From the New York Times Weekend Briefing:
Today is the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, the longest, darkest night of a long, dark year.This winter’s darkness is as literal as it is metaphorical, with the catastrophic toll of Covid-19, and fear and dread for what is to come. But as our faith and politics reporter writes, it also serves as a reminder that for millenniums, “humans have turned to rituals and stories to remind one another of hope and deeper truths.”There is some solace for the darkness: On Monday night, Jupiter and Saturn will almost kiss in the night sky, appearing as one bright planet. The last time they came this visibly close to each other was in the year 1226. Go out and look southwest in the hour after sunset.For those looking for greater meaning, “this is the end of an era and the beginning of a new one,” said the astrologer Chani Nicholas.
Do you have a Solstice ritual? I know my friend M does. Maybe I'll start one this year. I certainly have candles, herbs/sage, and the Internet to find blessings and words of wisdom. As good a time as any to chase away the darkness and to conjure light in these troubled times, right?
BOOK: The Shortest Day by Susan Cooper, Carson Ellis (Illustrator)
POEM: A Winter Solstice Prayer by Edward Hays
QUOTE: "Both the Winter and the Summer Solstices are expressions of love. They show us the opposition of light and dark, expansion and contraction, that characterize our experiences in the Earth school so that we can recognize our options as we move through our lives." ~ Gary Zukav
POEM: A Winter Solstice Prayer by Edward Hays
The dark shadow of space leans over us
We are mindful that the darkness of greed, exploitation, and hatred
also lengthens its shadow over our small planet Earth.
As our ancestors feared death and evil and all the dark powers of winter,
we fear that the darkness of war, discrimination, and selfishness
may doom us and our planet to an eternal winter.
May we find hope in the lights we have kindled on this sacred night,
hope in one another and in all who form the web-work of peace and justice
that spans the world.
In the heart of every person on this Earth
burns the spark of luminous goodness;
in no heart is there total darkness.
May we who have celebrated this winter solstice,
by our lives and service, by our prayers and love,
call forth from one another the light and the love
that is hidden in every heart.
Amen.
QUOTE: "Both the Winter and the Summer Solstices are expressions of love. They show us the opposition of light and dark, expansion and contraction, that characterize our experiences in the Earth school so that we can recognize our options as we move through our lives." ~ Gary Zukav
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