Take a deep breath as we enter this time of the winter solstice on December 21 in the northern hemisphere. Think of it as a sacred gateway: an ending and a new beginning. With all the noise of 2021, it is time for some much-needed quiet and inner nourishment. Mother Nature is asking us to reflect, recalibrate, and strengthen our ability to shine in the world.

The winter solstice is the shortest day of the year and the longest night. At this time, many cultures believe that the archetypal Great Mother gave birth to a sun child (the Egyptian deity Isis gave birth to sun god Horus; the Greek Leto gave birth to a shining Apollo.) This is a moment to hold the light for yourself and others. Here are eight rituals to help you do so.

1. Turn off the lights.

On the night of the solstice, unplug your phone, TV, and tablets. Instead of turning on electric lights, eat dinner by candlelight and…

Click here to read the rest of the article from mindbodygreen.com

Winter solstice 2021: Why it happens and how we celebrate the first day of winter

For the past six months, the days have grown shorter and the nights have grown longer in the Northern Hemisphere. But that’s about to reverse itself.

Winter solstice 2021, the shortest day of year and the official first day of winter, is on Tuesday, December 21. How it all works has fascinated people for thousands of years.

First we’ll look at the science and precise timing behind the solstice. Then we’ll explore some ancient traditions and celebrations around the world.

From msn.com

Printable Winter Solstice Coloring Pages

December 21 Today In History

Today’s Important Historical Events

1620 Mayflower Pilgrims come ashore at in Plymouth Bay, traditionally thought to be at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts [OS=Dec 11]

1898 Scientists Pierre and Marie Curie discover radium

1968 Apollo 8: 1st manned Moon voyage launched with Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and William Anders

1988 Lockerbie disaster: A terrorist bomb destroys Pan Am Flight 103 mid-air, over Scotland; kills all 259 passengers and crew on board, and 11 people on the ground [1]

1991 Soviet Union formally dissolves as 11 of 12 republics sign treaty forming Commonwealth of Independent States

Today’s Historical Events

1163 Hurricane hits villages in Holland/Friesland, causing floods

1561 Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle, Archbishop of Mechelen, made Cardinal

1582 Flanders adopts the Gregorian calendar, skipping 11 days making the next day Jan 1, 1583

1598 Battle of Curalaba: the Mapuche people led by Pelentaru revolt and inflict a major defeat on Spanish troops in southern Chile

1620 Mayflower Pilgrims come ashore at in Plymouth Bay, traditionally thought to be at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts [OS=Dec 11]

1650 Johan de Witt installed as Dutch Pensionary of Dordrecht

1784 John Jay becomes acting US Secretary of State (1789-90)

1788 Hue Tay Son becomes emperor Quang Trung of Vietnam

Today’s Historical Events in Film and TV

1914 1st feature-length silent film comedy “Tillie’s Punctured Romance” released starring Marie Dressler, Mabel Normand and Charlie Chaplin

1925 “Battleship Potemkin”, Soviet silent film directed by Sergei Eisenstein, starring Aleksandr Antonov, Vladimir Barksy and Grigori Aleksandrov, premieres in Moscow

1933 Fox Films signs Shirley Temple aged 5, to a studio contract

1934 French film “Zouzou” premieres in Paris, starring Josephine Baker; 1st black woman to star in a major motion picture

1937 The first full-length animated feature film and the earliest in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”, premieres at the Carthay Circle Theatre

1949 “Samson and Delilah”, directed and produced by Cecil B. DeMille, starring Hedy Lamarr and Victor Mature, premieres in New York

1952 WSBT TV channel 22 in South Bend, IN (CBS) begins broadcasting

1953 KOMU TV channel 8 in Columbia, MO (NBC/PBS) begins broadcasting

Today’s Historical Music Events

1920 Jerome Kern/BG DeSylva’s musical “Sally” premieres in NYC

1941 David Diamond’s 1st Symphony premieres

1945 “Billion Dollar Baby” opens at Alvin Theater NYC for 219 performances

1946 “If the Shoe Fits” closes at Century Theater NYC after 20 performances

1950 Cole Porter‘s musical “Out of this World” premieres at New Century Theater NYC; runs for 157 performances

1960 Ornette Coleman records his influential album “Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation”, establishes the name for the Free Jazz sound

1961 Beatles record “Sweet Georgia Brown” & “Ready Teddy”

1968 Glen Campbell‘s album “Wichita Lineman” goes to #1 in the US

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1891 1st game of basketball, based on rules created by James Naismith, played by 18 students in Springfield, Massachusetts

1918 Red Sox trade Dutch Leonard, Ernie Shore & Duffy Lewis to Yankees for Ray Caldwell & Slim Love, Frank Gilhooey, Al Walters & $15,000

1925 Test batsman Hunter “Stork” Hendry scores career best unbeaten 325 for Victoria against New Zealand in drawn tour match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground

1926 Soccer team DOS Struggle forms

1932 Giants sign former outfielder Billy Southworth as a coach

1936 Bradman‘s 2nd consecutive Test Cricket duck! Australia all out for 80

1937 O’Reilly completes 14-98 for cricket match, NSW v South Aust

1937 Chicago Black Hawks left wing Paul Thompson becomes first player in NHL history to score a goal against his brother; scores on bro Cecil of the Boston Bruins with just 9 seconds left in regulation; Bruins win though, 2-1

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2021 December 21

Solstice Sun and Milky Way

Composite Image Credit & Copyright: Stefan Seip (TWAN)

Explanation: Welcome to December’s solstice, first day of winter in the north and summer for the southern hemisphere. Astronomical markers of the seasons, solstice and equinox dates are based on the Sun’s place in its annual journey along the ecliptic, through planet Earth’s sky. At this solstice, the Sun reaches its maximum southern declination of -23.5 degrees today at 15:59 UTC, while its right ascension coordinate on the celestial sphere is 18 hours. That puts the Sun in the constellation Sagittarius in a direction near the center of our Milky Way galaxy. In fact, if you could see today’s Solstice Sun against faint background stars and nebulae (that’s really hard to do, especially in the daytime …) your view might look something like this composited panorama. To make it, images of our fair galaxy were taken under dark Namibian night skies, then stitched together in a panoramic view. From a snapshot made on 2015 December 21, the Sun was digitally overlayed as a brilliant star at today’s northern winter solstice position, close to the center of the Milky Way.

Discovery + Outreach: Graduate student research position open for APOD

21 December Daily Correspondence Digest for the Southern Hemisphere’s Moon Phase and Planetary Positions

You can use this link to go forward or backward in time for Moon phase information. If you are curious you can even find out what phase the Moon was in when you or anyone else, you know was on the date the person was born.

From Moongiant.com

Today and tonight the Moon will be in a Waning Gibbous Phase. This is the first phase after the Full Moon occurs. It lasts roughly 7 days with the Moon’s illumination growing smaller each day until the Moon becomes a Last Quarter Moon with an illumination of 50%. The average Moon rise for this phase is between 9pm and Midnight depending on the age of the phase. The moon rises later and later each night setting after sunrise in the morning. During this phase the Moon can also be seen in the early morning daylight hours on the western horizon.

Visit the December 2021 Moon Phases Calendar to see all the daily moon phase for this month.

Today’s Waning Gibbous Phase

The Waning Gibbous on December 21 has an illumination of 95%. This is the percentage of the Moon illuminated by the Sun. The illumination is constantly changing and can vary up to 10% a day. On December 21 the Moon is 16.84 days old. This refers to how many days it has been since the last New Moon. It takes 29.53 days for the Moon to orbit the Earth and go through the lunar cycle of all 8 Moon phases.

The 8 Lunar Phases

There are 8 lunar phases the Moon goes through in its 29.53 days lunar cycle. The 4 major Moon phases are Full Moon, New Moon, First Quarter and Last Quarter. Between these major phases, there are 4 minor ones: the Waxing Crescent, Waxing Gibbous, Waning Gibbous and Waning Crescent. For more info on the Moon Cycle and on each phase check out Wikipedia Lunar Phase page.

Phase Details

Phase: Waning Gibbous
Illumination: 95%
Moon Age: 16.84 days
Moon Angle: 0.50
Moon Distance: 400,784.30 km
Sun Angle: 0.54
Sun Distance: 147,156,969.76 km

Useful Moon Resources

Check the weather before a night of Moon gazing at weather.com

For a list of all the current meteor showers visit American Meteor Society

If you need to calculate the planetary positions for a specific use and time, click on this link

Currentplanetarypositions.com

To figure out GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) to your local time use this link

For Your Local Time and Date

Southeastern Hemisphere

The time for the Custom Planetary Positions is from the local time in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

21 December 2021
06:00 am GMT 5:00 PM AEDT
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:29 Sagittarius 35
Moon:22 Cancer 01
Mercury:11 Capricorn 48
Venus:26 Capricorn 25 Rx
Mars:05 Sagittarius 30
Jupiter:28 Aquarius 33
Saturn:10 Aquarius 47
Uranus:11 Taurus 10 Rx
Neptune:20 Pisces 31
Pluto:25 Capricorn 36
True Lunar Node:01 Gemini 31 Rx
Mean Lunar Node:00 Gemini 06 Rx
Lilith (Black Moon):17 Gemini 16
Chiron:08 Aries 26
Ceres:00 Gemini 02 Rx
Pallas:13 Pisces 59
Juno:13 Capricorn 15
Vesta:18 Sagittarius 44
Eris:23 Aries 44 Rx

Fire:5
Earth:5
Air:6
Water:3

Cardinal:7
Fixed:3
Mutable:9

Southwestern Hemisphere

The time for the Custom Planetary Positions is from the local time in Sao Paulo, Brazil, South America

21 December 2021
08:00 pm GMT 5:00 PM BRT
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:00 Capricorn 10
Moon:29 Cancer 03
Mercury:12 Capricorn 43
Venus:26 Capricorn 22 Rx
Mars:05 Sagittarius 54
Jupiter:28 Aquarius 39
Saturn:10 Aquarius 51
Uranus:11 Taurus 09 Rx
Neptune:20 Pisces 31
Pluto:25 Capricorn 37
True Lunar Node:01 Gemini 28 Rx
Mean Lunar Node:00 Gemini 04 Rx
Lilith (Black Moon):17 Gemini 20
Chiron:08 Aries 26
Ceres:29 Taurus 56 Rx
Pallas:14 Pisces 06
Juno:13 Capricorn 28
Vesta:19 Sagittarius 03
Eris:23 Aries 43 Rx

Fire:4
Earth:7
Air:5
Water:3

Cardinal:8
Fixed:4
Mutable:7

December 20 Daily Correspondence Digest for the Daily and Birthday Horoscopes

Click here for Georgia Nicols’ Daily Horoscopes

Moon Alert

There are no restrictions to shopping or important decisions today. The Moon is in Cancer.

Aries (March 21-April 19)

A conversation with a boss, parent or someone in a position of authority will surprise you today. Someone might suggest something that you least expected to hear? (Hopefully, you’re pleased.) Perhaps something unexpected will cause you to shift a long-term plan?

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

This is an excellent day to take up a new study or explore a new subject or learn a new language because you’re keen to explore new ideas. You might also have a sudden opportunity to travel today. If so, act quickly because this window of opportunity is brief.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

You feel slightly electrified today because your ruler Mercury is dancing with unpredictable Uranus. It will be wise to double check details regarding shared property, taxes, debt and insurance matters because something unexpected will impact these areas. Be in the know!

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

Someone close to you, a partner or friend, will surprise you today. They might throw you a curveball; or perhaps, they have exciting, new information? Possibly, you will meet someone new today or be introduced to a member of the general public. If so, this person will be unusual or different.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)

Your work scene will hold a few surprises for you today. You might meet someone new on the job? Someone might say or do something that surprises you? Please note: Pet owners should be aware that something unpredictable could impact their pets. Stay tuned!

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

You’re full of wonderful, creative ideas today, which is why this is an exciting day for those who work in the arts or the entertainment world. In fact, a sweet invitation might come your way! (If so, respond quickly.) Meanwhile, parents — please take note: this is an accident-prone day for your kids so be extra vigilant.

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)

Your home routine will be interrupted today. Small appliances might break down or a minor breakage could occur. Someone unexpected might appear at your door? Family news could be exciting. Get dressed. This is not a typical Monday; be ready for a surprise.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)

You’re full of clever, unusual and original ideas today. However, because your mind is excited, you might be inclined overlook details. Fortunately, you will make up for this with a heightened intuition. (“I see dead people.”) Relatives, siblings and neighbours might have surprising news. You might meet a new face?

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

Something unexpected could impact your finances or your possessions today. For example, you might find money or you might lose money. Possibly, something that you own will be suddenly lost, damaged or stolen? On the upside, you might have a clever moneymaking idea.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

This is a great way to begin your week because you feel excited about something. You feel alive and eager! In a curious way, everything that you encounter today will have a new freshness about it. You might feel as if you have suddenly landed from Mars.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)

You will feel restless today because your ruler Uranus is dancing with Mercury, and Mercury is related to your everyday communications and your everyday habits. That’s why this is an unpredictable day for most people – including you.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)

A friend might surprise you today. Possibly this person is a member of a group? Alternatively, you might meet someone new who is different, avant-garde or unusual in some way. Whatever the case, this is not a boring day. Enjoy your encounters with new people. Learn something new!

If Your Birthday Is Today

Actor Jang Hyuk (1976) shares your birthday today. Outwardly, you have a casual breezy attitude; however, inwardly, you are sensitive and psychic. You will always be youthful, humorous and playful because this is your basic nature. This year has been a year of beginnings for you. Continue to be courageous and open new doors to explore new avenues. Next year is more slower paced while you focus on relationships.

Click here to read anyone’s birthday horoscope

DECEMBER 20 birthday horoscope predicts that you are the person everyone wants to be. This Sagittarius born today knows how to blend in according to the situation at hand. This quality could be closely related to your psychic abilities. You can be exceptionally successful. You always know in advance what will work for you and what won’t.

The December 20 birthday personality bring in the sunshine when they walk into a room. It’s hard being you, but nobody does it better. You’re a supportive and caring friend. These Sagittarius birthday people are fun-loving who want to live a youthful life. You may feel that laughter is one the keys to a healthier life.

As the December 20 zodiac sign is Sagittarius, you value traditions and have strong family connections. However, there are a few things that you would like to get rid of from your past like your nickname for instance. The name carries a certain image that you most certainly have overcome.

As an adult, you are appreciative of people who are earnest and respectful. You have grown to be an exceptional individual who is willing to make sacrifices for those you love. As a drawback, the people born on this zodiac birthday are impetuous. When you see an opportunity to show off, you do! You love an audience. The future of person who born on 20 December will always be promising.

The fact that you are sincere and outspoken could hurt someone’s feelings. However, you want to see the good in everybody. Your friends have high regard for you. The biggest form of flattery is imitation. If you look around, you’ll find that you have some fans.

The December 20 horoscope predicts that finding a lover has never been a problem for you. You are the romantic type who is perhaps idealistic. You’re emotional and somewhat uncertain about love. Generally, you look for someone who shares the same ideas as you regarding the important issues such as marital affairs and obligations. It’s not surprising that you would put your lover’s needs first.

As a December 20 birthday personality, likely you are genetically inclined to be a certain weight. You eat when and what you want. You hardly exercise, but you stay active. Could your attitude have anything to do with your health? Well, some experts agree that our thoughts are indeed related to how we feel. You believe you have the power to choose your emotions as well. You can either choose to be depressed or at least make a genuine effort to move on from the situation.

The December 20th astrology shows that you are career-minded. You want more than just a job. Every one of us has some degree of psychic ability. You have more than most. This is not a bad profession as the industry is as strong as ever. It could be profitable if only done part-time. Because you are intelligent and nosy, you may want to check out a career in travel or sales.

A combination of the two would make this December 20 Sagittarius a happy-being. However, you are a business-minded person who is not afraid of a challenge. You have a choice of careers. Sticking to one job is your weakness. Sacrificing is second nature to you. If it provides you with the right stimulation and freedom, the chances are good that you see it through.

The December 20 horoscope suggests that you are likely the talk of the town. You’re also the person who intimidates most people’s significant others. You’re too friendly sometimes for your good. However, your ability to transform yourself can quickly change someone’s mind about you and have them eating out your hands.

Once you have moved on from your past, you can have the relationship you so desire. Typically, this December 20 Sagittarius birthday person wants a mirroring partnership. Someone who shares your ideas and values will be the lucky one in your life. As your career progresses, you’ll find that money isn’t everything. It’s having a position in life that makes you feel appreciated and free.

Famous People And Celebrities Born On December 20

Ashley Cole, David De Jesus, Royal Ivey, Sohail Khan, Chris Robinson, Mitsuko Uchida, Iqbal Theba

See: Famous Celebrities Born On December 20

This Day That Year – December 20 In History

1975 – Joe Walsh made an incredible deal with the Eagles.
1983 – Yasser Arafat and 4,000 others abandon Lebanon.
1993 – Marla Maples and Donald Trump exchange wedding vows.
2011 – Female demonstrators stand against Cairo’s military police abuse of women.

December 20 Dhanu Rashi (Vedic Moon Sign)
December 20 Chinese Zodiac RAT

December 20 Birthday Planet

Your ruling planet is Jupiter that symbolizes your impulsiveness, morality, desire to help others and aspirations.

December 20 Birthday Symbols

The Archer Is The Symbol For The Sagittarius Sun Sign

December 20 Birthday Tarot Card

Your Birthday Tarot Card is Judgment. This card shows that you should listen to your inner calling and make judgments based on it. The Minor Arcana cards are Ten of Wands and Queen of Pentacles

December 20 Birthday Zodiac Compatibility

You are most compatible with people born under Zodiac Sign Leo: This relationship will be sexually stimulating.
You are not compatible with people born under Zodiac Sign Aquarius: This relationship will be impulsive and emotionally painful.

See Also:

December 20 Lucky Numbers

Number 2 – This number stands for peace, endurance, co-operation, and faithfulness.
Number 5 – This is a number that stands for intellect, curiosity, new experiences, and freedom.

Read about: Birthday Numerology

Lucky Colors For December 20 Birthday

Silver: This is a sophisticated color that symbolizes psychic powers, innocence, liberal thinking and industrious nature.
Purple: This is a calming color that symbolizes dreams, richness, magic, and wisdom.

Lucky Days For December 20 Birthday

Monday – This is the day of the Moon that helps you make decisions based on analysis of your feelings and emotions.
Thursday – This day ruled by Jupiter is symbolic of your generous personality and hardworking temperament.

December 20 Birthstone Turquoise

Turquoise gemstone promotes serenity, love, optimism and, self-esteem.

Ideal Zodiac Birthday Gifts For People Born On December 20

A yearly subscription to a travel magazine for the man and a cookbook on World cuisine for the woman. The December 20 birthday horoscope foretells that your telepathic powers will help you in the long run.