I’d like to continue on the theme
of the upcoming solstice. The solstice this year occurs next Saturday Dec. 21,
12:11 PM EST. This is one of the four critical turning points of the Great
Round with its complement in the Summer solstice and the two equinoxes in
Spring and Autumn.
Moving toward this cosmic marker,
the light is becoming less and darkness is increasing, gathering us together for
the longest night, tucking us in, and readying us for the quiet display of its
majesty. Once we are enclosed by this dark mother, in appreciation, we can then begin noticing
the birthing of light as days begin ticking their way toward greater radiance. But if not for this Great Darkness,
this cosmic matrix, the stars could not be seen and we would not experience
light. Darkness is the necessary ground for the possibility of any discussion
about light.
Solstice is a holy day that is
natural and cosmic. The cultural holidays; Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanza are
human invention preferring membership in a group. Though solstice is honored by
only a few, it shares its bounty with all, no membership required. It
does not exclude on the basis of caste, class, creed, color, age, gender, or
species. All beings are welcomed to the awareness of darkness in their lives.
In our increasingly manic, growth
oriented, and light focused culture, we seem to devote great energy toward
eliminating darkness, silence, and death from our lives. We deny death, trying
to hide it away from view by placing dying people in hospital and hospice away
from the bustle of life where they might be seen, away from the home. We apply cosmetics to our recently dead, wanting them to appear only asleep in their final rest.
We eschew the quiet, leaving our
televisions and radios constantly on, making noise to keep silence at bay. I
find that I can’t even go to a sporting event without music blasting out in
between the action. We find ourselves keeping our phones attached to us to keep
the conversations going or information flowing, avoiding silence and solitude
at all cost.
We light up our cities and towns
causing light pollution, obliterating the night sky. We illuminate our homes to
chase the darkness away from our lives, keeping nightlights and security lights
burning to ward off whatever shadows may be lurking that we’d prefer not to
meet.
In our family, in addition to the beauty of
Christmas honoring the birth of the Light of the World out of darkness for
Christians, we've always celebrated the winter solstice. We
generally have many lights (votive, candle, incandescent) lit in the room in
which we gather then slowly extinguish each light and doing readings about darkness
(we have even sung solstice carols on occasion). When the light has been
removed, we sit in darkness for a few minutes and each share the value of the dark in our lives. Then we slowly return illumination to the room, relight the
tree, and open one gift. In gratitude, we may even make a toast to darkness as
that which contains, holds, and brings forth light. It is a simple ritual to
honor that element to which our culture pays so little positive attention.
Let me close with Rilke’s words
about the dark…..
You
darkness, that I come from,
I love you more than all the fires
that fence in the world,
for the fire makes
a circle of light for everyone,
and then no one outside learns of you. But the darkness pulls in everything:
shapes and fires, animals and myself,
how easily it gathers them! —
powers and people —
and it is possible a great energy
is moving near me.
I have faith in nights.
I love you more than all the fires
that fence in the world,
for the fire makes
a circle of light for everyone,
and then no one outside learns of you. But the darkness pulls in everything:
shapes and fires, animals and myself,
how easily it gathers them! —
powers and people —
and it is possible a great energy
is moving near me.
I have faith in nights.
Wishing you a meaningful solstice and a merry Christmas!
Visit me at AstroCare.net
Thank you for sharing this simple and wonderful ritual ... I shall remember it and adopt it. From darkness to light and back again, may we never forget the cycles of life.
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