Dakshinayana

The six months of the solar year in
which the sun is reckoned as moving
southward. In the Gregorian calendar,
this is the period between the summer
solstice and the winter solstice (roughly
December 20 to June 20) and is based on
the actual motion of the sun with
respect to the earth. The Indian reckoning is based on the motion of the sun
through the zodiac, which is calculated
differently than in western astrology. The
Dakshinayana begins on Karka
Sankranti (the day the sun is thought to
enter Cancer, usually July 14), and ends
the day before Makara Sankranti (the
day the sun enters Capricorn, usually
January 14). The Dakshinayana is considered less auspicious than the
Uttarayana, the six months in which the
sun travels north, because the southern
direction is associated with the Yama,
the god associated with death, judgment, and punishment for evildoers.