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Senior News June, 2002 Vol. 21. No. 6
Published by the Humboldt Senior Resource Center in Eureka, California. HSRC is a non-profit community-based organization offering services for senior citizens, multi-generational families and caregivers.
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Humboldt Senior Resource Center Back issues
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Remembering Spirit This column, Remembering Spirit, began in November 1998 when I started taping Oprah Winfrey because of her inspiring and uplifting stories. The last segment of her show was called Remembering Your Spirit. The segment is no longer part of the Oprah show, but it remains part of Senior News. In the four years that we've run a Remembering Spirit story on this page, I've found them all interesting, inspiring, uplifting or thought-provoking. So we will keep telling stories of different readers in our community. We've included poetry, dream work, dancing for wellness, stories of elders, legacies of grandparents, wise words from others and reviews of important books. This month we celebrate seasonal rituals with summer solstice coming June 21, the day the sun enters the astrological sign of Cancer. I bought a new book to learn more about how I might celebrate these seasons: Circle Round: Raising Children in Goddess Traditions by Starhawk, Diane Baker and Anne Hill. This book is full of stories, songs, recipes and activities for children and grown ups for all the seasons of the year: winter solstice, spring equinox, summer solstice and autumn equinox. While those are set by the astrological calendar, the book also includes cross-quarter days, the first days of February, May, August and November, which were linked with local festivals celebrating the Celtic gods and goddesses. Cross-quarter days were celebrated in ancient times as the earth made subtle shifts around the year. Most people know that summer solstice is the longest day and shortest night of the year. But did you know that in ancient times, people all over Europe celebrated the solstice by lighting huge bonfires which reminded them of the heat of summer sun. In Norway, many people stayed up all night with the fires. In Wales a huge wheel was set afire and rolled down the mountainside. If it stayed burning all the way down, the harvest would be a good one. The authors of Circle Round suggest that summer solstice is a good time to remember that nothing lasts forever, that we are dwelling in the "living, dying, fading and growing realm of earth. Because the things we love don't last forever, we love them all the more while they are here....The summer solstice is a time to practice giving things away, letting go of what is completed and done, whether it's our old toys, a flower, or a part of our lives..." The Aug. 1 celebration of Lughnasad or Lammas in the Celtic tradition celebrated the beginning of the harvest season. "Lammas is a time to think about our hopes and fears. We hope that we'll be able to pick and eat all the things we worked hard to grow, but a lot could still happen....It was a time when as fruits ripened, people brought their crops to market. For country people who rarely saw anyone from outside their village, this must have been one of the most exciting days of the year when they could meet friends from far away, see new faces, learn new customs. No one was allowed to disturb the holiday peace by fighting, thieving or making war." The circle of the earth and the wheel of the year help me learn how to honor my energy. I realize that I have more creative and outward energies during the spring and summer. This is a good time of year for cleaning out closets and drawers, giving away things I haven't worn in a year. My energy flags in the fall and winter, and I trust that it will increase again after a winter's rest. Celebrating the earth-based holidays reminds me that I am part of a living earth and need to keep learning the lessons of planting, sprouting, ripening, Barbara Clark is editor of Senior News. |
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