from Esther Leisher
Cultivating a spiritual approach to the solstices will be different for each person, but for me it comes from living with the soul of the Earth. Her upwelling joy and life in spring, the warmth and light of summer, the mellow, contemplative quality of autumn and the deep inwardness of the darkness of winter. Experiencing the dawns, the sunsets and the seasons with the Earth throughout the year is something that all of us do to some extent, consciously or unconsciously. Making it conscious adds to the joy. Whatever thoughts and activities you choose, bring your natural reverence to full strength. A brief meditation (3 minutes?) on one of the verses or songs you want to use would be a place to begin. Or go out and speak to the Sun or the Earth. Then you can plan the outer forms.
Most people don't notice it, but many aspects of Christmas relate to the Winter Solstice -- the darkest night, the Light in darkness, the turning of the year. For my own family I simply incorporated Winter Solstice into our seasonal activities. I used its thoughts and verses amidst the Christmas ones. But if you want to give the Solstice more emphasis, many Christmas songs, verses and activities can be used as they are or can be slightly changed to fit a Solstice celebration. For example, the song, "A sound rings forth at deep midnight" can be used for either festival. Anything that speaks of the darkest night or a special night can be used for Winter Solstice. The verses "The Gift of the Light," "Seven Angels, Light and Bright" can be used as they are. The song "Down With Darkness" works well toward the beginning of a Winter Solstice celebration.
There are some verses written specifically for Solstice. Susan Cooper's delightful "Yule" could close your celebration on a joyous note. Or find a song that anticipates the holy morn of the Sun's return. The Sun's return! Earth and humans breathe together at this special time of year.
The Sun, of cours, is the great Fire. Anything that speaks of Fire could be used. Which of us is not in some way a fire worshiper? At mid-winter we most feel the awesome mystery of fire and candle, of ancient Fire, of stored-up Light. Firewood comes from trees that nourished themselves on light. Candle wax is from ancient trees that fell into a swamp and over thousands of years became petroleum. Beeswax ultimately comes from flowers, and oil lamps use oil from plant seeds. All are stored sunlight now released in fire. What unending meaning life has! The song "Rise Up Oh Flame" could be used as candles or a fire are lit. (I know it is a campfire song, but if your kids don't know that, it isn't going to matter.)
Crafts can also reflect motifs of Sun or Light. For example, candle holders, transparencies, sand-cast candles, a wreath of dried flowers (memories of summer sun and summer joy). Seeds are the life-force drawn inward during the fall to a small, self-contained magical power. Bird feeders could be a feature of your celebration of stored sun-light, the sun remembered in its power at the time of its greatest weakness.
I remember one magical winter experience, during the time of the weakest sunlight. A group of us were sitting in a circle, candles were lit, a fire was in the fireplace. Outside there was storm and cold and darkness. Several inches of snow, frozen and refrozen, lay on the ground, buffeted by a bitterly cold wind. "In the deep midwinter, Frosty winds made moan. Earth was hard as iron, Water like a stone." Christina Rosetti. Jasmine tea was brought to each of us and its flowery, summery smell wafted up to us from our cups, giving the perfect contrast to the barren, cold darkness outside. Truly we had summer in winter, light in darkness.
For your family, if you did not use it for Advent, you could celebrate the in-spiraling of the Earth's forces at winter with a spiral candle-walk. Feel within yourself the in-spiraling, followed by the out-spiraling. That turning point at the center is Winter Solstice. Demonstrate to your children your hushed reverence as you walk the candle-lit spiral. Let your reverence for the spiritual forces of the Universe flow into that ritual of beauty and meaning. Then let each of them walk that in- and out-spiraling while you play a lyre, a recorder, or softly sing or hum a simple, quiet song.
Verses in Steiner's Calendar of the Soul can give you some sense of how the human soul can accompany the Earth through the year. Out of about six translations the one that speaks to me most is Owen Barfield's paraphrase, The Year Participated. It best expresses for me both the sense of the Earth's soul experiences and my own inner activity. It is a small book of verses, one for each week of the year, beginning in the spring. To individualize it, I rewrote most of the weekly verses in my own words, right in the book. I can open it and make an immediate connection -- both to the content (in my words) and to the lyrical sound (in Barfield's verse). It gives me a place to begin, a reminder, a way to switch to inner thinking/feeling. Then I'm on my way to bringing meaning into the outer actions and words that celebrate the soul's participation in the cycle of the year.
In the cycle of the year the Earth soul experiences the seasons, the extremes of summer and winter, and the transitions of the balance points of spring and fall. The earth passes from dwelling in the dream of summer to the self awareness of winter. In summer the Earth gathers Sun-treasures as it sings its way out into the cosmos, expanding, rejoicing, seeking the Spirit in the Cosmos. Then it draws inward as the sun weakens. In our uniquely human way we do something similar. We gather outer and inner sunlight into ourselves all summer, expanding with the Earth. Then we carry that soul-light into winter. The Sun's power fades, but we carry Summer within us into the dark and cold. We dream and awake, we preserve and remember, just as seeds dream and awake, as seeds preserve and remember.
The more consciously we gather in Summer's power as we go out with the Earth, cherishing it and bringing it into the quiet time of winter, the more strength we can gain from it. We resonate with the Earth, and every part of the cycle of the year becomes more meaningful. Every sunrise, so different at different times of year, becomes a work of art, a source of joy. We sense the Sun like a majestic Being. We delight in its fiery mane in high summer and in deep winter we rest inwardly in our own sense of self, the Fire within, as the Sun grows weak.
To show the low point of the sun, you can go out each day at high noon in the week before solstice with someone to measure your shadow. Mark the place each day. You have then a visual picture that shows how the sun's light is diminishing. You can have a Solstice celebration that darkest night, and the next day, soon after breakfast, the Sun will be on its way toward summer. (Though do remember that not much movement of the sun goes on in the days around Christmas. The twelve holy days after Christmas are a quiet time, with not much change in the light.)
If you are not celebrating Christmas, the winter festival could include the making of wreaths, decorating the archetypal Tree, and some kind of festival of Light, with songs, verses, special foods and crafts. (I have a handout about ancient symbols that can be hung on the tree.)
There are many ways to celebrate a Winter Solstice and many ways it can be included in Christmas celebrations. The Being of Love, the Spirit of the Sun who joined himself with the Earth at a special moment, lives wherever the soul mood allows it -- whether we call it the Christ or something else.
You are an individual; create festivals that you find deeply moving. Change verses and songs. View things as archetypes if that carries meaning for you. Our souls bring rich experiences from the ancient past to current festivals. We can be steeped in many religions, many reverences. We bring that fullness now to the moments of hushed reverence. The hopes of the ancient Mysteries can be fulfilled as we internalize Light and become able to create festivals out of our own hearts, out of our own spiritual knowledge.
Once you decide to begin, you will find your own way to create sacred moments for your family -- soul-restoring family traditions. Whether you use wreaths and trees, the Sun Spirit and the darkest night, or not, imbue your festivals with soul and spirit, with heart-felt meaning. To be satisfying, rituals have to be infused with spirit and have to come from the heart. None of us wants festivals to be superficial, nor do we want the outer activities to obscure the inwardness. Children remember the magic and the mystery of deeply felt festivals. You can create a sacred space, can participate in the experiences of Earth and the cosmos. There were times that I did not feel that inwardness, but it came with time and experience. Just begin. Do one simple thing.
Meditative Thoughts
Steiner made many comments about Solstice as it was experienced at the time of the ancient mystery schools: "People used to see in the sun's victory during the winter solstice a symbol for the victory of the spiritual sun in the depths of the human soul. They said 'Winter, how deeply you are related to my soul, to my own inner being.' The Earth's winter can be found outside, but it can also be found within."
"The moment arrived when the pupils of the Mysteries experienced by means of their awakened spirit organs the spiritual light within them. This holy moment came when the outer light was weakest, on the day when the outer sun shines least. On that day the pupils were gathered together and the inner light revealed itself to them."
"Everywhere the pupils of these Mystery Schools had the same experience at the midnight hour on the Night of Consecration."
Thoughts like that can bring a soul deepening that silently carries over into your family, if you take such thoughts in and meditatively listen to them.
You can use some (or many) adult verses and songs for your festivals. Children understand a lot from tone and emotional quality, and it gives you a chance to put your whole heart into what you are doing. You can also do some artistic activities that are purely adult. The children can watch, comment, and take in the message that art is interwoven with life at every age.
You might also be able to find ideas for family festivals in the non-Waldorf books about solstices and equinoxes. However, I was keenly disappointed in the books I looked into. There is, however, an interesting meditation/ritual in The Winter Solstice by John and Caitlin Matthews (found on page 175) that can give you clues about creating celebrations and rituals. Stories and ritual for your festival could be created from that meditation using -- as in every festival -- the elements of reverence, ritual, symbol, beauty, and meaning. (If you would like to use the meditation from The Winter Solstice, e-mail me and I can send it to you, eleisher@aol.com). -Esther Leisher
The Shortest Day
By Susan Cooper And so the Shortest Day came and the year died
And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white world
Came people singing, dancing,
To drive the dark away.
They lighted candles in the winter trees;
They hung their homes with evergreen;
They burned beseeching fires all night long
To keep the year alive.
And when the new year’s sunshine blazed awake
They shouted, revelling.
Through all the frosty ages you can hear them
Echoing behind us – listen!
All the long echoes, sing the same delight,
This Shortest Day,
As promise wakens in the sleeping land:
They carol, feast, give thanks,
And dearly love their friends,
And hope for peace.
And now so do we, here, now,
This year and every year.
Welcome Yule!
Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/yuletide-poem.html#ixzz2FtNc85om
There are some verses written specifically for Solstice. Susan Cooper's delightful "Yule" could close your celebration on a joyous note. Or find a song that anticipates the holy morn of the Sun's return. The Sun's return! Earth and humans breathe together at this special time of year.
The Sun, of cours, is the great Fire. Anything that speaks of Fire could be used. Which of us is not in some way a fire worshiper? At mid-winter we most feel the awesome mystery of fire and candle, of ancient Fire, of stored-up Light. Firewood comes from trees that nourished themselves on light. Candle wax is from ancient trees that fell into a swamp and over thousands of years became petroleum. Beeswax ultimately comes from flowers, and oil lamps use oil from plant seeds. All are stored sunlight now released in fire. What unending meaning life has! The song "Rise Up Oh Flame" could be used as candles or a fire are lit. (I know it is a campfire song, but if your kids don't know that, it isn't going to matter.)
Crafts can also reflect motifs of Sun or Light. For example, candle holders, transparencies, sand-cast candles, a wreath of dried flowers (memories of summer sun and summer joy). Seeds are the life-force drawn inward during the fall to a small, self-contained magical power. Bird feeders could be a feature of your celebration of stored sun-light, the sun remembered in its power at the time of its greatest weakness.
I remember one magical winter experience, during the time of the weakest sunlight. A group of us were sitting in a circle, candles were lit, a fire was in the fireplace. Outside there was storm and cold and darkness. Several inches of snow, frozen and refrozen, lay on the ground, buffeted by a bitterly cold wind. "In the deep midwinter, Frosty winds made moan. Earth was hard as iron, Water like a stone." Christina Rosetti. Jasmine tea was brought to each of us and its flowery, summery smell wafted up to us from our cups, giving the perfect contrast to the barren, cold darkness outside. Truly we had summer in winter, light in darkness.
For your family, if you did not use it for Advent, you could celebrate the in-spiraling of the Earth's forces at winter with a spiral candle-walk. Feel within yourself the in-spiraling, followed by the out-spiraling. That turning point at the center is Winter Solstice. Demonstrate to your children your hushed reverence as you walk the candle-lit spiral. Let your reverence for the spiritual forces of the Universe flow into that ritual of beauty and meaning. Then let each of them walk that in- and out-spiraling while you play a lyre, a recorder, or softly sing or hum a simple, quiet song.
Verses in Steiner's Calendar of the Soul can give you some sense of how the human soul can accompany the Earth through the year. Out of about six translations the one that speaks to me most is Owen Barfield's paraphrase, The Year Participated. It best expresses for me both the sense of the Earth's soul experiences and my own inner activity. It is a small book of verses, one for each week of the year, beginning in the spring. To individualize it, I rewrote most of the weekly verses in my own words, right in the book. I can open it and make an immediate connection -- both to the content (in my words) and to the lyrical sound (in Barfield's verse). It gives me a place to begin, a reminder, a way to switch to inner thinking/feeling. Then I'm on my way to bringing meaning into the outer actions and words that celebrate the soul's participation in the cycle of the year.
In the cycle of the year the Earth soul experiences the seasons, the extremes of summer and winter, and the transitions of the balance points of spring and fall. The earth passes from dwelling in the dream of summer to the self awareness of winter. In summer the Earth gathers Sun-treasures as it sings its way out into the cosmos, expanding, rejoicing, seeking the Spirit in the Cosmos. Then it draws inward as the sun weakens. In our uniquely human way we do something similar. We gather outer and inner sunlight into ourselves all summer, expanding with the Earth. Then we carry that soul-light into winter. The Sun's power fades, but we carry Summer within us into the dark and cold. We dream and awake, we preserve and remember, just as seeds dream and awake, as seeds preserve and remember.
The more consciously we gather in Summer's power as we go out with the Earth, cherishing it and bringing it into the quiet time of winter, the more strength we can gain from it. We resonate with the Earth, and every part of the cycle of the year becomes more meaningful. Every sunrise, so different at different times of year, becomes a work of art, a source of joy. We sense the Sun like a majestic Being. We delight in its fiery mane in high summer and in deep winter we rest inwardly in our own sense of self, the Fire within, as the Sun grows weak.
To show the low point of the sun, you can go out each day at high noon in the week before solstice with someone to measure your shadow. Mark the place each day. You have then a visual picture that shows how the sun's light is diminishing. You can have a Solstice celebration that darkest night, and the next day, soon after breakfast, the Sun will be on its way toward summer. (Though do remember that not much movement of the sun goes on in the days around Christmas. The twelve holy days after Christmas are a quiet time, with not much change in the light.)
If you are not celebrating Christmas, the winter festival could include the making of wreaths, decorating the archetypal Tree, and some kind of festival of Light, with songs, verses, special foods and crafts. (I have a handout about ancient symbols that can be hung on the tree.)
There are many ways to celebrate a Winter Solstice and many ways it can be included in Christmas celebrations. The Being of Love, the Spirit of the Sun who joined himself with the Earth at a special moment, lives wherever the soul mood allows it -- whether we call it the Christ or something else.
You are an individual; create festivals that you find deeply moving. Change verses and songs. View things as archetypes if that carries meaning for you. Our souls bring rich experiences from the ancient past to current festivals. We can be steeped in many religions, many reverences. We bring that fullness now to the moments of hushed reverence. The hopes of the ancient Mysteries can be fulfilled as we internalize Light and become able to create festivals out of our own hearts, out of our own spiritual knowledge.
Once you decide to begin, you will find your own way to create sacred moments for your family -- soul-restoring family traditions. Whether you use wreaths and trees, the Sun Spirit and the darkest night, or not, imbue your festivals with soul and spirit, with heart-felt meaning. To be satisfying, rituals have to be infused with spirit and have to come from the heart. None of us wants festivals to be superficial, nor do we want the outer activities to obscure the inwardness. Children remember the magic and the mystery of deeply felt festivals. You can create a sacred space, can participate in the experiences of Earth and the cosmos. There were times that I did not feel that inwardness, but it came with time and experience. Just begin. Do one simple thing.
Meditative Thoughts
Steiner made many comments about Solstice as it was experienced at the time of the ancient mystery schools: "People used to see in the sun's victory during the winter solstice a symbol for the victory of the spiritual sun in the depths of the human soul. They said 'Winter, how deeply you are related to my soul, to my own inner being.' The Earth's winter can be found outside, but it can also be found within."
"The moment arrived when the pupils of the Mysteries experienced by means of their awakened spirit organs the spiritual light within them. This holy moment came when the outer light was weakest, on the day when the outer sun shines least. On that day the pupils were gathered together and the inner light revealed itself to them."
"Everywhere the pupils of these Mystery Schools had the same experience at the midnight hour on the Night of Consecration."
Thoughts like that can bring a soul deepening that silently carries over into your family, if you take such thoughts in and meditatively listen to them.
You can use some (or many) adult verses and songs for your festivals. Children understand a lot from tone and emotional quality, and it gives you a chance to put your whole heart into what you are doing. You can also do some artistic activities that are purely adult. The children can watch, comment, and take in the message that art is interwoven with life at every age.
You might also be able to find ideas for family festivals in the non-Waldorf books about solstices and equinoxes. However, I was keenly disappointed in the books I looked into. There is, however, an interesting meditation/ritual in The Winter Solstice by John and Caitlin Matthews (found on page 175) that can give you clues about creating celebrations and rituals. Stories and ritual for your festival could be created from that meditation using -- as in every festival -- the elements of reverence, ritual, symbol, beauty, and meaning. (If you would like to use the meditation from The Winter Solstice, e-mail me and I can send it to you, eleisher@aol.com). -Esther Leisher
The Shortest Day
By Susan Cooper And so the Shortest Day came and the year died
And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white world
Came people singing, dancing,
To drive the dark away.
They lighted candles in the winter trees;
They hung their homes with evergreen;
They burned beseeching fires all night long
To keep the year alive.
And when the new year’s sunshine blazed awake
They shouted, revelling.
Through all the frosty ages you can hear them
Echoing behind us – listen!
All the long echoes, sing the same delight,
This Shortest Day,
As promise wakens in the sleeping land:
They carol, feast, give thanks,
And dearly love their friends,
And hope for peace.
And now so do we, here, now,
This year and every year.
Welcome Yule!
Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/yuletide-poem.html#ixzz2FtNc85om
No comments:
Post a Comment