"Who is it who declaims the sun's arising?
Who is it who tells where the sun sets?"
____ Amergin, "Lebor Gabala Erenn"
On the shortest day of the year, at dawn, a thin finger of dawn light passes into the aperture of Brugh na Boinne (BROOG na BOIN), otherwise known as Newgrange, Ireland. This megalithic enclosure was erected long before the Celtic peoples arrived in Ireland. We can all experience the wonder of this day if we rise before dawn to trace the track of the sun's turas on this, the shortest day of the year.
Midwinter day gives the least period of light followed by the greatest period of darkness. For those who watched the heavens in ancient times, it must have seemed as if the sun was standing still or diminishing entirely. Nearly every culture has its own special celebrations to encourage the light on this day. Here is one that we can perform.
Stand in the sunlight at midday, facing the sun, and tune your heart to the season of winter. If a song of thanksgiving rises in you, utter it. Now turn and face your shadow: this is the longest it can be at midday, far longer than it was at the autumn equinox. Consider the deeds of your life, the extent to which the shadow of your own influence has fallen upon the earth. Upon whom has it fallen? How has your own turas affected the world in which you live? Turn once more to the sun and draw the sunlight deeply and thankfully into your body; feel it permeating your being. Be aware of the partnership between yourself and the vitality of life itself.
Spend some time silently meditating upon the light in darkness: be aware of the potentialities of light that lie within the darkness; pray to become aware of the potentialities within your own soul, which are vaster and more mysterious than your manifest life.
"Commune with the shortest day and longest night, making your own prayer as suggested above."
[From: "The Celtic Spirit" by Caitlin Matthews]
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