WHEN THE SUN STANDS STILL
“Now she is like the
white tree rose that takes a blessing from the Sun: Summer has filled
her veins with light and her heart is washed with noon.”
~C. Day Lewis~
June 20th, 2012 is the summer solstice
this year, the longest day of the year for the Northern Hemisphere.
It is more neutrally called the June solstice, since it is also
winter solstice in the Southern Hemisphere. The exact date varies
each year, some time between June 20th to June 22nd.
Astrologically, the Sun enters the zodiac sign Cancer.
The yearly cycle of the Sun is similar
to the monthly cycle of the Moon, summer solstice is equivalent to a
full moon. The next three days (19th - 21st)
can be harnessed spiritually to bring things to fruition or call on
divine light for blessing, healing, and facing the dark. The first
day of summer for half the planet, it is associated with abundance,
fertility, and the sweetness of life.
The Sun has two important cycles, its
daily and yearly movements:
- Every day, the Sun rises is the east, reaches its zenith in the south, sets in the west, and passes beneath us in the north.
- Every day, the Sun rises and sets at slightly different points on the horizon. The only time it stops wandering is around a solstice, when it appears to stay at the same location for three days, and then reverses its direction. The word solstice comes from the Latin solstitium meaning “Sun standing, Sun standing still”.
At the summer solstice (June), the Sun
reaches its northernmost position, appearing to rise more to the
northeast and set in the northwest. It then moves further south,
rising due east and setting due west on the autumn equinox
(September), and reaches its southernmost position on the winter
solstice (December). It then turns north, to restart the cycle.
EVERY EXTREME CONTAINS THE
SEED OF ITS OPPOSITE
The symbolism of the eight directions
(E, S, W, N, NE, SE, SW, NW) originates in the Sun's daily and yearly
positions. For example, in vastu vidya, the Indian art of
arrangement, similar to Chinese feng shui, temples are aligned
along a northeast to southwest axis. This represents the polarity of
sunrise on the longest day of the year (summer solstice dawn =
northeast) and sunset on the shortest (winter solstice dusk =
southwest). The northeast is sacred to Shiva and represents amrita
vela (“the nectar time”) or Brahma muhurta (“God's
hour”), the period just before dawn when spiritual work is at its
deepest. Likewise, some Peruvian shamanic traditions recognize a
southeast to northwest axis, the equivalent in the Southern
Hemisphere, where the seasons are reversed.
Because of the Sun's daily motion, the
east is associated with increasing light, the south with the most
light, the west with increasing darkness, and the north with the most
darkness. Paradoxically, many traditional cultures associate the
summer solstice with the north, because of its position on the
horizon. For example, Chinese emperors offered at the
square Altar of the Earth on summer solstice, in the northern part of
the Forbidden City. Although summer was seen as yang
(“the masculine”, light, day, fire), the site itself was
associated with yin
(“the feminine”, darkness, night, water). In Chinese yin-yang
theory, every extreme contains the seed of its opposite. As the
longest day of the year, every day after summer solstice increases in
darkness, until we reach winter solstice and start the cycle over again.
Traditionally the Sun has three periods
of increased spiritual power each day, represented by changes in
location and/or appearance: sunrise, around noon when it reaches its
zenith, and sunset. Most importantly on a solstice day, the time of
the event itself: 7:09 PM Eastern (23:09 Universal Time). Any of
these times can be worked with through intention, meditation, or
ceremony to honor this day of most light.
For information about gemstones traditionally associated with the Sun, see:
©
2012, C. L. Matthews
[Image Source: © 2012, C. L. Matthews]
[Image Source: © 2012, C. L. Matthews]
No comments:
Post a Comment