Solstice!

Today is December 21st, the shortest day of the year and the beginning of our turn toward light. And as I typed those words the winter sun strengthened, and where I sit now looks like a summer day. This is welcome. 

Today is also the day that a rare conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn appears in the sign of Aquarius, marking the official beginning, finally, to the Age of Aquarius. Dig out your old Hair album and sing along. You will be able to see this rare conjunction in the southwest sky at twilight, when the two planets appear shockingly close to one another. There is disagreement about how long it's been since we've seen this. Some say 400 years, others 800 (you'd think astronomers would know this). In either case it's something you don't want to miss.

I've nearly always found a way to celebrate the winter solstice because it marks the slow return to longer days and more light, and I am a lover of light. During this dark winter of unrest, illness, and death that light is desperately needed. So this evening I will light candles throughout my little condo and maybe fix myself a martini—something Ray and I used to do on this day. I think it's important to honor and thank our Earth home as it completes yet another orbit around our life-giving sun. I am grateful for their steadiness.

As we think about the year ahead we all have hopes of getting back to what passed for normal. But the year has brought us images and knowledge that we can't ignore. That normal will not be the same, but if we can find ways to work together, it will be changed for the better. For now, we can pause and breathe, and welcome the light that comes tomorrow.