The Winter Solstice and The Great Conjunction

 

Winter Solstice

Today is the Winter Solstice.  This is the astronomical first day of Winter and it is the shortest day of the year, in the Northern Hemisphere.  The Winter Solstice has been celebrated and venerated for many thousands of years. Now, if that were not wonderful enough, there is an additional astronomical treat this year, the conjunction of two planets, Jupiter and Saturn. 

The etymology of solstice is from the Latin sol meaning 'sun' and sistere meaning 'to stand still.' So named as for a few days before and after the solstice the sun's path across the sky appears to freeze. On the winter's solstice the sun is low in the sky. The sun's path begins northward again and will reach the most northerly point on the summer solstice. If you step out at noon today your shadow will be the longest of the year. 

 

Saturnalia Holly and Candle

 

Celtic, Germanic, Slavic, Hellenic, etc., people all celebrated the Winter Solstice. The shortest day of the year takes place and the days begin to slowly get longer and and longer. In the Roman world the Winter Solstice festival was Saturnalia. Many of the traditions of Saturnalia have endured and have been assimilated into our own Christmas customs. 

The giving of gifts, decorating homes with green using ivy and holly.  Candles were given as gifts and used to celebrate the season. Saturnalia is named after the god Saturn. The etymology of Saturn is probably from the Proto Indo European word sewH(r) which means 'seed, bring forth,' and is a cognate with the modern English 'seed, son, semen, and sow (as in a seed).'  Saturn is connected to agriculture, and he is often conflated with the Greek Kronos. The two entities come from a single Indo-European spiritual cosmology concept. While it is a different topic, there is a link between the Spirit of Christmas, or Father Christmas, and the traditions and rituals from Saturnalia. 

 

In the 4th Century the Church selected the 25th of December to celebrate the birth of Christ and this allowed them to incorporate Christmas with Saturnalia and the other Winter Solstice celebrations practiced in indigenous European spirituality.

 

The Great Conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter

  

And speaking of Saturn, his planet and the planet Jupiter have the Great Conjunction tonight. These are the two largest planets in the night sky, easily visible with the naked eye, but if you have binoculars or a telescope, all the better to see them with. 

This will be the closest Conjunction in 397 years and will be spectacular. The two planets will only appear 0.1 degree apart tonight. This is a one night event, so if weather permits, I encourage you to view.  

For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere the conjunction will appear in the southwestern night sky low on the horizon from dusk and be present for a about an hour. 

© Barry R McCain 

The New Book

 My new book is finished... finally. A few months late, but done now. It will be out in later winter 2021. It is about the Scots-Irish and their beliefs in the Faeries. The book examines who and what the Faeries are and where those beliefs originated. The tale starts some 5,000 years ago and we follow the story from the Yamnaya migration from the Russian Steppe into Europe, to the Bell Beaker settlement of the Isles (Britain and Ireland), onto the proto Celts, and then the insular Celts. I use ancient DNA results, Gaelic literature and the living folk traditions of Ireland and Scotland to follow this long path to the Faeries. This is done however, with a specific focus on the Scots-Irish. 

The Scots-Irish were an integral part of the indigenous American society created by the early European settlers and it is for this reason I felt like a Scots-Irish perspective was useful.

Placing a Clootie on a Faerie Tree

Topics include the Scots-Irish Faerie beliefs, both in Ireland and the New World. Foremost, are the Faeries of course, better known as the Síthe (said Shee). I also will explore the Second Sight and traditional ritual magic and the elements of the Faerie Faith that still endure.

Chapters include:

1 McCuaig's Bar

2 Scots-Irish Ethnogenesis

3 Reverend Robert Kirk

4 Faeries in Ulster

5 The High Síthe

6 The Lesser Síthe

7 Across the Water

8 Seers and the Second Sight

9 Magic and Ritual

10 Old Faith Survival

 

Until the new book is out, my last book Finding the McCains is available on Amazon and makes a wonderful Christmas and Yule gift.

 

© Barry R McCain 2020