The Last Winter Solstice Lunar Eclipse was in 1638

Galileo Galilei was still alive when this event took place. Remember, he was the fellow who wrote: "I do not feel obliged to believe that the same god who has endowed us with sense, reason and intellect has intended us to forgo their use." He was the first to use the refracting telescope and witnessed the phases of Venus as well as discovering the moons of Jupiter. His astute observations and scientific rigor allowed him to prove the validity of Copernicus' theory that the planets revolve around the Sun. For this he was subjected to the inquisition, convicted of heresy and sentenced to life in prison which was reduced to lifelong house arrest because of his ill health and old age. Nearly four hundred years ago, the powers that felt threatened by his discoveries took it upon themselves to make him recant his support for Heliocentrism, although "primitive" cultures dating back many centuries had known the central place of the Sun in their cosmology. The Earth, when it eclipses the Sun, has the power to darken the Moon, just as our earthly ignorance and quest for power has the ability to block out god's love and our ability to perceive the goddess in her abundance as well. After nearly four hundred years, the powers that be are still trying to get us to forgo the use of our sense, reason and intellect. We must stand in the face of their oppression and take back these god given aspects of our make up.
The miracles that I have witnessed are things like animals hibernating. They appear to be completely dead then come out of their torpor to live again. If a frog, turtle or spider can be reborn, should we claim that they have died for our "sins" and worship them? Three days for a human is pretty good, but many animals hibernate for months! The Solstice is the most likely reason behind the season, we should all agree to disagree with the Jesus Myth. It was predated by several similar myths from far more ancient cultures. I don't want to rehash all of that again, but if you want to know more, watch the Zeitgeist movie, or study your history. Another miracle that I have witnessed is the fact that a single seed can increase itself with such vigor as to produce many thousands of times it's own weight in food while creating many times it's mass of oxygen, transforming the Earth by it's very process of living. We could learn a lot from something as delicate as a dandelion seed, or a pea. The lessons that are attributed to Jesus Christ are alive in the cornucopia, a pagan symbol that predates Jesus, the star, which is shorthand for Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Spirit and dozens of other ancient pagan symbols. The ignorance of our age is to mistake what we must all ultimately take responsibility for, our own ultimate power, for some sort of esoteric and unproven "power" that we give a story, to guide our lives.
I have been told by well-meaning Christians that my attire, behavior, beliefs and lifestyle relegate me to burning in hell for eternity. I have seen these same folks use power and control to oppress their wives and children, unleash their hatred and anger on innocent beings, lust after both neighbors' possessions as well as their wives, destroy nature and disavow intellectual development in favor of what they call "The Word". I'm with Galileio. If subscribing to their way of thinking means that my sense, reason and intellect must be forsaken, I want no part of it. Look no further than ancient folk wisdom or the current television series in which the CEO goes to work at the lowest level in their own company to see that the clothes certainly don't make the man. I have not acted with malice toward anyone, though I do refuse to submit to the power trips of others. I believe in Love, Peace, Liberty, Truth and Justice but understand that without living in a spiritual way, few of these qualities can be understood or defined with clarity. I also believe that many of my X-tian friends and neighbors are tormented more surely on this
Earth, than they ever could be in their imaginary "hell". Fearing corruption is nearly as dangerous as hating it. In either case, the mere granting of it quarter assures it's continued existence. If we fear something profoundly enough, we will "see" it around every corner. Likewise, when we hate, our energies somehow act as a cosmic funnel, bringing the object of our disgust back into focus for us to "get a better look".
A new place in time requires new approaches and a sense of honor for those who came before. Without their insight and awareness, we cannot hope to advance the cause of humanity without the dangers of repeating their errors as well. Yes, there really is a Santa Claus, as we come to realize as we enter adulthood, the personage that we sent our letters to is a fallacy, but the abundant spirit of giving is alive among us. Some of us keep that spirit alive throughout the year, others, only when they bake more cookies than they can possibly eat themselves. So too, the spirit of the Christ Child, the young man seeking the truths of the sages of India during his "lost years", even the heretic who sought to live as the light and love of our Creator and the man who was crucified for his insubordination are imaginary as well, they live within us, not in chapter and verse of a plagiarized document translated through half a dozen languages to meet our ear or mind. It behooves us to make a distinction between the fables that we are told and the truth that lies within them.
During this time of quiet reflection and the rebirth, of the Sun, may we all find ways to more purely abide the Golden Rule, stand for what we believe in, and accommodate the needs of others in our own struggles to find happiness. Once we find the prince of Peace within our selves, may we find ways to share that personage with others. Our closest burning star gives without measure and we need to follow the lead of that heavenly body, supporting life, affirming the abundance that the sun "son" personifies. Let us not get hung up in what our parents may have told us when we were young and impressionable. Growing up requires us to make a distinction between truth and fantasy. At some point we must "let go of childish things" and take full responsibility for our own salvation. Blessed Be this day and for all time, may your spirit soar and your body be healed through right livelihood and mutual respect for all beings.

Solstice Wishes

In these times we are facing unprecedented change in virtually every area of our lives. Perhaps this is why so many folks are "clinging to their guns and religion".
I have been aware of and studying the stock market and economics generally for over thirty years and the amount of upheaval and change there is negligible considering the pressing need for us to significantly change our approach to finance, business and industry. In education, food systems and transportation we are seeing change, just not enough to alter the course of dire projections that have been in the wind for the last thirty years or more.

We have available technologies that could bring transport costs and emissions down significantly while providing a better quality of life for millions. We just can't muster the will to mandate necessary change. Educational systems are failing. Many school systems exhibit falling budgets and test scores but we try to reclaim the high ground by focusing on the "Three 'R's" an the institution of national "standards" or curricula. What is needed is a new approach to our beloved children. We must stop warehousing them as a means to subsidize industry with "free" child care. Let them guide their own education and pursue their interests with the help of trained guides and mentors. Foodies try to transform the American Diet, but as long "eat local" folks are seen as fringe metrosexuals and people with odd looking glasses, footwear or hairstyles, we cannot hope to get the average consumer to know or care where their carrots come from. My favorite, by the way, are from either the back yard, or local farmer's market. The rape of our soils and the packing of our gullet for profit only makes the situation worse. As our very flesh becomes marbled, fat cats keep making decisions that allow them to laugh all the way to the bank.

My solstice Wish is for the sun to enlighten not only the globe, but the hearts of man/womankind. We need to realign ourselves, perhaps by worshiping this flaming ball in our sky. Recognize that all life flows from it and to respect what it has the power to do as well as what it cannot provide. All of our energy and food are produced by the sun. Even the "non-solar" aspects of nuclear energy pale when compared to the exploration and mining of uranium, carried out with fossil fuel derived energy, the processing and enrichment, again performed through massive fossil-fuel energy inputs, the transport and waste handling, also provided through conventional fossil fuel consuming processes. Without solar energy, the fires it can fuel, air and clean water, we are doomed death upon a lifeless rock. We need to thank the sun daily for the essential role it plays in our lives.

I have taken the commuter trains that exist out east. I have seen the effects of the "Main-line" on local communities, where for generations families have been able to exist without the drain of a second car on their budgets. I remember the last passenger train service pulling out of my town, and as the town has died, I have not been able to make it to the other social and commercial centers where we used to go when I was a child. I want these opportunities back, not only for me, but for my children and grand children. As more and more of our lives are spent disengaged from the world, I would like to see more honest interaction. Sharing where our food has come from, what we have learned from and taught our children, and what we learned on our way to work. Just as the Sun allows us to get a glimpse of our environment, I hope that we can see in one another little steps that we can all make to create a more appropriate future, one that honors people and the environment above profit, one that values things on a scale of the heart rather than the pocketbook and find ways to enrich one another's lives as well as our own.