Winter Solstice horoscope: How your star sign can navigate the longest night and move toward the light

Your Winter Solstice horoscope can help guide you through this important date, which is a chance to focus on what you want to shake off in your life as you move forward through the year.

The Winter Solstice is marked by the shortest day and longest night, also known as midwinter, and comes at the dawn of Capricorn season 2022. As the waning of the year ends, and just before the waxing of the year begins, there's a chance for a personal reboot. 

The longest night of the year is a wonderful opportunity to make darkness your friend. Walk through the shadows and acquaint yourself with the hidden parts of your personality. Winter Solstice 2022 is a perfect reminder that when one chapter finishes, another starts - so how is that going to affect your story?

When is Winter Solstice?

Winter Solstice 2022 happens on December 21, 2022, just when the Sun moves from Sagittarius to Capricorn and as Mercury retrograde 2023 shadow period brews mischief. As Winter Solstice is at the start of Capricorn season and just before December New Moon 2022 (the last important date in this year's lunar calendar) it brings a sure-footed way into 2023. On top of that, just a day and a half later we encounter the New Moon in Capricorn, meaning we’re spiritually ready for the New Year, before Christmas day has even started.

We may decide to leave things behind, friendships that no longer serve us, or a job that isn’t a good fit. Or the universe may decide for us to part ways with a person or a situation that disadvantages us in some way.

Look back to the Winter Solstice of 2021 and think – how is your life different now? What did you give up back then? Who has left your life since last winter?

Winter Solstice horoscope

This is when the tide turns. Winter Solstice 2022 is the time of shortest day and longest night, and from the next day, we start the long march toward summer. This is a chance for renewal on all fronts, be it love, wealth, or fitness and your Winter Solstice horoscope has useful hints for the path ahead.

Here's a Winter Solstice horoscope for each astrological sign. Check your astrology birth chart for your sun sign, rising sign, or moon sign. Read all three to get the most complete reading.

Aries

As the first sign of the Zodiac and the ‘baby’ of the wheel, you are perfectly at ease with goodbyes and hellos. Leaving parts of your life behind isn’t scary to you – you’d move house at the drop of a hat, and get out of a secure job without a backwards glance, glad to be pursuing new opportunities. Take advantage of Winter Solstice, when others are also in a reflective mood, and unfollow everyone that doesn’t belong in your life.

Taurus

You’re not a fan of changes, and during this Midwinter point, in 2022, Uranus, planet of chaos and surprises is in your sign, and is retrograde. This means surprises are coming, whether or not you’re ready. Look into your heart, for it is strong and fearless, and let yourself embrace that which you can predict. The return of the light, the rebirth of the year – that is predictable and you can welcome and enjoy it. Other changes will come which will be harder to anticipate, but if you ground yourself in this Solstice moment, you’ll have this specific occasion anchoring you down.

Gemini

The Winter Solstice starts the countdown towards your luckiest day – the Summer Solstice. You’ve got six months on your hands – what will you do? Resolve to read 10 pages of a book a day, and by Summer Solstice you’ll have read 1,800 pages. Resolve to be kind to one person a day, and by midsummer you’ll have made a difference to 180 lives. You’re a summer baby, and winter isn’t easy on you, but today we start the long march towards the longest day.

Cancer

You’re at the exact opposite end of the year to your special moment. Between Midwinter which is the start of Capricorn season, and Midsummer which will be the start of Cancer season, there is a six month gulf that lets you walk closer and closer to yourself. Staring down the other side of the zodiacal wheel, ask yourself, who do I want to be for my next birthday? And then set the path. The Sun is on your side, and your path toward becoming your desired self will be illuminated, a little bit more with each passing day. It’s not a New Year’s resolution, it’s a commitment to live your life as your true self.

Leo

Your planetary ruler is, in fact, the Sun, and so all of the solar festivals – the solstices and the equinoxes – touch on you a little more intentionally than they touch on the rest of the zodiac. And each solar occasion hits a little differently, with the Winter Solstice bringing optimism and light. As sunlight grows with each day, you know you’re getting closer to fulfilling your potential, so use this optimism to set some goals. Financially, romantically, even in terms of where you live, allow yourself to dream big, and then harness the Sun to help get you there.

Virgo

As a sign that loves balance, the Equinoxes speak to you more than the Solstices. A Solstice is an extreme, the end of a phase, a death and rebirth, which you find a little stressful. An Equinox, like the Spring Equinox on March 21, or like the Autumn Equinox on September 21, at the end of Virgo season, is more your style. The time of equal light and dark reaffirms your belief in equality. Instead of viewing Winter Solstice 2022 as an extreme, the end of the time of darkness, switch your viewpoint and see it as an opportunity to redress a balance. Take heed of your Winter Solstice horoscope as darkness had its time, and now it’s the light’s turn.

Libra

As a dual sign that sees both sides of every argument, you feel perfectly at home in liminal spaces. This momentary stitch between the season of increasing darkness, and the season of increasing light, is exactly your magical arena. As you tear up the secret list of all the things you wanted to get rid of, and put up the vision board of all the things you plan to attract this year, you’re more than ready to take off the cloak of night and stars, and adorn yourself with sunshine and rainbows. Turning the new year of light into a truly incredible year is all about the mindset – and this positive attitude you’re showing can only ever win.

Scorpio

You’re a big fan of beginnings and endings. After all, your ruling planet is Pluto, planet of death and rebirth. The shortest day of the year feels fresh and inviting to you, as the death of one season brings forth the birth of another. You love reinventing yourself, you’ve got a winter look, a summer style, a nighttime aesthetic. So the Midwinter chic that you’ll create, is a creation of beauty and magic. Let go of the darker colors in your wardrobe for now, and bring forth the silvers and golds, the explosive hues of creation and intuition.

Sagittarius

Even though Winter Solstice 2022 is the time that the Sun departs Sagittarius, leaving it behind for another year, the Moon actually remains in Sagittarius for a day or two longer, and so the Sagittarian influence remains as a dreamlike state. Of course let us not forget that it’s actually you, Sagittarius, that set the scene for this Midwinter morning. You’re the one who carried the burden of the darkest dark of the year. You’re strong, and you keep everyone’s secrets, be proud of your contribution to winter.

Capricorn

Welcome to Capricorn season! Winter Solstice 2022 kicks off your season, and not only is the bright and influential Sun going into your sign for a month, but also Mercury, planet of communication is in your sign, as well as Venus, planet of love. And don’t forget Pluto, planet of death and rebirth. This makes Winter Solstice 2022 very much a moment of fresh beginnings for you but what does your Winter Solstice horoscope have in store? A new phase is coming in your love life. A new opportunity is coming in your social life. Anything you try will be successful – talk about a lucky strike!

Aquarius

Be fearless, Aquarius, you know you always have the best ideas. Your love of charity and humanity shines through the darkest times, and your desire to volunteer and help everyone never wanes. As the darkness starts to give way to light, now is the moment to go recruiting – get more people to join your cause, raise flags, write up petitions. But life isn’t only activism! Let Midwinter guide you towards a new mate. A best friend, a partner, someone to make the soul’s journey through life a little less alone.

Pisces

As the darkness dies and light is reborn, you’re wondering whether you love it or hate it, Pisces. Much as you love the feeling of growth and self-improvement, encouraged by the waxing light - you can’t deny that you kind of enjoy the introspective emotions of the shadow part of the year. Your traditional ruling planet, Jupiter, planet of growth and generosity, has just departed your sign a day ago, so this lonely feeling you’ve got is no accident – it’s your lesson for the season. Reflect on all that you learned during the darkness months, and be prepared for the regeneration of spring before too long.