandings about our purpose in life, we will become warriors for justice under Sagittarius. With the solstice Sun on the North Node in Capricorn, we really feel our own soul's path amidst the great changes. Then as the Sun moves to Pluto right after Christmas, many will embrace great cultural movements, such as the struggle for political transparency. The next three months are a great time for you to evaluate your own stance amidst these great collective structural shifts. Most people will be acutely aware of these changes because Mercury retrograde is right on the Galactic Center. Don't expect to find reports of these kinds of changes in the mass media, unless you get some wisdom out of Time magazine choosing Mark Zuckerberg instead of Julian Assange as its "Person of the Year".

During this solstice, the Moon in 8 Cancer closely opposes Mars and Pluto in Capricorn. Moon in Cancer opposing Mars/Pluto is needy, so Luna struggles for emotional space; she cries for nurturance yet feels little is coming her way. This neediness will be difficult during the holidays and during the months that follow, so take care of your self and listen carefully to the concerns of others. Mars in Capricorn is the muscular goat who bashes his way to the finish line while butting everybody else off the path; meanwhile, Pluto in Capricorn continues to change everything in the deepest possible ways. With Mars/Pluto opposite the Moon, aggressiveness is intense, causing great anger and frustration. Of course, this opposition in a seasonal chart does not bode well during war, so events in Afghanistan will be cruel and unsatisfying, and the players will be more stubborn than usual. It also does not bode well for the public mood, so demonstrations for individual rights and societal chaos are likely. The New Moon in Capricorn on January 4 is a solar eclipse that occurs just after Jupiter conjuncts Uranus, so shutting down the societal restructuring is highly unlikely.

There has been much saber-rattling aimed at North Korea and Iran during the Sagittarius cycle, so possibly this intransigent opposition of Mars and the Moon presages final battles that can transform the human species. The only thing any one of us can do about these mega-struggles is to use our minds to change the world. Wars cannot continue unless the people get tricked into believing they must attack someone. WikiLeaks enabled the public to see that the Israelis and Saudis hammered both Bush and Obama to bomb Iran, yet the US resisted the pressure. So now, the American public can consider whether they'd like their country to do such dirty deeds for our Middle East allies? As we flow more as a whole group, it will be more difficult for the Elite to fool the public. Perhaps new conflict in Korea might remind the unemployed and homeless in America that more than 30,000 US troops have been stationed in South Korea for sixty years? What if the Elite plan is to have troops stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan for fifty years or more? The Moon in Cancer opposite Mars in Capricorn is insecure and threatened, so the public mood will be difficult this winter.

Uranus went direct a few hours after the New Moon in Sagittarius on December 5, and it felt like Pandora's box opened! There was a great furor over WikiLeaks, European financial instability threatened the world, demonstrations against governments filled the streets, and the political tension in the US just kept rising. During the solstice, Jupiter is close to Uranus in Pisces and moving to the third conjunction (right on the 1776 USA Moon in 27 Aquarius) just three hours after the Capricorn New Moon. So, Uranian transformation is in high gear and will be expanded by the final Jupiter/Uranus conjunction, which will exactly square the Galactic Center! The Jupiter/Uranus conjunctions have been opening compassion and spiritual awareness amidst great societal changes. I've noticed that most people are deeply concerned about unemployment, homelessness, suffering during war, and cholera spreading in Haiti.

Mercury retrograde in 25 Sagittarius (on the Galactic Center) closely squares Jupiter/Uranus in Pisces, which suggests many people will know they must give assistance to others now. This rising heartfelt desire to be there for others in need is going to expose the truth about mismanaged relief efforts-for example in Haiti, where the world's people have given so generously. Global charities seem to be little better than the burgeoning military contractors. Mercury closely sextiles Chiron-conjunct-Neptune in Aquarius, which means we can hope for the spiritual healing of our species at this time; people will demand the right to assist others in need. Chiron has been exposing our deepest wounds as Neptune has softened our boundaries and caused us to grow spiritually. The whole world seems to be watching the actions of the Americans because the Neptune/Chiron conjunction has been on the 1776 USA Moon since April 2009, and it is still there in February 2011. This close square to Chiron/Neptune from Mercury may expose the depths of the American healing crisis, especially since Haiti is within its sphere of influence. Cholera will spread throughout the Caribbean if the US does not pay fair attention to such a problem so close to home. Obviously, shock and awe will grow over the US attacking the East while the "Homeland" is in meltdown.

Venus in 14 Scorpio really catches my eye because the New Moon on November 5 was in 14 Scorpio. That is, Venus in 14 Scorpio during the solstice expresses the dynamics of the great emotional awakening that began with our entry into Day Seven in early November-when the agenda was balancing male and female dynamics. Venus in Scorpio sextile Mars in Capricorn joins deep love with determined power. This duo softens the stressful energy of the Cancer Moon opposing Mars/Pluto. Pluto rules Scorpio, so Venus in Scorpio could show people the truth and push them to see that inaction just leads to dead ends. Venus in Scorpio sextiling Mars in Capricorn means that female honesty complements male strength, which could really reduce gender stress. After so many centuries of senseless wars, do not underestimate the deep anger between men and women.

Saturn in 16 Libra squaring Mars in 11 Capricorn is another tense position. Saturn in Libra seeks harmony and balance but he is checkmated by Mars in Capricorn, who tends to bash blindly ahead. Saturn will limit the aggressive push of Mars/Pluto in Capricorn, yet all three will fester and feel frustrated. Saturn in the middle degrees of Libra has been pushing very hard for balance in world structures; and when Saturn came to 14-15 Libra, we had a Saturn Return in the USA chart at 15 Libra. When this influence came on in mid-November, airline passengers resisted abuse as they boarded planes, and they began objecting to the Nazi-like policies of the TSA. The US government is extremely disturbed by the WikiLeaks, even though the US has not been as negatively exposed as some other countries. The US may be taking these leaks too seriously, since Saturn in the middle degrees of Libra is a defining moment every 29-30 years for Americans. The people are demanding openness now and governments have been too secretive, so the Internet is moving the world into Oneness.

This solstice chart is not an easy one, and not an energy configuration that fosters contemplation; we are being called instead to action. It suggests we will have a difficult period of facing hard truths and many challenges, and that deep compassion will be needed. Regarding issues like our liberty and the TSA, Mars/Pluto opposite the Moon in Cancer means we will not allow ourselves to be abused. The WikiLeaks will just keep on coming until politicians return to serving the people openly. Cholera in the Caribbean will force the US to face its darkest shadow-endemic racism since its founding-and there was a previous Saturn return in Libra right at the end of the Civil War. Saturn in Libra says it is time to demand justice and fairness, and Venus in Scorpio expresses the deep feelings that we all carry. This is going to be a period that calls for bravery and honesty, careful attention to our loved ones, and trust for each other as we learn to flow together instead of always demanding the lead. It is time to see that we need each other, now more than ever.

[link to www.handclow2012.com]