23.45°

It’s the reason for today

Dec 21, 2023

At 7:27pm this evening, December 21, something quite amazing happens. Something literally out of this world that has happened only one other time within the past year. Just sayin’. In case you didn’t know. That’s exactly 12 hours from now if you happened to open this post just after I sent it.

A Timeout from the Holidays

In case you, indeed, didn’t know, today is a Sacred day—held Sacred and maintained as Sacred by many cultures and tribes around the world; except for the plurality of our culture here in America, that is. More and more evidence is proving “we” typically don’t “do Sacred.” At least the Sacred like the kind that is today.

Tomorrow’s typically scheduled post will be pushed to Sunday morning—special just for a Christmas sentiment. Because Astronomy has wound its way into this Alchemy in the past, notably here, and the Sacred is a frequent ingredient of these posts, I didn’t want the significance of this day to pass by without at least a mention in the hope it prompts a brief pause, a nod, and a Namaste bow to the heavens because, lord knows, if ever we need to take a pause for awe to the Sacred in the midst of chaos (no matter how one defines chaos right now—and there are SO many ways to define chaos right now), we need to do so now.

So let’s do, together.

Twelve hours from the moment this post was sent—at 7:27pm (plus a few seconds) PST, on December 21, 2023, our sun’s equator will be exactly perpendicular to the earth at 23.45°South latitude, directly “above” the Tropic of Capricorn (said another way, it is the southern-most latitude at which the sun would be directly over you at noon on this day)—it is among the most Sacred of days in all of human mythology, cosmology, astronomy, astrology, neurophysiology, psychology, spirituality, indigenous folklore, native iconography, and tribal tradition. And most of us aren’t even aware it is so.

The Winter Solstice.

Solstice
From the Latin: solstitium meaning “sun to stand still.”
sol, meaning “sun”; stit, meaning “still.”
Middle English speakers substituted “solstice” for solstitium in the 14th Century. I’m glad they did. I like saying “solstice.”

WARNING: AMBER ALERT—Astronomy nerd on the loose and directly ahead in your reading path.

At 7:27pm local Lake Stevens WA time, this evening, the sun will stand still. Well, that’s how it appeared to very inquisitive and perceptive indigenous cultures and early astronomers hundreds if not thousands of years ago as they stood on the earth and peered skyward and observed the same physical phenomenon. They gave a name to what they saw: solstitium. That it be daytime or nighttime is insignificant (so you don’t have to point out “but Kert, you can’t see the sun at 7:27pm at your local Lake Stevens time, unless they’ve started to put something funny in the vegan whole wheat blueberry muffins. How do YOU know the sun stood still? And why are you looking at the sun in the first place?”). At the Winter Solstice, there is an exact moment, to the earth second, when the sun, from our perspective in the northern hemisphere, reaches its lowest point in the sky, and then stops. THAT’s the significance of the imaginary line drawn around the earth at 23.45° South latitude that humans termed “The Tropic of Capricorn.”

By association then, you likely know, ‘cuz you’ve heard the terms mentioned in the same breath, the name of the imaginary line on the earth at 23.45° North latitude when the same phenomenon occurs in “our” summer. I won’t say it now—only to give you time to exercise your brain (not your internet search skills, please) to try to recall the name.
Go ahead.
** See below if you must.

There are only two times when the sun “stands completely still” in the sky over the span of a year. It’s the physics of the thing. Exactly analogous to a person on a swing—it may appear like a swinging person is in constant motion forward and back, but there are two moments in time—while they are swinging, silly—when the person is exactly motionless: it’s when they change direction! For our Winter Solstice, the sun has stopped its southern drift and begins its six month journey back north—it changes direction (not really but by now you get it—everything is relative to our point of observation and perspective—so let’s just go with it). As a result, today we will have experienced our shortest day and our longest night (vice versa if you live in the southern hemisphere). Our official northern hemispheric start of Winter.

Side note only to remind you of your own science geekiness that you, again, learned here:
The earth is still approaching the sun, by way of distance between, along the earth’s elliptical orbit. We won’t reach perihelion, the closest point, until January 2, 2024 at 4:38pm PST.
You didn’t forget that we are closest to the sun, by at least three million miles, in our winter rather than our summer, did you? Of course you didn’t. You’d remember something that important.
Quick fun facts: today we will have 7 hours 49 minutes of daylight (sunrise to sunset); 16 hours 11 minutes of night. For comparison, at the summer solstice, we have 8 hours and 49 minutes MORE of daylight.

Okay, enough “nerding out.”

But, spiritually speaking…

The Winter Solstice really did have immense significance to the spiritual and cultural lives of indigenous peoples. For some individuals, and some remaining cultures that see the importance of holding on to ancient tradition and ritual, the solstices and equinoxes (equini? equinoxi?) still hold significance. In those spirit traditions, the Winter Solstice marks “The Return of the Light.” On the solstice, still, many cultural peoples, and those who are spiritually or Soulfully connected to something greater than just themselves, engage in practices to bring honor, respect, and a sense of the Sacred to the moment. At the moment when the sun starts its return back to us, those who care about such matters of the Soul, pause their earthly concern to solemnly celebrate IT as the source of all life on earth. Not God, or gods, or Krishna, or Muhammad, or Jesus, or Buddha, or Helios, or any other divinity humans may have created to account for such things before we knew enough to create astronomy; but the Sun. Our Sun. The only star, among the trillions and trillions of other stars in the known Universe, to have orbiting it a “pale blue dot” that is home to the only kind of life we know.

Yeah, the Sun kinda is THAT important. So why wouldn’t we think it necessary to pay homage to it? It does our spirit good, and reminds us of our humble place in the cosmos. Humans could stand to be humbled a little more often.

“The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, the carbon in our apple pies were made in the interiors of collapsing stars. We are made of starstuff.“

~ Carl Sagan

Anthropological side note:

Some notable winter solstice celebrations include:
Yule: This Norse tradition involves bringing home large logs and feasting while the logs burn, which can take up to 12 days.
Inti Raymi: The Incas honored their sun god, Inti, with three days of fasting leading up to the solstice. On the day itself, they would gather to watch the sunrise and offer chicha, a sacred fermented drink, alongside animal sacrifices.
Dongzhi: Celebrated in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, this festival began as a harvest celebration and has now evolved into a time for family gatherings and welcoming longer days.
Zuni Tribe: The indigenous Zuni tribe of western New Mexico marks the winter solstice as their new year, with celebrations that include fasting, prayer, and the traditional Shalako dance.
From my friends at SlowNorth.com

For the record

‘Cuz I want you to know I walk the talk with just about all of the things I write regarding spirit and Soul and heart in these posts:

At 7:27pm PST in Lake Stevens, today on December 21, 2023, I will light a candle in my zendo that I have on my zen alter bringing light to that space. I will sit in silence on my zafu (zen meditation pillow), that is placed on my zabuton (zen meditation mat), for the next 45 minutes in zazen (my typical silent meditation period) to honor the sacredness of the moment—in spiritual solidarity and connection with millions of other like-hearted Souls across our planet who will be engaged in their own practices at the same time. And on behalf of all other humans, at least those who live north of the equator, we will bring back the light.
Breathing in humility—this body is made of earth.
Breathing in nobility—this body is made of stars.
Breathing in deep time / sacred awe—this body is of this Universe.
Breathing in boundless and eternal silence—boundless eternal silence is True Nature.
For the record, I do not do animal sacrifices; no Inca blood in my heritage that I’m aware of. Wouldn’t be very vegan of me, now would it.

There is irony in all this—when one pays homage, like this, to the heavens and the stars: it grounds you. If you’ve never engaged in a ritual or practice similar, you might just have to trust me. Or better, try something yourself. One way to get closer to earth—to become more human, to see the sacredness in other humans who are on their own life journeys creating their lives with their own Alchemy—is to look to the stars. Experience awe. Cultivate the deep silence that can be found deep within each of us. Embody the Sacred.

Each a vital component of the heat that makes Alchemy work. And yes, it does work.

Through their own journeys across the heavens, the stars have marked moments in time and space for us where they have astronomically reminded us of our humble yet miraculous place in the Universe. All we need do is cultivate awareness, care, then listen.