Someday, I would like to explore why so many countries have their independence day celebrations in early July. For today though I would like to feature Tynwald Day, The Isle of Man celebration.
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Summer Solstice is a major Celtic holiday. It is also celebrated throughout Europe by many names. Those of us who take an interest in Celtic tradition know the major images: Stonehenge at sunrise, bonfires the night before, general merriment.
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Following the waxing and waning of the moon and knowing how it influences our lives has been coined “moonology”. It is believed that setting an intention at the new moon and releasing all blocks and resistance at the full moon can help create one’s desires and that being in flow with the moon brings ease and joy to our lives. Of course, there is a lot more to moonology, but those are the basics.
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Winter solstice is always magical but this year December 21 will be extraordinary. Jupiter and Saturn will come together in the night sky brightly and more closely than in 800 years. Thus, it is called “The Christmas Star”. Feels to me like we are having the opportunity to birth a new country as then and a New Earth as at the birth of Christ.
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I received a clear message that I, like the fire of the sun, was to stop, take notice, and deeply let the energy of the moment penetrate through my skin, connect with my innermost passions, and commit me to embracing the shift that has been put before us.
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It seems so dark here in the Northern Hemisphere in mid-December, it is easy for us-even in these days of bright lights that automatically can click on when we enter a room-to feel the gloom and darkness. Some perhaps even begin to feel as if the light will ever be bright and the days long again. It is no wonder that the Ancient Ones marked the solstice - this shortest day, longest night - and celebrated what they called “the return of the sun”.
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Samhain is one of its four main Festival dates of the Celtic calendar. Samhain is the last of the harvest; thus, the end of the year in many ways for the ancient Celts as they prepared for the winter darkness. The end of the cycle of life was acknowledged at this time, too. Like the Mexican Day of the Dead, this holiday is a time to celebrate those who have passed on and to welcome the spirits of loved ones to visit on this day “when the veil is thinnest”.
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Today, I am thinking about all the wonderful music, poetry, and other expressions of art that such summer beauty has inspired.
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Can you imagine what it was like for our ancestors? Damp, cold, standing water in the grasslands, dark days with only a fire for light and warmth? It certainly makes sense that they would create monuments to the Sun, calibrated to align with the Sun on the solstice when the sun is at its highest and the length of the day is longest. How they must have yearned for summer. How they must have watched for the signs of the turning of the seasons.
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I like to stay mindful of the Celtic calendar because it heightens my awareness of the turnings of seasons and the activities of the sun and moon as they change throughout the year. Sometimes, in the busy-ness of our modern world with its artificial lighting and 24/7 scheduling, I forget.
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