Winter Solstice Lunar Eclipse Re-Cap And Thought on the 2012 Question

by Daniel Giamario

On the night of December 20th, a group of 12 inspired, dedicated, and celebratory men and women gathered at my home near the Shamanic Astrology Mystery School in Southern Arizona to hold vigil for the total Lunar Eclipse occurring just hours before the December Solstice. Though the night started out a bit cloudy, we were fortunate that the clouds lifted during totality and it was also a relatively warm night.

I have experienced many total (and partial) lunar eclipses over my 42 years of being an experiential astrologer. Many of these experiences have included facilitating groups. This eclipse was the first time ever, where there was a completely positive and generally uplifting feeling to the experience. There was no evidence of ‘shadow’ being expressed that I could detect. This was a huge contrast compared with other total lunar eclipses where extremely strange and challenging events would transpire not only in the groups I was leading but also in the world.

This time, our group felt the strong unity and amplified focus of the countless groups around the world also holding vigil that night. Experiencing the 72 minutes of totality felt like entering the timeless void, the ‘pregnant womb’, the matrix of new creation. In my experience, this was also the darkest total lunar eclipse I have ever seen. It was stunning to see the Moon nearly invisible against the backdrop of the brilliant stars we call the ‘sacred hoop’ surrounding the galactic edge. This is the celestial portal (the silver gate), the entrance point for birthing souls and new creation. Interestingly, the previous lunar eclipse in this Saros was on December 9, 1992 at 18Gemini, and although it was not visible in the US, it holds the all time record of being the darkest lunar eclipse ever recorded. This was due to the debris in the atmosphere left over from the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo earlier that year. It will be interesting to see if this 2010 Lunar Eclipse will be rated darker on the Danjon index.

Thoughts on the 2010 Solstice and the 2012 Solstice

In the week before the eclipse and winter solstice synchrony I received a widely circulated email suggesting that the December solstice 2010 was actually the end of the Mayan Long Count as opposed to the widely publicized end date focusing on the December Solstice 2012.

Note: according to the University of Arizona’s Flandrau observatory, a total lunar eclipse has not occurred on the day of the winter solstice since 1378 suggesting this Solstice Eclipse was a rare event indeed.

About the December Solstice 2012 I have long been an agnostic when it comes to the ultimate significance of that particular date. The Mayan Long Count is one of many (some say 19) calendars used by the Maya, and this particular Long Count was not even being used by the present day Maya according to Anthony Aveni and Dr. Mark Van Stone . They both agree that the Long Count was re-introduced to the Maya by Western Mayanologists.

Two books I can recommend to get a non astrological and non New Age objective view of the question of 2012 are “The End of Time” by Anthony Aveni and “2012 Science and Prophecy of the Ancient Maya” by Mark Van Stone. A few years back, my colleague, Cayelin Castell, attended a talk by Don Allejandro, the president and honored elder of the Mayan Council of Day-Keepers. When asked about 2012, he stated that he had no idea what day the long count ended because nearly all the books were burned in the 16th century. Additionally, a number of researchers, notably the brilliant work of Carl Calleman, strongly argues for different Long Count end dates than December Solstice 2012.

Plus it is important to mention that the highly secularized, politically, economically, and religiously oriented Western Calendar has no tangible connection to anything astronomical or anything remotely sacred. Due to the confusing Julian and Gregorian calendar corrections and manipulations it is safe to say that we don’t even know what YEAR it is in the grander scheme of unfolding time!

The main point of the widely circulated email about this year being the end date of the Mayan calendar is very much in alignment with one of the central teachings of the Shamanic Astrology Mystery School and that is the time of “the Turning of the Ages”, as revealed by the COSMOLOGY ITSELF, not human-made calendars is happening now.

Since the mid 1980’s, when I, and a colleague, Raymond Mardyks, were the first in the astrological community to notice the actual cosmology of what is now known as the ‘galactic alignment’, there has been an exponential rising wave of awareness of what has also been termed ‘zero point’ including the 2012 material and the end of calendars and time itself.

Each year, particularly since about 1997, the cosmology of events has suggested ever increasing signs and symbols of the Turning of the Ages. (Note: The Turning of the Ages is the Shamanic Astrology Mystery School term for the galactic alignment).

1. 1997 Jean Meuss determines scientifically that the exact Winter Solstice coordinate (0Cap) exactly aligns with the cross where the galactic plane intersects with the plane of the solar system in May 1998.
2. The Millennialism of 2000 and 2001 (including Y2K)
3. The remarkable 5 viable planet conjunction in the ‘sacred hoop” in May 2002
4. The Venus transit of 2004
5. The Major Lunar Standstill season of 2006-2007 with the physical Moon actually covering the Galactic Center location once each month
6. Pluto’s transit over Winter Solstice (0Cap) from Jan 2008-Sep 2009
7. The well known and oft written about transits of Jupiter, Uranus, Pluto, and Saturn over the Cardinal Cross of the global horoscope represented by the Solstice and Equinox points from 2009-2011
8. The Lunar Nodes at the Solstice points (galactic center and galactic edge) in late 2010-early 2011
9. The December Solstice 2010 Total Lunar Eclipse near the Galactic Edge with the Sun near Galactic Center
10. Still to come the visible conjunction of 4 planets opposed by Saturn in May 2011
11. The Venus transit of 2012 and the great eclipses of 2012
12. Add to this the fine work of John Major Jenkins (his books Galactic Alignment and Mayan Cosmogenesis) about Izapa and the Sun rising at galactic center, as well as his work on the Pleiadian solar zenith Mayan cross-check for the galactic alignment: and the work of Carl Calleman

Looking at all of this, its really hard to imagine a more dramatic, visible to the naked eye, enactment of the most central features of the cosmological Turning of the Ages scenario than this remarkable December 2010 Total Lunar Eclipse. It is a way more amazing cosmological event than December 2012.

We might ask ourselves what are the most important features and ‘instructions’ coming from Great Mystery? What is the bottom line?

The Earth Cross and the Cosmological Crosses Align

Whether one looks at the Cosmology from the outside in, or from the inside out, its always “As Above-So Below”. In Shamanic Astrology, we like to start from the Earth as naked eye observers of the heavens while also sensing the cycles and seasons.

Additionally, there is a global horoscope, based on the four directions and the Solstices and Equinoxes. These four points are referred to the ASC, DSC, IC, and MC of the horoscope, or the 4 angles of the chart. These angles on the global abstract horoscope are 0 Aries (March Equinox), 0 Cancer (June Solstice), 0 Libra (September Equinox), and 0 Capricorn (December Solstice). These four points form the CROSS of the global horoscope.

This cross is within a circle similar to the Native American symbol for the Sacred Hoop, mirrored by the ‘sacred hoop’ or circle of stars in the sky that has with the galactic cross inside the circle of stars. This is where the Moon was located at the December Total Eclipse. Medicine wheels and stone circles often have a representation of this cross. In mainstream astrology, whenever the Sun, Moon, and planets (especially the slower moving outer planets) cross these Solstice or Equinox degrees, it’s a really big deal as these degrees are considered very sensitive points.

Now, it is important to know there is another set of crosses in the sky. These crosses occur where the plane of our home galaxy (the Milky Way), intersects with the plane of our solar system (also called the ecliptic represented by the zodiacal constellations that is the starry background the Sun, Moon, and planets are seen traveling through).

These galactic crosses are seen on the night sky in only two places. One place is between the constellations of the Bull and the Twins, looking out toward the edge of our Galaxy. In Shamanic Astrology we refer to this as the Galactic Edge (the silver gate). The other galactic cross is located between the constellations of the Scorpion and the Archer. This is where we look towards the center of the Galaxy (the Golden Gate).

These crosses are fixed in the sky, that is, the Earth’s movements do not alter the location of these crosses. Only the very slow proper motion of the stars over eons and eons create slight changes around these crosses. Over 100,000 years of human history we are still witnessing the very same crosses in the sky.

Numerous cultures, all over the world, have projected mythic tales onto these crosses. The fine work of John Major Jenkins discovered that the Christian Cross imagery is actually superimposed on these cosmological crosses. It seems so obvious, yet so easily forgotten by modern day people who no longer look out at the sky. Most people living in cities can no longer even see these crosses because of unrelenting light pollution.

What’s happening is that the Earth Cross (the solstices, equinoxes, and/or the 4 directions) is aligning with the Cosmological Crosses. This can only happen 4 times in the 26,000 year precessional cycle. And only once in 26,000 years can the Winter Solstice (0 Capricorn) align with the Galactic Center Cross. That is NOW.

The remaining question is how long in a relative sense is this ‘now’? For me, the fact that the eclipse had 72 minutes of totality, adds weight to the view that the time frame is at least 72 years. This also corresponds with the precession of Equinoxes and Solstices moving or precessing one degree every 72 years. Using 36 years on either side of 1998 based on astronomer John Meuss’ calculations the window began in 1962 and ends in 2034. This creates a workable time frame for the Turning of the Ages and the most precise time for the Galactic Alignment. Clearly, we are still very near the center point of that alignment now.

The visible evidence of the Earth Cross being in alignment with the Cosmological Crosses was dramatically on display during the December Total Lunar Eclipse. I am quite hopeful and optimistic about the portal of new creation that was opened. It felt like 26,000 years of Earth Shadow was digested, creating space in the ‘pregnant womb’ for a new creation.

I have never felt the 2012 scenario to be disastrous or the apocalyptical end-of-the-world indicator. Rather, its possibly just an initial whisper of the beginning of planetary RENEWAL, the barest beginnings of the return of the Sun (the return of the light to the world), and the greatest set of clues indicating the end and beginning of a new 26,000 year cycle. It is the very start of the next loop of the ascending spiral of consciousness and the universal plan of GREAT MYSTERY. May we continue to have the honored privilege of co-creating, with Great Mystery, a world with more Love and compassion for all Life.