Solstice, a blog in three parts

The Wheel turns. The Great Horned God, the Sun God is reborn. The long night will end and spring will come. The sun stands still for three days and then begins its long trek northward, spreading light and warmth and renewal.

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Midwinter festivals and celebrations occurring on the longest night of the year, often calling for evergreens, bright illumination, large ongoing fires, feasting, communion with close ones, and physical exertion by dancing and singing are examples of cultural winter therapies that have evolved as traditions since the beginnings of civilization. Such traditions can stir the wit, stave off malaise, reset the internal clock and rekindle the human spirit. (widipedia)

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For three days twice a year the earth stops tilting back and forth on its axis. It stops, pauses and then begins the swing back the other way. Think how different this planet would be if this third rock from the sun had a stable orbit and a stable orientation. No seasons, no seasonal plants, no migrations, no changing foliage or changing patterns in the animals and birds. The simple difference, the flip of a coin, when this rock settled into its orbit around this sun, that it was an unstable one. Lucky us. Say thank you.

sunrise 7:18am sunset 4:39pm (MST)

And a Happy Summer Solstice to everyone in the southern hemisphere!