The still moment in the still moment.
You may learn or hear about the three days when the sun stands still at the solstices. The etymology of the word solstice is from Latin, sol, “sun” and stice, past participle of sistere, "stand still.” For three days the sun’s places of rising and setting appear the same, still. The exact moment of the change of orientation of Earth to Our Star is calculable and the precise timing is offered here. While the date is correct, in the initial posting the day was incorrectly given as Tuesday. It is Friday.15:54:10 UTC, (UTC +0)
Friday, June 21, 2019
London, United Kingdom*
04:54:10 pm BST (UTC +1)
Friday, June 21, 2019
New York, NY, USA*
11:54:10 am EDT (UTC -4)
Friday, June 21, 2019
Chicago, IL, USA*
10:54:10 am CDT (UTC -5)
Friday, June 21, 2019
Denver, CO, USA*
09:54:10 am MDT (UTC -6)
Friday, June 21, 2019
Los Angeles, CA, USA*
08:54:10 am PDT (UTC -7)
Friday, June 21, 2019
State of Hawai’i, USA*
05:54:10 am HST (UTC -10)
Friday, June 21, 2019
The Summer Solstice is known as the longest day and shortest night since it provides the year’s greatest period of a day’s sunlight. There are some technical ramifications so that it might not precisely match a calendar date. For example, see how the Sun enters Cancer (the solstice moment in the tropical zodiac) late in the afternoon of June 21, in Greenwich, but early in the morning in Hawai’i, and in Ulan Bator, Mongolia, the solstice date is June 22.
In stillness there is the anticipation of change. Photographer and writer Teju Cole in an “On Being” interview says, “There’s a beautiful Inuit word ‘qarrtsiluni.’ It means, ‘sitting together in the dark, waiting for something to happen.’”* Of course, depending where you are on the planet, the solstice moment may be day or night. Sitting and waiting.
* https://onbeing.org/programs/teju-cole-sitting-together-in-the-dark-feb2019/
Aware of it or not, we are part of the natural world and subject to the changes of the season cycle, responsive to the waxing and waning cycle of our star. From Summer Solstice to Winter Solstice, daylight is waning and darkness reaches its peak at the shortest day and longest night of the Winter Solstice.
“The Solstices then are a time to stop, and to look back on where the half-yearly cycle has brought you, and a chance to look forward and see the direction in which the next half-yearly cycle may lead you; a moment to be conscious of your life's flow and direction; a time to express your hopes and fears, your intentions; to assimilate your learnings and celebrate your achievements; a time to celebrate the light; a time to celebrate the dark; a moment to be conscious of the way this waxing and waning of the Sun affects our lives, and to celebrate this duality and what it means to us.
“When the light is increasing from Winter Solstice to Summer Solstice, all beings are moving out into the light, becoming more individual and independent, expressing their own identity and uniqueness, expanding outwards into the material world. But as the light is decreasing from Summer Solstice to Winter Solstice, nature and life as a whole is integrating itself into a more social way of life, going within, reflecting and becoming more intuitive, expanding into the inner realms - exploring inner wisdom.”
– from Sacred Celebrations by Glennie Kindred
Maybe the 2019 Summer Solstice is a good time for sitting together in the dark, waiting for something to happen. Have a great summer!
ADDENDUM
Are you south of the equator? Then WELCOME WINTER!
In a few months, my study of astrology will reach a 60 year anniversary. The roots of the astrology that’s involved most of my study lie in primarily in Europe, the Middle East, India, and Tibet, something like 95% or more a northern hemisphere concentration. I’ve given short shrift above to half of the planet and I apologize. The Summer Solstice in the north is the Winter Solstice in the south.
Some of the discussion of the significant turning points that the solstices mark does apply north or south, but much of what might be called interpretive is slanted to concerns of the northern hemisphere. Correcting this one-sidedness would require more attention than I can offer now. What I can do is review and comment on what’s been written above. While some of the solstice stories apply equally, some of it MUST be off-base for direct application to the southern hemisphere. Giving full attention to this requires a book or at least a comprehensive essay. There is much to learn by comparisons between how the Sun’s rounding of the track is experienced differently in the two hemispheres.
Let’s look at some of what’s been said by Glennie Kindred. Her first paragraph is 100% applicable north and south for either solstice. Reading on we might wonder will the south be “moving out into the light, becoming more individual and independent, expressing their own identity and uniqueness, expanding outwards into the material world,” while in the north, “as the light is decreasing from Summer Solstice to Winter Solstice,” the experience is that “life as a whole is integrating itself into a more social way of life, going within, reflecting and becoming more intuitive, expanding into the inner realms - exploring inner wisdom”?
I don’t propose an answer to these questions. I only want to point out that we should probably be aware that there are accepted solstice delineations that should be carefully evaluated.
