Eric Francis

Planet Waves began in 1998 as the home of the Eric Francis horoscope, a prominent feature in our premium service. Going far beyond what most Sun-sign astrologers even dream is possible, Eric brings in-depth interpretations to his work. He is a pioneer in the newly-discovered planets, including Chiron and the centaurs, and is able to translate their movements into accessible human terms, offering ideas for life, love and work. Discover a whole new world of literary journalism in Planet Waves. We offer free trial subscriptions, discounts for students and seniors, and gift subscriptions for veterans and those on active military duty.

620_solstice — Winter solstice 2009, set for Kingston, New York. Chart in Io Sprite.

Here is the winter solstice chart for later today — the Sun ingresses Capricorn at 12:46:48 pm EST. The chart is set for Kingston, New York, which is where the astrologer is sitting at the moment. Since there is no ‘world capital’ that’s an not-so-arbitrary location that works. Notably, this is the first Capricorn solstice with Pluto in Capricorn.

Today the days begin to get longer as the Sun moves northward in declination along the horizon. While we won’t begin to notice the days getting longer for a few weeks, there is a subtle shift in energy as the starry dynamo of the night begins to spin in the other direction, like a huge amusement park ride.

In our chart, Mars is retrograde in Leo (as of yesterday), Jupiter is in a conjunction to Neptune, exact to three arc minutes. Jupiter is direct and headed for Pisces, and will sail straight across Pisces to make a conjunction to Uranus in June (which will by then be in Aries). Then both Jupiter and Uranus will retrograde back into Pisces, for their first meeting in Pisces since 1334 (which takes place in September).