Solstice
20 June 2008
The Earth Heal Geoharmonic Research Project will be hosting a group distant healing event on Friday, June 20, starting at 13:30 local Brazilian time, which is 16.30 GMT/UT, and continuing for about 3 - 4 hours, ending between 19:30 and 20:30 GMT/UT.
All people and animals everywhere in the world are welcome to join us for this event, on a donation basis for those who are able to, and on a pro bono basis for those who are unable to make a donation.
The treatment process will assist in "setting the energy" for participants, in preparation for the
Solstice, which occurs at
23:59,GMT/UT, about 3 hours after the close of the treatment process.
To view the
starting time of the event in your part of the world, please go to
this link at the World Clock.
If there is something interesting happening around Solstice in your part of the world, please leave a comment about it by clicking on this
Post a Comment button or at the foot of this post.
The treatment process will include more than 200 participants around the world, and will be facilitated by Edna Spennato in Praia do Frances on the NE coast of Brazil, with the assistance of five surrogates located on different continents, surrogating on behalf of all the participants around the world.
There is
still time to join us for this event - for
more info about how to register as a participant, please see the links at the foot of the page or
if you cannot access the links marked GD, which are stored at Google Documents, with ease, just send us an e-mail with the subject line, "More info please", and we will e-mail all the relevant info to you.
June Solstice
The June Solstice is referred to as the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere and the winter solstice in the southern hemisphere. At this time, the
sun is at its furthest point from the equator – it reaches its
northernmost point at 23:59 GMT/UT on June 20, when the earth's north pole is tilting directly towards the sun.
And although the moment of Solstice occurs only one minute before midnight GMT/UT, it still places this year's Solstice on June 20, and is the first time since the year 1896 that the June solstice has occurred before June 21. 2008 is a leap year, and without that extra day in February, this year's June solstice would have fallen on June 21. From this date forward, all leap years for the rest of the 21st century will feature June 20 solstices.
The June solstice is also known as the northern solstice because it occurs when the sun is directly over the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere.This day has the longest hours of daylight for those living north of the Tropic of Cancer. The "midnight sun" remains visible throughout the night to the north of the Arctic Circle, while those who live south of the southern Arctic Circle will not see sun at all during this time of the year.
"Solstice" is derived from two Latin words: "sol" meaning sun, and "sistere," meaning "to cause to stand still". This is because, as the solstice approaches, the noonday sun rises higher and higher in the sky on each successive day. On the day of the solstice, it seems to stop rising altogether (in fact, it does rise slightly, but only an imperceptible amount), compared to the day before. In this sense, it "stands still."
Astrological configurations during this period
The Solstice will be preceded by a
Full moon on 18 June, when Venus/Sun opposes Pluto/Moon, and Uranus forms a wide T-square to this potent opposition. According to
Barbara Hand Clow, this configuration suggests
"great tectonic and possibly financial stress" around the planet:
"...the New Moons are in perigee (closest to the Earth) on May 5, June 3, July 2, November 12, and December 12. This means there is greater tectonic stress and unusual weather patterns, which was the case during May. The tidal flows in the Pacific were very extreme in May, which intensified human emotions as well as water flow.
During the June 18 Full Moon, Mars in Leo is on the lunar South Node in close opposition to Chiron on the lunar North Node. This suggests violence, pain, and wounding, but it also suggests a great heart opening. I hope these energies can be worked out through love and compassion.
Jupiter sextiling Uranus still forms a Yod to the South Node, but this time Mars is also on the South Node. This is a very interesting configuration that could result in a significant peace somewhere on the planet....perhaps countries will just lay down their arms, which is more likely than usual with Chiron right on the lunar North Node for months. We shall see. Be sure to watch what is going on during this fiery Full Moon in Sagittarius with Pluto on the Galactic Center! And remember to check Astroflash for the Summer Solstice reading around June 18."
An astrological ephemeris of
important aspects for the year 2008 can be seen at this link on
Astroprofile. It's particularly interesting to look at what was happening in the skies during
three "hot spot" periods between the Equinox of March 21 and Solstice on June 20:
March 27 to April 2, May 2 - 11, and June 13 - 16. June 18
Full Moon
The farsighted Sagittarius moon energy is directed toward solitude and freedom of movement. The inquisitive Gemini sun energy is directed toward interacting with other people. The best use of this full moon is to focus on helping others, teaching them what you have learned, and to understand the need for balance between social interaction and your private life.
This could be a very intense period, since many planets are opposing or nearly opposing Puto. This would be a good day to visualize peace anad harmony spreading through the world. This can be done up to two days before a full moon. Colors: purple for Sagittarius, yellow for Gemini.
June 19
Mercury goes direct (Rx since May 26)
Whew! The time for re-examining old commitments and previous projects is at an end. Move forward with new plans, new projects.
June 20
Sun opposes Pluto
The negative side of Pluto is always associated with manipulation, domination, and deceit. The positive use of Pluto's energy is to clear your house (both your physical and spiritual one), getting rid of ideas, relationships, and behaviors that no longer work. Use today's energy to meditate on how you can be more cooperative with others, and to release your desire to control others. Since both the sun and Pluto are in mutable signs (Gemini and Sagittarius), flexibility and the related themes of unpredictability and fickleness are key issues.
June 20
Summer Solstice - Sun enters Cancer
In the northern hemisphere, where the sun is at its most potent today, the longest day of the year is celebrated; in the southern hemisphere, the sun is at its weakest point, and it is the shortest day and longest night of the year which is celebrated, when the pendulum turns and the days start getting longer from that moment on (the return of the light).
June 21
Mars opposes Neptune
Mars represents enerrgy and aggression, while Neptune represents intuition, idealism, but also deceit. The opposition shows a conflict between those energies. An opposition can be seen as a type of balance, though, so use the energy today to find balance between rest and activity, between directness and subtlety, between selfishness and compassion.
The significance of Solstice
Ancient cultures always celebrated the Solstices and Equinoxes as particularly sacred days of the year. The solstice is a time to recall the reverence and understanding that the ancient people had for the sky. Some 5,000 years ago, huge stones were placed in a circle on a broad plain now known as
Stonehenge in England and were
aligned with the moment of sunrise on June solstice (more info below).
We may never comprehend the full significance of
Stonehenge, but we do know that knowledge of this sort wasn't isolated to just one part of the world. Around the same time Stonehenge was being constructed in England,
two great pyramids and then the Sphinx were built on Egyptian sands. If you were to stand at the Sphinx on
sunset of June solstice and gaze toward the two pyramids, you'd see the sun set exactly between them.
"The Sphinx at Giza faces due east and is referred to in some Egyptian hieroglyphics as Hamachis, the god of the rising Sun. Later, Hamachis evolved into the name Hor-em-Akhet. The akhet is an Egyptian hieroglyph in the image of two triangles, both open at the base, connected by a line, which represents where the sun rises and sets—an image that comes to life when looking out from the Sphinx to the pyramids of Cheops and Cephren at sunset on the summer solstice. As the Sun sets between the pyramids, it highlights the image of two triangles (the pyramids) connected by a line (the earth)."
Awed by the great power of the sun, civilizations in the northern areas have for centuries celebrated the Summer Solstice, also known as
Midsummer (as depicted in
Midsummer Nights Dream by Shakespeare):
Prehistoric Europe: Many remains of ancient stone structures can be found throughout Europe. Some date back many millennia BCE. Many appear to have religious/astronomical purposes; others are burial tombs. These structures were built before writing was developed, and one can only speculate on the significance of the summer solstice to the builders. Perhaps the most famous of these structures is Stonehenge, a megalith monument on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire. It was built in three stages, between circa 3000 and 1500 BCE. "... the main axis is aligned on the midsummer sunrise--an orientation that was probably for ritual rather than scientific purposes. Four "station stones" within the monument form a rectangle whose shorter side also points in the direction of the midsummer sunrise.
The ancient Germanic, Slav and Celtic tribes in Europe celebrated with dancing and bonfires to help increase the sun's energy. "It was the night of fire festivals and of love magic, of love oracles and divination. It had to do with lovers and predictions, when pairs of lovers would jump through the luck-bringing flames..." It was believed that the crops would grow as high as the couples were able to jump. Through the fire's power, "...maidens would find out about their future husband, and spirits and demons were banished." Another function of bonfires was to generate sympathetic magic: giving a boost to the sun's energy so that it would remain potent throughout the rest of the growing season and guarantee a plentiful harvest.
The Druids: Perhaps the most enduring modern ties with Summer Solstice were the Druids' celebration of the day as the "wedding of Heaven and Earth", resulting in the present day belief of a "lucky" wedding in June. Known as Alban Heruin, it was midway between the spring Equinox (Alban Eiler; "Light of the Earth") and the fall Equinox (Alban Elfed; "Light of the Water"). "This midsummer festival celebrates the apex of Light, sometimes symbolized in the crowning of the Oak King, God of the waxing year. At his crowning, the Oak King falls to his darker aspect, the Holly King, God of the waning year..." The days following Alban Heruin form the waning part of the year because the days become shorter.
In ancient Rome, the festival of Vestalia lasted from June 7 - 15, and was held in honor of the Roman Goddess of the hearth, Vesta. Married women were able to enter the shrine of Vesta during the festival. At other times of the year, only the vestal virgins were permitted inside.
The Essenes: This was a Jewish religious group active in Palestine during the 1st century CE. Archaeologists have found that the largest room of the ruins at Qumran (location of the Dead Sea Scrolls) appears to be a sun temple. At the time of the summer solstice, the rays of the setting sun shine at 286 degrees along the building's longitudinal axis, and illuminate the eastern wall. The room is oriented at exactly the same angle as the Egyptian shrines dedicated to the sun. Two ancient authorities -- the historian Josephus and the philosopher Filon of Alexandria -- had written that the Essenes were sun worshippers. Until recently, their opinion had been rejected by modern historians.
In Ancient Gaul, the Midsummer celebration was called Feast of Epona, named after a mare goddess who personified fertility, sovereignty and agriculture. She was portrayed as a woman riding a mare.
In ancient Sweden, a Midsummer tree was set up and decorated in each town. The villagers danced around it. Women and girls would customarily bathed in the local river. This was a magical ritual, intended to bring rain for the crops.
In Ancient China, their summer solstice ceremony celebrated the earth, the feminine, and the yin forces. It complemented the winter solstice which celebrated the heavens, masculinity and yang forces. The Chinese marked the day by honoring Li, the Chinese Goddess of Light.
Catholic and Nordic Protestant cultures still celebrate the feast of St. John from June 23 to June 24 (see St. John's Eve, Ivan Kupala Day (celebrated in Russia) and Midsummer). In Brazil, he is called Sao Joao, and there are plenty of festivities, with a focus on the harvesting of the corn, which is one of the staples of this region, and dancing the "quadrille".
Neopaganism: This is a group of religions which honour ancient Pagan religions. Of these, Wicca is the most common; it is loosely based partly on ancient Celtic beliefs and practices. Wiccans recognize eight seasonal days of celebration. Four are minor sabbats and occur at the two solstices and the two equinoxes. The other are major sabbats which happen approximately halfway between an equinox and solstice. The summer solstice sabbat is often called Midsummer or Litha. Wiccans may celebrate the sabbat on the evening before, at sunrise on the morning of the solstice, or at the exact time of the astronomical event. "Midsummer is the time when the sun reaches the peak of its power, the earth is green and holds the promise of a bountiful harvest. The Mother Goddess is viewed as heavily pregnant, and the God is at the apex of his manhood and is honored in his guise as the supreme sun." It is a time for divination and healing rituals. Divining rods and wands are traditionally cut at this time.
Native Americans:
The Natchez tribe in the southern U.S. "worshiped the sun and believed that their ruler was descended from him. Every summer they held a first fruits ceremony." Nobody was allowed to harvest the corn until after the feast.
Males in the Hopi tribe dressed up as Kachinas - the dancing spirits of rain and fertility who were messengers between humanity and the Gods. At Midsummer, the Kachinas were believed to leave the villages to spend the next six months in the mountains, where they were believed to visit the dead underground and hold ceremonies on their behalf.
Native Americans have created countless stone structures linked to equinoxes and solstices. Many are still standing. One was called Calendar One by its modern-day discoverer. It is in a natural amphitheatre of about 20 acres in size in Vermont. From a stone enclosure in the center of the bowl, one can see a number of vertical rocks and other markers around the edge of the bowl "At the summer solstice, the sun rose at the southern peak of the east ridge and set at a notch at the southern end of the west ridge." The winter solstice and the equinoxes were similarly marked. The Bighorn Medicine Wheel west of Sheridan, WY is perhaps the most famous of the 40 or more similar "wheels" on the high plains area of the Rocky Mountains. Most are located in Canada. At Bighorn, the center of a small cairn, that is external to the main wheel, lines up with the center of the wheel and the sun rising at the summer solstice.
Today, the day is still celebrated around the world, most notably in England at Stonehenge and Avebury, where thousands still gather towelcome the sunrise on the June Solstice. Pagan spirit gatherings or festivals are also common in June, when groups gather to light a sacred fire, and stay up all night to welcome the dawn.
General info about the distant healing event
During the treatment process, each participant will be worked on individually and as part of the group, and will assist the planetary healing by anchoring the healing energy in their part of the world, and releasing disharmonic energies no longer needed, on an individual and collective level.
For those who have never before experienced vibrational healing work, this is the ideal opportunity. We use a cutting-edge approach known as Synchronization Harmonics, and participation is open on a donation basis to anyone, anywhere in the world.
Or you may choose to take advantage of Earth Heal annual membership at a nominal fee, to be included as a participant in group remote events to be held on the Solstices and Equinoxes, as well as other significant dates, over the next year, and receive a discount on private treatments arranged with Edna Spennato during the year.
For info about annual membership, please go to this link, or us an e-mail with the subject line, "More info about membership please".
Feedback from participants and detailed reports about what came up during the treatment for the group as a whole, and for the collective consciousness on a planetary level, are sent out to all participants after each remote group healing event.
New participants will need to get their details and pics to us via e-mail before the event, so if you are interested in taking part, please check the links below ASAP for info on how to be included, or send your e-mail to us soon, to receive the info.
Related links for this event
If you are unable to access the links marked >>GD>>, which are stored on Google Documents, please send us an e-mail with the subject line, "More info please" and we'll send the relevant docs to you immediately.
>> Info about Earth Heal and the work we do
>>GD>> More info about the Solstice event and the experience of participating in a distant healing event
>>GD>> More info about how to be included as a participant in this event
>>GD>> Participants' registration form for non-members of Earth Heal
>>GD>> Letter and registration form for participant's guests
>>GD>> Info about annual membership to Earth Heal
>>GD>> List of all links related to the June 2008 Solstice event
>> Astroflash - Barbra Hand Clow 2012
>> New Moon Astro report
> Major astrological aspects in 2008 - significant planetary and cosmic events - transits, hotspots, etc.
>> Beltane to Summer Solstice 2008
>> Stonehenge
>> The world's favourite megalithic stone circle
>> The Sphinx
>> St. John's Eve
>> Midsummer
>> A Midsummer Night'a Dream by Shakespeare
>> Ivan Kupala Day
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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