Honoring the Sun on the Solstice – Sally Kirkman Astrologer

Sankranti – Sun enters Cancer

– Tuesday June 21 (10:14 GMT+1)

If all goes well, I’ll be on the beach in Greece during the solstice. This is my first vacation abroad since 2019, as for most of us, travel has been off the agenda for a while.

I have to double check what you need to do when you are traveling because I am out of practice. I’m not taking my computer with me and I’m planning on a week of some serious down-time.

sun still

This isn’t a bad way to spend this week’s major astrological event, the Sun’s entry into Cancer, the beginning of the Sankranti. It is the midpoint of the year which brings about the change of seasons.

In the Northern Hemisphere, it coincides with the longest day of the year and the official start of summer. In the Southern Hemisphere, this reverses with the shortest day of the year as the nights get longer.

Sankranti means ‘Sun (sol) standing still’ i.e. the Sun is at its highest or lowest point before turning into a new season.

Traditionally, Sankranti is the time of year to honor the Sun. Many traditions involve making bonfires because fire and heat are associated with the sun. If the sun isn’t burning down wherever you are, you may have a fire pit or light candles.

tropical astrology

The solstice and equinox dates are the four major markers in the year when the Sun enters the four cardinal star signs, beginning a new season – Aries (March 20), Cancer (June 21), Libra (September 23) and Capricorn (December 21),

These signs are essential in Western astrology because the zodiac is aligned with these four points in the astrological calendar. Foundations and cornerstones of Western astrology.

history of solstice

Here is an excerpt from an article by Justin Marozzi in the Guardian honoring this important time of year.

“Summer solstice by definition is beyond borders, religions, castes. It unites rather than divides.

Reassuringly, this dates back to a time long before Hinduism and Buddhism entered the world’s consciousness, much earlier than the three great Abrahamic religions, which defined the planet’s population as rival god-fearing monotheists. was divided into

The solstice demands a moment of peace and reflection in our endless, celestial swirling world.

Its very etymology – from Latin Fifth note of musical scale (sun) and Sister (to remain stationary)—indicates an almost miraculous point of transition, sandwiched between cycles of motion, when the Sun has reached its northernmost or southernmost excursion from Earth relative to the celestial equator and, again, “steady”. After that, the course reverses.

It is the longest day, a celebration of the victory of the sun, mid-summer, and a marker that the days will begin to shorten.

For a fleeting moment the whole year is paused, a moment of flow and mystery beautifully captured Margaret Atwoodwords of.

solstice poem

It’s Solstice, Fixed Point
of the sun, its cusp and midnight,
year threshold
and unlocking, where the past
Let go and the future becomes;
the place of the caught breath, the door
A missing house left ajar.

ancient time

The summer solstice once marked the start of the calendar, the harvest season, the ancient middle of summer: a time to celebrate fertility and the life-giving power of the sun in a pre-industrial environment.

In today’s less rural world, many people have lost their old connection with the cycle of nature. Yet our attraction to the solstice has not diminished with curiosity, as if deeply ingrained in our ancestral memory.”

There is a lot to look forward to about Sankranti. The ancient tradition of revering the Sun connects us to the distant past and the comfortable repetition of the Sun’s movement is a dependable anchor in our lives from day to day.

It represents the symbolism of the promise of a new day, a new dawn. The quality of the moment when the sun rises and the light returns, brings with it a sense of hope and peace that the darkest hours are behind you.

Many ancient cultures revered the Sun and built temples in alignment with the Sun’s path through the sky. One of the most famous is Stonehenge – see photo above.

Since this is an ideal time of year to honor the sun, here is one of my favorite poems to complete this article dedicated to the solstice. How will you honor the Sun?

the sun never says

By Hafeez

even after so long
The sun never tells the earth,
“You give me.”

see what happens
such a love,
It illuminates the whole sky.

May you have a blessed and enlightening Sankranti experience.

Weekly Horoscope

Weekly Horoscope & Astrology Newspapers is the best way to find out how to use astrology to benefit your life and get a clear meaning of this complex yet magical language. Monthly and yearly payment plans are available. Sign up today: Weekly.