Solstice-eclipse overlap first in 456 years

Solstice-eclipse overlap first in 456 years: "OTTAWA — This year's winter solstice — an event that will occur next Tuesday — will coincide with a full lunar eclipse in a union that hasn't been seen in 456 years.

The celestial eccentricity holds special significance for spiritualities that tap into the energy of the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year and a time that is associated with the rebirth of the sun.

'It's a ritual of transformation from darkness into light,' says Nicole Cooper, a high priestess at Toronto's Wiccan Church of Canada. 'It's the idea that when things seem really bleak, (it) is often our biggest opportunity for personal transformation.

'The idea that the sun and the moon are almost at their darkest at this point in time really only further goes to hammer that home.'"