Winter Solstice

a time of wonder and reflection

Today marks the winter solstice - the point when the shortening of daylight hours is reversed and the daytime begins to lengthen again. There are more exact scientific descriptions involving the earth’s poles, the tilt away from the sun, the square root of the the radius of the diameter of Demeter and Prometheus, etc. etc. (Just kidding about the square root etc.) Bill and I have a long-running joke in our house that when Bill, the scientist, tries to explain scientific concepts to Kate, the impressionist, Kate dreams up an urgent need to be somewhere else. Immediately.

The solstice marks the point at which the Sun is exactly overhead the Tropic of Capricorn. The sun appears to stand still, hence, the latin sol (meaning 'sun') and sistere (meaning to 'standstill').

I’ll skip the part that also says the solstice marks the first day of winter.

Since prehistory, the winter solstice has been a significant time of year in many cultures - marked by festivals and rites. This is because it is the point when the shortening of daylight hours is reversed and the daytime begins to lengthen again. In parts of Europe it was seen as the symbolic death and rebirth of the Sun. The ancient sites of Stonehenge and Newgrange are two of the many wonder-filled monuments to the solstices scattered around the globe.

A few years ago, I had the thrill of visiting Stonehenge, which was constructed over 5000 years ago. I look like a 3rd grader on a field trip in the picture my friend Mary took of me standing there in front of the stones.

Those travel picture moments were not what inspired me. I stood in awe, trying to take in the fact that I was connected to these people just by being a fellow traveler on the earth, a worshipper of the sun, the moon and stars, the ocean waves, fields of corn, the all of it.

I sat on a bench and tried to draw what I felt. The drawing is nothing to write home about, but the memory of sitting there, in complete awe and wonder, that will never fade. And my little drawing is the passageway to that feeling, that day. The older I get, the more vivid that connection gets. And the rooks and the crows know more than we do. Always. They are the wise overseers of civilization.

N.B. a great lesson to sketch your way through your travels. No cameras (except for reference later)You will NEVER forget the moments you spent trying to draw something

We are here for such a short time. We are just flying through.

ink on magical yupo paper

I visited Dublin this year, for a writers’ workshop. When we travel, we try to drink it all in, but it’s difficult. It is the lingering memories that make us rich. While I was there, I grabbed the opportunity to see Newgrange, another doozer of an ancient site. We were warned to bend low as we made our way up the long passageway tomb - a passageway that was constructed on a line with the path of the winter solstice sun. The twelve of us (only 12 at a time are permitted in the tomb) stood in the round burial chamber at the end as our tour guide described the sacred moment when the light makes its way up the passage. We stood in silence and awe, in spite of the fact that our solstice light was an artificial recreation.

Holy and awe-inspiring. And isn’t that what religion is trying to get at, with the rites and rituals? Awe.

Bill and I are always investigating the various (and perennial) quests by humans to make sense of it all - Hinduism, Native American, Islam, the Buddha, the druids. It was for a reason that Christianity usurped Ireland’s Pagan traditions. They were awe-inspiring. Myths and stories can connect our bodies to our unconscious selves, to the mysteries of our inner worlds. And then, of course, there’s music - a miraculous shortcut to our souls. (another essay, another time!)

I just discovered animation in Procreate. This is a goofy first try…with miles to go before I sleep and miles to go before I sleep…

∞

…and this, from my new collection, SMOKE & MIRRORS, flashes of memory.

Awe and wonder are our ways into the divine, into the universe, into the mysteries of our existence. Happy travels.