The 'Astronomology' of the

'Mid-Season Festival of Aquarius♒'

[⊗♒]

Northern 'Mid-Winter' / Southern 'Mid-Summer'

A 2 Day Festival to celebrate the mid point of the 4th Quarter Season

One of the 4 Mid Season Festivals occurring on the middle 2 days (15th & 16th) of the middle Triad Month of each Quarter Season

These signify the passing of the Sun ☉ across the mid points between the equinoxes and solstices

Together with the 4 'Cardinal Festivals' which celebrate the equinoxes and solstices themselves, these 4 Mid Season Festivals mark what our ancestors called 'The 8 Fold Year'

This one relates closely to what the druids called 'Imbolc' and here is called the 'Mid Season Festival of Aquarius♒' because Aquarius♒ is one of the 4 'Fixed' Zodiac Signs;

Taurus♉, Leo♌, Scorpio♏ & Aquarius♒

which each fall in the middle of their respective seasons

They are called 'Fixed' signs in the Zodiac because they are fixed with the energy of their season, being in the middle, between the 'Cardinal' signs which open the door to each new season and the 'Mutable' (changing) signs which bring each season to a close and transition to the next

The equinoxes and solstices form the 'Solar Cross' symbolised by the Earth sign '⊕'

But, at these 'Mid Season' times, the Sun☉ is mid way between an equinox and a solstice and these 4 mid points form the 'Galactic Cross' symbolised as '⊗'

So, we can symbolise these 'Mid Season' events using the Galactic Cross symbol '⊗' together with the symbol for the particular fixed Zodiac sign

At this time the Sun is crossing the mid point of Aquarius ♒ so we can add this to the Galactic Cross symbol to give a combined symbol for the Festival:

[⊗♒]

This Festival takes in the 15th & 16th (the middle 2 days) of 'ELEVEN-Aquarius♒', the middle Triad Month of the 4th Quarter Season.

So the 2 Days each year are:

Day 1 [⊗♒1]

15th Aquarius♒

Numerical Date [YYYYY.11.15]

Day #320 of the Year

Day 2 [⊗♒2]

16th Aquarius ♒

Numerical Date [YYYYY.11.16]

Day #321 of the Year

 
So... On To The 'Astronomology'

⊗♒

So, we celebrate this mid season on the 15th & 16th of ELEVEN-Aquarius♒ in the UCC because these are the middle 2 days of our 4th Quarter Season

But there is actually a very slight discrepancy between the calendar, the astrology and the astronomy due to the nature of the earth's elliptical orbit (spiral) around the Sun☉

In astrology the Sun☉ generally reaches 15° Aquarius♒, the mid point of Aquarius♒ (and therefore the astrological mid point of the 4th Quarter Season) on the 2nd Day of the festival [⊗♒2] - the 16th of Aquarius♒

But in astronomy the Sun☉ crosses the 21 Hours Right Ascension line, and therefore the astronomical mid point of the 4th Quarter Season, 2 days earlier on the 14th of Aquarius♒

The Astronomy 

The following screen shot from the package Stellarium shows the Sun crossing the 21 Hours Right Ascension line

The Sun on its Ecliptic path crossing the 21 Hours Right Ascension (RA) line of the celestial grid on 14/11/13515 UCC

This confirms the Astronomical proximity of the 21 hours Right Ascension line to the Astrological 15° Aquarius point, which occurs 2 days later

The 21 Hour Right Ascension line corresponds closely to the mid point of the Tropical Zodiac Sun Sign Aquarius♒ which correlates to the 2 hours of Right Ascension from 20hours to 22hours

We can see that the Sign Aquarius is currently occupied by the Constellation Capricorn due to the Precession of the Equinox of the Great Year

The Astrology

We can confirm this close 'astronomological' link between the astronomy & the astrology with a shot from the website 'Planet Watcher'

The Sun at 15°Aquarius♒ on 16/11/13515 UCC

You will notice that the Planet Watcher shot shows the same anti-clockwise cycle of the Zodiac as I have used for the Calendar, but rotated 180° starting with Aries♈ on the left at the '9 o'clock' position

This is because the Tropical Astrological Zodiac shows the Eastern Horizon on the left and the North at the bottom (looking south from the northern hemisphere) from a geocentric perspective, whereas I've used the Ecliptic path of the Sun☉, which is in effect the orbit of the earth around the Sun☉, showing the North at the top and the South at the bottom!

Why The Discrepancy?

The slight misalignment between the astronomy and the astrology of this event is because the earth's orbit is elliptical rather than round and its axis is tilted which means that the orbit doesn't fit exactly within a circle

In astrology, the Zodiac Sun Signs divide the ecliptic into equal 30° segments

But, the Sun spends more time (approximately 187 days) above the equator than it does below (approx. 178 days) making the seasons, and therefore the months, slightly different in length

The UCC balances the Seasons via its 5 special Intercalary days making them all exactly 90 days each, and the Triad Months all exactly 30 Days each.

But the Sun actually spends more time in Quarter 2 (Cancer♋, Leo♌ & Virgo♍) than it does in Quarter 4 (Capricorn♑, Aquarius♒ & Pisces♓) as it is further away from the earth during Quarter 2 due to the ellipse and therefore appears to travel slower in the sky making that part of the year a little longer.

The slide below shows when the nearest and furthest points of the elliptical orbit occur

So, we can see the historical links between astrology and astronomy reflected in their modern day uses

And in the spirit of left brain/right brain balance and Scientific & Spiritual equilibrium, I think it's time we brought them back together!

After all, achieving balance is what life is ALL about...

Anyway, the main point to remember is that we reach the mid point between the Capricorn♑Solstice and the 'Nobenox'/Aries♈Equinox at the time of this Mid Season Festival of Aquarius EVERY year

Happy Mid Season!

⊗♒

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