On Dec. 21 a rare astronomical event, one replete with literary significance, will be visible for the first time in 800 years. A conjunction between the planets Jupiter and Saturn, during which they will be so close together as to almost join. The last time this was visible from Earth was in 1226—the year that Saint Francis of Assisi died. I recommend a Wikipedia read on Saint Francis and his counterpart Saint Clara. Fascinating individuals, they influenced the entire course of European history while living in hovels, walking barefoot, and preaching to birds. Our own San Francisco and Silicon Valley are named for them, in fact. And get this: while Francis is famously the patron saint of ecology, Clara is the patron saint of television! Did she see that one coming? Yes, actually: she was known for the ability to watch mass on the wall of her cell when she was too sick to attend—800 years before Zoom!
The event we’ll observe is even more rare than the one those two witnessed, falling on winter solstice. The last time that happened dinosaurs were probably watching. (Ask any bird!)
In Ancient Greek myth, winter solstice is the one day that the Halcyon or Kingfisher can give birth at sea, because the waters have finally stilled. Let’s hope the waters become still after this year of change, and give birth to a halcyon lucidity. Perhaps we will be able to recognize the astronomical events of 2020 for what they are.
Chris Palmisano