By Amanda Painter
On Friday, at 11:54 am EDT / 15:54:07 UTC, the Sun enters Cancer for the solstice: the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. It’s one of the year’s four major, seasonal turning points, by which ancient cultures once organized their practical lives and their understanding of the cosmos.
Children seeking asylum dance to music after lunch Wednesday at the Portland (Maine) Expo. Photo by Derek Davis / Portland Press Herald
Most modern cultures have become rather detached from this rhythm — thanks to things like electric lights and other industrial and agricultural innovations obviating our complete dependence on seasonal shifts; along with what we’ve gained in that, there have surely also been losses. Astrologically, the Sun entering Cancer also signals us to be aware of the Aries Point: those first degrees of Aries — extended to the other cardinal signs (Cancer, Libra and Capricorn) — that describe events and issues where the political and personal weave together.