A Celestial Reveille

Something pretty special is due to happen in the skies this week.

First, a bit of background. The Earth year, depending on which part of the planet you inhabit, has certain seasons at certain points. In much of the Northern hemisphere, the winter solstice (the shortest day of the year) is around 21st or 22nd December. The summer solstice is halfway round the year from that, usually on 21st or 22nd June. The spring and autumn equinoxes take place between those times, in March and September respectively. At corresponding latitudes in the Southern hemisphere, these times are reversed: summer in December, winter in June, and so on.

The exact date and time is not always the same, because the seasons are aligned not with the Gregorian calendar but with certain points in the Earth's orbit, which cause the Sun's latitude from our point of view to appear as far North or South as it can be, or (in the case of the equinoxes) right on the equator.

Astrologically, the solstices and equinoxes, from December onwards, correspond with the Sun's apparent entry into the (tropical) signs of Capricorn, Aries, Cancer and Libra respectively. These four are known as the cardinal signs, those that commence their seasons - associated with pioneering, leading and pushing forward.