Solstices: 2026 & 2027 calendar

Upcoming solstices

The season name (spring, summer, autumn, winter) depends on your hemisphere; the zodiacal meaning of the sign is universal.

What the solstice means

Solstices happen when the Sun reaches its maximum declination — the longest or shortest day of the year, depending on your hemisphere — and enters Cancer or Capricorn. These are the other two cardinal points of the tropical zodiac that Ptolemy describes in the Tetrabiblos (Book I): where equinoxes mark balance, solstices mark culmination, the extreme of a cycle right before it reverses direction. Cancer culminates Aries' impulse into something worth protecting and nurturing: family, roots, the intimate. Capricorn culminates Libra's adjustment into structure: responsibility, achievement, what finally takes solid form. Whether that point lands in summer or winter depends on your hemisphere, but the sign the Sun enters — and what it represents — is the same everywhere.

Frequently asked questions

When is the next solstice?

The next solstice is on December 21, 2026 in Capricorn, around 20:45 UTC.

Is the solstice on the same day everywhere?

The astronomical moment — when the Sun enters Cancer or Capricorn — is the same worldwide. What changes by hemisphere is the season's name: the Cancer ingress is the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere and the winter solstice in the Southern Hemisphere (and vice versa for Capricorn).