Solstice
Sunday 4th January, 2009
“I will not be clapped in a hood
Nor a cage, nor alight on a wrist,
Now I have learnt to be proud
Hovering over the wood
in the broken mist
Or tumbling cloud.”
Rebirth of the Hawk, W.B. Yeats
My recent reflections have led me to contemplate the messages I received about 2008. The strongest message was that we were in a time of openings. I feel, like the Rebirth of the Hawk, that we no longer wear blinkers - the hood is off. We know what it is like to live in captivity of the heart and soul - going against the flow of nature. We know now that it is time for change, to take off the shackles of pollution, of unconscious living - of disconnection from our natures. With the recovery of this awareness our wings are free - to fly and soar and know the clouds, the mists, the forests, the oceans. There is no going back.
Solstice is, for me, the turning of the year. Julian Lennon was quoted recently on the Whale Dreamers website saying that “Indigenous wisdom has never been more relevant for humanity than now.” I think there is a growing awareness of this and something I am very proud of is my own indigenous wisdom - the wisdom of the Irish and Scottish people, the Gaels.
What is incredible to me is the fact that in some parts of Ireland there is still an authentic continuous living tradition stretching back as far as anyone can remember. This tradition is known as Sean Nós, which translates as the Old Ways. You can read more about it my article, Sean Nós.
Such a tradition is a rare and endangered thing in the west. Something that we must regard as precious and nurture back to a full bodied expression of our life here on Earth. In west Ireland we have holy sites that predate the Egyptian pyramids. We have evidence of monastic type culture, especially on our islands off the west coast, that predate Christianity. Many of these sites of pilgrimage - on the islands, the mountains and elsewhere in the country, are still living places of pilgrimage and worship. The veneration of water has been an integral part of Irish culture since time immemorial. We have thousands of holy wells that are still venerated - not just on the odd occasion but constantly - many, such as Tobernalt in Sligo are visited daily as a place of prayer and healing. They are living places of pilgrimage and solace for the soul.
The ancient faith of Ireland and Scotland is alive and continues to flourish.
The spirituality of the people is a celebration of their life - that is expressed through song, dance, music, story telling, poetry and prayer. In fact, they are prayers and healing practices.
Traditionally, the Irish and Scottish people understand that music and poetry are languages of the soul, that the story teller, the seanachie, carries the wisdom of old, and that within these ways are bound the essence of our culture, our mystical lore and the understanding that we are in everything.
The Irish in the west have that secret - or if they don’t, it is at their finger tips. For in traditional areas of Ireland, especially the Gaelteacht areas ( Irish speaking as the first language ), this living tradition of the Sean Nós thrives. This ancient tradition that expresses the individual and the collective spirit - and how we flow with the rest of nature. The constant expression of the Sean Nós has kept the feeling of the spirit of the place and people alive - their aboriginality survives - in some ways it thrives and it is incredible to experience and assist others to experience an authentic continual, traditional culture that is western.
That is my greatest grief when I leave - aside from the glorious landscape - which is like living in a painting, the feeling of the loss of real community, and the connection to the land and the past, is huge. Leaving Ireland this November - gosh it was hard - all the dark half traditions were cranking up - the Sean Nós dancing lessons and the Irish speaking classes were beginning along with the gatherings in people’s homes. The sean nós performances, such as the awesome Cunningham Family performance which dazzled us in Clifden with song, dance, all manner of traditional instruments and story telling. The best part of all was the audience. The building rocked for the entire performance. In true traditional style everyone clapped and stamped their feet and called out encouragement and affirmations of the brilliance of it all. “Good Man, Good Woman, God be with Ye!”
The pull of my other home here in Australia was mighty powerful though with the bright days, early sunrises, the time of the most southerly path of sun and the work of organising the veggie patch, the joy of the late golden light. My home since I was 5, the landscape and spirit of place is awesome. The feeling of freedom and expansion is irreplaceable. It is so relaxed, so abundant. I always feel torn between the two worlds and my wish for western culture that is outside of their traditions is that we develop real community in that deep and enduring sense. I have come to realise that this is part of my story, and my work, to have both these worlds and part of my vision is to foster real community that draws from all our wonderful and diverse traditions. Living in both worlds has given me authenticity in my understanding of our traditions including the cycle of the seasons and our place in that. The sense of how things evolved through the nature of things, the light half and the dark half. And this has been assisted greatly by growing up in a country that has taught me great irreverence towards all things conservative, too many rules and anything oppressive. My rebel archetype and sense of individuality has been able to flourish.
I have thought a lot about the idea of new year and what it means - for most in the west it is a holiday and time of consuming copious amounts of food and drink. Many people from my culture believe that the new year is at Samhain - which is the doorway to the dark half of the year. I am not even sure about this. There is no mention in any of our old stories in Scotland or Ireland that indicate this, though it has some merit in that it is the celebration of the ancestors, the time when the veils between the worlds are at their thinnest. It is the time of the gathering of the souls of those who have died in recent months, to be ushered to the mystical isles of the western sea.
What I understand is that there are 2 halves - the dark half and the light half.
These doorways, honoured with celebrations of life and the cycles, usher us towards the solstices. Both these doorways are known times of magical occurrences - another indication of their power and importance. In the northern hemisphere the dark half begins at the end of October ( Samhain ) and the light half begins at the start of May ( Bealtaine ) - well that’s these days - but I am quite sure, as with any of our festivals, these celebrations would have been perceived by the signs of nature - the snow beginning to thaw, the first primroses and snowdrops appearing, or the bracken and bog browning off, the ice creeping into the wind, etc.
The solstices are a different matter though - they are the shortest and longest days of the year, period. Our ancestors observed them very carefully, indicating their importance, as these moments indicate the turning of the tide of time. Here in the southern hemisphere we are approaching summer solstice. The time of awakening, of dancing in the light, fertility, growing our crops and celebrating our abundance. ( Traditionally in Ireland it was also the signal to move the livestock to the high pastures on the mountain sides and live in the summer dwellings - the boolies ). In the northern hemisphere it is the deepening of the inner time, opening within - to the deep work of the radiant dark, one’s inner story and preparing the new vision for birth into the light half and the outer world. The time of the Ceildhe and sharing in the “ceildhe house;” your house tonight, mine tomorrow - and all who came would share their way - music, song, dance, story. Here’s a link of some great ceildhe performances.
The solstices were so important to our ancestors that they had many sacred places that were aligned, most particularly, to the mid winter sun - either sunrise or sunset. The day that the tide of light changed from deepening into the dark, to gradually moving back to the light was also the signal that the deepest part of the cold was yet to come, although the bright is returning. These places are so well designed that one can tell that winter solstice is approaching by the way that the light strikes certain rocks or aspects of the passages, such as Newgrange for example. This means that no matter how overcast the days might be leading up to the solstice, as soon as there is any sunlight, it highlights where we are in time and how many days there are to the solstice.
However we measure time, we now find ourselves deepening in to an era of enormous change. Many of the guises of this change are causing fear, but really they are the greatest opportunity that we face. Opportunity to find balance, peace and harmony. Opportunity to be more. To bring our passions more fully into our world. So what are you passionate about? And what are you doing about it? I invite you to spend some time asking your heart what you are passionate about and what - or how - you would manifest this into the world. I challenge you to dare to dream your dream and if you believe in new years resolutions then put it out there as your intention for 2009 - a pivotal time for humanity and the beginning of restoration of our harmonious place on Earth. The new president elect of the US, Obama, is a clear signal that we are entering a time of great opportunity, so take those dreams in hand and prepare to create them in the world.
For me the solstices are the great turning points of the year. Here in the southern hemisphere we are dancing in the light, growing our summer crops, enjoying the long evenings and the joy of relating with the outer world, feeling expanded and embracing the sense of growth and expression of our story. In the northern hemisphere there is delight and opportunity with the deepening time of the dreaming, the going within, finishing with old patterns that no longer serve us, telling your story freeing you up to gestate the new one in preparation for the light half.
We need our stories and our mythologies - in fact we also need new mythologies for our changing world - without myths we will become as Deepak Chopra says, “more sterile and bereft of meaning and soul.” Knowing our story puts us back into the narrative of our people - of a continuous living tradition - whatever that will come to mean in future times. Having a vision will carry us forward in a positive way and enable us to live fully and consciously in the world.
So what is your story? What are you passionate about and are you endeavouring to honour your passionate heart and bring your story and vision into the world?
“....Over here!
Can’t you see where the memories are kept bright?
Tripping on the water like a laughing girl.
Time in her eyes is spawning past life,
One with the ocean and the woman unfurled,
Holding all the love that waits for you here.
Catch us now for I am your future
A kiss on the wind and we’ll make the land
Come over here to where When lingers,
Waiting in this empty world,
Waiting for Then, when the lifespray cools
For Now does ride in on the curl of the wave,
And you will dance with me in the sunlit pools.
We are of the going water and the gone.
We are of water in the holy land of water
And all that’s to come runs in
With the thrust on the strand.”
The Jig of Life, Kate Bush.