Creating your own optimism during times of darkness

Earth is in an orbital position directly opposite the Summer solstice and now the astronomical circumstances are similar and at the same time reversed: The dark hours in the days are longest now but the rate of change in sunshine hours is smallest. As a result it feels like we may enjoy these dark days for a particularly long time, just like we did the bright days around the beginning of summer. And still I want to remind you that the Earth is anything but especially far away from the Sun.

While the 1st of November tends to bring a menlancholy mood, the current darkness feels calming and intimate to me. Mentally facing the transience of everything in nature reduces its terror and all around us we observe that what felt like death is not actually a real ending. My rhubarb plant is sleeping peacefully under a blanket of tree leaves and my shrubs have freed themselves of all ballast and can rest now. Like in summer there is not much for me to do in my garden now that everything is stowed away, tucked in or has in any other way been winterised.

For animals there are not many options to change their living conditions apart from hibernation or migration towards the opposite hemisphere. Their menu is meagre and depending on the latitude their only light is switched off early in the afternoon. Humans can do quite a lot to make this season really jolly. Even in less technology-heavy times people in some areas cut branches around the 4th of December to take them into their houses so they would blossom for Christmas. Even not especially religious people often put up evergreen trees in their living rooms for the season.

Yule as a holiday of light

The taming of fire meant that we could brigthen our nights at will and the Advent weeks are a particularly popular time for lighting candles, fireplaces, Advent wreaths and these days also electrical fairy lights. They make the darkness into a backdrop for warm mood lighting. Who would choose to hang fairy lights in their garden during summer? When the megalith monuments were erected, the days around the solstices offered the people of those times impressive drama. Nowadays the internet at least gives us the opportunity to get a tiny idea of the original spectacle from anywhere on Earth.

Personally, the days around the Winter Solstice are a very hopeful time for me. Not just the lights but the entire package of traditional and modern carols. The baking and spices, eating cookies and writing cards. Thinking of others is good for my own wellbeing and also noticing that they are thinking of me. Singing together creates a deep connection, even if in 2020 there were less chances of doing this in person. Even here peoples‘ creativity provided seasonal singing online (The link is in German but for the singing sessions you just have to go to the channel and start the live video and sing along.) Even though my family and I decided to not give each other any gifts anymore, the basic idea of giving presents is a lovely one.

Kitsch and consumerism

Obviously, all these traditions carry the potential of slipping into kitsch, consumerism and stress. Inflated expectations lead to some families fighting next to the Christmas tree twinkling cheerfully. There are challenges to be the last one to catch a perfomance of Last Christmas. Not surprisingly, many of us are sceptical towards the whole Christmas thing, to put it mildly.

And yet the cosiness, light and liveliness that we seem to conjure up while nature does not currently provide much of any of them, underlines how humans are capable of making their own hope. We can influence our own optimism based not on pipe dreams and wishful thinking but on natural laws. We can use the laws of biology and physics to make branches blossom and LEDs light up.

In the end, the Winter Solstice message is that the prospect of things turning around is real. The longest night is just one extreme point within our yearly orbit, just like the longest day. Listening to some seasonal music and nibbling ginger bread cookies by candlelight we can rely on the outside world getting brighter in time. Hope is not unfounded, which is why I especially look forward to the beginning of winter every year.

What about you?

How does Nature currently present itself where you live? How did you winterise your garden? What is your attitide towards the seasonal traditions of your area? What gives you hope and what based in reality can you do to increase your optimism for brighter days? Whom do you like to think of and which thoughtful present did you receive?

Meditation and looking forward to the wheel spinning onwards

I have uploaded a short meditation about looking at how you deal with darkness and being alone and how much of a gift the light returning is. You can find it here.

This post refers back to this main article and is part of a series on each of the eight holidays of the year. During 2020 I wrote a post for every one of those dates. Of course the cycle will carry on and I plan to add new things so stay tuned for the 2nd of February!

The celebration of transience and letting go

Winter is officially still far away and yet Germany setting the clocks back a week ago only added to me being very much aware of the hours of light waning for astronomical reasons. Every day around 5pm I look out through the windows wondering where the day has gone. Back at the equinox I was pleased with the trees starting their colourful autumn spectacle. Now a large portion of those leaves are on the ground slowly transforming into a brownish slush. The air smells of fungi and compost and the only crop left over in my vegetable patch is the curly kale I am keeping in there for a winter harvest. The trees in my region run the whole gamut from basically still green through golden but already mightly ruffled to mostly naked. The level of nakedness is not only due to the species of tree, some lose their foliage earlier than others depending on location and wind flow.

The current theme is obvious: Directly opposite the happily fertile Mayday, nature now showcases its powerful process of disintegration. The evolution of species and entire ecosystems is based on other species and individual beings dying. Life without death would soon use up the space and resources of a limited planet. As important as the fresh combination of genes is as a theme for spring, we also need organisms to decompose and release their matter as building blocks for coming generations of beings. Marriage and decay complement each other as perfect opposites.

Traditions all over the world and throughout human history

Even in socially distanced 2020, Halloween was widely celebrated. This rather modern custom of celebrating everything spooky always happens just before All Saints‘ Day and All Souls‘ Day, even though in some regions Protestants commemorate the dead on the last Sunday before Advent called Totensonntag. The Day of the Dead in Mexico is an especially lively version of celebrating human transience but some kind of historical custom is very plausible for other regions of the Earth as well. Even though the Celtic and Germanic peoples of old may not necessarily have called their festivals Samhain or Álfablót, the seasonal conditions and the necessity of reducing their herds down to a size manageable during winter made Death very much visible in early November and very likely a welcome occasion for celebration.

The power of letting go

Some things we easily let go of because their time has just come, some other things are snatched from our hands. Some people seem to be taken from us much too early and some relationships unexpectedly wilt in front of our eyes. We can influence some things (especially our attitude towards letting go), others are beyond our control. Time does not stop for anyone however much we would wish it to. To me, the current times are reason for a lot of gratitude and not the one I feel because of a rich harvest. What makes me grateful is thinking back to all beings who went before me. There is a reason the symbol I chose for this day also evokes pictures of family trees: Millions of years ago there were pioneer organisms leading to beings like me. Much later my more or less direct ancestors existed whose genes make up large sections of my own DNA. And then there is the cultural history of humans which means we do not always have to go back to square one at the start of life. Those who went before us left us inventions and knowledge and they fought for the implementation of rights that today I benefit from.

As sad as a bare tree might look, it has not died itself, just the leaves decomposing at its roots. Anything that is not strictly needed in Winter is shut down and removed. The trunk and limbs stay back, resilient and prepared for the cold times to come and ready to make use of the compost in Spring. In a similar way, the beginning of November is a good reminder for checking the resilient parts inside of me. What is going to remain after the loose parts of my personality have been pulled off by the storms of Time? Where are my own solid backbone and my strong roots?

What about you?

How does Nature currently present itself where you live? Are there still any animals to watch outside? What is the ratio of trees still in leaf versus the bare ones? Which qualities did you inherit from your ancestors? What would you have liked to keep, what are you mourning for? Where do you see the resilient backbone part of yourself? What is your general position towards the transformation of things we mistakenly feel are ours into fertiliser for other people in the future? Which parts of human history make you feel especially grateful?

Meditation and looking forward to the wheel spinning onwards

I have uploaded a short meditation about looking at what is really essential for you to try another approach to this holiday. You can find it here.

This post refers back to this main article and is part of a series on each of the eight holidays of the year. During 2020 I will write another post for every one of those dates so stay tuned for the 21st of December!

Weighing out your harvest and letting go

Yesterday for the first time in months I noticed the beautiful morning mist outside my house. There is no denying the facts: The 1st of September marked the meteorological beginning of autumn and today we enter it a second time in astronomical terms. Temperatures have dropped and the foliage around me has taken on some brilliant red and golden accents. This is the time when later in the day I often regret putting on long trousers in the morning. The autumn equinox is directly opposite Earth‘s spring position in its orbit. The light and dark hours are equal for a very short while, however the rate of change is highest. So the northern hemisphere starts its journey into the darker half of the year, even though the dark minutes added each day become shorter.

While the 1st of August was more about the grain harvest, to me the main focus is now on fruit like apples, pears, plums and elderberries. Some plants in my garden have not yet given up hope, there are some valiant green tomatoes still hanging on the vine and some of my sunflowers are just about to bloom at last. I myself wonder which projects I still want to start or carry on, what leaves I would prefer to let go of in a blaze of red colours, which fruits I can allow myself to not push to ripening. Also which harvest I can and want to preserve for the coming dark months, literally and metaphorically.

Traditions all over the world and throughout human history

In any case this is a time for gratitude, for looking back at what we have been given this year. The Jewish tradition celebrates Sukkot around the beginning of autumn. As well as commemorating the exodus from Egypt, Sukkot is a harvest festival called the „Festival of Ingathering“. Around the world humans in earlier days were existentially dependent on this season‘s abundance: A wealth of myths tells about a vegetation deity who walks the Earth‘s surface from spring until autumn and then has to return to some dark underworld. Similarly, during the lighter half of the year plants sprout, bloom, bear fruit and at the end in some cases actually withdraw underground for hibernation. Humans also tend to spend more time outside during spring and summer: gardening, bathing in a lake or just enjoying the warmth of the sun. In autumn and winter we stay snug inside our homes, fixing our supplies and taking stock. Traditionally, church harvest festivals are based on the 29th of September, the feast day of Michaelmas. This date was also often the official start of the winter night curfew.

Time to take stock

One of Michael‘s attributes are the scales he uses to weigh human souls, another connection with my blog post image. After all, this symbol for balance also always involves the aspect of weighing things against each other. In Physics and Chemistry we find the laws of conservation of energy, momentum and mass. Metaphorically (but also in our gardening reality) we sometimes experience things differently. In some projects an enormous effort yields only little gain, in others the ratio seems to be the other way around and in some cases input and output feel equally balanced. Of course, in those instances neither energy nor matter disappear as if by magic, we just do not have the means to observe where exactly they go.

What about you?

How does Nature currently present itself where you live? How do animals prepare themselves for the coming dark period? Which fields, trees and bushes have not yet been emptied of their bounty? How has this year been for you so far? Which harvest did you reap, what had you hoped for, where did you have to invest less than you thought you would have to, where did you receive more than expected? What are you grateful for? What do you want to preserve? What can you let go of with a light heart? How easy is it for you to send off Summer at the autumn equinox and look forward to the season of candlelight?

Meditation and looking forward to the wheel spinning onwards

I have uploaded a short meditation about weighing decisionsfor you to try another approach to this holiday. You can find it here.

This post refers back to this main article and is part of a series on each of the eight holidays of the year. During 2020 I will write another post for every one of those dates so stay tuned for the 1st of November!

Awareness for seemingly unimportant things

The 1st of August is one of those four days in between the prominent equinoctial and solstitial positions in the Earth‘s orbit. While the other three found their way into the general public‘s calendar as Candlemas, Labour Day and All Hallows, this day is only really celebrated on a national scale in Switzerland, based in history not season. Modern definitions do not appear to be especially connected to each other nor do they have much of an agrarian connotation: Mahjong, girlfriends and canon singing among others. In my personal case the first weekend in August is usually devoted to open air entertainment, another reason for me usually not spending too much attention to this special day in the wheel of the year.

Myths and tradtions

In Celtic traditions the 1st of August was celebrated as Lughnasadh and to this day it is an official Bank Holiday in Scotland and Ireland. One basic ascpect of the traditions was a solemn cutting and sacrificing of the first sheaves of grain on a field. On the British Isles there was also the custom of making the last sheaves into sometimes very elaborate corn dollies.

In my garden the main thing to observe at the moment is the heat so my most important activity is watering the plants that I so lovingly cultivated so they do not give up on the finishing straight. As it happens, what I most notice in my region are the golden fields of grain, even though the actual harvest date is not fixed according to the calendar but to the variety, the ripeness and the grain moisture, Each year farmers keep their eyes on the weather most diligently and weigh the hours of sunshine that might still be on offer with being able to take in their crops while dry enough.

Transforming grain into bread

Not every type of cereal is meant for baking bread and not all of them are harvested between July and August. In different regions of the Earth different plants provide the basis for the population‘s „daily bread“, for example wheat, corn or rice. While some of us prefer a low carb diet, some have an intolerance toward gluten, I am a very happy fan of bread. Also during 2020 I fell in love with sourdough and the fascinating process of fermentation which humans discovered early to make their food more nutritious and digestible. (And in some cases to transform grain into alcoholic beverages.)

Until very recently, I had not been aware that rye, which needs sourdough fermentation to make a good bread, had been the main staple bread cereal in large parts of Europe for centuries. In general, these days we often have not too much of an idea about the history and the making of bread, the basic food for many people in many corners of the Earth, or about how and when the different plant species are grown. Just like we have a very loose connection with the 1st of August as one stop on our journey through the seasons, we are not often consciously appreciative of the current harvest that secures a big chunk of our food calories. I find this remarkable and intend to learn more about bread and its fundamental contribution to human history. Some things are so plainly visible to us that we hardly notice them. Until they are not there anymore.

What about you?

How does Nature currently present itself where you live? Have the corn fields been harvested yet? How much are you aware of the significance, history and making of bread or other staples you might rely on? What do you have to water and cool, so it does not wilt in the abundance of sunshine? Is there a corn dolly tradition in your regional culture? Where in your life are things that you may take for granted, but which are actually very important? What can you do to increase your awareness of them?

Meditation and looking forward to the wheel spinning onwards

I have uploaded a short meditation about gratitide and successful cooperation for you to try another approach to this holiday. You can find it here.

This post refers back to this main article and is part of a series on each of the eight holidays of the year. During 2020 I wrote a post for every one of those dates. Of course the cycle will carry on and I plan to add new things so stay tuned for the 22nd of September!

Gathering strength in times of plenty

The summer solstice always reminds me of my childhood and reaching the highest point of the swing in my family‘s garden. A bit weightless and undeniably a lot ephemeral. Astronomically speaking, the Northern Hemisphere now tips towards summer and in complete contrast to the equinoxes the difference between light and dark hours of the day is now greatest. On the other hand the rate of change is lowest from one day to the next. At the roller coaster summit we seem to stand still for a fraction of a second, poised for accelerating downward. And yet, contrary to popular belief we are currently not even especially close to the sun in our orbit. The distance between Sun and Earth is greatest at the beginning of July and smallest just after New Year‘s Day. It‘s all a question of inclination.

Ancient Megalithic monuments are often oriented according to the Sun‘s position at the solstices. Of course we have no way of knowing how exactly the people of those days celebrated those special dates back then. But we can be sure that they played a big role in the calendar of humans whose lives depended on natural cycles and agricultural seasons. When the abundance of food, light and warmths reliably oscillates between two extremes, traditions and the general world view will definitely be affected.

Too hot to do much work

In my region currently the air is heavy and sweet with the scent of roses and lilacs. Personally, I am of the type of human who prefers to retreat to the basement when the outside temperatures rise above 30°C. This only contributes to the impression that practically nothing is moving, me included. At the moment strawberries, cherrys and other sweet fruit are in season but also a lot of colourful vegetables. There is not much to do in my garden apart from watching Nature do its work on its own and marvel at all the flowers and berries. Just as in other aspects of life, sometimes you just have to trust in the process and put your feet up without feeling guilty. Not everything is going to benefit from me constantly fiddling with it. And even in this society that praises being busy, sometimes it is perfectly fine to take a break, especially when it is too hot to do anything anyway. In farming this is the time to gather strength for the coming harvest. Having to work hard is going to happen one way or the other, so it seems wise to not unnecessarily wear yourself out beforehand.

Myths and traditions

In some regions Saint John’s Eve marks the end of the asparagus season, another message that the brightest, warmest and loveliest days carry within them an end to some indulgences. The fact that each fruit and vegetable has its season makes them even more precious to me. Knowing that a strawberry will spoil from lying around for too long, I decide to enjoy it now with all my senses fully aware of its transience. (As a second option, I make jam.) Which other things in life can I not hold onto forever but only savour here and now? What do I want to feast on literally and metaphorically, without guilt, because it is available to me only for a limited amount of time?

In some cultures, people collected Saint John’s wort around Midsummer for protection against all sorts of danger real or imagined. The idea of picking flowers that remind them of the Sun at its peak and putting them in their pockets seems to contradict the notion that there are things you cannot hold onto. On the other hand, this herb seems to have given these people strength even though they could watch the actual flowers wither in their hands. So in the end this tradition is an apt metaphor for the message of the summer solstice. What you can take with you going forward is not material but the energy you get from savouring something when it is abundant.

What about you?

How does Nature currently present itself where you live? What in your garden flourishes without your active contribution? What does your current meal plan look like? How does the knowledge of not being able to hold onto a special moment help you in enyoing it even more deeply? Do you always treat yourself to the breaks that you need? What is your level of guilt and regret in relationship with taking breaks?

Meditation and looking forward to the wheel spinning onwards

I have uploaded a short meditation about gathering strength for you to try another approach to this holiday. You can find it here.

This post refers back to this main article and is part of a series on each of the eight holidays of the year. During 2020 I will write another post for every one of those dates so stay tuned for the 1st of August!

The creative potential of reconciliation

Mayday is among the four feast days that are not based on astronomy but are spaced in between the solar feast days. On a secular level we celebrate International Workers‘ Day, in one of the German federal states celebrates a „Day of Peace and International Reconciliation“. Culturally we still observe traditions of lighting bonfires or dancing around a maypole. For some people today is Beltane, or for those on the southern hemisphere it is Samhain. The latter will be the subject of another blog post between October and November.

You surely already have an idea of the themes that, at least to me, are reason for celebration today. Going back in history far enough we can see fertililty rites. Fertility from our perspective sound a bit banal and frivolous. However, back then it was of existential importance that your seeds grew into a harvest that kept you from starving during winter. In those days fertility was more than a romantic occasion for dacing around a big fire.

Endless possibilities in genetic recombination

Where I live Nature now shows itself most prominently in fruit trees exploding into countless blossoms. Female plant parts wait for fertillisation by male parts. Sexual reproduction mixes up the genetics of two parental organisms leading to a wide range of potential new qualities in the offspring generation. The coming together of two halves to make a new complete entity is an evolutionary advantage. On the other hand, each half depends on finding the other on time and the success of fertilisation is not guaranteed.

I do not want to limit this day to the biological categories of male and female. In any case it does not seem especially helpful to me to permanently assign properties to either of them. I am more interested in what happens when two apparent opposites in general connect to synthesize something entirely new which with a bit of luck can be even more than the sum of its parts.

The hope for peace

As an example, the reconciliation of two nations afters years of conflict can release large amounts of energy and resources. What before had been absorbed by war activities can now be invested into projects to benefit everyone. Two (or more) people fighting can create synergies by not focussing on what separates them but looking at common ground between them. This may even benefit people not directly involved in this controversy. Reconciling seemingly conflicting qualities, needs or dogmas inside of me can have a similar effect. If for example in some contexts I am happy to take risks while in others I like to play it safe, these two sides of myself can come together and create a new view of things, ideally taking care of all needs involved and also uncovering completely new options on a higher level. You can exchange my examples with an almost endless number of other notions. The fights we keep going within our own minds are very individual after all.

Thematically Mayday picks up the threads of the Spring Equinox. Back then seemingly opposite concepts were brought into balance. Now they find a way to create something new. The blossom and the pollen turn into an apple, warring nations start collaborating and the inner conflict in my head turns into a more relaxed attitude towards myself.

In the end I would like to go back to being romantic again and say it is basically all about love. Love, which can bridge divides and shine a light on what both sides have in common. If that is not a reason to celebrate, I have no idea what is. To be able to connect we have to open up or to actively go searching for blossoms and take the risk that maybe things may not fit together in the end. Dancing around the Mayday fire does not guarantee fertility. But not even dancing at all is sure to prevent any connectionn from the start.

What about you?

How does Nature currently present itself where you live? Is there conflict in your life, either internally or externally? How do you create new concepts out of apparent contradictions? Is there space in your life for blossoms, pollen and love? In which areas are you willing to take the risk of being open or looking for connection? What would be the alternative option?

Meditation and looking forward to the wheel spinning onwards

I have uploaded a short meditation about finding inner peace for you to try another approach to this holiday. You can find it here.

This post refers back to this main article and is part of a series on each of the eight holidays of the year. During 2020 I will write another post for every one of those date so stay tuned for the 21st of June!