Low Winter Sun
A Different kind of Shadow Work
Seasons Greetings!
Lots going on in The Heavens right now worthy of note. On Thursday December 14th, The Sun will transit 30 degrees above the horizon. This is the lowest transit of The Sun at our latitude here in East Tennessee. It will remain within a few arc minutes of this altitude until December 29th. These two weeks or so around the December Solstice are the days of longest shadows. In addition, Mercury will station retrograde in Capricorn on December 13th. This configuration of cosmic events present us with a golden opportunity to do a slightly different kind of “shadow work” than what we might be used to. Capricorn is the cardinal Earth Sign. As such, it is concerned with building strong foundations, putting down strong roots and setting intentions for what we wish to build here on the material plane. With Mercury in retrograde in this sign, we can look back into the shadows of what we have built and think about what shadows will be cast as we build into the future.
Over the next few weeks, take some time out of your busy holiday schedule to step outside at mid day. Find a tall tree that stands more or less alone. Note how it traces its shadow long upon the ground. Look at your own shadow, it is also quite long. Everything that stands in the light casts a shadow. All things deprive what ever stands in their shadow of light.
When we speak of shadows, especially in the context of “shadow work”, we tend to think of them as something negative, or at least problematic. Sometimes this is an appropriate image. But we should also remember that shade is also shadow, hard to find in summer and quite welcomed shelter. There are many plants deep in forests that can only grow in shadow. The main point here is that shadow, whether it shelters us in Summer or chills us in Winter’s dark, is unavoidable if we stand.
Let standing be a metaphor for living. Everything that lives casts many shadows, the long one we contemplate on a bright Winter afternoon is just one. Everything we take from this material world in order to endure within it, casts a shadow over something else. Every thing we eat stands in the shadow of death (yes even if we are vegan). Everything we use to build our house, warm and cool us in season, our clothes and all the things that we posses represent a quantity of all the material world that is unavailable to someone or something else. This is as unavoidable as the casting of shadows. This is not meant to moralize about all we take from the world, or not exclusively. Sometimes our shadow is shelter. We might protect someone from direct exposure to harsh elements. We might keep an other's confidence, or them our own, concealing the light of a sensitive truth in our protective shadow.
In any case, if we have material form we cast a shadow. On December 21st, the Sun will join Mercury in Capricorn, making a conjunction on the 22nd. This is a perfect alignment to receive Mercury’s guidance on matters of material existence and well being, our own and that of others. I can’t think of a more poignant beginning to a new solar year.
I wish you all a bright solstice, cool Yule and Merry Christmas. I’ll be back in February with a new full length entry. As always, I thank all my readers for their continued attention and support.
Peace and Love
Light and Pleasure