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You are the light of the world.  A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.  Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lamp stand, and it give light to all in the house.  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.  Matthew 5:14-16

 

EQUINOX, SOLSTICE, AND WORSHIP

 

Information of interest to all who look to equinoxes and solstices to determine times of worship:

 

We experience seasonal variations in temperature on most places on Earth due to transitions between maximum and minimum periods of daily sunlight. The shortest interval between sunrise and sunset occurs on the Winter Solstice. Likewise, the longest period of daylight occurs on the Summer Solstice. Atmospheric retention of heat and cold causes the warmest and coldest temperatures of the year to typically lag weeks beyond Solstice Day.

Daylight intervals vary during the year because of the Earth's polar tilt of almost 23 and a half degrees from perpendicular to the orbital plane, known as the ecliptic. Thus, the Northern and Southern Hemispheres alternately tilt toward or away from the Sun. Only on Equinox Day does the Sun appear immediately above the Earth's equator. On all other days of the year, the amount of sunlight falling on one hemisphere is greater than what is shining on the other.

Simply put, a Solstice Day is either the shortest or longest day of the year, with the day defined as the length of time the Sun is above the horizon. At the moment of a Solstice the Sun appears immediately overhead at its most extreme northern or southern terrestrial latitude of any time during the year. At the moment of a Solstice, the semi-annual, apparent journey of the Sun to the point immediately above a tropic's boundary latitude reverses course, though in reality the Earth is the body in motion. As organized religion integrated pagan Solstice worship into Church tradition, new terms were adopted. Summer Solstice became known as Litha; the Winter Solstice was known as Yule.

Equinoxes mark the moment when the Sun appears directly above the Equator and when, at least theoretically, sunlight falls simultaneously upon both North and South Poles. At an Equinox moment the Sun is said to cross the Equator; and during Equinox day, days and nights are more or less equal in length. Actually, the singular point on Earth where the Sun is at its zenith at any given time, moves from one hemisphere to the other at the moment of Equinox. Within 12 hours either side of an Equinox moment sunrises are the most precisely eastern and sunsets are the most precisely western of the year, assuming flat horizons. Due to Earth's slightly ellipical orbit, Equinoxes are not exact midpoints in time between the Solstices. The Church approved the continuation of these pagan observances with new names of Eostar for the Vernal Equinox and Mabon for the Autumnal Equinox.

Old Celtic calendars also observed Cross-Quarters, roughly midway between each Equinox and Solstice pairing. Unlike modern calendars that define the start of a season on a Solstice or Equinox, the Celts perceived Solstices and Equinoxes as celestial events occuring mid-season.

Thus, Imbolc was the beginning of Spring. Imbolc corresponds more or less to Groundhog Day in the USA, February 2, when tradition has it that if a sleepy groundhog creeping out of its burrow at dawn sees its shadow, there are 6 more weeks of winter. (If not, we surmise, only 42 days remain.) Solmonath and Candlemas were Church-approved substitute names for Imbolc, which is spelled Imbolg by some pagans. Druids prefer Oimeaig, pronounced IM-mol'g. The Celtic pronounciation is IM-bulk or EM-Bowlk.

Beltane was the start of Summer, just a few days beyond Easter and May Day on the modern calendar. Fertility should be at its peak with bees pollinating flowers. Seedlings are poking through the cool soil, seeking the warmth and energy of the Sun. Early Christians preferred the name Whitsuntide instead of Beltane.

Lughnasadh was the beginning of Autumn, when crops thrive in the hot Sun. Lughnasadh was observed as a pre-harvest festival day and time for strength and endurance competitions among young men. Variations on this CQ name include Lughnasad, Lughnasadha and Lugnasadh. It is pronounced LOO-na-sah regardless of the spelling. The religious equivalent is Lammas or Lammos.

The Celtic Winter began with Samhain. It ends one planting cycle and begins another. Seeds for the next year were often planted at this time. Samhain comes about a week after Hallowe'en, the eve of All Saints Day when, some folks believe, all departed souls of the preceding year are finally freed from Earthly ties. Indeed, the Christian name Hallowmas was swapped for the pagan term, sometimes spelled as Savain. Regardless of the spelling, this CQ day is pronounced SOW-an or SOW-in.

We boldly suggest the Celtic perception of the seasonal calendar harmonizes best with reality. After all should Summer be a time of year when days just keep getting progressively shorter? Is it logical that days persistently lengthen during a season modern people call Winter? No, the Celts believed, the transitional events of Solstices and Equinoxes should be embraced within the seasons they represent, not act as mere bookends! For that role they celebrated the Cross-Quarters.

 

ANCIENT PAGAN RELIGIOUS EXPRESSION

 

Ancient man’s pagan, religious urges found _expression in a variety of beliefs, ideas and practices centering around a sense of a supernatural other world. This world, though invisible, was believed by Pagan Man to have power over his everyday life.

Since the dawn of their religious consciousness, pagan men and women regarded this supernatural world with a mixture of awe, fear, and hope. They sought to bring their lives into harmony with it. Life was a struggle for survival and a preparation for death.

Pagan men and women offered up sacrifices and prayers to the mysterious forces of this MYSTERY RELIGION, which they believed controlled the workings of nature on their behalf. Their hope in offering these sacrifices and prayers was to ward off catastrophe, to ensure fine hunting, to obtain bountiful harvests, and to live again beyond the grave. Primitive pagan man sought to understand the elements of nature as powers to be worshiped, since they affected his life so directly.

 


THE CYCLE OF PRIMITIVE WORSHIP

 

In the Spring of the year, pagan man sought fertility for himself and for his land. Bountiful crops would assure food for himself and his household. It was during this season of the year, at the VERNAL EQUINOX, that the goddess he worshiped was fertilized by the god he worshiped.

 

In the following Summer, the hot, arid land he lived upon became brown and barren. At this season, directly on the SUMMER SOLSTICE, the goddess that pagan man worshiped in some way lost the companionship of the god he worshiped.

During the Autumn, the sun started dying. The days grew shorter as the nights grew longer. In this season, directly on the AUTUMN EQUINOX, the goddess that pagan man worshiped began weeping for the missing god he worshiped.

At the WINTER SOLSTICE the sun began to come back to life. The days grew longer and the nights shorter. Life was assured for another year, because the goddess he worshiped, who had been fertilized at the previous vernal equinox, gave birth to a son at the Winter Solstice. The god was reborn!

 

At the Februa_Purification, forty days after the birth of the son: on February 15th in ancient times, but celebrated on February 14th today, and now known as Valentine’s Day__this Ancient Mother Goddess was ritually cleansed of childbirth.

 

The PAGAN RELIGIOUS YEAR had come to a full circle. Again, at the Vernal Equinox in the Spring of the year, the goddess he worshiped married her Son/Husband, by whom she was fertilized in order to re-fertilize the earth!

 

The worship of this ANCIENT PAGAN TRINITY__the MOTHER, the HUSBAND, and the SON__would continue in a cycle of worship enacted in Pagan Man’s Religious Year, perpetually.

Through these RITUALS performed on the exact dates of the Vernal Equinox, the Summer Solstice, the Autumn Equinox, and the Winter Solstice, pagan men and women were warding off catastrophe, ensuring fine hunting, obtaining bountiful harvests, and giving themselves the hope of living again beyond the grave.

 

These Mystery Religions dramatized the annual decay of vegetation as the death of a divine youth over whom a goddess mourned. Later, the celebrations were with ecstatic joy as the reborn youth returned.

Participation in each of these rites at the appointed time of the sun was believed by pagan man to cleanse the devotees of their sins and mystically unite them with the gods. The pagan ceremonies generated powerful emotions; thus, this WORSHIP of the PAGAN GODS has flourished since the beginning of time. Due to these same powerful emotions generated during these rites, this Pagan Worship of Mystery is still flourishing today.

Every year, just after the harsh winter months are over and the earth is turning green with the fresh new growth of Spring, there is a pagan ceremony which is celebrated even today. This day is the most important day in Christian Worship. This day was set apart by the Ancient Pagans as the special day for the WORSHIP OF THE GODDESS OF THE DAWN. This pagan rite is still set today according to the Vernal Equinox.

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