Solstice
In high summer on 21 st December, in the southern hemisphere, the sun is over the Tropic of Capricorn. It is beaming its heat down on the southern lands. This is called the summer solstice.
Of course, lands in the northern hemisphere are experiencing their winter at this time. The sun is further away from them and the cold winds are blowing. This is their Winter Solstice.
On 21 st June, in the southern lands, we have our winter solstice while our friends in the northern hemisphere are celebrating their summer.
In mythology the sun repesents the sky father, the giver of life and light. As so much of life depends on the rays of the sun it is easy to understand why it is important. Without it we would be wandering about in endless darkness.
In astrology the sun repesents the men in your life. This is especially so for a woman. The condition of the sun in the chart translates into the quality of a man she attracts. The sun has a natural affinity to some signs. As the ruler of Leo he is well placed in this sign. He is the exalted ruler of Aries (loves all that fire). He is not too comfortable in either Libra (where he has to share) or in Cancer, the sign of his night time counterpart, the Moon. However, all is not lost if your sun is not in an ideal place because aspects from other planets can totally change the picture.
Transits to the sun are usually involved in both the commencement and ending of relationships, especially for women.
Sun rituals assist people who want to change the way they relate to men in their life. The Summer Solstice is the ideal time to clear old stories and limiting script and start anew.
Equinox
On 21 st March and 21 st September the sun is directly over the equator giving the impression of days and nights being equal length. The name ‘equinox’ translates from the Latin as ‘equal night’.
In September, in Australia and New Zealand , we have spring equinox in September and autumn equinox in March.
Celebrations
I work within the Celtic tradition. The last vestiges of the Celtic culture are to be found in Ireland , Scotland , Wales , Cornwall and in Brittany in France .
As generations of migrants to Australia and New Zealand originate in Celtic lands it makes sense that their customs have a deep soul meaning for them.
Festivals in the good weather were held outdoors often beginning the night before. So if the sun was at its highest on a particular day, then the music and festivities and celebrating began on the previous night.
Winter festivals were understandably held indoors. The harsh weather did not encourage much outdoor activity. Food preserved in various ways was enjoyed at the indoor celebrations with dancing and music to keep the people warm and story-telling to nourish the imagination
Sacred Festivals
Festivals had a sacred as well as a profane aspect to them as the Celts were a very spiritual culture. Their beliefs were animistic in that their gods dwelt within their environment.
Thus there were river and tree gods for example. There were harvest and spring gods. They had sacred groves and wells where blessings and healings could be obtained. Many of these customs still live on in Ireland even today.
About halfway between a solstice and an equinox there were other important sacred festival days.
Samhain (pronounced sow’ann)
The Scorpio New Moon saw the beginning of the Celtic New Year. This happened at the darkest part of the year just before the harsh weathers of the winter began.
The Celts believed in entering the dark before emerging in the light and all their practices reflect this.
This was the time when the veils between this world and the Otherworld were the thinnest. On this night hungry ghosts and unsettled ancestors as well as malevolent entities roamed the countryside in search of a human soul. Every one made sure to be indoors before the sun set on this evening. If he or she had be out then they travelled in disguise to avoid detection by their own long dead kin.
Nowadays it is called Hallowe’en. Children dress up nowadays and go around the neighbourhood copying the custom of the Celtic ancestors.
Samhain falls on 30 th October in the northern hemisphere but as we are in the southern hemisphere many people celebrate on the opposite six months date of 30 th April.
Imbolc
Inbolc occurred at the beginning of February. The translation from the Gaelic is ‘ewe’s milk or cream’. This was cream of the ewe, who would have produced her first lambs and began lactating. After the harshness of winter it was a very joyous and encouraging sign.
New life was coming back to the land. Buds reappeared on trees that had stood leafless all winter.
Brigid, the ancient goddess of Ireland , presided over this time. For this reason she is the goddess of springtime, fecundity and midwifery (among many other things).
Beltaine
By the 30 th April all the seed had been sown for the year and the first signs of healthy growth has pushed up through the ground. The people tired from their spring time labours took a break.
To honour the earth and encourage its fertility they took part in the Beltaine festival. Great fires were lit outdoors. There was plenty of food, dancing and music. Two by two they would dance around and around the fire and finally off into the woodlands where they would not be seen again for days.
Lughnasa (pro: loo’na’sa)
This festival occurred each year around the 1 st of August. Again it was an outdoor event. Fairs were set up. Excess produce was traded for other commodities. There were horse races. The Celts loved horse racing.
It was also the time of weddings. Those who discovered their Beltaine activities had yielded fruit would be handfasted on the feast of Lughnasa, the god of light.
Those whose woodlands frolicking had not resulted in a pregnancy often went on a pilgrimage to one of the sacred mountains or to a sacred well. The blessings received at these places were highly valued and still are in Ireland today.
And so the great round of the year continued.
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