"We should pray before sunrise and after sunset, pray prayers that have for their purposes no personal advantabe, but are as native as are the vesper cries of pairing partridges, and as full of natural gratitude as is the heart of the lover."
____ Llewelyn Powys, "Earth Memories"
The sun is at its midway mark, halfway between the golden glory of midsummer and the silver secret of midwinter. This is a time of app0raisalo and thankfulness, a time when we can be glad of the harvest of work behind us. It is also a time of application and expectation as we look forward to the work ahead.
The prayer of the quarter days is not one of personal request or self-regarding ceremony; it is our special offering of space and opportunity for and on behalf of the whole quarter and all that is happening with it and inhabiting it at this very moment. Set this day aside as one of meditation, undertaking only necessary and undemanding tasks.
At midday, stand facing the sunlight. Notice that the fall of your shadow is already longer than it was at the same time on midsummer day. Turn and face your shadow on the ground; feel the sun upon your back. The shadow that falls before you is the only mark of your presence that you should leave upon the earth. Meditate upon your shadow; then turn toward the sun again, eyes closed and bathe in the light. Meditate upon the turas of the sun at this season. Become aware of the fusion of your body and your soul within you, and open your eyes, becoming present to where and who you are.
At sunset, tune your heart again to the season; feel within your body the sense of your own turas from midsummer toward midwinter and gtive thanks for the light and darkness. As you prepare to sleep, be aware of your body's rest and the readiness of your soul's shadow to go forth on its nightly round.
"Make your prayer as suggested above."
[From: "The Celtic Spirit" by Caitlin Matthews]
*Turas - This word means 'journey,' 'pilgrimage,' and 'time.' It refers especially to the circular, spiraling prayer and meditation form used by people in the Celtic countries as they walked sunwise around a sacred site. Making the turas or circling around a sacred site, well, tree, or stone, is still a living part of Celtic spirituality today.
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