Winter Solstice

Note: Refer to arrangements announced for each Celebration.

Looking at the eastern horizon we notice that each day the sun rises in a different place, slowly moving up and down from the extremes of the solstices...

.... and at mid-day the sun is low in the sky at winter solstice moving to be high and above us in the summer.

Solstice Blessings! Marta shares her blessing in 2018..... May the Sun always shine in your heart and upon your path. May it warm your face when you feel cold and alone. And may it always, always nurture your hope. May you be blessed by light in even the darkest hours. Always.

Winter Solstice! Feel me now as mother of air. Mine are the limitless skies and endless stars. I am bird woman. I lift your imagination and carry it on soft, feathered currents to otherworlds. I am bone woman. I am the stillness between death and rebirth. I am the stillness between breathing in and breathing in. Rest in that pause, feel my presence, I am peace. Louise.

Winter Greetings! Nollaig shona do gach duine!

In Fourknocks 2016 Susan reminded us that our celebration was on Sunday 18th, and in Ancient Rome Saturnalia started on 17th up to 23rd December, with fun and frolics and exchanging presents, and they also celebrated the renewal of light at the Solstice, birth of the unconquerable sun (Dies Natalis Solis Invicti).

Built over 5,000 years ago, on the winter solstice as the sun rises in the morning, the light penetrates the inner sanctum of Newgrange in Ireland, settles on Amun Ra's Holy of Holies at the centre of Karnak in Egypt and at many other monuments around the world.

At Stonehenge, as well as the crowded Summer Solstice sunrise event, there is a winter solstice sunset alignment. This was first described by Prof. Gordon Freeman in 1997 and it makes use of a “notch” in the edge of Stone 58 of the western trilithon to give a clear sightline across the stone circle. Viewed through this notch, Winter Solstice Sunrise is seen over Coneybury Hill to the southeast… Blog.stonehenge-stone-circle.co.uk - solar-astronomy-at-stonehenge

We also remembered the traditional gods and goddesses:

Santa Claus who shares characteristics with - the Holly King, Celtic God of the dying year; Father Ice, a Russian winter God; Odin, Scandinavian all father who rides on an 8 legged horse; Great Mother, who gave birth to the sun child; Ops who is the Roman goddess of plenty, wife of Saturn; Holda, the earth goddess of good fortune.

At Winter Solstice we are in the midst of dark Samhain and we are aware of the surrounding darkness.

The year seems at its most oppressive.

But into this darkness the light is re-born. We gather to welcome the light into our hearts and to grow with it towards the fullness of Summer Solstice.

Sometimes it is cold and often it snows... in 2010 there were 30 days of snow... snow and ice lasted from the middle of December to the middle of January. Kilkenny recorded -16 degrees and Mayo dropped to -17 degrees C.

And what do you do in a BIG freeze? ... Go down to the Holy Well at Tara and make snow angels, of course!

Winter is here and it is brutally cold. For inspiration we look to see how nature adapts to harsh conditions. For instance, shy birds that don’t normally come close to the house will have to face their fears to eat from the window sill. Plants drop their leaves and live off reserves they have stored. Some even require a deathly cold snap to stir their seed into life. Several animals go into hibernation to conserve energy. Those that depend on the plants and insects of summer for food migrate to distant grounds or have flown to warmer lands.

So it seems that nature has survival strategies to cope with harsh conditions by choosing a suitable course of action. So who do you choose to be in the face of winter, in the face of chaos? You may react to winter by acknowledging what is, dressing warm, driving carefully, walking slowly and planning ahead. We can rant and rave or we can recognise ”what is” and choose to be innovative, creative or resourceful . We can adopt strategies that will allow us to weather the storm. Like certain plants and animals we can draw on our reserves and on the wisdom of our past. We may then realise that the problems in the world are not problems, they are challenges that we may choose to deal with.

It is of course our shortest day and longest night. This is the Dark Night of the Soul when on the surface all appears dead.

However, profound, within, life energy is gone deep and the tide of darkness is turning. Our ancestors started the day at sunset, in the darkness of night, personified by the babe in the womb and the seed rooting underground. It is a productive time for being the silent observer, watching what is going on and where things are headed. We are settling the foundations for the coming cycle, whatever that may hold.

Bru na Boinne - Newgrange

Several times we have held a winter solstice get-together at Newgrange

Thanks to Bernadette for this picture of the passageway into the chamber and to others for their comments - to be found in the archived website.

Your guess is as good as anyone else's why Newgrange was built. But it was an impressive task, bringing sandstone greywacke kerbstones from up the north east coastline near Clogherhead and quartz from Wicklow / Dublin mountains.

Links have also been made to the rising and setting of stars (such as Sirius) and constellations (eg. Pleiades) which may be recorded in the rock art. The research into these theories is, of course, on-going! But the well known Winter Solstice sunrise alignment is when the crowds arrive. People gather at Newgrange for dawn on each of the mornings from December 18th to December 23rd inclusive. Sunrise is at 8.58am.

from 20 December 2015 - Without Darkness there can be no Light

The circle was then closed and a very powerful energy was felt when the final sentences were spoken in Irish, the native language of Ireland, as a tribute to our ancestors who celebrated the Winter Solstice thousands of years before us. They left us a message back then, a message which was received loud and clear all these millennia later as the Light of the Rising Sun illuminated the chamber at Newgrange:

"Do not despair in the dark, for without the dark, there can be no light. For as sure as night follows day, as sure as the river flows to the sea, as sure as the cycle of birth, death and rebirth continues, the darkness will be banished by the Light."

from 20/21 December 2011 - Silently Observant

At Newgrange the morning sunrise shines through the spirit window/roof box and enters the inner chamber, originally illuminating the tri spiral in the back alcove. This narrow golden honey coloured beam of light is focused and appears in the chamber in a magical way that a privileged few witness every year. We feel that the light would have shone onto the ashes of the departed and acted like a sort of cosmic portal for the souls of the ancestors.

... Martin and Anne sent these messages in 2018... Nollaig Shona Dhuit. Nollaig Shona Dhaoibh (Happy Christmas) ... Beannachtai an Grianstad do gach duinne go léir (Happy Winter Solstice) ... Athbhliain faoi mhaise dhuit (Happy New Year)

---oOo---

In this video you will meet Dagda, share in the sunrise at Newgrange and snow on the Hill of Tara, see Tara Celebrations' past events and enjoy decorations and delights of the Season.

Nativity Play

At one Monday meditation in An Tobar we wrote and celebrated the birth of Christ energy within us all.

Angel – friendly, welcoming each at the front door - 'greetings', 'there is good news'. Offers each arrival an angel card which carries positive word.

Innkeeper –miserable, grumpy, at room entrance door - all are rejected. 'go away', 'no room in the Inn'

Hillside watchers –all gather in Library, waiting – centre table with angel, animals. Reading from gospel and carol 'while shepherds watched their flocks by night'.

The Call – mobile phone rings – it is a message – 'good news of great joy' - come to the stable – pick up the angel from the table and all process back to the 'Inn'.

Innkeeper has changed demeanor - opens door reverentially – all enter dark room with wrapped babe surrounded by candles.

Silent meditation to angelic music.

3 Kings – circle the room three times, then describe the gifts they carry;

'We bring gold to honour Him as King, and to yield to the purification process of the fiery trials.

We bring frankincense to worship Him even in the midst of our brokenness.

We bring myrrh to recognise that He has identified with us in our pain and sorrow.'

All participate in a healing circle. Close.

Ceremony co-created around Rebirth of Light and Hope 2009

light fire,
– first entrance gateway via holly & oak - second entrance gateway via frankincense smudge and light
– introduction explaining solstice season, and intention for gatherings
– cardinal directions starting in the west – north, east, south and centre
– old Yule Log, coloured flames, drumming, rattling, movement
– gathering presents: “I gift the gift of ___ to the group”
– incantations of thanks over fire and walking 3 times around the fire
– receiving presents: “on behalf of the group I accept the gift of ___”
– jingle bells to rattle and sing carols
– elements – stones & water blessing
– open heart contributions – sharing christmas cards – wassail drink – close directions – food!

Time to take it Easy

Rejoice! Gaudete!

We open the door to our hearts today and welcome in the warmth and light, we wrap ourselves in the clear bright beams raining down from the old currant bun. We are content in a simple obvious pun, the Son of God, the God of the Sun.

Deer Mother

And to get you into the mood for the seasonal traditions and celebrations this is a wonderful video about the ancient stories and modern celebrations around the Deer Mother, who takes flight at Winter Solstice.

Since the early Neolithic she was a venerated Spiritual figure......

Thanks to Anne N for these photos of the sunrise 21st December 2019.

(yes that is the moon in the first one, and a flying crow in the second - but can you spot the flock of birds)

Thanks to old european culture.blogspot for their insights into winter solstice

The traditional masked characters dancing in the room are all symbols of death and resurrection of nature...

Winter was in Continental Europe seen as the time of death. The nature died at the beginning of winter, when the sun went to the land of the dead...The nature got resurrected at the end of winter when the sun returned from the land of the dead...

While in the land of the dead, sun had a lot of time to chat with the dead. And, Slavs believed, it was the dead ancestors which were remembered by the living, that "put the good word in for the living" and were the source of the prosperity of their descendants...

Winter Solstice Celebration, by the Latvian painter Evalds Dajevskis, Acrylic, 1989...

Callanish

The spectacular natural landscape of Lewis offers a perfect backdrop for the prehistoric monuments.

It allowed the builders of Calanais to mark special times – from the shortest day of the year at winter solstice to the setting full moon’s movement during its major standstill every 18.6 years – in a most dramatic and theatrical way, with processions and ceremonies. Calanais.org - landscapes

Winter Solstice Alignment at 5 Stone Rows:

Many ancient monuments appear to have been viewing points and marking stones for diverse solar phenomena. Identified from various modern sources the list below is not definitive and only suppositions of the original builder's intentions.

Baltray, Louth – sunrise

Currakeal/Canrooska, Co Cork – sunrise in a nearby hillside notch and sunset on a pointed hilltop

Derreengreanagh, Bantry, Co. Cork – sunrise in a notch and sunset at Knockaughna hilltop

Ardmore, Lispole, Co Kerry – sunset

Killadangan, Co Mayo – sunset sighted in a notch on the side of Croagh Patrick

Cahokia Mounds

There are ancient monuments around the world that were built to honour the Winter Solstice and other astronomical events. Stonehenge in England is the most famous. And Newgrange in Ireland is another site. Cahokia Mounds is the largest archaeological site in the United States and marks the ancient city of the sophisticated Native American culture called The Mississippians. There, a magnificent city existed between 600-1400 A.D. The site contains 120 earthwork mounds and a circle of posts called “Woodhenge,” that mark the winter and summer solstices and the two equinoxes. Other such ancient Native sites exist in other areas of North America, such as The Great Serpent Mound in Peebles, Ohio, where a huge snake effigy marks the Winter Solstice. The serpent’s head aligns with the Spring Solstice and the tails points to the sunrise of the Winter Solstice.

from Notes from the Frontier

The Winter Solstice for the Hopi

The Soyal Ceremony begins on the shortest day of the year, and symbolizes the second phase of Creation at the Dawn of Life. Its prayers and rituals implement a plan of life for the coming year, ceremonially turning back the sun toward its summer path. The longest ceremony on the ceremonial cycle, lasting up to 16 days, sacred rituals are performed in underground chambers called kivas. Many ceremonies involve dancing and singing; the kachinas may even bring gifts to the children. At Soyal time elders pass down stories to children, teaching pivotal lessons like respecting others. The Hopi, The Peaceful Ones (Hopitu Shinumu), believe everything that will occur during the year is arranged at Soyal.

from Wilder Utopia - Hopi Kachinas dance

Pinterest Board - Click here for more information on festivals, places and all things Winter Solstice.

And for a compilation of experiences over the years with different sections on places, seasonal characters, activities, an idea for a ceremony, festive food and drink, and much more visit our Issuu page - Tara Celebration's Winter Solstice