image: Wikimedia commons (link).
The earth has now approached almost to the very point in its annual orbit where the north pole is pointed most directly away from the sun, the December solstice which is the winter solstice for the northern hemisphere.
We will pass through the exact moment of the December solstice for 2019 at 8:19 pm Pacific time (which is 2019 hours) on the 21st of December, which is 11:19 pm Eastern time in North America (2319 hours on the 21st of December), and 4:19 am Greenwich time on the 22nd of December in England (0419 hours on the 22nd of December).
It is at this moment that the sun's southward progress across the heaven (bringing its journey lower and lower in the sky for viewers in the northern hemisphere, as its path arcs closer and closer to the southern horizon, causing days to be shorter and shorter and the angle of the sun's rays to be less and less steep as they strike the earth) finally reverses and begins to climb back northwards, causing the sun's arc across the heavens to be higher and higher above the southern horizon, and causing days to begin to grow longer and longer again, on the way back "up" to the spring equinox and eventually to the summer solstice.
The winter solstice appears to have been invested with tremendous significance in the ancient system of celestial metaphor operating within the world's myths and sacred traditions. It appears to have been associated with a "second birth" -- a spiritual birth -- which contrasts with the "first birth" that was associated with the point of the autumnal equinox (the point of "descent" into the lower half of the year, when darkness dominates over daylight, representing the descent of the soul into this incarnate life).
For more discussion of these "two births," and the corresponding "two mothers" pattern which goes along with the concept of the two births, see for example this previous post from this year's September equinox.
One reason that the ancient myths describe the need for two births, I'm convinced, has to do with their illustration of the fact that our plunge into this incarnate life, and our subsequent entanglement with the norms and social structures which are in a real sense necessary for our very survival in this physical world, results in a separation from our own authentic self, a sublimation and a suppression of our essential and authentic self: a separation and sublimation and suppression which we typically do not even realize is taking place.
The "second birth" involves the realization of the existence of that authentic and essential self from whom we have been alienated, and the beginning of the opportunity to restore our connection with our own self, who has always been present and available even before we even became aware of the existence of a self we had suppressed or forgotten.
The first birth in the ancient myths is often associated with the constellation Virgo, located near the point of the September equinox in the annual cycle, and the second birth is often associated with the constellation Sagittarius, located near the point of the December solstice in the annual cycle (and also with the nearby constellation of Ophiuchus, the shining column of the Milky Way which rises up in its brightest and widest region immediately adjacent to Sagittarius, and with other nearby constellations including the beautiful "great birds of the Milky Way," the constellations Aquila and Cygnus located above Sagittarius).
Thus, this great "turning point" in the annual cycle, when the downward plunge of the sun finally pivots and turns and changes to an upwards movement, was imbued with tremendous significance in ancient cultures, and can serve as an opportune time each year for us to consider these same themes in our own life -- the theme of our alienation from our essential self, and the way we can rediscover and restore our relationship with our own essential self. Previous posts dealing with the concept of the recovery of the self include (among many others):
The significance of this great turning point of the year to the ancients is also evident from the astounding monuments they have left to us, all over the planet, which contain alignments marking the sunrise and/or sunset points on the day of winter solstice.
The awe-inspiring megaliths of Stonehenge, of course, contain a dramatic alignment which frames the last flash of the setting sun on the day of winter solstice -- and, as Professor Gordon Freeman explains in his beautiful and important book Hidden Stonehenge, the megaliths also contain a more subtle alignment framing the first flash of the rising sun on the winter solstice morning.
The alignment for the sunrise on winter solstice involves vertical gap or window between the mighty sarsen stones designated 57 and 58, which are the two enormous vertical stones forming the trilithon on the right side of the image above as you face it (with the lintel stone designated 158 resting atop stones 57 and 58 to form the trilithon)
You can see Gordon Freeman's diagram showing the alignments for the winter solstice sunrise and the winter solstice sunset at his publisher's website here. You can see glossy photographs showing the winter solstice sunrise alignment in Hidden Stonehenge, on pages 94, 95 and 96.
Of the alignments and sight-lines for the sunrise and sunset flash on this important day, Professor Freeman writes:
The Winter Solstice Sun set observation line was built for drama. It begins at a massive rock that from the Circle looks like a turtle's head, passes through the Circle along the axis of the Trilithon Horseshoe, through the narrow gap in the tallest of the five Trilithons, called the Great Trilithon, and ends at the groin of a burial mound on the horizon.
Does this observation line symbolize a life story? It begins at a female symbol, birth from water, passes through the center of a complex structure, and ends where the Sun enters a death symbol. Does the entry of the low and weak Sun into the groin of the mound anticipate regeneration? Does the mound also represent a pregnant belly? A double symbol of death and rebirth?
The entry of the Winter Solstice Sun into a mound on the horizon is somewhat analogous to its entry into a horizon-marker rock in Omahkiyaahkohtoohp.
The Winter Solstice Sun rise observation line is almost hidden, perhaps known only to the Skywatchers, Priests and Priestesses. It passes through the southwest segment of the Sarsen building, along the Altar in the inner sanctum between the Trilithons.The Winter Solstice Sun set and rise observation lines cross significantly in the middle of the Altar. 98.
Below is an embedded video of Gordon Freeman explaining some of these alignments at Stonehenge. Below that is another video of Gordon Freeman explaining alignments at the site called Omahkiyaahkohtoohp in present-day Alberta, Canada -- an ancient site which Gordon Freeman argues to be some eight centuries older than Stonehenge, and located along roughly the same latitude.
I hope that wherever you are, you will have an opportunity to observe the sunrise and sunset on the significant day of the December solstice, 2019 -- and perhaps to meditate upon the importance with which this day was invested in the ancient wisdom entrusted to our ancestors, and pointing towards the recovery and restoration of our true and authentic self.
