Astrological Significance of Makar Sankranti

Unlike other festivals, which are based on the traditional Indian Calendar, which is set according to Lunar positions, sankranti is a solar event. Thus, while the dates of all Indian festivals keep changing every year, the English calendar date of Makar Sankranti is always the same - 14th January.

Makar Sankranti is the transition of the Sun from Sagittarius to Capricorn, during the winter solstice, and is celebrated in the Hindu month of Magha. From this day begins the six-month long Uttarayana, considered very auspicious for attaining higher worlds.In Sanskrit, Makar signifies Capricorn; Sankranti means ‘transition’. Each month, there is a

sankranti, when the sun passes from one sign of the zodiac to the next. There are twelve signs of the zodiac, and thus there are twelve Sankrantis in a year. Each of these has its own relative importance but the two most important are the Mesha (Aries) Sankranti and the most important, Makar (Capricorn) Sankranti.