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It's one of those rare times of the year when we are able to witness and participate in the unicity of life. No matter our religious or cultural heritage, all our season festivals celebrate the solstice, the darkest day of the year (in the Northern Hemisphere) and the day the Sun's light starts to return. It's one of several cosmic moments human beings have commemorated since we first noticed solar cycles. You could say — and it would not be a stretch — that the solstice, winter and summer, as well as the equinox, vernal and autumnal, are the first astrological holidays. For they delineate significant cycles within our enduring relationship with the Sun. Great monuments thousands of years old — Newgrange, Stonehenge, Maes Howe, Carnac, Gao Cheng Zhen, Chichen Itza, Chaco Canyon — all celebrate this turning point, when the Sun "stands still," which is what "solstice" means, and the solar cycle begins anew.
Other than from an astrological perspective, we seldom think of the Sun as a powerful symbol. And even from an astrological perspective, we tend to relegate the Sun to a Sign and think of it as an indicator of personality traits. But what the ancients knew and the knowledge that still resonates through modern holidays — Christmas, Yule, or Yalda, no matter how commercial these festivals have become, is that the Sun, in its regular, reliable, consistent, and constant presence, is the source of life. The Sun is eternal and when we celebrate its eternality, we celebrate our own, and not just our individual, particular life, but all of life — life it its entirety. Which may be way the notion of good cheer and fellowship with all sentient beings is integral to the festivities. We invite the light in with trees, logs, candles, and fire of all sorts, and that warmth is shared with family, friends, and in the best of times, with foes.
The Sun shines equally on all of life — something I try to remind myself of when I find myself in an unhealthy polarized stance, and by that I mean a position that's based on egocentricity and self-righteousness. Or in Buddhist terms, ignorant about the true nature of reality, which is that we are all one and what seemingly divides us is born of our failure to recognize the truth of our interconnectedness. The Sun is the primary symbol of our unity. It creates a unified field and holds within its vast and infinite reach all of us from the quark to the elephant, from a grain of sand to Mount Everest. All of us. Everything.
On December 21, celebrate the Sun and allow its eternal celestial fire to light your personal fire. Cultures come and go, traditions change, symbols lose or gain meaning, but the Sun endures. And, through its eternal light, so do we.
