Monday Musings: 12.21.2020

The Great Conjunction: Centuries in the Making

Today happens to be the Winter Solstice - aka the day with the shortest amount of daylight and longest hours of night. Scientifically, this marks the beginning transitions of lengthening days and shortening nights, though it is a slow, gradual process that takes us through the depths of winter that often feel never ending.

To everyone weathering through the Nor'Easter known as Gail, this must especially feel poignant.

What makes this particular Winter Solstice even more unique is what is known as The Great Conjunction - in effect, when the orbits of the planets Jupiter and Saturn intersect, one crossing in front of the other. Based off of the trajectory of these planets in relevance to the orbit of Earth, this happens approximately every 20 years or so.

So, why the big hoopla? According to NASA, this Great Conjunction will be the closest that these two great planets have passed one another in 400 years. Additionally, it's been 800 years since the Great Conjunction occurred at night, meaning that it is visible to the majority of people, worldwide, without the need of powerful telescopes and astronomical instruments.

For perspective - the last time Jupiter and Saturn (the planets, not the Gods) got this chummy with one another, the Mayflower was being granted its patent and sailing along the north-eastern shores of the North American continent; and the last time it was visible to the naked eye, Gothic architecture was sweeping the European courts of the 13th century, re-creating the Cathedral of Chartres, and Trial by Ordeal was banned in the English courts.

In short - it's been a very long time.

There is some belief that it is the Great Conjunction which made history as the Star of Bethlehem - since the Three Wise Men are often depicted and cited as early learned astronomers, tracking the sudden appearance of a prophesied light that comes and goes, this could in fact be a case of science backing two thousand years of religious belief.

There is also a strong community of people who attribute the accompanying energies of this great shifting of planetary alignments, in relation to Earth, as a great spiritual and psychological re-set. The practice of meditation, manifestation, and visualization have seen a resurgence in the last few years, and many practitioners are urging people to use it to their advantage - to set their intentions and to let go of habits and thoughts that did damage by using the energy of the Great Conjunction as a sort of battery source.

At the end of the day, no matter how you choose to view it, the Great Conjunction has reminded me to take a moment and appreciate the unique. And with the last few days of 2020 fast approaching, it's a most welcome suggestion.

XOXO, Victoria