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Celebrate the Solstice: Honoring the Earth's Seasonal Rhythms through Festival and Ceremony
This book is an accessible, engaging tool to help people enrich their lives through the observance of ancient, astronomically determined Earth festivals. It assists us to recover an experience that had deep meaning for the ancients and that is now increasingly relevant to a world facing environmental challenges. Seasonal festivals are not meant to be cultural relics. They are joyous, fun, mischievous, profound, life-affirming events that connect us deeply with the Earth, the heavens, and the wellspring of being within us. This book encourages us to undertake full-bodied, ecstatic seasonal renewal by providing information on the history and meaning of the solstices with practical suggestions on how to celebrate them now.
199 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
6 people are currently reading
95 people want to read
About the author
Richard Heinberg
51 books95 followersRichard William Heinberg is an American journalist and educator who has written extensively on energy, economic, and ecological issues, including oil depletion. He is the author of 13 books, and presently serves as the senior fellow at the Post Carbon Institute.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 15, 2013
Though I've been researching and learning about solstices and equinoxes for about a decade now, it's been mostly piecemeal, gathering little bits of info here and there, usually via the net as a particular event approaches. I've also read books that touch on these subjects more or less tangentially. But this is the first book I've read which takes the solstice as its main focus. Despite the title, it's about both solstices and equinoxes. The cross-quarter celebrations even get a shoutout.
All in all, I found it a fascinating read, and I would recommend the book to anyone interested in the subject matter. The perspective offered is a global one, taking the long view of human history. There were a few times when I felt it was slightly repetitious, cataloging various ancient monuments that are oriented to the winter or summer solstice sunrise or sunset, but at the same time I appreciated the thoroughness of the coverage.
My chief criticism is that a number of sources cited have been somewhat discredited since this book was published 20 years ago. I'd be curious to see how Richard Heinberg would write this book today.
In fact, I was all set to knock the book down a notch because of this problem when I got to the ninth chapter, "The Meaning of the Solstices." It reads like a manifesto, and it really made me stand up and take notice. Heinberg explains what the solstices meant for ancient cultures and makes a powerful and convincing argument for why we should be celebrating them now, why they are supremely relevant to our current global-historical moment. If that context has changed in the last two decades, it's only made the case more compelling. This chapter made the book, in my opinion.
This book bolstered my conviction that the solstices and equinoxes should indeed be celebrated.
All in all, I found it a fascinating read, and I would recommend the book to anyone interested in the subject matter. The perspective offered is a global one, taking the long view of human history. There were a few times when I felt it was slightly repetitious, cataloging various ancient monuments that are oriented to the winter or summer solstice sunrise or sunset, but at the same time I appreciated the thoroughness of the coverage.
My chief criticism is that a number of sources cited have been somewhat discredited since this book was published 20 years ago. I'd be curious to see how Richard Heinberg would write this book today.
In fact, I was all set to knock the book down a notch because of this problem when I got to the ninth chapter, "The Meaning of the Solstices." It reads like a manifesto, and it really made me stand up and take notice. Heinberg explains what the solstices meant for ancient cultures and makes a powerful and convincing argument for why we should be celebrating them now, why they are supremely relevant to our current global-historical moment. If that context has changed in the last two decades, it's only made the case more compelling. This chapter made the book, in my opinion.
This book bolstered my conviction that the solstices and equinoxes should indeed be celebrated.
January 6, 2024
A HISTORICAL STUDY, AND A PROPOSAL TO CREATE NEW CYCLICAL FESTIVALS
Author Richard Heinberg wrote in the first chapter of this 1993 book, “For thousands of years our ancestors marked the seasons of the year with festivals. These festivals---of which the greatest and most universally observed were the twice-yearly Solstices---served many functions… They gave people an emotional outlet and a break from ordinary cultural strictures and boundaries. All work was put aside… The festivals also provided ways for the community to govern itself. Not only did the people enjoy themselves on these occasions, but in gathering together they had opportunity to discuss their collective affairs. Politics and revelry were combined… But perhaps most importantly, the old seasonal festivals deepened people’s sense of connection with land and sky… Each person felt a heightened connection with the Source of all life. In short, the festival was the community’s way of renewing itself and its bonds with nature.” (Pg. 5-6)
He continues, “For the most part, we who live at the end of the twentieth century no longer celebrate these ancient festivals. Of, if we do, we observe them in unrecognizable forms---as (for example) in Christmas and New Year gatherings. But these are often highly commercialized affairs. Gone is the sense of participation in the cyclic interaction of the Earth and the heavens. Now, we seem to be interested only in our human business… our ties with nature are strained nearly to the breaking point from water and air pollution… Could there be a connection between our ignorance of the seasonal festivals and our loss of relatedness with one another and with the Earth?” (Pg. 6)
He goes on, “This book is designed to help you and your family and friends engage in full-bodied, ecstatic seasonal renewal by recovering an experience that had deep meaning for the ancients and that is increasingly relevant today to a world on the edge of environmental catastrophe.” (Pg. 8)
He observes, “Today… we human beings have created a situation unique in nature, as well as in the history of our own species. We have gradually but decisively put ourselves off from many of the cycles of the cosmos and of the biosphere and substituted arbitrary, economically determined temporal patterns. We have overridden the natural daily rhythms of light and dark with the artificial illumination of cities; the rhythms of the seasons with greenhouses and supermarkets… We are paying a price for the temporal revolution---a cost of stress and disease that only masks the deeper sacrifice of our sense of belonging, of being contained within a context that transcends human political and economic systems, or being nurtured by the heartbeat of creation.” (Pg. 22-23)
He notes, “In nearly every culture… myths and rituals of the Solstices have been focused on the theme of renewal---the renewal of kingship, vegetation, the year, the people, the Sun---indeed, of the world as a whole.” (Pg. 88)
He notes, “Christmas… has been associated from the beginning with the winter Solstice---a time when the shamans and priests of cultures throughout the world officiated at rites of world renewal… When we add these elements together, we begin to see that, while it is impossible to trace any direct connection between the shamanic tradition and Santa Claus, his appeal may nonetheless draw upon collective memories and beliefs reaching back perhaps even to Paleolithic times.” (Pg. 111-112)
He explains, “The Solstices are intrinsically meaningful cosmic terrestrial events, and at the same time powerful symbols for the deepest processes of transformation in the individual and collective human psyche. At the heart of the ancient Solstice festivals was a profound regard for cycles. Every cycle---whether a day, a year, a human lifetime, or the life of a culture---has a beginning, a middle, and an end; and nearly every trade cycle is followed by another. Wisdom consists in knowing one’s place in any given cycle, and what kinds of action (or restraint of action) are appropriate for that phase. What is constructive at one time may be destructive at another.” (Pg. 125)
He suggests, “These days, many people scoff at the term ‘New Age,’ apparently because they believe that the present age will somehow continue indefinitely… That there will be a New Age is beyond doubt---only its character is in question. As the ancients knew so well, the health of a nascent cycle is largely conditioned by the way in which the previous cycle was released: whether gently or violently; with compassion or animosity; with courage or fear.” (Pg. 128)
He states, “The Solstice festivals were intended partly as an antidote to these illnesses of civilization and as an invitation to return to play. By ritually abolishing laws and hierarchies and by indulging in singing and dancing with childlike abandon during their seasonal celebrations, ancient peoples kept the formalities of adult life in perspective. No matter how earnestly they pursued their political and economic goals during the rest of the year, come festival time rich and poor alike returned (temporarily, at least) to the free, equal, anarchic status of the First People of the mythic Golden Age.” (Pg. 134-135)
He summarizes, “In many ways the Solstice festivals serve to symbolize the essence of what we have traded for civilization’s advantages---our formerly intimate relationship with nature and cosmos. And so they may serve as ideal starting points for the recovery of culture. In this book, I am suggesting that we bring our modern sensibilities to bear on the creation of NEW festivals that honor the intrinsic meanings of the Solstices in ways that are relevant for ourselves and our world… we still have an innate need to celebrate. We need occasion to come together, and we need to feel a part of something larger than ourselves and our families, something more intrinsically meaningful than our nations and corporations. As nearly all cultures have known for thousands of years, the celebration of the Solstices is the ideal way to fill all of these needs.” (Pg. 140-141)
This book will interest those studying the Solstices, and other festivals.
Author Richard Heinberg wrote in the first chapter of this 1993 book, “For thousands of years our ancestors marked the seasons of the year with festivals. These festivals---of which the greatest and most universally observed were the twice-yearly Solstices---served many functions… They gave people an emotional outlet and a break from ordinary cultural strictures and boundaries. All work was put aside… The festivals also provided ways for the community to govern itself. Not only did the people enjoy themselves on these occasions, but in gathering together they had opportunity to discuss their collective affairs. Politics and revelry were combined… But perhaps most importantly, the old seasonal festivals deepened people’s sense of connection with land and sky… Each person felt a heightened connection with the Source of all life. In short, the festival was the community’s way of renewing itself and its bonds with nature.” (Pg. 5-6)
He continues, “For the most part, we who live at the end of the twentieth century no longer celebrate these ancient festivals. Of, if we do, we observe them in unrecognizable forms---as (for example) in Christmas and New Year gatherings. But these are often highly commercialized affairs. Gone is the sense of participation in the cyclic interaction of the Earth and the heavens. Now, we seem to be interested only in our human business… our ties with nature are strained nearly to the breaking point from water and air pollution… Could there be a connection between our ignorance of the seasonal festivals and our loss of relatedness with one another and with the Earth?” (Pg. 6)
He goes on, “This book is designed to help you and your family and friends engage in full-bodied, ecstatic seasonal renewal by recovering an experience that had deep meaning for the ancients and that is increasingly relevant today to a world on the edge of environmental catastrophe.” (Pg. 8)
He observes, “Today… we human beings have created a situation unique in nature, as well as in the history of our own species. We have gradually but decisively put ourselves off from many of the cycles of the cosmos and of the biosphere and substituted arbitrary, economically determined temporal patterns. We have overridden the natural daily rhythms of light and dark with the artificial illumination of cities; the rhythms of the seasons with greenhouses and supermarkets… We are paying a price for the temporal revolution---a cost of stress and disease that only masks the deeper sacrifice of our sense of belonging, of being contained within a context that transcends human political and economic systems, or being nurtured by the heartbeat of creation.” (Pg. 22-23)
He notes, “In nearly every culture… myths and rituals of the Solstices have been focused on the theme of renewal---the renewal of kingship, vegetation, the year, the people, the Sun---indeed, of the world as a whole.” (Pg. 88)
He notes, “Christmas… has been associated from the beginning with the winter Solstice---a time when the shamans and priests of cultures throughout the world officiated at rites of world renewal… When we add these elements together, we begin to see that, while it is impossible to trace any direct connection between the shamanic tradition and Santa Claus, his appeal may nonetheless draw upon collective memories and beliefs reaching back perhaps even to Paleolithic times.” (Pg. 111-112)
He explains, “The Solstices are intrinsically meaningful cosmic terrestrial events, and at the same time powerful symbols for the deepest processes of transformation in the individual and collective human psyche. At the heart of the ancient Solstice festivals was a profound regard for cycles. Every cycle---whether a day, a year, a human lifetime, or the life of a culture---has a beginning, a middle, and an end; and nearly every trade cycle is followed by another. Wisdom consists in knowing one’s place in any given cycle, and what kinds of action (or restraint of action) are appropriate for that phase. What is constructive at one time may be destructive at another.” (Pg. 125)
He suggests, “These days, many people scoff at the term ‘New Age,’ apparently because they believe that the present age will somehow continue indefinitely… That there will be a New Age is beyond doubt---only its character is in question. As the ancients knew so well, the health of a nascent cycle is largely conditioned by the way in which the previous cycle was released: whether gently or violently; with compassion or animosity; with courage or fear.” (Pg. 128)
He states, “The Solstice festivals were intended partly as an antidote to these illnesses of civilization and as an invitation to return to play. By ritually abolishing laws and hierarchies and by indulging in singing and dancing with childlike abandon during their seasonal celebrations, ancient peoples kept the formalities of adult life in perspective. No matter how earnestly they pursued their political and economic goals during the rest of the year, come festival time rich and poor alike returned (temporarily, at least) to the free, equal, anarchic status of the First People of the mythic Golden Age.” (Pg. 134-135)
He summarizes, “In many ways the Solstice festivals serve to symbolize the essence of what we have traded for civilization’s advantages---our formerly intimate relationship with nature and cosmos. And so they may serve as ideal starting points for the recovery of culture. In this book, I am suggesting that we bring our modern sensibilities to bear on the creation of NEW festivals that honor the intrinsic meanings of the Solstices in ways that are relevant for ourselves and our world… we still have an innate need to celebrate. We need occasion to come together, and we need to feel a part of something larger than ourselves and our families, something more intrinsically meaningful than our nations and corporations. As nearly all cultures have known for thousands of years, the celebration of the Solstices is the ideal way to fill all of these needs.” (Pg. 140-141)
This book will interest those studying the Solstices, and other festivals.
January 27, 2020
I struggle with nonfiction, but needed to do the research. After a typically dry beginning, the book became more like sitting in a favorite lecture with a compelling speaker. Really enjoyed it and he makes his points well.
June 4, 2018
lots of very interesting mythology and Concepts :)
September 10, 2018
Great look back at the history of solstices
Currently reading
August 11, 2024Reached pg. 35. Interesting, very dense, but want to continue reading in the future.
January 15, 2011
Almost two books in one, Celebrating the Solstice starts out with an annotated scientific account of the solstices. The astronomical facts are discussed, followed by anthropological studies of solstice celebrations around the world, on almost every continent, the similarities of their structures and the meanings behind this. In the second part, the author gets all New Age-y about how a return to awareness of nature can help save the human soul and how a celebration of the solstice can be incorporated, and he begins to cite Starhawk's solstice rituals as an example of what your celebration could look like, including a diagram of the spiral dance. It was strange, and I'm still mulling it over. I think the first part is definitely worth a read, but for me at least, the second part was worth a skip.
February 21, 2009
Surprisingly good. I started reading it just because I'd requested it from the library, and despite my interest in anthropology, it took me a while to realize I was eager to finish it. Despite all of that, the last 4 chapters were read with much more attention, and I'm now even considering buy a copy of this!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews