{"id":443,"date":"2009-12-21T12:33:33","date_gmt":"2009-12-21T12:33:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/apagansblog\/2009\/12\/winter-solstice-2009.html"},"modified":"2009-12-21T12:33:33","modified_gmt":"2009-12-21T12:33:33","slug":"winter-solstice-2009","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/apagansblog\/2009\/12\/winter-solstice-2009.html","title":{"rendered":"Winter Solstice 2009"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Last night we
\ncelebrated the Winter Solstice in Berkeley.  <\/span>Old friends and newer gathered together to invoke, dance, sing,
\nand burn the boughs of last year’s celebrations in a brilliant
\nconflagration.  <\/span>I hope the Yule Fire’s enthusiastic flames will prove an omen for the coming year, as the meager and
\nfitful fire of last year symbolized 2009 for me.  <\/span><\/p>\n

\n

This year the
\nlongest night followed by the return of the sun cannot happen too quickly for
\nmy tastes.  <\/span>2009 has been a year
\ndominated by the energy of Samhain, not only personally (which I doubt
\ninterests most folks here other than myself) but nationally and world wide.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n


\n<\/p>\n

I remind myself
\nthat in a world of change, decline and death are as much a part of our world
\nand our lives as birth and growth. 
\n<\/span>This is as true for countries, civilizations, ideas, ecosystems,
\nspecies, and religions as much as for us two leggeds and our fellow travelers
\non this planet.  <\/span>In all their
\nmarvelous variety.<\/p>\n

 Gary Snyder wrote “‘What a big potlatch we are all members of!’ To acknowledge that each of
\nus at the table will eventually be part of the meal is not just being ‘realistic.’
\nIt is allowing the sacred to enter and accepting the sacramental aspect of our
\nshaky personal being.” (The Practice of the Wild<\/a><\/i><\/span> is a wonderful book, by the way.)<\/span><\/p>\n

 Last night for me the sense of what is dying away was
\nmore tangible than the sense of what is coming into birth.  <\/span>But something is.  <\/span>At first the earliest stages of
\npregnancy and renewal are always invisible.  <\/span>Only the Mother knows, and perhaps in the earliest beginning
\neven She is unsure.  <\/span>For some time
\nto come the greater length of the days will seem to be overwhelmed by the
\ngreater cold winter’s remaining months. 
\n<\/span>The growth that matters will occur in hidden places, safely below the
\nground.  <\/span>But it will be taking
\nplace, as it has for countless years. 
\n<\/span>And from this greater context even those who this year are short on
\npersonal joy can take much comfort.<\/span><\/p>\n

 As we celebrate this eternal cycle, and this time of
\nrenewal, surrounded by the debris of a year I am glad to see gone, may the
\ngrowing light of sun and spirit gradually warm and open our hearts to the
\nearth, to spirit, and to one another.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last night we celebrated the Winter Solstice in Berkeley.  Old friends and newer gathered together to invoke, dance, sing, and burn the boughs of last year’s celebrations in a brilliant conflagration.  I hope the Yule Fire’s enthusiastic flames will prove an omen for the coming year, as the meager and fitful fire of last year…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,105],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-443","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pagan-holidays-and-sabbats","category-pagan-spirituality"],"yoast_head":"\nWinter Solstice 2009 - A Pagan's Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/apagansblog\/2009\/12\/winter-solstice-2009.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Winter Solstice 2009 - 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