Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Between the Shadows

Home
Pagan
Solstice: Solar Appreciation Day!

Solstice: Solar Appreciation Day!

Last updated on: November 19, 2016 at 8:42 am by Sable Aradia

Solstice: Solar Appreciation Day! 2016-11-19T08:42:50-08:00 Sable Aradia

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Extended Solar Corona Through an Ultraviolet Filter. Public domain image courtesy of NASA.

Midsummer is coming up for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere; and Midwinter is coming for those in the Southern Hemisphere! This seems a very good time to spend a little time appreciating our friend the Sun.

Have you given any thought lately to just how important the Sun is? To just how much we depend on that average, run-of-the-mill sort of common-joe star for our very existence?

The gravitational pull of the cluster of matter that became our Sun made it possible for gravity and time to solidify the amorphous mass of the proto-solar-system into solid balls of gas or rock.

The energy produced by the Sun fueled the conversion of inorganic matter into organic matter. Indeed, it’s entirely possible that our organic elements came from stardust. And so did water.

The earliest forms of life were plants of course, and as we know from our elementary school science classes, the process of photosynthesis, which they developed to harness the energy of the Sun to fuel their life and growth, eventually enabled the development of all life on earth. In a manner of speaking we all survive by eating sunlight.

You may not be aware that our original atmosphere contained only a small fraction of oxygen. Scientists now believe that photosynthesis of our early plant ancestors may be what changed the oxygen balance to current levels. So without the Sun, we wouldn’t be able to breathe.

The Sun provides the heat needed to sustain life on earth. For every moment the Sun radiates its light upon a piece of ground, that ground absorbs the Sun’s heat. When the Sun stops radiating its light it immediately begins to cool. A more direct concentration of solar rays at an almost perfect 90 degree angle is the cause of the relative heat of the equator, and that, in turn, in combination with the coldness of the poles, produces the subsequent evaporation cycle by acting on our water which creates our climate and weather.

Our axial tilt determines the course of our seasons because of how much time each individual section of the planet spends facing the Sun. This drives our winds, our weather, and our climate. Wobbles may be a factor in long-term climate change; that’s how sensitive our little system is to this process.

The Summer Solstice used to be called “Midsummer” because it represented the zenith of the Sun’s power, and therefore the middle of summer. The Winter Solstice, representing the nadir of the Sun’s power, was “Midwinter.” Do you know how long your Longest Day and Longest Night will be at your latitude? At mine, the Sun will rise at 4:15 am and it will set at 9:49 pm on June 21st, giving us 17 hours and 33 minutes of sunlight; though dusk and dawn will each last about an hour. And on December 21st, the Sun won’t rise until 8:28 am and it will set at 3:29 pm, giving us only 7 hours of sunlight; and dusk and dawn will only last for 46 minutes on either end.

A simple practice that you can do as a solitary of any tradition to honour the Sun on the Solstice is to make an act of reverence at each of the Sun’s stations. You can get up at dawn to greet the Sun as it comes over the horizon; honour the Sun again at noon or astronomical noon (which for me would be at about quarter to one here at the 55th Parallel,) and then bid it farewell at sunset. If you’re particularly hard-core, you can also pray for its return at midnight or astronomical midnight (which for me would be just after 1 am.) How do I get these figures? Determine how long day is, divide that length of time in half and add that to the time of sunrise to find astronomical noon; or determine how long night is, divide that length of time in half and add it to the time of sunset for astronomical night. Or you can use this automatic calculator.

The OTO has a rite for observing the Stations of the Sun that you can adapt to your own needs. Change the names and symbolism to suit the chosen deities of your pantheon. Some suggestions:

Protoplanetary Disk. Public domain image courtesy of NASA.

Utu (Sumerian)
Shamash (Babylonian)
Serida/Aya (Mesopotamian – syncretized)
Nyambi (West African)
Ra or Amun-Ra (Egyptian)
Aten (Eqyptian)
Surya (Indian)
Helios (Greek)
Apollon (Greek)
Sol or Sol Invictus (Roman)
Mithras (Persian)
Sunna or Sol (Norse)
Lugh (Celtic)
Sulis (Celtic)
Belanos (Gaulish)
Raven (some First Nations/Native American Nations)
Huitzilopochtli (Aztec)
Tonatiuh (Aztec)
Inti (Incan)
Xihe (Chinese)
Amaterasu (Japanese)
Bila (Australian)
Walu (Australian)

AboutEducation offers this list of ancient solar deities, and a site called Goddess Guide offers this list of Sun Goddesses, and a few are named in this Wikipedia entry and this Wikipedia entry; but I have no idea how accurate they are (and some of the deities in the Wikipedia entries look like a bit of a stretch to me.) I advise you to research your deities carefully before choosing to call upon Them, and try to determine what their original worship looked like so you can honour Them in a way that respects Their history, whether or not you choose to recreate that history (remember, Aztec deities generally demanded human sacrifice! And Walu sounds a lot more friendly to me than Bila.)

If you don’t like this rite, the purpose is to observe a solemn prayer at specific times of the day as dictated by the natural solar cycles, in between going about your other routines. In a way it’s like facing Mecca at particular times, or observing the prayer cycle in a monastery. You can offer a prayer or simply a ritual gesture (such as a yoga asana – Sun Salutations perhaps?, a prayer posture, a dance, etc.) or recite a poem, or perhaps just sing a solar chant. You can find a few ideas for chants by scrolling through the Pagan Chant of the Month archive.

Another way in which you can honour the Sun on this day is to observe appropriate seasonal activities. Around here for the Summer Solstice that would likely be spending a day at the beach (weather permitting) with a summer barbecue and a lawn party gathering in the long evening. For the Winter Solstice I would have a big feast and do warm, indoor activities.

It’s traditionally believed that herbs are at the height of their magickal powers on the Summer Solstice so I spend a great deal of my time gathering herbs. Right now in my area I will gather roses, strawberries, cherries, dandelions, wild chamomile, marigold, calendula, lavender, sage, thyme, rosemary, elder flowers, sagebrush, cedar and cinquefoil, and if I can find it, yarrow, mugwort, wormwood and St. John’s Wort. Most of the above herbs also happen to have powerful solar associations (go figure!) It certainly is an ideal time to gather anything in which you’ll be using the flowers or the leaves, or a seasonally-appropriate fruit, because it’s the height of the growing season and that’s where the plant will be using most of its energy.

If you like the idea of using scent in your worship, essential oils with solar associations include rosemary, bay, bergamot, orange (of any sort,) cinnamon, citron, clove, petitgrain, cedar, sandalwood, frankincense, olibanum and benzoin. Apply as a dilution in at least 60% carrier oil for use as a perfume or burn in a diffuser as a few drops in water to scent the air.

And of course you can always wear a Solar symbol in jewelry or clothing as you go about your day. Combined with the simple act of devotionals geared to particular times of day, this can be a powerful spiritual experience to honour our friend the Sun, even if you have to work and can’t spend the day in celebration.

Just to keep you suitably awestruck, here’s a neat little slideshow about ways in which the Sun’s solar wind will “blow you away.” Happy Solstice everyone!

Like us on Facebook at the Between the Shadows Facebook page!

rites to honor the sun

Previous Post

June 10, 2015

Seekers and Guides: Burnout

Next Post

June 21, 2015 Happy Solstice!

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category A Quest for Canada Between the Shadows Books Columns Current Events Dance & Sacred Movement Feminism From the Shadows Gender How To Access Services Humour Intent Interviews Intoxicants Magick My Books Opinion Pagan community Pagan music Politics Praxis Quantum Woo Reviews Rituals Sabbats Sacred Universe Seekers and Guides Sexuality Sit for a Spell Stories the Craft The Great Rite the Scourge The Witch's Eight Paths of Power Theology Traditions Trance Video Wicca Witchcraft Witchcraft & Voodoo Witchcraft & Voodoo Writing

Select a Month October 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was Paul's hometown companion?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Luke Silas Timothy Barnabas