Winter Solstice, The Hidden Gardens and World Peace

photo from kingfisher 11-11

This Tuesday, Dec 21,  the sun will rise late, stay very low in the sky and set early. It is the shortest - and darkest - day of the year. It is the Winter Solstice ( for us in the Northern Hemisphere).

It is a time to look inward, determine what is important and start envisioning....

What makes this especially significant is that the solstice, this year, occurs on the day of the full moon.  Full Moons are times when emotions are heightened (and then some).


Further, there is a full lunar eclipse at the same time! This is when the earth's shadow totally blocks the full moon. This concurrence of events  foretells significant endings or culmination, a new awareness of a greater reality that unites our understanding into a cohesive whole. This will be the dawning of the Age of Aquarius.


This is an extraordinary event. When was the last time that we had a total full moon lunar eclipse on the winter solstice?  Not since Dec 22, 1703… over 300 years ago. Intense. Use the power of this time to align yourself with the dynamic new energies coming in .....  and light lots of candles because it will be the darkest day and night in three centuries.


 In California and the Pacific Time Zone, the lunar eclipse will occur just after midnight as the Moon is visible directly overhead. Plan to stay up on Monday December 20th.

So what other ways can we celebrate the solstice outdoors?  Here is a place to look to...

THE HIDDEN GARDENS in Glasgow, Scotland is a contemplative open space dedicated to peace on all levels and celebrates the universal spirit of nature. Their ethos on their website says,

"Gardens are universal and celebrated in many different ways throughout the world.


The nature of the Hidden Gardens project is to embrace different ideas, rituals and forms from different cultures merging these ideas through the designers' and artists' work in relation to the specific demands of the site both spatially and physically."



YES! Here we go! World peace through gardens. I love it.

The Hidden Gardens says that it follows the practice of many early cultures that celebrate the landscape and invest it with spiritual meaning. Like Celtic, Hindu, Native American and Aboriginal cultures, they place spiritual value on their given landscape which is a plant nursery, chimney and factory floor.


The starting point for the design program of  the Gardens is 'the celebration of diversity in nature and humanity, and the promotion of a deeper understanding of nature through international horticultural traditions'.

And so it goes without saying that they would have a FESTIVAL OF LIGHT.....and why not? a non religious celebration in a public garden that features light in many mainfestations..WHY DON"T MORE PLACES DO THIS?  I am not talking Diwali, Christmas or Hanukkah lights... I am talking about global light celebrations...

Will someone please start a Festival of Light Foundation?  A non profit group that touts light celebrations as an economic development tool for blighted areas...( I know: I go from astrology to art to economic development in a few paragraphs...that is the arc of my thinking process)...



All these photos are from The Hidden Gardens- check out their website...





Comments

  1. HazelDecember 19, 2010 at 7:56 PM

    Wow! It is of course, the Summer Solstice here...and I can't believe it, I had to light the fire because it is so cold...It is supposed to be the height of Summer. Maybe it has something to do with all those heavenly goings on. My ritual for today is harvesting my garlic! Planted at the Winter Solstice.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jan JohnsenDecember 19, 2010 at 10:34 PM

    so I guess that means that you are enjoying more light than ever...and you had to light a fire? odd.
    BTW, I should go plant some garlic...that's a nice tradition.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Laguna DirtDecember 20, 2010 at 1:31 AM

    what a great explanation of the solstice and this amazing opportunity for reflection (reflect the light!) and transition. we just hope it clears up in time!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Tanya BoracayDecember 20, 2010 at 2:55 AM

    Wow beautiful garden

    Just like to share with you a beautiful quote...

    "Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful." - Albert Schweitzer

    You can get more happiness quotes at http://www.quotelandia.com/category/Happiness

    ReplyDelete
  5. Jan JohnsenDecember 20, 2010 at 8:52 AM

    'reflect the light' - a nice image..we are all like little mirrors to reflect light to each other...the trick is to stay polished.

    We must not allow ourselves to become tarnished.

    Light a scented candle and inhale deeply tonight and tomorrow.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Indoor FountainsDecember 21, 2010 at 4:53 PM

    Excellent historical background on this event!

    ReplyDelete

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