At the Great Pyramids of Egypt the summer solstice sun crowns the head of the Sphinx; the Druids celebrated the marriage of heaven and earth and the defeat of the dark god of the year just as the Egyptians celebrated the defeat of the dark god Seth by Horus as the sun; and in Rome, the festival of Vestalia continued a Druid tradition of guarding the sacred fire. The meaning of Solstice. In ancient times and for some today, the darkness itself is the spiritual cradle into which the Sun is reborn. From the dawn of time, people all over the world have celebrated the return of the sun as a life-giving time of great significance. Dark Moon vs. New Moon . Not as dark as you may be thinking – we’re not in Utqiagvik, our most northern city, which goes over 60 days without sun each winter. Rivers are stilled and the land lies waiting beneath a coverlet of snow. The Solstice happens every year in both June and December, on one day around the 20th-22nd. The word Solstice comes from the latin word 'solstitum,' a combination of the two words: sol, meaning ‘sun’, and stitium, meaning ‘stop’.Put these two words together and you get the meaning: this is the period of the year where the sun appears to have stopped, paused or halted. What is Yule to you? The name “Yule” has been researched and several possible origins exist, however none are the definitive one. The sun’s rebirth was critical to survival among ancient populations. Throughout history, people have long gathered to celebrate and honor the sun. PHOTO: ANGELA DE LA AGUA. The Spiritual Summit Yule is a holiday that taps into the eternal cycle of life and death and the battle between light and dark. At the winter solstice, the apparent position of the Sun reaches its most southerly point against the background stars. According to Celtic myths, the solstice marked a great annual battle between the Oak King, representing light, and the Holly King, representing dark. Yule - Winter Solstice. Symbolically, the summer solstice represents awakening, enlightenment, and the triumph of light over dark. It happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere (Northern and Southern). The world 'solstice' comes from the Latin solstitium meaning 'Sun stands still', because the apparent movement of the Sun's path north or south stops before changing direction. For many, the new moon begins at the moment of the sun-moon conjunction, but for others, it remains the dark Moon until that crescent is in view. For example, in Iran, families often kept fires burning all night to assist in the battle between light and dark forces. Another year coming to an end, and a solar eclipse just in time for the winter solstice. We watch the cold sunlight and the bright stars, maybe go for walks in the quiet land. As the Moon wanes toward those final days of darkness, there's often a turn inward. It can be a time to rest and reflect. The Sun is and always has been symbolic of the highest Divinity. "The Solstice is a time of quietude, of firelight, and dreaming, when seeds germinate in the cold earth, and the cold notes of church bells mingle with the chimes of icicles. It promises new life. The Oak King won each year at the winter solstice, allowing daylight to return slowly. According to its Latin roots, the word Solstice means “sun standing still,” and for millennia the Winter Solstice has been celebrated around the world – acknowledging the shortest day of the year as a return to light. Honoring the summer solstice with ceremony, ritual, or yoga can help us energize and harness the palpable energy of the sun. For that hemisphere, the winter solstice is the day with the shortest period of daylight and longest night of the year, when the Sun is at its lowest daily maximum elevation in the sky. Every culture has festivals to honor this day and our ancestors around the earth built numerous monuments to commemorate this time. solstice definition: 1. either of the two occasions in the year when the sun is directly above either the furthest point…. The “rebirth” was celebrated with vigor. . For many of us in the Northern Hemisphere, the winter solstice means one thing: a few long, cold, dark months are ahead of us, with seemingly no end in site. Hygge has become a bit of a fashion buzz word of late, but the concept is ancient – as we turn into the dark and cold days of winter, and the shortest day at the Winter Solstice, it is easy to feel depressed, to get overwhelmed by what seems like the endless dark days, and cold, wet, damp ,weather. It reminds us that there is hope in knowing that the sun will return even in the darkness. Yule: Winter Solstice - Dec 21st/22nd. The word “solstice” comes from the Latin solstitium meaning “sun stands still”. When does winter start? What is the meaning of Yule for pagans and Wiccans? The winter solstice — a time to celebrate light and rebirth of the sun on the longest night of the year — took on new meaning this year for Wingra School. This creates intimacy with nature that has been all but lost in the modern world. Winter Solstice . Sometimes, we resist emotions or thoughts or discomfort in the body or sleepiness or restlessness during meditation and in doing so, we shoot a second arrow, so-to-speak, and create a story around even these simple experiences in meditation. It was also the Druids who began the tradition of the yule log. The ‘Winter Solstice’ occurs on either the 21st or 22nd December and observes the lowest point of the sun in the sky at midday as well as the most southerly sunrise and sunset in the year. The Winter solstice, the shortest day of the year and the longest night of the year. Do you worship a specific pagan deity during the Winter Solstice? The Romans called it ‘ Sol Invictus ’, meaning, ‘the Undefeated Sun’. It's the fruitful dark out of which new life can eventually emerge. Winter Solstice: The Dark Days of Winter Today is the Winter Solstice also known as St. Thomas' Day. In many countries, the seasons of the year are determined by reference to the solstices and the equinoxes.. "The solstice is the moment the sun enters into Capricorn. With many areas across the Northern Hemisphere getting less than eight hours of daylight Monday, the Winter Solstice can mean dark times -- both physically and … The meaning behind these rituals is to let go of the dark and welcome back the light as each day after solstice grows longer and longer. A simple meditation today, the Winter Solstice, can help us work with balancing light and dark/ease and difficulty. 7 Simple Winter Solstice Rituals for Celebrating the Light. The origin of the word Yule, has several suggested origins from the Old English word, geõla, the Old Norse word jõl, a pagan festival celebrated at the winter solstice, or the Anglo-Saxon word for the festival of the Winter Solstice, 'Iul' meaning 'wheel'. It refers to the point when the apparent movement of the sun’s path seems to stop briefly. Just as a dark moon heralds in a new one, the Winter Solstice ( Alban Arthan) marks the birth of a new year. This represents our spirit's ascension to the Divine -- the reunion of self with Divinity. . The winter solstice, hiemal solstice or hibernal solstice occurs when one of the Earth's poles has its maximum tilt away from the Sun. Here’s what I mean. Special rituals during the time of the solstice and equinox each year mark not only the movement of the sun, but the inherent cycles within spiritual and physical life as well. Dark Mofo winter solstice nude swim sees record numbers flock to Hobart's Long Beach. And the joy we feel at Summer Solstice is a mere sampling of that supreme bliss! For others, it’s just a date on the calendar and that’s pretty much it. *Solstice* Meaning and Spiritual Significance~ 6 Comments. While the winter solstice … For our ancestors winter could literally mean death and starvation! The Solar New Year marks the end of a cycle as the Earth begins her return to innocence – the rebirth that is Spring. Through the pages of history, ancient Egyptians, Celts, Hopi, and many others, used the solstice as a time for ritual, reflection, and renewal. Capricorn energy is really focused on life on the Earth plane." It is at this height of summer at solstice when the Sun's power reaches its zenith. Litha, one of the festivals in the Wheel of the Year in modern paganism, is the time of a battle between light and dark. It’s the darkest day of the darkest year. We live pretty far south of there, on the Kenai Peninsula (“Alaska’s Playground” as the tourism industry says). Indigenous and pagan people around the world understand the deeper meaning of such times. It’s when the dark half of the year relinquishes to the light half; the Sun God will grow in strength every day from that point until the summer solstice. In those contemplative moments, the inner reality is presented through dreams and waking visions. We come out of the darkness and into the light. For those of us living in the Northern Hemisphere, the Summer Solstice marks a time of celebration, of honoring the light, our connection to the Sun and the Earth. In Latin, solstice means sun set still and Winter Solstice is the great stillness before the Sun's strength builds, and days grow longer. Learn more. For pagans, Litha represents a fight between light and dark, and between the ruler from the winter to summer solstice – the Oak King – and the ruler from summer to winter – the Holly King. So it’s really dark right now. . Winter Solstice Meaning. What does ‘solstice’ mean? 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