A Meditation On The Winter Solstice - 2009

The US Naval Observatory states that the period between the first week in December and the first week in January could well be called the "dark days" for the mid-northern latitudes.1 At our latitude, the earliest sunset occurs around 8 December, and the latest sunrise occurs around 5 January. The solstice itself occurs tomorrow, just after noon.

The winter solstice has loomed large in nearly every civilization Even if a culture attached comparatively little religious significance to it, there was generally a mathematical or astronomical interest. This is natural. As the fall harvest time gives way to a cooler, less gentle period, those things within the art of the possible begin to shrink. To the human psyche, the land itself seems to die back, as if it knows that the reduced supply of light is insufficient for lush growth.

The ancients had myths to explain this, and to reassure themselves that, sooner or later, the retreat into darkness would stop, and a return to a gentler time would begin. There is little evidence to support fixing any particular date to the birth of Jesus, but the convention of adopting 25 December gives Christians a reason for high optimism in the bleak mid winter, as well. This convention merely linked Jesus' nativity with a long succession of birth/rebirth myths. I shall leave it to you to separate myth from fact in your own minds, and your own traditions. The facts, however, are bleak – many of us will awaken in the dark, and not return home at days end until darkness has returned. It might be that darkness is not actually a “thing”, but simply the absence of visible light energy. Nevertheless, at this time of year there is so little light that darkness may seem to be a tangible thing, rather than just a condition. Where I live, the sun's path is below the tree line. If those trees were evergreens, we'd have no direct sunlight at all. It has been said that in the far northern latitudes, where darkness is a principal attribute of this season, the suicide rate rises significantly due to the lack of light, though proving cause and effect can be tricky.

We are a modern people. If we set aside our myths, believed or merely cherished, what might we make of the present time of the year, and what is to come?

If the days were to continue to grow shorter, we would be faced with the end of human existence, but as time appears to rest upon this fulcrum of seasonal change that is the winter solstice, with the sun at its southern most declination, mechanics begins to bring the sun back in our direction, and with it comes more light each day. The change is not slow for long; we quickly perceive the increase in light, and the reaction is inevitable. The mid winter myths are stories of birth, death, and rebirth. We know that this return of longer days is not the result of the rebirth of a deity – it's just orbital mechanics, and yet, as we gain light every day, it's hard to not feel a spiritual connection with what is happening. If the return of more hours of light suggests a rebirth, it also enables it. Certain optimistic, and hardy souls use the increasing light to sprout what they hope will be the early spring harvest.

As we consider these literal and mythical properties, we might also consider the imagery of light. Sometimes, when we speak of those in darkness, we are speaking of brothers and sisters who are in ignorance or oppression. For those in such darkness, the solstice has no impact. They may only be brought from the darkness into light through the proactive intervention of their brothers and sisters in humanity Those who reach out to bring their brothers and sisters from darkness to light might be said to be experiencing a rebirth of sorts. When we give something of ours away to someone who needs it, that thing that we have given increases in value. When that thing that we give is truly ours – our time, our expertise, our understanding – then we re-create ourselves as a more valuable entity.