The 2012 Solstice Sun-Galactic Equator Confusion

This is my response to a question I received from a Lunar Planner subscriber: "Does the Sun line up with the Milky Way Galaxy? I thought I understood it but saw a news program where scientists rebuked that; regarding the Mayan 2012 (December solstice)..."

It seems common that people gather bits of information they do not fully understand, and then lump it together into one fictitious event, or belief structure. This is certainly the case with people saying the solstice sun aligns with the galaxy in 2012, or more specifically on the December solstice of 2012. It is a rather generalized and misleading statement. You could equally say this occurs for both the summer and winter solstices for many years--it is a meaningless statement without clarifying the facts; one that has gotten sensationalized in the "end of the Mayan Calendar" saga.

The solstice (summer and winter) Earth-Sun alignment (which is always square the vernal points / axis, and which moves with Earth precession through the ecliptic) only aligns with the galactic equator (with the equatorial nodes, the "Gate of God" and "Gate of Man", which is the fixed axis of the Earth's precessional Holy Cross) when the moving vernal axis is exactly square to the fixed galactic axis; i.e., when a perfect precessional cross occurs in the ecliptic. (This solstice-galactic alignment occurs two times in Earth's ~25000-year precessional cycle because there are two crosses (90° and 270°) occurring in the cycle.)

The exact 270° cross occurred in 1998 (about July 6, 1998), NOT in 2012; and this was when the solstice Earth-Sun aligned "exactly" with the galactic equator (the Gate of God / Gate of Man). (The closest solstice-galactic equator alignment would have been the June solstice of 1998; with the Sun on the "Gate of Man"  (5° sidereal Gemini) and with the Earth on the "Gate of God" (5° sidereal Sag). However, keep in mind that this is merely an academic statement:

The vernal axis moves very slowly, about 1° every 72 Earth years, so that means that the orb for the exact square of the precessional cross is very small over many years (that is, in 2012, the cross is a mere fraction of a degree past its exact square). I give the details of the changing orb on the Holy Cross web page.

You might also find that some people say that the solstice Sun is still seen to occur on the galactic equator because the (apparent) diameter of Sun, as seen from Earth is about 0.53 degrees--illustrated in the pic below. Personally, with all due respect for people opinions, this is another meaningless piece of academic information used to justify the Solstice Sun-2012 myth and to make the December 2012 solstice extra special.

Pic from Earth's Precessional Holy Cross web page:
http://www.lunarplanner.com/HolyCross.html#Timing


Another thing to consider is that we reduce the galactic equator to a line in the heavens, which approximates the exact plane of our galaxy. This is merely academic as well. There is thickness to the galactic plane. So even to say that the solstice sun aligned with the galactic nodes in 1998 is also an academic statement. This is why I emphasize on the Holy Cross web page that the "exact timing of the exact cross" is merely an academic exploration; and that, experientially, we are making the "crossing" (through the Holy Cross portal) NOW--moment-by-moment.

For the above reasons and others, I do not see that we are waiting for some special event to occur at some specific point in Earth time (whether it be a cataclysmic end of the world, or some magical awakening for the entire Earth populous, as many of the 2012-focused people purport). I see this transition, a very significant one, occurring over many years, if not decades--one that gradually continues, one that we are in the midst of. This is why I emphasize the importance of learning to live in the present, in tune with the ever-changing astronomical cycles and to live grounded to the Earth. This is the purpose of the Lunar Planner, a tool to learn to live in this moment-by-moment attunement. My intent in presenting the material on Earth's precessional Holy Cross is not to emphasize a date we are waiting on, or one that has passed, but to provide context for the transition we are experiencing, to help us understand what it is about, and how to breath with it. 

Hope that helps to clarify.
Nick