This solstice, the day before the long night moon, i will be 59, and i was born in '59.

On Dec. 21, the arrival of the winter solstice, the moon will form a conjunction with the bright star Aldebaran—with the two celestial bodies meeting and passing each other—on the same night as the year’s only Ursid meteor shower.The following night, the “full cold moon” will rise in the skies. A heavenly event quite like this won’t happen again until 2094, which is the next time the last full moon of the year coincides with the official start of the cold season.

The Ojibwe people called it Mnidoons Giizis, meaning the big spirit moon or blue moon. “Its purpose is to purify us, and to heal all of Creation,” according to the Ontario Native Literacy Coalition which teaches First Nation languages.

Whatever you call this year’s very special full cold moon, do look skyward and reflect on this distant friend who influences our lives and has for all of time. “As we look at the moon on such an occasion, it’s worth remembering that the moon is more than just a celestial neighbor,” John Keller of the Godard Space Flight Center said. “The geologic history of the moon and Earth are intimately tied together such that the Earth would be a dramatically different planet without the moon.”

There's so much more going on than the deadly destructive machinations of the government, though the despair it causes is planetary. Though the sky's full of light pollution, jet trails and surveillance, look up, look further. We have to look beyond 

the ruinous politics of this time to see what matters, and why we're here.