Today at 5:34 p.m. central daylight time marks the summer solstice, the longest day of the year for the northern hemisphere and the winter solstice, or shortest day, for the southern hemisphere. What is significant to me is the fact that the entire planet experiences the solstice at the precise same instant, although you have to translate it to your own time zone. That was new to me. I had assumed the entire day was the solstice. In fact, the solstice is an astronomical event, caused by Earth’s tilt on its axis and its motion in orbit around the sun. At the June solstice, Earth is positioned in its orbit so that our world’s North Pole is at the point closest to the sun.
Most of us consider it the first day of summer, although our summer heat has usually kicked in well before that. Ancient cultures understood well the significance of the passing seasons, and monuments all over the world, from the pyramids of Egypt to the pyramids of Central and South America, were built to track the movement of the sun. Stonehenge in England aligns with the June solstice. In Egypt, if you stand at the Sphinx and look toward the two Great Pyramids, the sun sets exactly in the middle between the two on the June solstice.
The five phases of ancient Chinese philosophy were associated with specific things: directions, colors, sounds, organs in the body, fundamental elements such as water or fire, and real or mythological beasts. The summer season is associated with the direction south, the color red, the sound of laughing, the heart organ, the fire element, and a creature often referred to as red phoenix.
If you wish to celebrate the solstice as a Chinese philosopher would, you might stand facing south, and honor the “southness” of summer. Go swimming in a cool pool or stream to balance your fire element. Laugh. Laughter is good for the heart, the summer organ. And don’t forget to scan the skies for a red phoenix. What better image to apply to a setting summer sun than a fiery red bird? I think the Chinese absolutely nailed it. What could be better for you in the summer than beating the sizzling fire of the red phoenix by leaping into cool water and laughing like a child?
Happy solstice.
Credit: Deborah Byrd, earthsky.com.
