December 2004

The wonderful thing about new and full moon circles up north is that we begin by sitting around a good size outdoor sacred fire. It is pretty chilly in the winter months, but nothing a few wool blankets, hats and sorrels can’t cure.

The cool vapours that rise from our warm mouths as we tone, join the smoke of the fire and rise up to the stars. There have been many reasons to look into the night sky these last weeks. The full moon eclipse on October 27 was beautiful.

The moon was in Taurus, which can be about our physical existence, including money. The sun was in Scorpio and I found myself releasing any vows of poverty I might have made in the past or inherited, so that I can create what I want knowing my needs will be met (integrating sun and moon).

November 10 and 11 were some of the most spectacular northern lights I have ever seen, and they were wowing people all the way down to the Carolina’s. It began with hearing an unusual crackling sound which I traced to its source outside, and once there looked up and fell under the spell of the northern lights. Others reported the power lines buzzing dramatically all over the countryside, participating perhaps in the electrical dance.

My experience was watching with my roommate. We were looking into, what appeared to be, the eye of the storm. The lights were swirling around a central black oval that acted like a viewing screen, where images were drawn and animated, and then returned to black for the next image. The images were not vague lines that we imagined looked like “something,” but so detailed I thought they were responding to my own thoughts, like a private visitation with the divine. The image of an eagle, with stars for eyes, had neck feathers that appeared to move in the breeze as the lights ran through the feathers so they shimmered. Then fade to black.

The White Buffalo Calf Woman both of us recognized at the same time, and the angel and wings were so perfect we just started to laugh with joy. I know others saw the angels. To be sure that any doubts were removed a complex image of a man I called Jack Frost, that was also like the Hermit with a staff and long draped coat, appeared twice. The first time he appeared it was just as the thought crossed my mind that this was like a heralding of winter. It felt as though I was engaged in a conversation with the night sky.

Perhaps our ancestors also stood open-mouthed and saw clan animals, or answers to some question or creation stories. Among the “stories” of the northern lights, perhaps most prevalent, is that it is the time when the souls that passed over are collected. The personalities I saw in no way disprove that theory. Naturally I had to look into how the Aurora Borealis is powered.

Our atmosphere is made of gases such as helium, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen and other compounds. Each of these radiates at a different frequency, and therefore creates distinct colours in the aurora. We also have a magnetic field that is made of electrons and positive ions that spiral along the lines of the magnetic field. Imagine blowing on a bubble. It flattens out a bit where you are blowing the most. The sun is blowing off electrons and protons in solar flares that head toward the Earth at high speeds (solar wind). The solar wind presses against our upper atmosphere or magnetic field (magnetosphere), which can build up until there is a charge at both poles that can reach as high as 10,000 volts. The Sun blowing “the source of life” into the Earth’s atmospheric bubble zaps our electrons, which in turn zap our gases, and voila, exquisite sky stories. Did you know if you are driving at 60 miles an hour it will take an hour to reach the bottom of the aurora’s lights? I highly recommend doing a web search of northern lights from space. The photographs are awe-inspiring.

Reading about the Aurora Borealis brought me closer to the complex nature and power of our beautiful sun. It is appropriate at this time of year where the sun’s light is longed for like a lover or dear friend, that we find ways to renew and celebrate our personal relationship with the sun on the longest night of the year.

To form the basis of a ritual we can celebrate the longest night with a feast, or focus our intention around our dreams, or celebrate the light of fire in some way. This year, inspired by the northern lights‚ illumination of the darkness, I would like to witness the sun’s birthday by actually catching the sunrise somewhere dramatic, like at the top of Barron Canyon or some other unencumbered eastern vista. I enjoy catching sunrise on the summer solstice when it’s warm but I have never attempted it during the winter. Those who do, might suggest the cold air is nothing that a wool blanket, a hat and boots can’t fix.

Happy solstice.