Solstice Fire

 

Sol, the sun has

Stit, stopped.

So says Middle English

From Old French and

Latin – sostitium.

 

If the sun has stopped

Then we must call it back,

Coax it to move again.

Our ancestors knew this.

They lit fires, prayed, sang

Danced, did ceremony.

 

But, we modern people

Know in our heads

That the growing darkness

Is simply caused by our

Earth’s axis tipping away

From its source of life.

It is we who have moved away

Not the sun.

Yes, we know it in our heads,

With theories and scientific evidence.

 

And yet, our bodies

Feel the distance.

We cannot feel ourselves

Spinning, orbiting, or tipping.

We see the sun moving 

lower in the horizon

And our emotions struggle

To lighten in the darkness.

 

But then fire,

Yes fire, ancient and new

Reminds us of the sun.

We find comfort in the

Solar energy stored by

Photosynthesizing leaves

in wooden branches and trunks

As it Is released by fire

as heat and light.

We lean in, we circle it

As Earth circles Sol

With it’s southern parts leaning in

And its northern parts leaning out

At this the Winter Solstice in the North.

 

What could be better than

This heat and soft light?

Sharing it with others

Is even better and made

Particularly poignant during a pandemic

As this ancient knowing

Rises within us.

 

Warm drinks and tasty treats

Fill our stomachs and warm us

From the inside as calories

Stored in food are ignited

Within our cells.

Our bodies are coaxed away from 

The fear or separation, of abandonment.

 

Singing, storytelling, dreaming,

We circle the fire, leaning in

As Earth circles Sol and leans

Both in and out.

Time circles and for a moment

Stands still – we call it timeless

This mythos time that spans

Centuries and generations.

 

Each storyteller’s face shines

Yellow and orange, reflecting the firelight,

While the fire from within each heart

Becomes visible to the imaginal eye

 in that timeless moment.

We lean towards the hearths

of one another’s heart fires

And find our own hearts warmed

There in that imaginal space.

And we know in our cells and hearts

That we are fire to each other.

Our spirits always knew, never forgot

And our minds struggle to catch up

With the ancient knowing that

This is our inheritance, our gift

And our responsibility