Winter Solstice 2021

Day 24 in the @BestSelfCo Edison Deck Challenge focuses on 10 things you’ve always wanted to know but never asked. Writing this on the evening of the Winter Solstice and wondering about symbolism had me focus this card into the following ten questions. Tomorrow I would have a whole new set of things I would want to ask. The idea that there is a finite number of things to wonder about shows a lack of imagination or creativity. Some might argue the opposite: it shows a lack of discipline. I pity those that take that side of the argument. As a child, and even more so as an adult, I see symbols and relationships between animate and inanimate objects, numbers, and don't believe in coincidences or quirks. Here is a glimpse into the type of questions that float in and out of my mind in a single day, especially on this special day of the Winter Solstice. They are questions about shortcomings, longings, legends, traditions, and numbers.

1. How often does the Winter Solstice coincide with a full moon? This year’s Winter Solstice is a day shy of the full moon. Having a full moon on December 21 is a rare event and happens only every 29-30 years (adjusting for leap years). The convergence of the next full moon on Winter Solstice will be in 2029.

2. What is the last full moon of the year called? The Druids called this December moon an Oak Moon, some call it the Winter Moon, the Cold or Blue Moon, or the Moon before the Yule.

3. Is the Winter Solstice a celebration of the shortest day? Perhaps it is a modern-day phenomenon that we focus on what we don’t have or have lost, versus what we have gained, but for as long as I can remember, December 21 has been a lament about how short the day was and how quickly night was before us. Of course, that is a Northern Hemisphere perspective. In the Southern Hemisphere, today is the longest day.

4. Or is the Winter Solstice a celebration of the longest night? I reveled at the full moon a few days ago, thinking how lucky we were to have such a long clear night to gaze at its extraordinary beauty. In ancient times, the loss of daylight limited the harvest with shorter days. Darkness fostered fear and superstition. The Winter Solstice marked the turning point welcoming the sun back as the days gradually grew longer.

5. What does this Winter Solstice symbolize? 2021 held a bright promise of getting human socialization and connection back. But after the days got longer, the COVID pandemic changed once again and here we are in the darkness of uncertainty. For me, it symbolizes that there is celebration in the longest night if we can just hang on to good precautions and there is hope as we teeter on the cusp of the sun re-emerging.

6. What is happening in the Southern Hemisphere as we long for longer days in the North? Just as we are celebrating the Winter Solstice, the Southern Hemisphere is celebrating their Summer Solstice with their longest day and shortest night. From herein out, the Southern Hemisphere will have shorter days up until June 20th. With that said, nothing is constant and both solstices are most noticeable at the bell curve of geographic location. At the equator, this day is significant by date only with 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of night. The further north, the shorter the days, to the extreme where at the North Pole it is 24 hours of night.

7. What’s in a number? There is beauty in today’s date, this solstice 12/21/2021. It is almost a binary code, and if boiled down to a singular root number, as numerology does with significant dates, we come up with even more elegance with the numeral “2.” (Add all month, day, year numbers together to get a sum of 11, a master prime number in and of itself. Add the 1+1 together, to get a root number of 2.) There is balance and symmetry in this year's solstice.

8. Where did numerology come from? Numerology has been with us as early as 500 BC with Pythagoras when he discovered the relationship between numbers and musical notes. (And most of us that believe in math and science can recite his theorem a2 + b2 = c2 to solve for the hypotenuse in a right triangle, incredibly helpful this past year in calculating social distancing). Up until 1907, the extensive relationships that he discovered was known as the Pythagorean Number Theory, and then “rebranded” at the turn of the century as numerology. Numerology recognizes 1221 as a palindrome, a significant number in and of itself, and is also called an angel number that captures people’s attention. This number signifies rebirth, new beginnings, and change.

9. How does the zodiac/astrology relate to the Winter Solstice? Pythagoras didn’t only develop numerology but set the basis of what we know as astrology by plotting the positions of the planets, the sun, and the moon in relationship to one’s birthday and birth year. Modern astrologists are focused on the relationship between Saturn and Uranus during this Winter Solstice, seen responsible for our discontent with structure and authority. The pull between freedom and authority is a 2021 tug-a-war not soon to be resolved.

10. How is the Winter Solstice celebrated throughout the world? Many of the pagan celebrations have been usurped into religious Christian traditions celebrating Christmas. In Scandinavia and much of Europe the Winter Solstice is celebrated on St. Lucia’s Day, December 13th, with wreaths, candles, and welcoming of the Christmas season. In China, the celebration is about the yin and yang of light and darkness through food and family gatherings. Stonehenge still launches a celebration in the Druid tradition, witnessing the rising of the sun following the longest night. Japan celebrates with Toji that includes the eating of the winter squash kabocha and a hot bath of yuzu citrus fruits to refresh body and spirit. And my favorite, in Brighton, England, the Burning of the Clocks Festival creates a community bon fire and symbolizes the passage of time and throwing wishes, hopes and fears into the flame to begin anew.