“Io, Saturnalia!” (“Praise, Saturn!”) 
As the Sun increases in light (promise) we draw on our faith that during times of darkness, there will be light again. Faith cultivation is important to Capricorn, the sign who so needs proof, but often doesn’t have any (hello? where’s that Sunshine you promised?) That’s why Capricorns are so darn tenacious, they were born during the darkness so must work harder to bring things to fruition. Candles are popular around this time, but they’re also symbolic – we can light a candle in the darkness to ignite our purposeful flame of spiritual intention.
The long nights encourage us to go within during the Solstice season, to find our internal and bodily rhythm (Saturn) again. With Saturn’s recent retrogradation, arrhythmic rhythms and life purpose hiccups abound, so countering this with some drumming, chanting, or through listening to your own breathing and heart beat. All are ways to find your rhythm when life gets to pressurized or demanding. Remember that pulsations, stop and start beats, comprise the balance of rhythm. We need silent rest, inwardness to move outward. You may march to the beat of a different drummer, but pressure is a sign that you’re not honoring your own rhythm. Another way to greet the season is through ritual…
The Solstice points, the change of seasons, are some of the most magical times of the year, especially apropos to the Sun’s procession into Capricorn is the celebration of Saturnalia. This week long celebration was one of the largest and most popular of public festivals in ancient Rome, and it commemorated the God of Time, Karma and of course, Rewards -Saturn. Like many old traditions of the season, revelers would reverse social standing, the slaves switching roles with their masters for a time, speaking to the mirth-making side of Saturn/Capricorn and the humor that lightens up the dark season. But the best part about this holiday is the communal ritual untying of Saturn from the bondage he’s had us in all year. The ropes tied around Saturn, symbolizing all the limitations endured and hardships faced throughout the year, were untied! Cut! Kaput! You can do this unbinding ritual at home, by tying a string loosely around your body while visualizing the stuck issue that has you “tied up”. Now lift it above your head or cut the cord. The take away lesson is: your limitations can be lifted, or cut at any time.
i have a question- what about people born in the southern hemisphere? for instance caps down south i suppose are born in spring.. i imagine that sign characteristics attributed to seasonality are by far not the MOST important, but still it exists (ive seen this same ‘born in darkness’ idea in many other places, which does make sense for us up north but still one has to question?).
is astrological interpretation slightly different in the S vs N hemisphere, or influenced in other geographical ways? for instance capricorns may be even more extreme in this ‘born into darkness’ kind of way in the scandinavian and nordic countries that receive so very very little sunlight in their winter. contrast the scandinavian summer signs which are full of fresh light, the midnight sun.
Hi Bis,
I’m sorry I missed your comment earlier. It got mixed in with a spam issue I’ve been trying to address…
This is a very interesting question and although I don’t have much personal experience with the way people northern vs. southern hemisphere people experience their self as born into darkness…or light. It’s an topic worth looking into.
Here in the North, we attribute seasonality to the solstice shifts, as it seamlessly integrates with the astrology. Darkness, contraction, winter = Capricorn. But a Capricorn born in Australia is born during the height of summer. So if there were more light during the time of birth, perhaps there would be more light in the person – at least it intuitively sounds plausible.
I did google around for more on your born into darkness concept and developed more questions than answers. I did come across an interesting link by astrologer Eric Francis, excerpted:
“…the seasons run in the opposite pattern in the Southern Hemisphere as they do in the Northern. Yet much of the astrology we use is based on the passage of the seasons as we up here in the North know them. In other words, many of the sign characteristics are based on the quality of the weather and the sunlight, and the resulting festivals and celebrations, at the specific time of year when the sign is happening. ….We do, after all, work with the ‘tropical zodiac’ and that is primarily based on the passage of the seasons — generally not, as some people believe, the stars. Therefore, we might expect people born in Sydney in late June, when the weather is darker and more introspective, to act like Capricorns.” http://www.cainer.com/ericfrancis/jan28.html
Now in interpretation, we do use “hemispheres” but they’re not geographically based. Hemispheres describe planetary positions from the earth’s perspective at our time of birth. For example, if we’re born when the Sun is below the horizon (nighttime) we say it’s in the Northern (below) hemisphere of the birth chart. This Sun would naturally have more yin, inward looking and private qualities than say one born with the Sun at high noon – obviously an expressive, expansive and bright shining Sun. This hemispheric dominance really adds up the more planets planets we have in the respective hemispheres, and there are four of them – North, South, East and West. You may be familiar with this idea.
Thanks for your fabulous question. And please, if you come across any interesting information on this topic, I would love to know.