NeoNotes — the middle
❝If the winter solstice is the middle of winter and the summer solstice is the middle of summer, the vernal equinox is the middle of spring and the autumnal equinox is the middle of fall.
Look at a wheel of the year.
Usually the coldest part of the day is at dawn and the warmest part is just before sunset. It works that way with the seasons too.
See also www DOT witchessabbats DOT com.
Many of our pagan traditions come from Northern Europe. The midsummer and midwinter rituals are common, and are called exactly that. We sometimes overlook it, but the Longest Day and the Longest Night were pretty big deals. Even now, our calendar traditions hint at what went before. There are reasons why February 2 is associated with spring. There are reasons why April 30 and October 31 were considered the doorways into the other world. Borders are important and magickal.
How many pagans today know about the three harvests? How many know about what was harvested when? How many know why?
Remember, we live in an age and culture where we routinely move holidays to Mondays and Fridays to expand the weekend. Daylight Saving Time can be moved by Presidential decree. We think we've mastered time and the calendar. But the planet is not a clock. The symbol is not the thing. The measure is not the reality.
The World has it's own rhythms and cycles.
from www DOT archaeoastronomy DOT com SLASH seasons DOT html
“Old Celtic calendars observed Cross Quarters, approximately midway between each pair of adjacent Equinox and Solstice days. Unlike modern calendars that define the start of a season on a Solstice or Equinox, the Celts perceived Solstices and Equinoxes as events occuring mid-season, with the seasons actually beginning and ending on the Cross Quarters.”
from www DOT witchessabbats DOT com SLASH site SLASH index DOT php SLASH the-sabbats SLASH lady-day
“Now comes the vernal equinox, and the season of spring reaches its apex, halfway through its journey from Candlemas to Beltane. Once again, night and day stand in perfect balance, with the powers of light on the ascendancy. The God of Light now wins a victory over his twin, the God of Darkness. In The Mabinogion myth reconstruction that I have proposed, this is the day on which the restored Llew takes his vengeance on Goronwy by piercing him with the sunlight spear. For Llew was restored/reborn at the winter solstice and is now well/old enough to vanquish his rival/twin and mate with his lover/ mother. And the Great Mother Goddess, who has returned to her Virgin aspect at Candlemas, welcomes the young Sun God’s embraces and conceives a child. The child will be born nine months from now, at the next winter solstice. And so the cycle closes at last."
Because of the axial tilt I already mentioned, the Arctic and Antarctic circles each only experience one solstice. This also affects the "day" and "night" for both poles.
The rest of the planet does experience both solstices.
The equinoxes happen all over the planet. Obviously there is a reversal of seasons between the Northern and Southern hemispheres.
Just as obviously, the exact time of the equinoxes and solstices vary all over the World, but for most purposes the day and not the exact time is sufficient. Most printed calendars/almanacs will give the time in UTC. Online sources vary, www DOT archaeoastronomy DOT com gives the time and date for nearly all time zones.
Is there something that I missed? I mean, granted, the correspondences will differ, but the cycles are there pretty much on the whole planet.
Okay, that helps clear things up. You weren't denying that the solstices and equinoxes happen, you were insisting that seasons are independent of the solstices and equinoxes.
I have to disagree. I do agree that not every place on Earth has four clearly defined seasons. But the solstices and equinoxes are related to seasonal shifts, because seasonal changes and the solstices/equinoxes all happen because of that axial tilt.
I do think the seasons and the solstices/equinoxes are related because of the axial tilt.
This isn't even the silliest I've seen. Years ago, this is how the monsoon season was defined in Arizona.
“Up until 2008 Arizona's monsoon varied from year to year in starting date and duration. The Arizona monsoon officially began after the third consecutive day of dew points above 55 degrees. On average this occurred around July 7 with the monsoon continuing for the next two months. In 2008 the National Weather Service decided to take the guesswork out of monsoon start and end dates. From now on June 15 will be the first day of the monsoon, and September 30 will be the last day. They did this simply to take the focus off whether or not a storm was considered a monsoon storm or not, and have people be more concerned with safety.”
I cheat. I just tell people that the AZ monsoon season begins at midsummer and ends around the first week of August. Which coincidentally is the midpoint between the summer solstice and the autumnal equinox, and by my definition when fall begins.❞
NeoNotes are the selected comments that I made on other boards, in email, or in response to articles where I could not respond directly.
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