News from the Unscripted Self
There is a voice that doesn’t use words, listen - Rumi
Sun Moon and Stars
We’ve just passed the summer solstice, the longest day of the year when the earth tilts 23 degrees and the sun reaches its furthest point in the northern hemisphere. It’s not the hottest day of the year but it is the day when there is most light, and that’s what I’m interested in, the sun as a metaphor for light. The summer solstice is also midsummer as the days begin to draw in then. But I never could understand the significance of why some people call it the first of summer. If anyone can enlighten me please do!
The word solstice comes from two Latin words, sol meaning the sun, and sistere from a verb ‘to stand still’.
Be still and know that I am God. Psalms 46:10
And the moon?
Well, we had a full moon on the 23rd here called the Super moon. It was so big and close to earth it seemed to be almost touching it! Although the moon doesn’t emit light itself (only a star can do that), paradoxically the light which it reflects allows us to see further than the sun’s own. The moon absorbs the light from the sun and then births it in a whole new way. You could say it’s like the feminine side of the sun. I’ve written many times that there is no such thing as dark, only the absence of light.
Without the dark we would be unable to see the stars. True.
There has long been an association between madness and the full moon. Even the word lunacy comes from lunar. It’s a false association though, it’s just that the energies are higher at that time.
On a full moon the earth lies directly between the sun and the moon. Hence all the sun’s power that’s beamed at the moon is filtered through the earth. So if you feel a bit ‘crazy’ at this time it’s got nothing to do with the moon, it’s the high solar energies you are receiving directly. It is a really good time to do meditation or spiritual work.
Also a lunar eclipse can only happen on a full moon.
Now with a new moon it’s different. Here it is the moon which is between the sun and earth, so we’re not getting the sun’s rays nearly as strongly. Full moons have always had great religious significance. The May full moon is a very important day in the Buddhist calendar. It also plays a significant role in the Christian calendar. For instance, did you know that the date of Easter Sunday is determined by the full moon? It always falls on the first Sunday after the full moon after the spring equinox. That’s why it’s a different date every year.
Some ancient civilisations worshipped both the sun and the moon as gods, mistaking the symbol for the thing itself. Something we still do today in our various current world religions.
Don’t get seduced by symbols. That’s too easy and you end up in superstition. Remember there is nothing outside you so both sun and moon are signifiers for something deep in your soul.
I love the poet Rumi and the piece I quote on the head mast is appropriate here,
“There is a voice that doesn’t use words, listen.”
Get to the silence that contains all sounds, the meaning behind all symbols. The great space of emptiness is where all things are contained:
know that.
Latest offering on the unscripted self
Beyond Metaphysics: Our Nondual Reality
Hope you’re enjoying the new mini series on nonduality, incorporating A Course in Miracles and how Christianity evolved in a seemingly altogether different direction. Continued with . . .
5 Ways Christianity went wrong
Will look at the Gnostics next time and then pull the whole thing together. So far getting good feedback.
Distant Healing
All your prayers and healing for Nelson Mandela one of the great warriors of our time. Thank you.
I’ll leave you with an old Spanish saying:
Salga el sol por Antequera.
‘May the sun meet you in Antequera’.
I hope to be there in September!
See you next time.
Happy reading,
Talk to you soon.
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