Born on the Winter Solstice

December 11, 2004

 

http://cainer.com/ericfrancis/dec11.html

 

Hi Eric:

I was born in Vangaindrano, Madagascar, on the summer solstice, on June 21 1959. That is, however, actually a winter solstice in Madagascar, as it is in the southern hemisphere.

 

My son was born on December 21, 1988 in Bergen, Norway. So on my birthday the day gets darker until his birthday, and on his it gets lighter, or vice versa if we're in the southern hemisphere, and we're both born on winter solstice. although on the opposite sides of the year and the globe.

 

Does this one in a trillion chance mean anything?

 

Yours

Olav

 

 

Dear Olav,

Well, for starters, it's a very cool arrangement. And yes, we're talking about some astronomical astrological odds of it happening, but, alas -- it happened.

 

Does it mean anything? It all depends on what you mean by mean. As I sit here patiently writing my 2,000 word replies to the many questions of my beloved readers, I do my best to guide us away from the kind of astrology that says, "This means you need new spark plugs."

 

Technically, the Sun in your chart is opposite the Sun in your son's chart. At the very least, that's a dynamic setup, and suggests the meeting of two very different, but somehow closely related points of view on life. Yet despite the opposition, you are both born at the extreme dark of the year. That suggests something deeply in common.

 

To me, the meaning of this arrangement is more poetic than it is literal. Changing seasons are always poignant moments. The solstices are the extreme points of the year -- the turning points. So it's fair to say that the story of your lives is a story of turning points, some of them momentous.

 

We could look at astrological theory and study the relationship between Cancer and Capricorn. Both of these are signs related to parental situations and energies, of nurturing and protecting life, of taking authority, of being the progenitor of life. In the Esoteric school of astrology, Cancer and Capricorn are considered the two gateways to life ("the doors to the zodiac"), signs closely associated with reincarnation, the Christ story, self-preservation and immortality.

 

In this respect, it's pretty spiritual stuff you've got going on; I would hesitate to say more without hearing your story in your own words.