Tag Archives: Sun

Sliding into Darkness

summer solsticeI didn’t realize it at the time, but by staying up reading until 5 AM this morning, I was awake for the ironically named “Beginning of Summer.” I say “ironically” because the Summer Solstice is the point when the days start to get shorter again. The beginning of summer is also the beginning of the darkness.

Which means that my pagan side mourns the Summer Solstice as much as it celebrates the Winter one. These days, it’s hard not to see a larger parallel in society. Many of us feel and fear society is sliding into darkness — inexorably spinning along a path towards a Winter of Disaster.

This Solstice, as food for thought, I want to introduce The Five E’s

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Vernal Cycles

spring!

Spring!

The Earth.
Ever looping, ever spinning,
Passes a point.
Spring!
·
The Sun.
Ever higher, ever warmer,
Melts all the snow.
Spring!
·
The World.
Ever turning, ever changing,
Brings forth fresh life.
Spring!
·
Winter’s silence fades.
Birds sing, life renews.
A new year begins.
Spring!


Sunhenge Moment

sunlightWhoops! I was delighted yesterday when I saw the sun was once again shining into my living room. During the depth of winter, it’s too low in the sky for the rays to get past the (rather deep) skylight well in the ceiling.

Seeing it yesterday required three things I’ve been waiting for: The sun to get high enough in the sky (obviously); for it to be not cloudy, which has been a problem recently; and for the snow and (weirdly) the grime to melt off the skylight itself. The snow cover isn’t unusual, but I’ve never seen grime before!

Anyway, hooray, yesterday it happened. And then I woke this morning to winter again!

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Darkness Ahead!

The SeasonsThose who know me know that I’m not big on calendar holidays. Even my birthday tends to pass without fanfare. That comes from being single, the island that supposedly no one is. After a lifetime of Christmas and New Years’ being ordinary days, you get used to it.

But I do honor the Solar Event Days because (as I’ve mentioned many times) light is so important to me (and because I’m a geek). Christmas may not mean much to me, but the Winter Solstice does! The days finally start getting longer! Summer Solstice is a day of mourning for the opposite reason.

Today — the Autumnal Equinox — marks the halfway point.

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100 Days

upcomingI’ve been encountering a bit of blog blah recently, and it’s tempting to go on another hiatus until I retire and don’t feel the work pressure and negative energy. But I have a growing backlog — new ideas keep popping up — and I really do enjoy the writing.

Things are returning to normal around here; page hits are finally back to their low numbers. The party has died down considerably, and that lets the host leave the remaining guests so he can whip up some new treats (and maybe open that bottle of wine I’ve been saving).

Speaking of which, I meant to open two bottles this weekend, but life did one of those unexpected detour things. I’ll pour both those articles very soon, but today’s snack catches up on some things.

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