This has been a time of great sorrows and desolation for those who have lost special and very much treasured family members, friends or colleagues; for others a time of personal growth; as we find that many ‘things’ or issues have come to the surface and have had to be faced. A time of great challenges when we have found support from unexpected sources, giving us greater strength to go forward with a new and previously and completely different energy. An unusual energy that has never touched us before. It is as though we have been permitted to hold a torch to pierce the darkness; a torch that may help us to tread our paths with certain knowledge; one that will show us the way towards the Light running like a golden thread through the confusion outside. The Solstice will soon be here and it seems to me that it will bring with it a new, positive and vibrant energy, bringing with it great hope, a new energy and hope for the future coming to our aid like the cavalry, bearing banners of Light as it comes charging over the brow of the hill to the rescue.
The term 'solstice' derives from the Latin word 'solstitium', meaning 'Sun standing still'. On this day the Sun seems to stand still at the Tropic of Capricorn and then reverses its direction as it reaches its southernmost position as seen from the Earth.
This is a time when everything lies dormant in the silent earth, it is a sacred time of rest and reflection before the awakening and the slow build up toward brighter days. Just as we need to sleep at night so the Earth needs a period of rest and regeneration as it too lies sleeping peacefully, ready to awaken as the days get longer and the Sun rises higher in the sky.
It is easy to feel downcast at this time of year but if we manage to look at it as a time of new growth to come then we can have a great feeling of hope.
Even though we continue to live our lives - some hectic, some less so - the energy of winter is that of going within. It's the fruitful darkness, a time of new beginnings for the future and of inner growth, out of which new inspirations, purpose and insight can emerge.
In many religions worldwide this is one of the most magical times of year as we approach the Solstice, the shortest day of the year. Celebrated all over the world, this is the moment when the rhythm of the earth changes and the heartbeat of Gaia, the mother Goddess, takes on a new charge of energy. We are told that she is a goddess who, by all accounts, inhabits the planet, offering life and nourishment to all her children. In the ancient civilizations, she was revered as mother, nurturer and giver of life. And in Greek Mythology she represented the Earth, birthing all forms of landscape, plant and creature. Though her creation was majestic, her solitude was great. She longed for love and created the sky with whom she mated, igniting a creative force which birthed countless offspring: Time and the Fates, the Muses and the oceans, to name a few. She’s considered the primeval mother of whom all gods - and life itself - descended. As the mother figure she represents the Divine Feminine.
And in the Christian Faith it links us to the Birth of Christ; in the Muslim tradition Jesus was born in March or September but was not considered to be the son of God, The Hindus celebrate Pancha Ganapati, a five-day holiday beginning on December 21st to celebrate the elephant-headed lord of culture and new beginnings.
Buddhists recognise the similarities between their religion and Christianity and so celebrate by giving gifts and hanging decorations - a time of giving.
I hope you enjoy this video showing wonderful sparking little metal trees. To me they symbolise a bright future as they gently unfold and turn into things of wonder. Maybe we are at that point now, as the future unfolds and we start walking towards a much better future, gaining insight of ourselves, our fellow beings and the world around us as we tread our individual paths.
On a more mundane level, as Christmas approaches, it can also be a time of stress as people prepare to get everything ready. Also a time of great loneliness for many whose lives are not as blessed as others and who cannot wait for life to get back to normal. Trying to feel happy and jolly when everyone else seems happy must exaggerate their sense of being ‘left out’ and unloved. So this time of giving not only in material ways but in care and understanding and the awareness that there are other ways of helping.
I am one of the really lucky ones. Over the years I have spent Christmas with my beloved sister, and if my sons can travel we all congregate at my home.
Having sung carols on the village green outside the local pub on Christmas Eve, several friends join us for dinner. We continue our parents (and probably our grandparent’s) traditions, and I believe my two sons do too!
Early on Christmas morning we celebrate the birth of the Christ Child at St James at Stedham, a tiny, ancient little church. I hope we will be able to do so this year. As you enter, you can immediately feel a sense of antiquity, peace and permanence.
The few records that remain indicate that the original church was built in 1040. The only part remaining from that period being the base of the tower, the upper section being dated 1677. There is evidence that a much earlier church stood here. The large Yew tree in the churchyard has been dated as around 2500 years old and a stone coffin, complete with stone lid, to the right of the church porch, is pre Saxon.
It is mentioned in the Domesday Book, and then it probably consisted of chancel, axial tower, and nave. The chancel was probably lengthened in the 13th century and a west porch added in the 17th. The tower was rebuilt in 1673 and in 1850 the chancel, nave, and porch were pulled down and the rest of the present church built, being consecrated in January 1851.
Later we will connect with my two sons on Skype or Facetime. They are both so far away in Australia - 12 hours ahead - and Thailand - 7 hours ahead - and like so many other families we are unable to be together. I am a most untechnical person and in fact get extremely annoyed with all its complications - however being able to keep in regular touch with them and their families is an untold blessing, so I have to retract my moaning!
A jigsaw puzzle is always at the ready. A real time waster but such fun as everyone can join in and contribute. I find that I can get totally absorbed trying to find just that one tiny illusive little piece which looks so easy to find but in reality, isn’t.
The two videos below show creative works that are mysteriously different, the workings of which must have taken the human sculptor far longer to create than finding a missing jigsaw puzzle piece. They show an incredible and breathtaking artistry. Works of genius in their own surprising and inimitable way.
At the recent Charleston Festival, Sir David Attenborough delivered a lecture entitled Beauty and the Beasts, in which he tackled the intriguing question of whether some animals can justifiably be described as artistic. Are we really the only creatures on Earth capable of delighting in beauty?
Can Animals be Artists? Read more
Thousands of sheets of paper make up these mesmerizing sculptures by Chinese artist Li Hongbo. These were shown at the artist's amazing paper sculpture exhibit at Klein Sun Gallery in New York in 2014.
So many of you have been wonderfully generous at helping to keep me going with my most important research and to stay up in the air in order to capture the pearls of beauty that grace our landscape. I thank you all enormously. Please continue to help by buying my lovely crop circle calendar 2021. At the start of the pandemic, I doubted if I would get any new images for this year’s calendar but lo and behold I did, and so many people have written telling me how much they are enjoying it. The cover image is the circle at Stanton St Bernard, which contains illusionary cubes and a hidden six-pointed star, a hexagon. I believe that it is the only crop circle calendar to date showing images from this summer. I also have other lovely goods but the crop circle jigsaw puzzles (apart from the little ones that make excellent stocking fillers) are unavailable until sometime in the New Year as the factory has not been taking any special orders until new machinery is installed. They assure me they will resume soon. The White Horse, and Druids Knot jigsaw (the most challenging of all), are still in stock.
My 2021 Crop Circle Calendar containing photographs of 2020 circles, will make a wonderful Christmas gift, but please also look at the other fantastic gifts in my shop...
I will make a special reduction for my latest exciting book to last from the 24th November - 15th December: I will cost £17.50 for this period.
A pendulum made from the blue stones from Presili mountains in Wales, identical to the famous blue stones found at Stonehenge. They carry a unique energetic quality. Secondly, a lovely faceted crystal pendulum. Both are on chains with circular rings at the end to prevent them flying out of your hands if the energy is too strong (this happened to me once!)
As I mentioned in my last letter, this autumn the trees have displayed an abundance of colours, more wonderful and vibrant then I can ever remember. The leaves are nearly all down now and the bare trees look fantastic, their skeletal form displaying a different beauty in their fundamental and basic outline, standing bravely against all the buffeting wind and rain.
The goldfinches and their friends and relations are back at my feeders taking turns with the various tits. What a joy it is to watch them from my kitchen window. Photographs in my next letter.
I wish you a most blessed, Winter Solstice, Christmas and great hope for 2021.
With my love and best wishes,
Lucy.