A special Winter Solstice Dec. 21, 2020

[Papageno]

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ch ... 0-n1250418

excerpt:

By chance, the day that Jupiter and Saturn will appear closest for Earth-based stargazers is Dec. 21, the winter solstice, which is the longest night of the year in the northern hemisphere.

The double planet view is also known by some astronomers as the "Christmas Star" because of a belief that the biblical tale of the Star of Bethlehem could have been a planetary conjunction. Although around two thousand years ago, Venus and Jupiter were closest — not Jupiter and Saturn, as is the case for the "Christmas Star" of 2020.

The last time the two planets were so close was 1623, but stargazing conditions at the time meant the astronomical event likely was not seen by earthlings. The last time such a close pairing was observable to the naked eye was in 1226, according to EarthSky.

[Rachelcat]

Thanks! Interesting! My tarot society friends were talking about this, but I forgot. Now I'm going to look around to see what the astrologers say about the significance thereof.

[Nemia]

Jupiter has been pulling closer to Saturn for a long time now, it's wonderful to see them together. If you have good binoculars, you can see the Galilean moons - always an exciting sight.

Personally, I don't believe that a conjunction was interpreted as Star of Bethlehem. The Chaldeans ("Wise Men from the Orient...") and other stargazing civilizations knew the planets perfectly well - after all, you can see them every night. My personal belief is that they either saw a Supernova or a comet, i.e., a celestial body they did not know.

It's not reasonable imho to think that people who study the skies for generations interpret a conjunction as new star.

I enjoy the longer, darker nights immensely. In the evening, we say good-bye to the Summer triangle, in the mornings, the Signs come up again. I'm always amazed at the speed we move through space. It's mind-boggling to me.

[Papageno]

Personally, I don't believe that a conjunction was interpreted as Star of Bethlehem. The Chaldeans ("Wise Men from the Orient...") and other stargazing civilizations knew the planets perfectly well - after all, you can see them every night. My personal belief is that they either saw a Supernova or a comet, i.e., a celestial body they did not know.

It's not reasonable imho to think that people who study the skies for generations interpret a conjunction as new star.

That sounds very reasonable to me.

Celestial conjunctions are a very popular vehicle for scripting sci-fi/horror/occult themed films.....as well as publishing
news articles, it stirs the imagination and all that good stuff.

[Papageno]

Thanks! Interesting! My tarot society friends were talking about this, but I forgot. Now I'm going to look around to see what the astrologers say about the significance thereof.

that makes me think of the tarot of Jacques Viéville - the Star Card

Jacques Viéville Star.jpg (51.18 KiB) Viewed 1012 times

[Ciderwell]

There was a pretty spectacular conjunction at the beginning of this year. Venus dominating the evening sky, with Neptune sparkling fiercely close by. The two stars playing a duo lasting several weeks, I recall.