For a number of good reasons, we need to be a little more careful with our thinking than we often are. The words we choose for one thing can unwittingly limit or even exclude another. Such is the case when understanding the relationship of "Sun", "Earth", "Earth Mother", and "Mother Nature". Let's consider the implications in the following:
So, yes...
The MOTHER is not the EARTH,
The MOTHER is not the "Blue Marble"...
The MOTHER... is LIFE
The MOTHER... is NATURE.
This, for us specifically, is a terribly important distinction.
As we prepare for our SUMMER SOLSTICE events,
let us reflect on the role the Sun plays in our lives and how little attention it is given in Neopaganism generally.
Far too often some ADF Groves, other Druid groups and Wiccans defer to celebrating the lore of some ancient mythic characters in their June Solstice rites with little or no actual acknowledgement of the Real Sun and our absolute dependence on It.
Regardless of what your group has planned for the Solstice,
this year please consider at least personally exploring and remembering the role of the Sun in our existence and the history of Humanity, for it has only been some two thousand years or so that most of our ancestors have spent their lives draped in the darkness of their own shadows, enslaved by doctrines cursing This Life, while continually fixated on their shallow promises of the "Next"...
TURN AROUND !
Turn around, I bid you now...
and forsake those shadows,
embracing the sunrise as
the True Light of All Life
reaches its annual summit,
high in the skies over
our beautiful world....
- Earrach (c) 2015
photo (c.2006) by Lassair
SUMMER SOLSTICE 2017 occurs at
12:24 AM Eastern, WEDNESDAY JUNE 21st
SEASONAL READING:
"Why Not the Sun?"
- my standard essay on the Sun and Neodruidic practice.
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"The (Neopagan) Solar Apostasy"
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"What's a SOLSTICE ? (vs. Equinox, etc.)"
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The Gayatri Mantra
Is the Sun conscious? Is it "divine"?
Summer Solstice sunrise 2015 at the Tor over Fairview
( our holy hill in the Pittsburgh south suburbs ).
Photo and video by Lassair.
All hail the Invincible Sun !!
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Thanks for the shining and sharing and pointing out the overlap that is blessing and benefit.
ReplyDeleteLove the video, the view . the spinning fire on a stick , the glowing orb in the sky, the Holy smoke descending down across the land , beautiful
I keep coming back to this post while I'm studying my DP. I love how simply you remind us of the importance to recognize our own connections to the sun. While the stories of Sunna, Helios, and Surya can be inspirational...they can sometimes cloud our own experiences and our own devotions with the Ancient Powers. This post reminds me that while we can ground our selves in lore, religion is a living breathing thing and it grows and changes with us.
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