The Winter Solstice, the Galactic Center, and the Cosmic Message from Göbekli Tepe
AstroGnosis || Functional Astrology
What if the ancients built celestial clocks—not to tell time, but to warn us about ours? The winter solstice of 2024 aligns with a cosmic event so rare it captivated the builders of Göbekli Tepe and the Mayan empire. Its significance might just hold the key to humanity’s future.
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Winter Solstice, 2024: A Cosmic Turning Point
On Saturday, December 21, 2024, at 3:20 am CST, the winter solstice marks its annual return, with the Sun positioned at 5° Sagittarius 47′ in the Sidereal Zodiac. Known as the shortest day of the year for the northern hemisphere, this event symbolizes the rebirth of light and the cyclical turning point from darkness to illumination.
For thousands of years, humanity has honored the winter solstice as more than just an astronomical occurrence. It represents a sacred threshold—a moment when the heavens and the Earth align to reflect the deeper rhythms of time. Across cultures and civilizations, the solstice has been infused with symbolic meaning, representing endings and beginnings, the balance of light and shadow, and the promise of renewal.
What makes this year’s solstice extraordinary is its near-perfect alignment with the Galactic Center, the gravitational heart of the Milky Way galaxy. Located at approximately 5° Sagittarius Sidereal, the Galactic Center is, as the ancients understood it, the womb of the galaxy. Today’s astronomers understand it as an enigmatic, energetic hub, emitting intense radiation and anchoring the rotational forces of our galaxy.
This particular alignment with the winter solstice—our Sun acting as the bead of a rifle sight aimed directly at the Galactic Center—evokes the wisdom of ancient traditions. The intricately carved pillars of Göbekli Tepe, for example, encode alignments tied to celestial cycles, while the Mayan Long Count calendar’s 2012 transition emphasized the solstice as a moment of cosmic significance. Near this celestial coordinate, the winter solstice was revered as a portal through which the cycles of time could be observed, understood, and navigated.
Said simply, this moment in cosmic time—spanning the years 1960 to 2040, when the winter solstice Sun occupies this sensitive zone of the zodiac—is a pivotal period for humanity. It marks the closing of an old epoch, and the beginning of a new.
Naked Eye Astronomy: The Ancient Skywatchers
Before we continue, consider this: ancient astrologers did their work by naked eye, line-of-sight observation. Night after night, year after year, for millennia, they meticulously mapped the heavens. Can you imagine that kind of dedication to craft? Generation after generation of astrologer-priests, “paying it forward,” mapping the subtle movements of celestial bodies and observing the repeating patterns woven through the fabric of the cosmos.
In the case of precession, these ancient observers tracked a change so gradual that it spanned lifetimes—just 1 degree of movement in the heavens every 72 years. They experienced and mapped this subtle shift, noting the changing position of the winter solstice Sun against the backdrop of the zodiac.
That alone boggles the mind.
But what does a 1-degree change in position along the ecliptic actually look like? To visualize it, extend your arm fully out in front of you, pinky up. The width of your pinky at that distance represents approximately 1 degree of the ecliptic. For the ancient astrologer-priests, mapping such changes with this level of accuracy—by eye alone—over decades and centuries is nothing short of extraordinary.
Let’s simplify the math: if 1 degree of precessional change takes roughly 72 years, then the winter solstice Sun has (and will be) visually rising at 5° to 6° Sagittarius from around 1960 to 2040. While the ancients couldn’t pinpoint an exact date, their precision allowed them to identify this period as a liminal phase of incredible transformation—a time when humanity stands at the threshold of cosmic renewal. Myths passed down from these ancient skywatchers reflect the profound significance of this transition, and the astronomical alignments I’ve been observing in recent years affirm their insights.
Our ancestors, through elaborate myths and astronomically precise monuments, pointed to this: deep within the convergence of the constellations Scorpio and Sagittarius lies the Galactic Center, a gravitational heart around which our entire galaxy revolves. Modern astronomers identify this cosmic hub as Sagittarius A* (Sag A), a supermassive black hole emitting immense energy, though invisible to the naked eye. Its position, traditionally anchored between 5° and 6° Sagittarius Sidereal, was approximated through careful observation of nearby stars, like the brilliant Al Nasl at 3° Sagittarius—a celestial sentinel marking the gateway to this sacred source of power.
In myth and esoteric wisdom, there is no ambiguity: the Galactic Center is the cosmic navel, the womb of creation and dissolution, the herald of grand cycles of time. From the Vedic Yugas to the Mayan Long Count calendar, this celestial locus symbolizes humanity’s eternal dance between destruction and rebirth. And now, as the winter solstice Sun aligns with this sacred heart, we are called to reimagine our place in the cosmic symphony.
This is, indeed, an incredibly transformative time—the ending of the last age (or Yuga Cycle) as prophesied by the Mayans, and a transition into the new.
You Are Here…
If our galaxy were a massive hurricane, the galactic center would be the eye, and our home solar system would be a tiny astronomical conglomeration about ⅔ of the way out on one of the outstretched spiral arms.
Without some serious spiritual grounding, one might feel very insignificant here.
Now, if you were to get up early in the pre-dawn hours and look east on December 21st, you’d see this line-up on the horizon.
Of note here is that the “Teapot” is an easily identifiable asterism (patterns more easily identifiable than the full constellations they belong to) located within the boundaries of the constellation Sagittarius. Also, 3 Sag is the star nearest the unobservable (with the naked eye) black hole, Sag A.
Here’s another look…
This is looking east, just before sunrise. The red line is the ecliptic, and you can see the Sun, just below the horizon, stationed as the “bead of a rifle sight” rising along with the “womb of the Universe” at approximately 5 Sag. By winter solstice 2040, this alignment will have shifted to below 5 Sag. This we know because procession has been a phenomenon humanity has known how to calculate since at least the time Göbekli Tepe was constructed - approximately 12 thousand years ago.
The question remaining is why that culture - and the Mayan empire, too - placed so much emphasis on this time.
Gobekli Tepe and the Galactic Center: A Time Capsule
The ancient builders of Göbekli Tepe, a site that predates Stonehenge by over 6,000 years, appears to have encoded intricate astronomical alignments into its structures. The arrangement of its pillars and carvings suggests that these early skywatchers possessed extraordinary precision, orienting their monuments to track precessional cycles and other celestial phenomena. Central to this alignment is the region between Sagittarius and Scorpio, where the Galactic Center resides—a zone often referred to as the cosmic guidepost in esoteric traditions.
Spiritual Timekeeping: Göbekli Tepe may have served as a "cosmic clock," a monument preserving sacred knowledge about the cycles of creation, destruction, and renewal. These cycles, tied to the Galactic Center, appear to underpin humanity's most enduring myths of rebirth and transformation.
A Warning and a Promise: The carvings on Göbekli Tepe’s Pillar 43 (the "Vulture Stone") hint at an awareness of catastrophic events—possibly linked to the Taurid Resonant Swarm, a cluster of meteor debris associated with periods of significant upheaval on Earth. The dual symbolism suggests both a warning of destruction and a promise of renewal, themes echoed in traditions across the world.
Spiritual Teachings and the Galactic Center
The Galactic Center is not only an astronomical phenomenon but also a transcendent spiritual symbol, deeply embedded in the wisdom traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism. Across these teachings, it serves as a metaphor for the cyclical nature of existence and the soul’s journey through creation, preservation, and dissolution.
Hinduism: The Navel of Creation
In Hindu cosmology, the Galactic Center is reminiscent of the Brahmanda, or the Cosmic Egg—the navel from which the universe is born and to which it ultimately returns. This cycle of birth, preservation, and destruction aligns with the eternal dance of the Trimurti: Brahma (the creator), Vishnu (the preserver), and Shiva (the destroyer).
The Galactic Center also reflects the eternal cycles of the Yugas, where humanity moves through periods of spiritual enlightenment and material decline. In this context, the current shift from the Kali Yuga (the age of darkness) to the Dwapara Yuga (the age of awakening) mirrors the transformative energy emanating from the Galactic Center.
Buddhism: The Void and Liberation
In Buddhist teachings, the Galactic Center’s supermassive black hole resonates with the concept of Sunyata, or emptiness. This ultimate void is paradoxically both the source of all existence and the dissolution of form, reflecting the nature of the Galactic Center itself. Just as a black hole consumes matter, the path to spiritual awakening requires dissolving the ego and embracing the void, which leads to liberation.
The Middle Way, a cornerstone of Buddhist practice, finds a cosmic mirror in the dynamic energy of the Galactic Center. It embodies the balance between creation and destruction, reminding us to transcend extremes and walk the path of harmony. This interplay of forces reflects not only the natural laws of the universe but also the spiritual journey of those seeking enlightenment.
Bottom Line: Why This Solstice Matters
The Sun’s alignment with the Galactic Center during the 2024 winter solstice is not just an astronomical phenomenon—it’s a wakeup, and a call to action.
Astrologically, this moment amplifies the transformational energies of Sagittarius, urging humanity to release outdated structures, embrace higher truths, and align with a greater vision for the future. Spiritually, it represents a pivotal point in our collective journey through the cycles of light and darkness, ascension and descension—a moment of majestic potential to transcend the limiting patterns of the past.
This alignment reminds us that the Galactic Center is more than just a physical location—it’s a symbol of the cosmic womb, the ouroboros of creation, preservation and dissolution. The ancients understood this well. The builders of Göbekli Tepe carved their monuments to echo the rhythms of the Yugas, embedding knowledge of cycles they knew would shape humanity’s future. The Mayans, with their intricate Long Count calendar, recognized the end of one age as a gateway to renewal and transformation to the next cycle. For the Hindus and Buddhists, the cosmic womb represents the eternal cycles of birth, preservation, and dissolution that govern not only the universe but also the spiritual path of the soul.
As above, so below.
But what does all of this mean for someone today—someone living in a world far removed from ancient monoliths, trying to navigate the challenges of modern life, from paying bills to grappling with global uncertainty?
Here lies the wisdom of the ancients. Their message was not about preparing for catastrophe in fear, but about aligning with cosmic cycles in faith and understanding. As Bibhu Dev Misra has pointed out, this moment in time does not call for stockpiling provisions or building bomb shelters. Instead, it calls for a spiritual alignment—a conscious effort to transcend fear and connect to the larger cycles of creation and renewal. This is the true preparation: embracing the wisdom of the stars to ground ourselves in the present while remaining open to transformation.
For the person struggling in today’s fast-paced, material-driven world, this means taking small, deliberate steps toward inner alignment. It might look like:
Pausing to reflect: What patterns in your life no longer serve you? What truths feel ready to emerge?
Cultivating mindfulness: Practices like meditation, journaling, or simply observing the beauty of nature help connect us to the present and the vastness of existence.
Focusing on service: Aligning with the cosmic flow often means stepping into roles that contribute to the well-being of others and the planet.
Letting go of fear: Recognizing that change, even when it feels destabilizing, is part of a larger, purposeful cycle.
The ancients built Göbekli Tepe, calculated the Mayan calendar, and meditated on the cosmic womb not simply to mark time but to remind us of our place in the grand cosmic story. They understood that moments like this—a winter solstice aligned with the Galactic Center—are not endings (there is no “end”, only transition) but opportunities to realign with the cycles of creation. They ask us not only to honor the past but also to imagine a future shaped by higher truths, greater harmony, and a deeper connection to the universe.
This solstice, let us heed their wisdom. Let us remember that we are not isolated figures spinning in a disconnected chaos, but participants in a cosmic symphony—a symphony that calls us, even in the midst of modern struggles, to evolve, awaken, and rediscover our shared origins in the stars.
In Part II we’ll consider a couple of key, solstice-specific alignments and how they pertain to issues facing the United States.
Keith