The Winter Solstice
In the northern hemisphere the winter solstice on December 21st is the darkest day of the year. Here, the Sun pauses for three days before continuing its journey north on December 25th. Symbolically December 25th is the birth of the Christ child, the interior Sun/Son.
Birth of the Christ
Christmas is deeply symbolic of the Sun at its nadir, the Midnight Sun planting its seed of light deep within the Earth, to grow and be reborn in the Spring.
Christmas is celebrated after the Sun emerges from underneath the Earth for three days. The Sun/Son emerges after three days in the darkness, foreshadowing the resurrection processes of Easter.
“The Christ-Sun has to advance in order to give us life and in the Spring’s equinox he crucifies himself on the earth; then the grape and the wheat ripen. And it is precisely in Spring when the Lord has to pass through his life, passion and death, so he can later resurrect in the Holy Week.”
-Samael Aun Weor
The Cosmic Christ
Christ is an energy, a particular cosmic force that can incarnate in anyone sufficiently prepared after many years of conscious word and voluntary sufferings. When this Christic force is born into the world it is a Bethlehem of the heart, a celebration of light of love born into the suffering of the world.
Samael Aun Weor tells us that the town of Bethlehem did not exist in Jesus’ time, but that the root of the word is Bel, a Chaldean word that means “tower of fire”. Therefore the birth of Christ in Bethlehem is about the initiated process lived internally with the three factors for the revolution of the consciousness
The Internal Christ
The birth of Christ is an internal and cosmic event that occurs at a certain point in the Initiatic Path, but Christ is also a force that is in everything and that we can access no matter our circumstances. The Christic virtue is at the heart of all conflicts, all problems. Christ is the essence of love and compassion, and that is the seed of light within all darkness.
“The physical Sun is just the symbol of the Spiritual Sun, of the Christ-Sun. When the ancient people adored the Sun, when they worshipped him, they were not worshipping the physical Sun. No, the cult was to the Spiritual Sun, to the Midnight Sun, the Christ- Sun. Undoubtedly, it is the Christ-Sun who has to lead us in the superior worlds of Consciousness. Every mystic that learns to work out of his physical body voluntarily, is guided by the Midnight Sun, by the Cosmic Christ.”
-Samael Aun Weor Lecture: Alchemical Symbolism of Christ’s Nativity
Sagittarius and Capricorn
The winter solstice is also when the Sun moves from fiery sign of Sagittarius into earthy Capricorn, a pragmatic sign ruled by Saturn, the planet of time and death. This is when the exuberance of Sagittarius and the season of celebration give way to a more reflective and practical time.
Capricorn takes the light and wisdom that has been disseminated by Sagittarius and it invests, builds, organizes. The earthiness of Capricorn is about creating hierarchies and systems so that the material needs of the world can be met.
Culturally we see the real impact of Capricorn in January with New Year’s Resolutions, taking stock of our debts and shortcomings and making practical steps to change.
On an esoteric level, the birth of the light of Christ in the world is a moment of great celebration and splendor, and yet just the beginning of the real work in our world. The Christic path is arduous and requires patience, both lessons of Capricorn.