My husband insists our bonfire be lit tonight for the winter solstice. Haven't taken a lot of notice of these things in the past. Any thing to add? Any one else doing any thing?
Hi, Should be tree pasting (BD practice) on the solstice but unfortunately won't be getting around to that until probably early July. It's good to acknowledge the changing seasons, cycle of the year. Perhaps a toast to winter and the return of the sun? I'm inspired to create a campfire area in my garden to sit around on nights such as these. Happy winter solstice! Sonya
soltsice poem i am no great poet but here for what it is worth is my solstice poem: We have entered 'alone, obscuring, under night, by means of shade' our dream realms, our dusk-palimpsests. In deepest shadow (the 'blackest chaos' of which is fear), we have walked: barefoot Proserpines, into our coldest hells. We are, living flesh thus the ice that burned burned life into our consciousness', shivered the quick. Love, i know how your flesh has burned now. Throughout manifold forevers love me through winters' thanitos-shadows, burn me upon the pyre of midsummers' fires, for as long as our flesh can bear, that flesh we ache to share, the Sibyl of our walk. We will now emerge from these corridors of ice, gradually, thankfully...and all the clocks of nature chime; and all the sunken spirits burst up, and out, and shine, as the pentagram is turned again, as seasons find their footing, as we find, in spring warmth, our mother's arms, cast to the warming earth what we have gathered from deep within the seeming death endured, griefs pearled to seed.
there is a winter solstice bonfire on at Northey Street community farm in Brisbane....Saturday night from 4pm. Cheers Cathy PS Bonfire area in garden is a great idea, creats atmosphere and sense of community...fire buckets from old 44gal drums works for those restricted with open fires
soltice Taken from the solarhomes.com website: Efficient use of the sun's energy is not necessarily a modern phenomena. Many centuries ago the Anasazi Indians of Southern Colorado found a way to capture the oblique rays of a winter sun. They simply built their stone houses against the south slope of canyon walls. The remains of their solar dwellings are still with us today. During the summer solstice sunset, light shines through a porthole and hits the very corner of a doorway into an eastern room. When the sun sets on the day of the winter solstice, it shines through a different porthole onto the corner of the doorway to the tower. The movement of the sun's rays along the wall is noticeable well before the solstice, so the Anasazi sun priests would have had time to plan their ceremonies. When the light first becomes visible in the room early in April, the Anasazi would have known that it was time to get ready to plant their first crops.
winter solstice Dewbee if you're not a poet I don't know who would be well done. The homes with the portholes sounds so simple and yet so complex to calculate. I goes to show how much we as a society have lost touch with such fundamental elements of life and nature. The bonfire went well had some friends round and enjoyed the warmth on a mild night (probably only 6 rather than the close to freezing we have had). I have this niggling urge to plant now the days are going to be getting longer however know that our frosts haven't even started in this little part of the world yet. So I guess I continue to prepare the soil in the vege garden. Wanting to plant more brasicas and root crops is it too cold to do much? Sunny 15 degree days very cold nights. Also looking to expand our young orchard area so will be moving more mounds of dirt to plant onto. Find that works better on a heavy clay soil. Kids think its good they can get up earlier now and stay up later. Think they think the days will be imeediately longer by a lot. Nice for them to be learning this things.. Jackie
yggdrasil Thankyou, here. As fate smiled upon me of late i stood beneath the world-tree and under it's starry leaves watched with active overt joy it's nurtured growing, it's stretched throwing burgeoning fronds into the reaches; it's magnificence, breaching nothing, filling the void with blossoms of metaphysic... From rains long waited upon both founts were brimming and the worm had been quiessent at the root. As i marvelled at the branches of the world-tree Fate indeed smiled upon me.