Winter Solstice!

Happy Solstice Everyone!! Why do we care if it's the Solstice? Archeologists have found an assembly of 127 granite blocks in Brazil arranged equidistant from each other. That site, Stonehenge and even the Great Pyramid in Egypt apparently formed ancient astronomical observatories. At the site in Brazil one of the stones clearly marked the position of the sun at the time of the winter solstice. WHY? Holly, ivy, mistletoe, yule log, the giving of gifts, decorated evergreen trees, magical reindeer and the very idea of Christmas (as a Saint who provides for the needy, or worthy) are all pagan rituals associated with the Solstice. For Druids and Celtic Shamans: three days before Yule is a magical time. This is the time of the Serpent Days or transformation...The Elder and Birch stand at the entrance to Annwn or Celtic underworld where all life was formed. Like several other myths they guard the entrance to the underworld. This is the time the Sun God journey's thru the underworld to learn the secrets of death and life.

Incas, Hopis and Mayans all celebrate the Solstice, along with many other Shamanic and native peoples. Even Vampyres celebrate "the Long Night," a festival at the Winter Solstice. But WHY? Equinoxes and Solstices mark changes in cycles, tangible events that could be witnessed in the sky and on the ground. And, how about this: "In several languages, not just in English, people have traditionally compared the rebirth of the sun with the birth of the son of God." (that's from the Nat Geo link used in the title of this entry.) I've always thought Sun/Son were one in the same. That's pretty controversial, but something I'll delve into more in my forthcoming novel: A Kindred Spirit. For now, it's less than an hour until Solstice, so CELEBRATE!!!