When we speak about the winter Solstice as a celebration of the Sun’s rebirth in the northern hemisphere, we must also acknowledge an astronomical fact: The Solstice no longer occurs in the same star sign it once did.

The seasonal cycle is fixed, but the stellar backdrop has shifted, and with it, the symbolism and meaning of our Solstice - and Christmas - celebrations.

Precession of the Equinoxes (and Solstices)

The slow backwards drift of the Equinoxes - and Solstices - approximately 1° every 72 years, is caused by the precession of Earth’s axis. Over millennia, this causes the Tropical zodiac (seasonal) and the Sidereal zodiac (star-based) to separate.

In Indian astrology, this drift is measured using different ayanāṁśa, with citrapakṣa used as the midpoint of the lunar mansion citrā – 0° Sidereal Libra - marked by the ‘fixed star’ Spica. This point acts as a stellar anchor for the beginning of the opposite 0° Sidereal Aries.

Approximately 2,500 years ago, the Equinoxes and Solstices aligned closely with the beginning of the cardinal Sidereal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn). However, since then, these have been slowly moving backwards through the stars, i.e., the Sidereal zodiac.