Winter Solstice begins Sundown, December 21 (day before Solstice.)
The Winter Solstice is associated with the birth of the Sun Goddess, Lucina. Her light
begins to grow at this time. Although still young and weak, the days are getting longer
This is the time for family. The traditional solstice tree comes from Germanic heritage.
It was decorated with lights to encourage and honour the sun. The tinsel was significgant
to encourage the melting of the snow, and it was decorated with fruits of the last harvest
to give thanks and to ensure a bounty for the next planting season.
The observance of the winter solstice was very significant in ancient times. Since this
date represented the moment when the days would again become longer, when light would
return to the land, the rural folk who faced lean times in winter had reason to be thankful.
The use of candles as decorations and ritual objects, dating from ancient times, clearly
indicates the importance of honoring the deities of light. The sun's return meant spring
was on its way,and with it, the birth of new animals to the flock, and the softening of the
soil tilled by our ancestors who lived as animal herders and farmers. Their celebration of
this date as a holy day, when they worshipped and honored the sun as a deity, was an
affirmation of their survival of the cold months of winter. They subsisted on the dried
meats of the animals they slaughtered at Samhain, and what little produce they could
preserve from the final harvest.
The Goddess Bast comes from Egypt. She is the sun, powerful and able to effect the growth
of living things. She was generally seen as a black cat or lion-headed Goddess, very much
involved with dancing and the expressions of pleasure. In Europe, Bast became Dianna Lucifera,
Moon and Sun Goddess. Lucifera appeared a mere century away from the concept of "Lucifer"
as a "fallen angel." Lucifera was in reality the Goddess Lucina, brilliant Sun of Healing.
Lucifera is the Maiden aspect, usually shown holding the torch of the Sun. Later on, this
image recurs in the Statue of Liberty. We see the Sun Goddess, crowned with a crescent,
holding up the torch of life. Evergreens and lit white candles symbolize the Sun Goddess
dispersing the darkness, all purified and consecrated.
Now light the cauldron's fire bright,
in perfect silence on this night,
A screeching owl, a shooting star,
a sudden wind or curious cloud,
a horses neigh or howl of wolf,
a serpent's hiss or sound of hoof
a raven's flight or deer in sight
In these my presence be known this night.
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