"Solstice"

"Solstice" is a Latin word, and originally derived from sol sun + status, the past participle of sistere to come to a stop, cause to stand. 

This makes sense if you think about the solstice as the sun's path reaching an endpoint and then turning around and going the other way. During the few days during which this direction change is occurring, it will appear that there is actually no movement at all.

Much can be said about the sensation of perihelion.  There is a huge revving up leading to that time and then a pause (silent night et al.) and then a strong falling away feeling as the acceleration reverses itself and moves away from the sun.  

Its just another way of attributing the coincidental closeness of the winter solstice and the perihelion.  And it is certainly debateable which is the cause, or to what degree the interaction of these 2 events influences any behavior.  

But the evidence that holidays in ancient cultures from around the world coincide and celebrate similar memes (light vs darkness) then it is arguable that the winter holiday 

Persia and Babylon

In Persia and Babylon, the festival was called Sacaea. This appears to be the original tradition in which masters and slaves traded roles and in which one of the slaves was appointed head of the household.

As played out in ancient Babylon, in proper season the king would repair to the temple dedicated to Marduk, be stripped of his insignia by the chief priest and swear that in the past year he had done nothing wrong. The chief priest then would speak for Marduk and re-invest the king with his kingdom. We can see how the priestly class simultaneously protected its power and provided an explanation for terrifying, unexplainable natural events.

Epiphany (holiday)

Epiphany (Greek for "to manifest" or "to show"), is a Christian feast day which celebrates the "shining forth" or revelation of God in human form in the person of Jesus Christ. The feast falls on January 6. Western Christians commemorate the visitation of the Magi to the child Jesus on this day, i.e., his manifestation to the Gentiles. Eastern Christians commemorate the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River, his manifestation as the Son of God to the world.

Compitalia – Late December or Early January

Compitalia – Late December or Early January Originally the Compitalia was a movable feast, one of the most important of the Feriae Conceptivae, whose dates were fixed by various presiding authorities including the consuls, praetor, priestly colleges or minor religious or political dignitaries. During the early Empire, its dates were fixed at Januarius 3rd to 5th. The president of each insula would sacrifice a hen on a temporary altar at the local crossroads. This signaled the beginning of three days of celebration.

But it was in the country, where the festival probably had its origin, that each landowner would build a small shrine with altar at the boundary with his neighbor. There he placed a plough and a wooden doll for each person in his household. The festival the next day was inaugurated by a sacrifice which purified the farm for the coming year. As part of the celebration, slaves were given extra rations including wine and the foreman in charge of the estate (the vilicus) and his wife deigned to dine with them. In this it shared characteristics with the Saturnalia and it may be that originally the landowner would celebrate Saturnalia with his slaves in Rome and then Compitalia with the slaves on his estate. Later the vilicus probably came to represent the master.

That the Compitalia was one of the most important festivals can be seen from the fact that it was one of the few that Macrobius reported as still being observed in the fourth century AD. It may have a more modern successor in ceremonial blessings of the fields.

Saturnalia - The Ancient Winter Celebration

What Day is the Earth Farthest from the Sun?

Have you ever asked yourself what day of the year the Earth is farthest from the Sun?

a) December 21st

b) July 4th
c) March 21
d) It changes every year
e) None of the Above

The answer is (b) - July 4th

July 4th is in fact the day the earth is furthest from the sun in its yearly eccentric elliptical orbit. This most distant point is called aphelion. As you are celebrating the rocket's red glare and the bombs bursting in air as a show of your patriotism, shift your consciousness for a brief moment. Celebrate that you are at the furthest point you'll be this year from the sun, the giver and sustainer of all life on our precious planet. That we are all together in this endless journey.

HAPPY JULY 4th. HAPPY APHELION!

If you pass this astronomical tidbit on to your friends over a cold beer you may also take note that you are one of the few people who knows what day the earth is furthest from the sun. But you may find yourself asking how July the fourth could be the farthest from the sun? The Fourth of July? Its a summer holiday! Do you think that's the wrong answer? It is counter-intuitive but its most certainly not wrong. And if you are like most people, you've never really given it any thought before. In the northern hemisphere it seems even more confusing, since the hot summer climate seems to contradict the obvious heat and light changes that must be associated with being closer or further from a star, right?

Most people are surprised to learn that the distance of the sun in its orbit around the sun changes throughout the year. [Actually answer (d) above is also somewhat true, since the actual day does fluctuate a few hours year to year] The solstices and equinox are on the 21st of March, June, September and December. These are caused by 23º tilt of the earth on its axis. This is the cycle of the equinoxes, revered by druids and shaman is observable as the sun seems to rises and sets in patterns moving along the horizon. Days and nights growing longer and shorter with the seasons is the usual association made between the seasons and the solar cycle.

However this has nothing whatsoever to do with Earth's distance to the sun.

Dates and times of aphelion and perihelion* of Earth:
*Perihelion is the time of year when the earth is closest -- January 4th.

2008-Jan-03 00:00 Earth at perihelion .983280065957433 AU (91,421,133 miles or 147,096,604 km)

2008-Jul-04 08:00 Earth at aphelion 1.01675351039063 AU (94,533,350 miles or 152,104,160 km)

Notice that this is a difference of about 3,000,000 miles. That is a big number, and one which is usually not taken into account when people think about the seasons and cycles of the year. In fact sunlight is about 7% less intense in July than it is in January.

The earth is also moving with its slowest velocity at this time of year. From July 4th and for the rest of the year the earth will increase its acceleration towards its closest pass around the planet - right after the holiday season.

You now know that July 4th is the slowest and farthest point our planet extends from the sun. Next consider the perihelion the closest and fastest point, four days after the Gregorian New Year.

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Some of you may have heard before my extensive speculations regarding the relationships between the earth's eccentric orbit, the mind-body relationship, seasonality, cognitive sciences, Quantum Mysticism, archeoastronomy, alchemy, chronobiology, shamanism, ayurveda , conventional western medicine, seasonal affective disorder (SAD), winter depression & holiday stress, the collective unconscious and mass consciousness. My inquiries are somewhat eccentric in and of themselves and this is admittedly terra incognita - largely unexplored material within the confines of rationalistic science. I am reminded that all orbits are eccentric, some faster, some more uniform in motion. Kepler's Law states that eccentricity is the nature of an orbit around a source. Some orbits are just more off-center than others.

If this subject interests you please see my other postings under the Kepler tag

State Dependent Learning

Ritucharya: Ayurvedic Seasonal Regimen

Ritucharya: Ayurvedic Seasonal Regimen

Weather changes according to season. These changes in the atmosphere affect all living beings. Some changes are beneficial, while others are detrimental. In order to achieve maximum benefits from the good qualities of the atmosphere and protection from the bad effects, Ayurveda has prescribed certain guidelines about diet and life style called seasonal regimen i.e Ritucharya.

Two energy principals, Hot and Cold (ie, Yang and Yin), govern all activities in the universe. Based on this, the entire time span of the year has been divided in to two parts, Accumulation (Adana) and Release  (Visarga)

• During accumulation period (Adana), between Winter Solstice and Summer solstice, there is a dominance of “Sun or heating” principle (Pitta Energy). Due to increasing heat, hot and dry qualities increase. So Dhatus deplete and physical strength becomes less and the incidence of disease is high.
  
• During the release period (Visarga), between Summer solstice and Winter solstice, there is a dominance of “moon or cool” principle (Kapha energy). The strength of all living beings increases.  Immunity becomes strong so the disease incidence is low.

We can neither control Mother Nature nor the changes in it. To balance the seasonal changes Ayurveda has described some guidelines called seasonal regimen or Ritucharya.
Due to changes in the season, doshas have the cycle of Sanchaya (accumulation), Prakopa (aggravation),  Prashama (palliation). These changes reflect in our bodies so we need to adjust our routine i.e diet and life style to prevent the imbalance.

Dosha cycle in a year:

Kapha is aggravated in Spring (mid February to mid June), Pitta in Summer (mid June to mid October) and Vata in Fall and Winter (mid October to mid February).

It is not really the calendar, but nature itself that tells us when the Dosha will be influenced. Therefore one should not indulge in things like food and acts, which are likely to increase or provoke the respective doshas.

On the other hand one should resort to Vamana or herb induced emesis in early winter, Virechana or herb induced purgation in summer and Basti or herb induced enema in fall and winter. To eliminate Kapha, Vata  and Pitta by carrying out this measures one can prevent seasonal diseases.

In India, the whole year is divided into 6 seasons. 

In the US, there is a vast difference in the weather pattern in different states.

In Ritucharya, the same Dinacharya should be followed. Ritucharya fine-tunes it, depending upon the individual Constitution.

(many thanks to James Bailey for this excellent information.  visit his excellent website for more information regarding Ayurveda and Oriental Medicine )