Winter Solstice and the Solar Eclipse

Happy Yule!

Today is the winter solstice here in the southern hemisphere and the summer solstice in the Northern hemisphere. It's also new moon and we're getting a solar eclipse at 4.48pm today, while many of us in Australia won't be in the right position to bear witness, this does not mean we won't feel the effects.

The eclipse will be visible in central Africa, the southern Arabian Peninsula, Pakistan, Northern India, and South Central China, with it touching partially in the Northern tips of Australia.

So what does this all mean for us?

Eclipses are a catalyst of change with people reporting increased agitation, unusual dreams, sudden bursts of creativity and even relationship difficulties, and with 5 planets also in retrograde a lot of this will come to the fore and we are seeing it with the protests and riots of the last few weeks.

The Sun in astrology is the planet that represents our focus, deepest desires, goals and external self.  It is the planet of our personality and self-expression.

As the eclipse falls on the new moon, and with the lunar calendar the new moon is the time to plant the seeds for what we want to manifest in the coming lunar cycle.

So if you think about the new moon and the eclipse together, the new moon is the map to gaining what you want, and the solar eclipse is what will provoke the change, showing you how ready you really are for what you are manifesting in.

What can you do to work with the energy?

A great thing to do is straight after the eclipse to bathe in sacred water to help clear any negativity and toxins from you bodies - physical and energetic bodies.

A basic recipe for sacred water is just plain salt water, which will cleanse through the energy bodies.

If you want to add a bit of flair to it, mix some essential oils and herbs with the salt water, I recommend the oils and herbs associated with the winter solstice itself.

Here is a list you can pick from, if using oils, choose no more that three.  Bay leaf, chamomile, frankincense, juniper, pine, rosemary, sage, sandalwood, cinnamon, myrrh, cloves, and jasmine.

When bathing if you are lucky enough to have a bath hold the intention you are washing all that is negative, toxic and no longer serves you from your body.  If like me you only have a shower, use the water as a scrub holding the intention as you wash your body, with the shower water imagine the water washing away all the dirty energy down the drain.

Once you are cleansed take some time to reflect on the present and see how this has impacted on your past, this is not to reopen old wounds but rather to use the lessons and knowledge gained to make the shifts to move forward.

As solar eclipses mark the start of new beginnings, today is a great day to reset intentions that may have fallen over since New Year.  Make sure you are super clear on your intention as Solar eclipse energies are intense energies.

Happy Yule and Solar Eclipse be gentle to yourself and may you receive the blessings you need to move forward in your journeys.