WINTER SOLSTICE 2019
HAPPY WINTER SOLSTICE ( Summer Solstice in the Southern Hemisphere) 11:19pmEST today 12/21/19
The Winter Solstice is an astrological event marking the longest night and shortest day of the year and when the Sun is furthest South. It also marks the halfway point between Samhain ( Death) and Imbolc (New Beginnings) in the Celtic Calendar. The death and rebirth of the sun is one of the most important turning points of the year. There are ancient sacred sites all over the world where the return of the sun and worship of the Sun deity’s are depicted in the stone arrangements. These neolithic and megalithic sites date back 5000 years, pre Christianity, when the Earth was the main object of devotion and the ancestors spent their time observing the cosmos. The Ancient Celts saw time as a non linear cyclic process and Astronomy/Astrology was regarded as a spiritual science where Sun and Moon were the ultimate Deities.
Newgrange Cairn (the great house of the Sun God Aengus) in the Sacred Boyne Valley in Ireland is perhaps the greatest homage to the Winter Solstice. The story goes that Dagda,the good God of the Tuatha De Danaan (Irish Mythic race) became the lover of the Celtic Goddess Boann (Goddess of the River Boyne) and they had a love tryst for a night that lasted a full year. Their love nest was Newgrange’s Cairn. Every year the light returns to the chamber just as the Dagda entered the goddess Boann’s womb to conceive Aengus. This and monuments of Knowth and Dowth are listed alongside Stonehenge as among the most outstanding achievements of the Megalithic age. They even predate Stonehenge by many centuries estimating to have been built between 3,200 and 3,400 BC. I had the privilege of visiting and spending time inside the Newgrange Cairn a few years ago. The entrance, as you can see in these photos, has a huge stone with spirals on it, known as the Newgrange spiral, but also an ancient symbol for the Triple Goddess and the 3 cycles of Life, Death and Rebirth. The structure itself is composed of white quartz, earth and stone.
As I walked down the very narrow tunnel, gazing at the sacred symbols, to the chamber I was reminded from a place deep within that my ancestors built this, imagine! They spent their days observing the cosmos and knowing exactly where the stars and planets were placed at different times of the year and they were intelligent enough to even consider the precession of the equinox (This refers to the observable phenomena of the rotation of the heavens, a cycle which spans a period of (approximately) 25,920 years, over which time the constellations appear to slowly rotate around the earth, taking turns at rising behind the rising sun on the vernal equinox) while building these structures to honor the planets and great luminaries like the Sun.
As I arrived in the chamber I could see the ceremonies that took place here and feel how devotional my ancestors were to the land and to the cosmos and how deeply that resonated in my heart and soul and how that has manifested itself in my own life. On the morning of the Winter Solstice (and for approx. 3 days) exactly as the sun rises above the horizon a beam of sunlight enters the roof box above the entrance and enters the tunnel slowly making it’s way into the Ceremonial Chamber imbuing it with the supreme deity, the sun god, igniting celebration for the end of the darkness, inner reflection, deep dreaming and also the union of earth and the heavens. The perfection of this mind blowing. I was not there on the Solstice so it was reenacted with artificial light to give you the experience and it was incredible. I do sign up for the lottery every year ( see photo for explanation) but have not won yet…hopefully someday!
Newgrange is not the only astronomical temple, there are many more throughout the Island of Ireland (2 very close by, Knowth & Dowth aligned with the equinoxes) and also across the globe. I had the honor of also visiting Ollantaytambo ( last photo) in the Sacred Valley of Cusco, Peru 15yrs ago. There is a Temple of the Virgins there also built to capture the rising Sun (paying homage to the Sun God Inti) on the Winter Solstice, marked by two doorways and the sun shining directly through. These virgins were not sacrificed, instead they held ceremonies, made offerings and were honored there.
Now for the planetary weather! The Sun has been transiting through Mula Nakshatra since 12/15 and will continue traveling through there until 12/28, so it will also be there for the Annular Solar Eclipse on 12/26. Mula Nakshatra is located in the sign of Sagittarius and constellation of Ophiuchus, which marks the Galactic Center, the deepest caverns of the sky. Mula means Root and the Goddess associated with this Nakshatra is Nirriti, the goddess of destruction. She is an older depiction of the goddess Kali as she too lives in the kingdom of the dead. She has the power to ruin and break things apart. This reveals the need for things to dissolve before we proceed to the new. Ketu, the South Node of the Moon, rules this Nakshatra further imposing it’s spiritual nature.
The Sun is joining Saturn, Ketu and Jupiter in the sign of Sagittarius. This sign has been getting hit hard in 2019 ( and depending on which house Sagittarius rules in your chart, you have felt it in that area) rules and this particular Winter Solstice we need to dig even deeper into what we are letting go of. We are being called to get all the way to the “root” of these things and having a ceremony with fire to destroy and transmute this energy of the things that are no longer serving us. I like to think of my reflection of this Nakshatra for we are all reflecting the cosmos. I am going into the deepest caverns of my being and releasing the energy held within so that I may set new intentions because the wheel of the year is turning today folks and that’s a big deal. If it wasn’t such a big deal do you think these ancient cultures would have spent the time laboring over these structures? Take a moment today to journey back in time when there was so much time and space to just observe nature and the cosmos. And take time to really feel into this huge astrological shift and what that means for you this year.
Honoring the North/East direction, going deeply inward, only using candlelight in your home, offering to the fire what no longer is serving you, Honoring the Yew Tree (regarded by the Druid’s as one of the most ancient Beings on Earth) which symbolizes Death and Rebirth (are you seeing the theme here), Honoring the Calleach or Kali, continuing inner reflection, burning herbal incesnse, setting new intentions and visualizing your Rebirth are just a few things to do tonight and tomorrow morning.
Cosmic Blessings to you during the season of the Holy Days.
Love
Danielle