As the Winter Solstice of 2012 fast approaches, marking a time of great
transition for humanity and our planet, each turn of the cosmic wheel becomes
more significant. The summer and winter solstices, along with the spring and
fall equinoxes, have been occasions for celebrations and rituals for thousands
of years. The ancients looked to the heavens with awe and gratitude for the
gifts of each season and built cosmic calendars on the Earth to mark the
movements of the heavenly bodies. They were aware of early or late signs of
spring to know when to plant their crops and noticed the changing angles of
light as summer lengthened their shadows. They lived in harmony with the
rhythms of the universe.
In the last century, as populations have become more urban than rural, many
of us have lost our conscious connection to the natural world. We may note the
change of seasons–warmer or cooler weather, longer days or nights–but have
largely forgotten the significance of the Earth’s annual journey around the sun
as it tilts on its axis.
This yearly orbit is linked with much larger cosmic movements, as Earth
moves counterclockwise through the twelve signs of the Zodiac, each about 2160
years, and completes what is called the Precession of the Equinoxes about every
25, 950 years. All of these cycles, as well as the shorter lunar and solar
cycles, were known to the ancients. The Mayan calendar gives evidence of this,
and many monuments around the Earth similarly indicate that the movements of
the heavens were well observed.
According to interpreters of the Mayan calendar’s long count, December 21,
2012 is the date when all of these cycles–short and long–complete, as Earth and
Sun align with the dark rift at the center of the Milky Way galaxy. Some
plausibly argue for other dates, but the Winter Solstice of 2012 (Summer in the
Southern Hemisphere) is now part of the collective consciousness of our time,
as media focus on this date builds.
What precisely will happen then no one knows, but speculation ranges from
Doomsday scenarios to the ushering in of the Aquarian Age of enlightenment and
peace, with all species including the human living sustainably on the Earth. I
am firmly in the latter camp, as those who have read my book, Spiritual Wisdom
for a Planet in Peril: Preparing for 2012 and Beyond,” are aware. Our task is
to bring about the most positive outcomes for ourselves and our planet.
The Summer Solstice on June 21 offered an opportunity to reconnect with the
natural rhythms of Earth and to celebrate the time when the sun at its zenith
appears to stand still in the heavens. Now light wins out once more over
darkness, as the longest day of the year marks the beginning of summer. From
this day forward to the December solstice, daylight diminishes again until
darkness settles in and winter pulls us inward.
Summer is an expansive time, when all things seem possible. Now through the
autumn equinox on September 21 is a time of great abundance, as Earth nourishes
her species through growing plants, plentiful waters, and new generations of
animals, birds, and insects. Our home garden produces a rich bounty of
lettuces, tomatoes, squash, beans, and herbs, offering us fresh, nutritious
meals through September. Last year one of our pumpkins, harvested in July,
lived on our front porch through January, before the frost turned it rotten.
Mocking birds nest in our yard, large bumblebees buzz around our purple ice
plants, and the butterfly bushes in our side yard attract many beautiful
species. Wild blackberries turn ripe and disappear quickly as the local deer
population gobbles them up. Visual and edible symbols of Earth’s abundance are
one of the great joys of summer.
Since ancient times, people have celebrated the Summer Solstice as the
victory of light over darkness. Monuments like England’s Stonehenge are
gigantic calendars marking the Earth’s turning toward the light and have become
sites of annual festivals to give thanks to the Divine for the life-giving sun.
On a number of occasions, I have traveled to power points and sacred sites
on the planet to participate in solstice or equinox celebrations: Stonehenge,
Chitchen Itza in Mayan Mexico, Egypt’s Giza Plateau, Ireland’s Newgrange, and
Chaco Canyon in New Mexico among them. In these and other locations, ancient
astronomers and priests left solid evidence in stone of the path of the sun’s
seasonal alignments so that their communities could anticipate and benefit from
this knowledge. Ancient gods were worshiped as bringers and sustainers of life.
Now science confirms what spiritual people have always known intuitively:
the interconnected web of life throughout the universe that flourishes, dies,
and is reborn in new forms and patterns, as the process of creation continues
to unfold throughout time. The evolution of human consciousness that 2012 is
about is one significant culmination of a more than 16 billion year old cosmic
process, and those alive today may experience this shift.
On last year’s summer solstice, I joined an annual ceremony in northern
Michigan led by several generations of Ojibway women at the site of petroglyphs
sacred to their people. The women hauled water in purifying copper buckets from
a nearby stream to cleanse the large rock on which the ancient messages were
written for our own time. Barefoot, grandmothers and their daughters and
granddaughters scrubbed the rock with brooms, then offered a traditional feast
representing Earth’s bounty to guests. It was a wonderful way to honor Mother
Earth and ancestral wisdom.
This year I had intended to join a group of spiritual energy healers at
another ancient sacred site, the Serpent Mounds of Ohio, to ground and amplify
healing energy through the site, connecting with the Earth’s grids to bring a
higher dimension of healing and harmony to the planet. Instead, I stayed home
to be with visiting family. However, through the power of the internet, you
don’t have to travel around the globe to join in a summer solstice celebration.
At 8 p.m. EDT on June 21, I tuned into the Concert for the Living Water at
www.liveh2o.org and joined millions around the world in sending love and
healing through thought, intention, and chanting to the Earth’s oceans, lakes,
rivers, and streams. I concentrated especially on the Great Lakes because of
their importance and my own spiritual connection to these great bodies of
water.
Feeling very aligned with the intention of this experimental gathering held
around the planet and virtually through the internet, I was grateful to be able
to contribute through this medium to cleansing and healing the waters. We know
from the work of Japanese scientist Dr. Emoto, who was involved in this
project, as well as from the science of energy healing, that water holds memory
and vibration. As humans and invasive species have polluted the life-giving
waters on which all life depends, their healthy vibrations have shifted and
diminished. Through our collective intention, we can change that, and this
concert held, appropriately, on the summer solstice was a way to focus and
amplify our energy through the sound frequency of love. As the www.h2o.org
website states, “love is the universal healer and water the universal solvent.”
Bringing these together with amplified power can cleanse and heal us all.
The Concert for the Living Water is a great example of what is possible when
each of us joins with others as one voice to raise the vibration of the planet
and contribute to the transformation of consciousness that will bring about an
era of peace and harmony on Earth. It was especially appropriate that it should
happen on the most enlightened day of the year.
