Wishing you a spiritual solstice. It’s just about a week to go before solstice day. Hoping everyone here has an uplifting and special time as we move through the cycle and path of the sun with its deeper meaning.
It’s been another quiet 3 months online for us, although we’ve been busy behind the scenes continuing work on our forthcoming books.
We didn’t make releasing the major update to Ancient Solstice this year, which I originally thought we would. That’s because we ended up taking a break from it for a few months to write a completely new and unexpected book! This new book will come out first, followed by the 3rd edition of Ancient Solstice.
Both books are in the later stages of editing. Ancient Solstice is such a huge book and covers so many things that it’s taking a long time, but we are getting there.
I won’t give away much about the new book; all I’ll say is that it’s not that far away.
Thank you to all of you who’ve supported us and the publisher to get through another quarter, and through 2025. We will keep pressing on into the new year to get this important task in restoring the Religion of the Sun completed.
Wishing everyone here much love and spiritual growth in the year ahead, and many blessings from the Spiritual Sun.
Just wanted to share something I learnt for the first time yesterday – but forgive me if it’s appeared around here before, there’s so much wisdom to keep track of! It’s the celebration of Makar Sankranti which is taking place today (14th Jan) in India (and probably in other Hindu communities around the world). It’s a celebration of the Sun God Surya and takes place when the sun, to the Hindu calendar, enters Capricorn and starts its journey north which is what happens at the winter solstice. It seems to me it’s basically the Hindu winter solstice festival which has been kicked back a few weeks because of differences in calculating the zodiac. I know there is much debate between which calculation is better in the astrological community, the Western (tropical, which uses the sun) or Indian (sidereal, which uses the stars) but don’t know too much about it, I reckoned I’d go with the Sun one! I think the differences is due to the processional drift. But it must be why the Durga Puja is off from the autumn equinox and would maybe sync up Halloween and Divali?
Anyway, it looks like a big, beautiful celebration where flying kites has become the tradition! It’s interesting to me that the sign of Capricorn is Makara, a crocodile, in Vedic astrology. It seems fitting that this animal is at the nadir of the zodiac, where he might swallow souls as the Egyptian myths, but strange that it’s also the place from where the sun rises…
Oh and also, this celebration becomes the ginormous Kumbh Mela every 12 years with the Jupiter (Guru in Sanskrit) cycle where huge numbers of pilgrims flock to the Ganges on four of India’s sacred cities.
Again, apologies if I’m writing about this as though it’s new info and it’s in a book somewhere! Sometimes you have to discover something yourself for it to sink in!
Hi Everyone,
I wanted to share something that took me by surprise recently.
Someone I know visited China recently (area of Shanghai, Nanjing and surrounds) and told me that the people in those areas use the Winter Solstice day to mark the start of winter!
Are others aware of this? Emily, is this how it is for you also?
Hi everyone!
Great news about the books, Lara ✨
Wishing all a wonderfully spiritual 2026!
Things seem to be moving faster and faster all around the world – wish we can all enjoy this epoch to advance deeper on our Inner Path.
I wish everyone here had a meaningful equinox time connecting with the Sun, and also wishing everyone here a wonderful new year full of strength to push further into our spiritual development.
Reading one of Erik’s most recent comments on this post, I wanted to tell you guys something I’ve been feeling/thinking these past 2 months or so.
I recently made a solo trip, and leading up to this trip, it was my whole intention not to follow any plan of mine but to just get to the place and embrace whatever happened. I had a very rough sketch of the places I wanted to visit, but I just felt inside that I didn’t want to do any of that and that something else would happen to my greater benefit because of it. There was a certainty in my mind that it would, and it definitely did. Although I don’t feel that excited or fascinated as I did at that moment, I don’t know if I’m too numb or if I’m getting old or something jajaja
Anyway, there was a particular moment in the middle of the trip that really left me in awe after I reflected on what had happened. I did a traditional Zapotec Temazcal ceremony in the middle of a forest in a mountain town I was not planning to go to, and at the most intense part of it were it felt to me like you were breathing fire because it was so hot inside, the concentration was really spot on and, although the place was totally dark, I could see a white-is aaura around the 6 other people that were around me that kind of extended upwards and I was able to see inside the temazcal as if there was ligth. In that moment, our guide told me quietly to breathe in and blow hard in the direction of my feet, and that helped with the breathing. The whole ceremony was very interesting, but I don’t want to extend it too much.
The day afterwards, I was reflecting on how intense that thing had been and laughing with myself about it, and then it struck me that I had dreamed of that very specific scene before; of somebody telling me exactly what he said (to breathe in and blow to my feet), looking at my feet in that dark place with the same lighting and everything, his tone of voice and vibe was the same and everything. The interaction with the guy was very interesting in itself; he seemed to me like he knew something, even as if he already knew me. He called my name as if we were already friends. I felt a certain emphasis when he talked to me; plus, he was very giggly and nice.
This was, of course, very amusing to me because I was in the middle of a trip that I had not planned, and yet everything went just so smoothly for the most part. It made me wonder a lot of things, like how many little things and micro decisions and accidents had to line up for this specific scene to unfold. It was fantastic to open my heart to follow the unknown and end up with some really rewarding and hopeful experiences.
In the same way that I felt that I should go on this trip with this openness, I’ve been feeling like we should get along to celebrate the 2027 spring equinox. I live right next to the US. I don’t know how many of you live in the States or how many of you would be interested, but I would consider even 2 of us a massive success. I was thinking somewhere in the middle of the county would be nice. I don’t know if somebody has a good idea of a way we could organize this, like through email or something.
It would be really cool.
Blessings to everyone, much love as always. You guys are the best.
Hi Marco,
Thank you for sharing, I can relate to how powerful a traditional temazcal ceremony could be, and also do not want to discuss its details in public. I remember how that experience came in such a perfect time for me.
This is an interesting approach in travelling, to go without a schedule to follow, based on the call of the heart, but perhaps the most ideal is combination, at least from my experience to take the most out of my time spiritually. Heart and mind – in harmony – not opposition, I like to make a good intelligent plan, but then break it if my intuition points me to something else.
I will definitely have something in Montreal for the equinox, but I am so busy that it is really hard for me to make any plans in advance, usually closer to solar events, things do happen and then I know what could be the best course of actions, in my circumstances of life.
Maybe going to a sacred site that has an alignment and doing a spiritual activity there, doing a spiritual music event, or a spiritual class that would be based on experiencing the mystery of equinox, a talk that would bring to light something dark happening and be some form of “revival”, go to some other group that preserved an old tradition or just has some new bright ideas and learn from their way of celebration, etc, etc., there could be so many ways! :)
I pray for guidance.
Hi Marco,
A nice idea to break out of routine, to challenge yourself, by taking a somewhat “unplanned” trip, and to observe synchronicity play out…did you perhaps get a glimpse into the future, which can happen in the astral?
That was my thought Dimi as well… as we know, the events first happen in the higher dimensions, before they kind of “cascade down” to the physical, so Marco may have seen a fragment of an experience that later happened in physical.
I was also thinking if a dream I had recently of chanting mantra AUM was also not of this category (even thoygh not as exact as in Marco’s case) – as I may have already been pondering on it at some levels in the other dimensions, before it clearly materialised in physical.
Hello, Dimi and Lucia!
I certainly felt like that when I realised it.
I recently came across an experiment called the delayed-choice quantum eraser. It’s one of those things that I have more of an intuition about what it means rather than a full-fledged explanation. I got this sense that maybe all events are already in potential in the realms of pure light (Which I have come to equate with photons in the physical world), and it’s as if the Supreme Spirit is waiting for us to take certain decisions to align a certain outcome. Roughly explained, the experiment shows that photons will adjust their past states to match the way measurements are made, which is interpreted to mean that photons kind of change the past to adjust to the decision that was made in the present. jaja
This is very interesting to me. I already shared a conversation I had with GPT about how photoms seem to operate outside of the laws of time in an infinite present moment. Again, this is all still kind of floating in the air for me, but more and more things click over time.
Seems that in 2024, researchers in Birmingham created the first image of a photon.
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Z6DRNRRuDiDDsVhjXDPxgb-650-80.jpg.webp
And here’s the circumpuct, probably my favorite symbol of the Sun.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ae/Circumpunct.svg/1024px-Circumpunct.svg.png
Very interesting Marco! The proton looks a lot like the sun, doesn’t it? ☀️
Hi Marco, I also find this a very intriguing topic. Many times dreams give guidance about what is a good/wished for plan for us in the future, or we are given a warning that if some change in actions is not made the course will lead to that failed direction. This responsibility, such foreknowledge, can obviously put quite a bit of pressure on us! And that pressure in itself can make us fail or become anxious or lose the clarity of the meaning of the guidance. So I found it best, no matter how serious the warning and consequences, to try to stay calm, but 100% act. Pray and act to the best of our knowledge. And then when we keep at it things can turn around. Anyway a lot can be said about this topic but it’s certainly very interesting that there seems to be this plan but that it is dependent on our actions here as well. But life is life and even with guidance and our best efforts nothing is guaranteed. The guidance I always appreciate though, a chance to turn things around.
Hi Marco,
How revealing, and what a parallel, right?
Ancient symbolism being revealed by modern science as being accurate but termed ‘new discoveries’.
Makes me/anyone wonder who was more advanced? Even in a technological sense. How could people of old (who supposedly were more primitive) know what a photon would look like unless they were shown this in another dimension.
For me, such instances highlight how much we may have truly forgotten with time and confirm the spiritual neglect we experience due to our modern way of life. A difficult journey back to Source for anyone who has taken up this mantle in this day and age.
Hi Marco, thanks for sharing this special experience you had. It sounds very inspiring and gives a lot of food for thought in relation to how a seemingly spur-of-the-moment event led to that sense of déjà vu through a dream premonition.
As you reflected, it makes us wonder how many tiny events would have to fall into place for such a premonition to play out. It certainly sounds like an eye-opening encounter for you!
Hey, Michael!
So nice to see you back in action here on the blog. I have to follow your lead.
It was quite something, it did feel like an eye-opening event, but my eyes opened to a huge question mark in front jeje 😅
I wish you all the best with your health, and I will continue my prayers for your healing.
Thanks for your message Marco, and for your well wishes and prayers. That’s very kind of you.
I’m still very limited in my level of function, but glad I can at least participate online with the help of assistive technology, as I find the interactions rewarding.
I also wish you a fruitful and healthy year ahead.
Happy New Year everyone! I wish that we all continue to move forward on our spiritual journeys this year.
Happy New Year also to you Lara!
Thank you also for the second wish! I think ,it’s the most important wish!!
Thanks Lara and Mark and the team for your efforts to spread light during these trying times. My Solstice was filled with solitude and graditude, a timely reminder to place the spiritual work above all other distractions that can take me away.
Looking forward to your new book and how this can help humanity, for those seeking the truth.
Thank you Lara and Mark, and the book and website teams, and everyone on here that supports and posts. So many helpful comments and experienced shared – truly thankful 🙏
Wonderful to hear about a new book! That alone is a very nice Christmas present. :D
Thank you, Lara and Mark, for all the relentless efforts, and thanks to everyone here for your insights and heartfelt messages. They’ve very uplifting to read, and I feel they connect us all no matter the physical distance.
We visited Goseck this year and a few other sites nearby. When we arrived for the sunrise, it felt super welcoming! I shouldn’t be too surprised, but sometimes that’s not the case or there are some odd/out of place things happening at a site. Everyone was quiet and overall I got the impression that they were keen to observe the special moment. At sunrise, a mother and daughter sang a beautiful verse from a Georgian song. To me, their voices and the melody were perfect for the occasion, and I felt so grateful to them. Quite an unexpected but pleasant addition!! When I spoke to them later, they said it conveyed welcoming the sun as the light in our lives. They come there every year and do a mini ceremony. There are some sun traditions by the Svan people of the Svaneti region in the mountains, so I wonder if that was connected with them but don’t know.
We also briefly visited Pommelte, and while that one had a different feel to it, it was really very large and gave us some inspiration to build a site like it in the future. When walking around it for a while, seemed it could hold several hundred people, maybe up to a thousand. I imagined many sun dances and ceremonies, how alive it must have felt for all present 😊
I’m sharing a few photos we captured during the trip. There’s a Pommelte one of a sunrise entrance (and one with a skip! ;) ) but it’s not of the winter solstice. Still thought it was nicely expressed. The other side has the sunset symbol shown. Also, a prayer/poem at the end.
https://mega.nz/folder/UY5XFTDJ#nTJ915rRieUiKACKM7E2MQ
A very happy solstice and new year to all ☀️
Meant to be **growing light, not “growling” in that prayer. Lol! You all know what I mean… 😆
Thank you for the pictures Zorana, looks like you guys had an inspiring time there… Beautiful outfits BTW, are they Native American inspired? Very nice poem too, I liked the “how all friends do from a far” line. ❤️ May the Sun Spirit be with you always! 🌞
Thanks, Lucia. What I’m wearing is actually Slavic. Happily came across it while in Serbia a few years back. I’ve been trying to gather some good clothing for the winter solstice over the years that will keep me reasonably warm, and I finally feel like this year wasn’t too bad! I wasn’t distracted by how cold it was, which was the goal, but also it was a somewhat mild winter solstice compared to usual in our area. Dresses are the trickiest, but I felt fine this year with some very thick leggings 😊 I got the one I’m wearing from Etsy long ago, and it has held up really well. What probably gave you the NA vibes is our hats — they’re a gift from someone that visited Machu Picchu, so good eye 😉
Looks lovely Zorana! I love the little shrine you made. It looks very similar to Avebury, or at least the bank and ditch and maybe scale of the circle. I wonder how the two compare – eyeballing it they look like they’re on the same latitude. We went to Avebury for sunrise this solstice and there were a few hundred people there at least! It was mostly informal observations, families and friends were lined up along the eastern bank, watching the grey horizon. Some people had candles and incense. There were kids, hippy-types, ‘normal’ looking country-folk, druids. We could hear some call and repeat chanting from a ceremony somewhere in the circle, but we didn’t join, we mostly sat by this bunch of amazing birch trees that have these sprawling roots all over the bank and are very magical. It was a lovely atmosphere, much quieter and calmer than Stonehenge at these times. We overheard someone saying that there were loads more people than when she last came for the winter solstice about 20 years ago, which has got to be a good thing! We had a rare bright-sunshine day here in Wales on Christmas day and the days around, so have managed to catch some beautiful sunrises and sunsets. It feels very much the right time for hibernation and reflection, everything is so peaceful and nascent right now. Hope everyone is enjoying this precious time at the turn of the year!
Avebury is quite a lot bigger, about 336 metre diameter compared to Goseck 75 metre diameter. The ditches and mounds do look quite similar though for sure. I think I know the birch trees at Avebury you mentioned, that would have been a lovely place to celebrate the solstice! It’s great there were so many people there and the number of people is growing over time :)
Hi, Ella! Actually that was already there, I believe left by the visitors from solstice evening the night before.
Nice to hear about the increase in interest over the years. Roy and I were also at Goseck about 5 or 6 years ago, and there were for sure more people there this time.
Lovely to hear about your time at Avebury and wishing you an uplifting start to the new year 🙂
I also agree very much about the time for reflection. I’ve been contemplating how to approach this new year and how to bring about change, especially in regard to things that I’ve found really challenging to move the needle on in the past. After setting up various methods of self-accountability (that are sure to last this time😉), it’s helped me to seek out and understand the things that have been a trap in the past or ways I’ve let myself down and how that’s come about. I’ve noticed I can be someone that lives in the future too much and that can in a way lead to attachment to my future “ideal/better” self, making it harder to just face reality and myself as I am, since I’m instead comparing or being frustrated or too hard on myself. Sadly, I think it also can stunt the development of our true selves and discovering where our affinity lies, if there’s a mentally conjured image we hold on to.
Anyway, I feel I’ve landed on the simple approach where I break down some of my goals to very manageable pieces, so much so that I would find it unreasonable not to follow through. And I think that’s generally what we do in life anyway. We do what we can; there’s only so much you can fit in in 24 hours. But sometimes with a task that feels daunting, just finding the starting place can be an undertaking! While I’ve done this in different ways in the past, the combination in this attempt feels like an upgrade somehow.
2025 was personally very turbulent. It’s a hopeful start to 2026, and a big part of that comes out of slowing down a lot over the last month and anchoring to the things that feel so necessary. Absorbing as much of the energies of this solstice as we could and having a joyful Christmas has also been a good reminder of what can come out of a greater connection and reliance on the Divine. I’ll share a quote from The Gospel of the Kailedy below where Jesus expresses this in a simple yet powerful way, I thought:
“Is there any man among you who, if his son ask for bread, will give him a stone, or a snake if he ask for a fish? If then you, with all your mortal faults and ignorance, know how to give the right things to your children, how much more able is God to give what is right for His. The things you surely do not need are comfort and content, while assurance and security open the gates to spiritual apathy. Enter by the narrow unpretentious gate, for the road leading to the dark abyss has a wide road and attractive entrance, while the gate leading to immortality is austere and the road fraught with difficulties.”
☀️☀️☀️
I like your new approach and newfound strength, Zorana.
I can also relate to living in the future and over the years have noticed how difficult living is being in that kind of state. The energy of those states seem so devastating that can render me depressed for a long time. So I started training myself to be in a moment and to develop this as a default way of being.
I have found that if we persevere with self observation and the elimination during those difficult times eventually we arrive to a clearing from where we can see the road ahead and perhaps some blooming flowers. Like getting rewarded for the hard work we’ve done.
I can attest to that quote you shared. When things are going well and nothing is missing i feel kind of stuck, as if I cannot move forward but soon as I face challenges and going through it consciously I feel movement and stronger silence.
I wish you and everyone here much insights and strength to keep pushing forward!
You are right. It can be a bit devastating to live that way. We are sometimes diligent architects of our problems, aren’t we? Thanks for your wishes, Tina. I hope you get everything you need in the year ahead 🌞
Thanks for sharing that gospel quote, Zorana. I can definitely relate to it and hope the upcoming year will also be more harmonious for you.
Thanks also for sharing those photos and poem inspired by Goseck Circle. It looks like a special place.
Thanks Zorana!
Yes, I’m totally with you about sizing down those massive goals! I’ve been asking myself recently, something like – what would I feel happy with? It’s allowed me to carve out a routine for my practices which is managable and sustainable and something I actually feel good that I’m doing. Sometimes I don’t hit it and I know I have to get back to it, sometimes I feel like I have the strength and need to extend myself. But having a base line that I feel I can maintain and am ‘happy’ with has helped no end. Otherwise, I’m never content because I have nothing to measure my efforts against, the goal is too nebulous and it all just feeds useless self-chastisement and my efforts become sporadic.
Good luck with the goals – there’s always the Chinese new year too for a second attempt, and then there’s the spring equinox which is kind of like the new year really too, so between those three there’s a good chance at getting something going ;-)
That’s great you’re having that practising set up, Ella. It does help as you said, and the more we do it the more our desire for spiritual grows. The journey seems boundless and, I feel the content is just not a part of it.
Sometimes i would really like to sit down and do a long, deep practice as I used to do but right now I cannot fall back on it as i have some physical symptoms that prevent me from doing it.
I can only fall back on my efforts during the day it seems and I kind of like it as it pushes me further. Sometimes a day is filled with thoughts but I’ve learnt to accept it and just keep praying somewhere underneath and then the next day appears more clear and calm.
Having that underlying desire alive at all times and a strong connection to it is what moves things forward for me.
Wishing you much understanding to keep going and to keep connecting deeper to your own essence, to love that awaits to engulf you.
Hi Zorana, Tina and Ella, that’s good you’ve increased the focus on practicing, whether a dedicated exercise, or awareness during the day.
Circumstances have forced me to rest more, but as a result, I’ve incorporated more practices during the day, which is a silver lining.
Otherwise, it’s often the case that tasks and chores can take priority, until the day is drawing to a close. Having some kind of routine helps to counter that.
Sounds magical Zorana and Roy, glad to have caught a glimpse of your solstice morning, up here it was -10 to -15 Celsius, and very often in the Winter we hardly get any sunrise/set at all. When it does come, it really does feel like an infant light, so fragile, but so awe-inspiring to appreciate and feel lifted up by, like when you see an unknown babe smiling at you when you are out and about, precious, fleeting, and uplifting :)
Thanks Lara. And Happy Solstice!
I hope everyone had a peaceful and meaningful Solstice. Watching the sun break through the trees with its rays is one of my favourite moments.
Thank you also Lara and the team for all your amazing work! I’m looking forward to the new book releases this coming year! There is so much detail, knowledge and invaluable insight in these books! I have been applying some of the practices from the OBE book and had a couple of small successes. I think it’s about persistence though and coming with the right intent internally.
Thank you Lara for the wishes and for your update. I look forward to the new book, and also an update to Ancient Solstice. I hope you had an inspiring solstice, and I wish everyone a wonderful Christmas period.
We were reading the section on Christmas from your current version of the Ancient Solstice, and as it often does, the section on Dinas Mountain stood out (p. 154). Calling a location with the name Dinas is very common in Wales (it seems to mean ‘city’ or ‘fortress’), so it was never clear where the site was. This time I dug into it a bit, and it seems like you are talking about a cave called St Brynachs Cave / The Druids Cave in the upper part of the Coed Tŷ Canol woodland in the vicinity of Pentre Ifan in Pembrokeshire in Wales. Dinas mountain is nearby, as is a small settlement called Dinas.
The region is very dense with solar focused ancient sites. Preseli Mountains of Wales are not far either, where Bedd Arthur is found (some people say Bedd Arthur is a model for Stonehenge’s inner circle and is where the Stonehenge Bluestones were taken from).
Here is the best reference I found on the subject: https://www.facebook.com/groups/fairywitchcottagecorevibes/posts/1329362315454183/
And here is the probable location of the cave: https://mapcarta.com/N12572475752
Thanks for sharing those details on the area around Dinas Mountain Alex. It sounds like a very interesting region to explore.
Merry Christmas to everyone in the Northern hemisphere! ⭐ 🎄 ⭐
Over the last couple of days, a melody (and even English words, ha!) for a carol kept popping up in my mind, so I decided to write it down and record… Its a bit “heretical” carol, as it mentions also other “Sons of Light”, not just Jesus.
I kind of wanted to celebrate the birth of Christ/Sun within a person, which, as we know from Mark’s work, comes only after a lot of suffering and struggles, but enables us to have a little piece of heaven within… And then I also wanted to mention some of those who have managed to have this solar force within them (not sure if Krishna is a real Being, but he is certainly used as an equivalend of Christ).
Here is the recording (the strings of my lyre are getting old it seems, so they sound a bit out of tune even if I tune them, but hope its listenable. 😯):
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lIdAaqcO2bnX8rfSI5SUq1Zt2iynLnda/view?usp=drive_link
And here are the words (could be improved too!):
SONS OF LIGHT 🌞
Light of Christ, shining bright,
child of struggles, tears and fight.
On this night, full of might,
its the birth of king of Light.
‘Tis our perfect mediator between earth and sky,
here is our intercessor on the Path of Light!
Light of Lights, grants the rights,
to enter heaven for the knights.
King of kings, always brings,
peace and beauty, angel’s wings.
Krishna, Odin, Christ, Osiris – all the Sons of Light,
glowing brightly in the darkness, like the stars at night!
What a beautiful tune and lyrics Lucia, inspired by your inner longing. Thank you very much for sharing.
Amazing………
What a special and heartwarming (and uplifting!) gift to receive for Christmas!
Wishing you Lucia, and everyone a Merry Christmas, and I await many more beautiful tunes yet to unfold, from yourself, and others! ❤️
Hi Lucia, Thank you so much for sharing your recording of this beautiful Christmas carol! 🙂 I found it so joyful and uplifting and really appreciated the
gentleness of the music and the depth of the lyrics.
I couldn’t quite make out all the lyrics
on the recording, but reading through them, I can see you summed up very well the struggles of these spiritual figures, leading to precious rewards. I actually think you did very well with the English lyrics and they’re much better than a lot of other lyrics I encounter nowadays!
I haven’t exactly had the most inspiring Christmas time, so appreciated hearing this and some other lovely carols I’ve been listening to. I thought I’d share two different versions of Christina Rossetti’s poem In the Bleak Midwinter, one of which I shared in another thread last year. I find the music and lyrics also very
inspiring: https://youtu.be/cBCYZ9jIJkI?si=d34rN9WTVZ4ZOgG2
https://youtu.be/Cd9b1-CFUeM?si=S7LJdigqAxXDkG0C
I thought I’d also share Paul Mealor and Sinead O’Connor’s gentle versions of Silent Night:https://youtu.be/0wwMTeviS9g?si=e9ns2nrYHV7i2_DD
https://youtu.be/1uHNygqhBCs?si=TzK_9ppqThYhZtR6
And this lovely rendition of O Come, O Come, Emmanuel:
https://youtu.be/9Drf-kDoHaA?si=1-aOq8nx4jfHXDD7
The gentleness of your singing voice reminds me of the John Lennon and Yoko Ono song Remember Love, which also reminds me of another Christina Rossetti poem, Love Came Down at Christmas, which I shared in another thread last year too: https://youtu.be/PxKnzlocj0M?si=YkHIdP6xfS0oA_7I
I hope you had a peaceful Christmas time and look forward to hearing more of your musical compositions! 🙂🌟
Hey Michael,
Thank you for your kind feedback, and glad to have contributed to making your Christmas time more joyful. Thanks for sharing those different carols too, I absolutely love carols, especially the serious ones, the devotion in them, gentle sounds, bells, etc… Its a very unique genre I think, and wonder when the first carol ever appeared… After quickly asking the AI, I learned that “There isn’t one single “first” Christmas carol, but early Christian hymns from the 4th century, like Prudentius’s Corde natus ex Parentis (“Of the Father’s heart begotten”), are considered among the oldest, with roots in pagan winter solstice songs and pagan circle dances (caroles). While early hymns were solemn, the joyful, popular caroling tradition developed later, with the oldest English carol appearing in a 1426 manuscript by John Awdlay, featuring songs like “Adam lay ybounden”. ”
So, it was nice to learn that carols are based on Pagan winter solstice songs! 🌞
I really liked that short carol you shared (O Come, O Come, Emmanuel), where a girl is singing impromptu in a church, enjoying the majestic echo there… That would be an amazing thing to try!
And at the end, I thought I would add my (3) cents to the carol-sharing fever 😉
– This one is sung by Emmet Franz, who is a part of a family bluegrass group called The Petersens. I found this group a few years ago, NEVER being a fan of bluegrass or not even the country style of music, but this group completely captivated me, as I feel their music transcends this genre, their professionalism, clear sound and a certain pure aura makes all their songs feel like Christmas songs somehow… 😀
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMpBt3fYfn8 (its recommended to skip the awkward outro 😯)
– A cute carol tune played on Kalimba
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghvseBAugV4
– Jingle Bells played on an originally African instrument called Array mbira, by an asian girl who has self-taught herself to play it, and a maker of these instruments. I really like the sound of their duet, as well as a really cosy, Christmas-y atmosphere of the whole video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DM-JJoQcEPI
Hi Lucia, thanks for sharing those carols. I liked each of them and do actually enjoy a bit of early bluegrass and country music too. I have an mbira (thumb piano) at home, but it’s not like the more complex instrument you shared in the video.
I thought you may like this
Howard Goodall documentary, covering the pagan and folk origins of Christmas carols, which I found very interesting:
The Truth About Christmas Carols: https://youtu.be/7ttsZaLlo5k?si=2b-DChovNFr5ObcJ
I’ll also share later on some other Howard Goodall documentaries, which you may find helpful in music composition. Although I’ve studied music theory for several decades, I still got a lot from them.
I also previously shared a playlist around the spring equinox one year, which started off with Howard Goodall’s By the Waters of Babylon: https://youtu.be/TonaG3dW6T0?si=a9ggjidHqqr8QC44.
He’s a really talented composer and I found his Enchanted Carols and Enchanted Voices compositions particularly beautiful, especially For the Stateless. I can’t find that on YouTube anymore, but here’s The Angel and the Virgin from Enchanted Carols: https://youtu.be/I9swnEk7QOY?si=Il2Z7JFiFsqOknPF
I hope you enjoy the music too! 🙂
Thanks for sharing this beautiful Christmas carol Lucia. I thought it was lovely
Listening to that put such a smile on my face Lucia. Very cute. I liked all parts of it, such as the bells, the shakers sound, lyre, multivoice. You definitely succeeded in nailing the carol style. Thanks for creating that. I could quite easily imagine a little dance choreo to the song, maybe next time :- )
Thanks everyone for your kind words, much appreciated! ❤️
@Olga, regarding other unfolding tunes, our recent discussions about AUM and a related dream I had inspired me to make a “contemplative piece” on this mantra. Hope I can communicate with my basic music skills someting of the grandeur of this sound… 🕉️
Oh Lucia, that was beautiful! Thank you for a new carol to sing at Christmas <3
Simply lovely Lucia, thank you.
Hi Lucia,
I agree with everyone’s sentiments here – a lovely tune and lyrics, a new carol to be sung and to celebrate such an important spiritual day!
If your lyre strings play out of tune even when you tune it, does that mean it is well used? (and loved – hee hee)
That was really beautiful, Lucia. I liked everything about it, your voice especially and all the lovely sounds!
Thanks all of you for your well wishes, support, appreciation, and encouragement. It’s so lovely to get your comments here. I hope you’re having a meaningful solstice time.
Thanks, Lara!
I’ve noticed how something quite significant always happens around these times. This time it happened so suddenly but also so quiet at the same time and it took some reflection to integrate this new understanding.
It seems the knowledge and wisdom have their own path when integrating within the self and the soul. And sometimes as if it was always there but it needed a clear pathway to reach to the all levels of being.
I hope everyone had a meaningful and inspiring Solstice time.
December Solstice is always a challenging time for so many. I hope that everyone here finds a moment in time to pause and breathe. Reconnecting to the Divine source and let go.
Much gratitude as always to Lara, Mark & team for your work and endurance I look forward to being able to recieve another of the precious gifts you uncover & give to the world. 🙂
Thanks Lara, I hope you and Mark and everyone here had a very meaningful solstice!
I visited Goseck circle in Germany for the sunrise with a couple of friends. There wasn’t much sun because of cloud cover and so we didn’t get to exactly see the winter solstice alignment but it was still quite special (we’re going to try again this morning and hope for less cloud!). There were about 25 – 30 people there for the sunrise and the event felt very still and it felt like there was something in the air. Most people were in small groups, waiting for the sun, but there were a couple of women from the Caucaucus who started walking in a spiral at one point and singing a traditional Georgian song welcoming the sun which was quite beautiful.
Really looking forward to the new book, that’s exciting :)
Erik, it must have been a very special winter solstice sunrise at the Goseck Circle. I suspect it would often have been overcast on the winter solstice, even for the original builders of the circle. I think it is great that you made the effort and could go there for the winter solstice. I used to live only about 200 km from the Goseck Circle and have never been there. Sometimes we can have treasures right in front of our noses and not realise it.
It was a special experience. There is something very magical about being in sun aligned circular structures, and Goseck Circle was originally built around 4700 – 4900 BC. It’s amazing to think about how much history is there. It feels a lot like a temple.
I think you’re probably right about overcast solstices. It must have been challenging to celebrate the winter solstice sometimes too as it was quite cold on the solstice, but this was just a mild winter with no snow or wind chill on the day!
I know what you mean about treasures right under our nose. There is an aligned site about one hour drive from where my family live, and I haven’t managed to get to visit that one! I think a lot of the time the sites are not well-known either, and it can take some digging to find the lesser known ones.
If anyone would like to see, here is a folder with some photos from Goseck Circle on the solstice, and a video walkthrough of the circle the day after the solstice (a bit bumpy sorry, as it was handheld on my phone). There is also a short video of the women singing the Georgian song welcoming the sun (you’ll need to put your volume up).
Thank you for sharing all those images Erik, I especially enjoyed the walkthrough, now I feel almost like I have been there! ;-) The little solar circle from the stones at around 7:50 was very cute too. It also made me wonder what it would take to maybe fill all that trench with water, and if it would be possible to see the reflections of the stars in it?
You’re welcome! I’m not sure re: filling the henge ditch with water, from memory I haven’t heard / seen anyone talking about henges being filled with water for reflecting the stars like that. There are some sites though that seem like they were surrounded by water to either reflect the site or to make the sites seem like islands (Glastonbury Tor and Silbury Hill).
Thanks for sharing the photos and walkthrough Erik. Nice to see that you still had the beautiful glow of the Sun instead of total grey
That walk around video shows the site well Erik, it seems fairly empty of things (monoliths or mounds etc.) but I imagine if those big opens plains had misty mornings, walking through them to the site you might not be quite sure what would be beyond them, also a bit ‘portal’-like. Or with a clear sunrise from inside the circle, with other distractions really minimised, the focus would be so exclusively on the the sun. Nice to get a glimpse from you guys. Thanks as well to Zorana for that Christmas poem.
For the winter solstice sunrise time I went to a sort of sacred site, a mine quarry turned into modern sacred site/art instalation. It’s situated on top of a hill and has portals photo, and a central walkway (pointing south?). Interesting idea to convert a place like that to a sacred space, a good use in my opinion. What I forgot from a previous time though was that it had two mounds on top which — although not aligned to the WS sunrise — was suitable symbolically. photo 2, photo 3.
It cleared up and I explored a local park with curious eyes, the days had a peaceful vibe to them.A little clip.
Wow Erik…! What a special reverent feeling I got by watching this video. It felt as though I was there!
And, Goseck circle is bigger than I had imagined it..!
Thank you for that paced walk around each of the sections – the outer, middle and inner (at the start). It helped me to appreciate the workmanship, the intricate design and attention to exactness of each opening.
The candle set up in the centre of the inner circle was simple yet lovely.
Did those pebbles on the ground of the outer area mimic the actual expanse or design of Goseck circle itself, or was that my imagination?
@Akira, it’s pretty flat all around it now yes, it’s a mix of farmland and rural-ish residential. It’s possible there may have been mounds etc. when it was originally built that were flattened for farmland, but I don’t remember seeing anything about that in the museum. It was discovered through aerial archaeology when someone saw circular marks on the wheatfields during a drought from a plane. Once it was looked into and they realised the significance, then it was reconstructed in 2005.
@Dimi, it is quite big yes, the outside diameter is 75 metres. The candles in the center were from a celebration the night before, unfortunately we didn’t know that was happening and missed it! Underneath them is a plaque showing the alignments in the circle. You can see it here (although it’s in German and a bit hard to make out). I think the pebbles on the ground had been put there to form a solar cross. The openings in Goseck Circle are a bit different, they don’t form a cross as they point to the winter solstice sunrise and sunset predominantly. There are some really good aerial photos of it that give a better idea of the layout than you can see from the ground if you’re interested.
Thanks Erik for that information.
From the image you provided, I was able to make out the word winter solstice.
Looking at other images, it seems the wider opening is for the summer solstice, the narrower one (in almost opposite direction) is for winter solstice and the third one (creating a triangle effect) might be for equinoxes. Simple, yet effective!
Thanks again for that walk through 😊
Hey Dimi, not quite, but it’s kind of hard to tell from photos alone😊
I don’t believe there is any alignment with the biggest entrance or any obvious equinox alignments. The biggest entrance is a walkway / entrance into the site. The other two obvious entrances where there is a break in both the circle and ditch are for the winter solstice sunrise and winter solstice sunset. And then the summer solstice is marked through parts of the circle that do not have a full opening; it’s more like having a section of the circle where the posts are not as densely positioned so you can see through the posts, whereas for the rest of the circle the posts are so close together that you can’t see through them.
Thanks Erik for your explanation.
To have such a wide entry would imply that there were many who attended the solstices and equinoxes back in the day 😊
You make a very good point about photos only giving an impression or capturing a snippet of the grandness of a large space like that – which is why I appreciated the walk through so much more!
I can only imagine what it would be like to walk through Stonehenge, or the Giza Plateau, or Ankor Wat, or any other ancient sacred space aligned with the Sun.
Thank you Erik for the pictures of Goseck circle. The Gregorian chants were lovely to have as a backdrop.
I was fortunate enough to visit Goseck Circle for the summer solstice in 2024. I had hoped to visit Externsteine for the solstice sunrise but discovered that the tower is locked until 10am. Fortunately a friend suggested Goseck Circle. It was an amazing experience!
The sun managed to break through some cloud cover and had an alignment through the smaller opening, though partly obscured as you mentioned above. It was very special. There was a strength and a stillness being in that space at that time. Even the people around us became silent. Here is the link for the sunrise https://mega.nz/folder/6ehCwYIA#WIfTsq3L5SAaTgGqtIsQ_w.
Some great photos there Michelle. I particularly like 1828 and 1829. I know what you mean about the strength and stillness inside the circle. It’s a special site!
Thanks Erik for sharing those photos and videos of Goseck Circle. It still looks like a special place, despite the minimal sun exposure on the solstice morning. I particularly liked the photo of the entrance pillars to the circle framing the sun in the distance, which created an inviting atmosphere. The women singing was also nice to see and hear.
I had a similar experience to the ones you and Slawek mentioned years ago, when I lived for some time right next to a beautiful nature reserve, but had no idea it was there until shortly before
I left the place.
It also reminds me of Julian Cope’s comment at the start of the Modern Antiquarian documentary I shared a while back, where he said there’s so much going on in the UK in terms of ancient sites, but we tend to overlook what’s on our doorstep. I’d love to be able to visit some of those sites again sometime in the future.
Thank you Eric for sharing this experience to Coseck circle in Germany.
It is nice to be in a ancient place it has been built for the winter solstice! It should be also amazing this experience with two women singing a traditional Georgian song welcoming the sun!
Dear Mark & Lara
Happy solstice! And yet another cycle around the sun. It really feels that time is going faster, but I hope that with each passing cycle, we all around the world keep on growing, keep on learning and keep on plowing forward as we dig through our internal mud and uncover lost forgotten treasures.
A new upcoming book, this is such wonderful news! Than you for all that you do, and work so hard to present to the world renewed.
Best wishes for the year ahead and the next quarter!
Thank you for your kind words and wishes Lara, and it’s great to hear and see updates on this website. It sounds like you and your team is preparing the way for a solid background linguistic base to take place.
Practicing the religion of the sun with the so far material is great for me but also can’t wait for new inputs.
I hope everyone having meaningful time around solstice and it may help with endurance for the time ahead
I’m looking forward to the new book, thank you for your tireless research. What you’ve discovered and presented have already become an essential part of my life, and there’s so much room to grow and discover.
The last quarter has been a very rich one, I’ve been learning a lot about why I do certain things that seem to sabotage my life in various ways. I’m excited to see who I become as I change those things!
3 years ago, I had a dream that the sun was passing in front of a black hole that was sapping its light and strength, and that in 3 years (aka today) it would pass and the light would grow. We happen to be in a special frame of time when the winter solstice sun (n. Hemisphere) travels in line with the galactic center, where the supermassive black hole Sgr A resides. This happens once every 26,000 years for about 50-100 years, and corresponds with the start of the Mayan long count and possibly other things. Point is, this solstice, the sun is noticeably past the galactic center, making it a galactic winter solstice, as well as a solar one. Not only that, but it’s a newly waxing moon, making it a “lunar” solstice, as well, so it’s a triple galactic super solstice! My hope and prayer is that this also correspond to growing light on earth, and we’re here to see it with the religion of the sun! What a blessing to be here at such a peculiar time in world history.
Happy triple galactic super solstice!
Julian that’s an amazing dream you had! I had clocked that this solstice there’d be a new moon at the galactic centre just before, which seemed significant. Sounds like it is! Are you saying that we’re past a 100 year window where the winter solstice aligns with the galactic centre? I thought it was longer, that these two points, in Sagitarrius and at the opposite, Gemini, were seen as two polar opposite doors in the cosmos, the gate of souls and the gate of man respectively, and that they were more fixed? But I guess precession moves everything slowly, like a giant clock. I remember looking into myths about alignments of Jupiter and Saturn around the Gemini/Summer solstice door and the life of Viracocha. It all gets a bit mind-bending on that scale so it’s hard for me to mentally visualise, but anything you could pass on to help me or about this would be appreciated!
Ooh, I’m interested to know more about the gates and Viracocha, if I knew anything about that I forgot.
The precession of the equinoxes takes place over ~26,000 years, or one constellation every 2,200 years, or one degree every ~72 years. One degree is approximately one day’s worth of movement. 72 years ago, the sun was 1 degree closer to Sgr A at the winter solstice, which is to say it was maximally close (I’ll find out what year more precisely when I’m at my computer)
The solstice still happens in Sagittarius for a while, but if we take the center of the galactic center, aka Sgr A, as the precise marker, it’s now ~1° behind us, or about a “galactic day”.
One thing to correct myself on: it’s the proximity to the galactic equator that’s changed, not to the position of Sgr A and its proximity to the sun in the sky (it will keep getting closer in distance for a few hundred years, but the sun will continue to get farther from the galactic equator).
I checked Stellarium, and the sun intersected the galactic plane in almost exactly the year 2000, and now has fully crossed it, so the edge of the sun is beyond the galactic plane on the winter solstice. Incidentally, the last year in which the sun touched the galactic plane was 2020.
Looking forward to the new developments of your work.
Thank you so much for everything, happy solstice!
🙏
Thank you Lara for your wishes about the solstice!!
I wish everyone a very deep and inspiring solstice!! Let the Light of Spiritual Sun touch our heart and mind and give us a very deep understanding and strength to overcome the obstacles of life and internal obstacles to progress internally!
The news about the books is very pleasant!! It seems that new astonishing things will be mentioned there!
Thank you very much all of you that worked for all this stuff
Happy Solstice everyone! May it be your reminder to continue working towards the second/internal/spiritual birth (Christmas) or the inner Ascension (the return to Source, enlightened).
What a wonderful surprise Lara – an unexpected book! Keen to get my hands on it 😊
You and Mark and the Sura Ondrunar team work tirelessly to ensure ancient spiritual information is made available to humanity once again.
Thank you…
Thank you for the updates and kind words.
It’s easy to forget how important this community is to my spiritual work in an underlying way, assuming that I have enough spiritual strength and inspiration to do practices just because. When looking at things more closely I realise that i’m completely dependent on others, even though we are separated by large distances. The strength generated here is tangible as we all contribute to this wonderful spiritual force with our daily efforts.
Wishing everyone a time of profound spiritual communion in the coming days.
Yes, I agree Owain. There’s a mutual interdependence of everyone who contributes in some way to this community, similar to how many small branches form part of one tree.
I also wish you a peaceful solstice time and appreciate everyone’s
contributions here, in whatever way.
I totally agree Owain, that we have a wonderful community here, and even though physically we are separated by large distances, there is an inner strength generated by everyone’s contributions, in whatever way they may be.
Just recently I had a beautiful vivid dream, one of those with heightened lucidity and vibrational energy, in which people from this forum gathered together and interacted in such a friendly and positive way that it created a unique aura within the community. And even though everyone had room to grow internally, there was absolutely no judgement of personal efforts, only a gentle, positive, and respectful of one’s own will encouragement to continue with our inner work.
Wow, what a revealing dream Slawek. It’s a real achievement that the community here has been able to create such an aura.
I agree, what a beautiful dream Slawek, its kind of almost hard to believe, but certainly something to aim for. The non-judgement especially is very nice I think. I had a dream not so long ago, which left a very strong imprint on me, and without going into details, the teaching from it was to not speak badly, or not even using stronger words towards anybody or anything, as it can hurt the “essence of things”, even if just citing what somebody else said. I felt very remorseful after that dream and decided to watch meticulously the words I use, whether outloud or mentally.
It certainly was an unexpected and really uplifting, vivid dream. I cannot say for sure whether it was just my projection or a real gathering, but I can easily recall specific people from it. Internally though, I feel there was truth to this beautiful dream.
I have made a similar observation Lucia, about speaking recklessly. When I thoughtlessly say judgmental things or express a negative opinion about anyone, there is an associated inner feeling of failure at that time, of creating a stain.
What a beautiful dream!!
It should be amazing to see this aura within the community
Thanks for the update, Lara. The new and unexpected book sounds intriguing and I look forward to reading it, along with the updated version of Ancient Solstice.
Thanks to you, Mark, and all who have worked on the publications. I wish you all and everyone here a happy and peaceful solstice time.
Thank you for the update Lara, and all the amazing work that you and Mark are doing for humanity; the new book sounds like an unexpected gift!
Wishing you and everyone here a beautiful solstice, and those in the Northern hemisphere a magical Christmas. 🎄🌞
Wish everyone a blessed spiritual Solstice! Really appreciate the continuous work that Lara and Mark have been doing in order to bring lost knowledge of ancient wisdom back to light! I’ve been trying to reflect on this time of the year, while still learning to understand and connect to the changes and cycles in nature on a personal level. May the Spiritual Sun keep on guiding everyone of us along our path!
Thank you Lara, wish you two and everyone here a beautiful solstice, and Christmas time for the northern hemisphere.
Hope myself and everyone can get into the vibe over the next few days, to put in attention and efforts and to receive in insights and graces given at this time.
Hehe “taking a break”… to write another book.
Honestly you have been doing so well, all this time, in the mission to establish this information for the Religion of the Sun.
A beautiful solstice to everyone. 🌌
Thank you Lara for your uplifting wishes for the Solstice and the New Year and for the update. Thank you and Mark for all the hard
work you do to help humanity.
It’s really wonderful to hear about the new book.
With my husband Yannis we wish you Mark, the pubish team and everyone here a very inspiring and meaningful Solsice in any way each celebrates it and much inner stregth , spiritual guidance and what each needs most for the New Year.
Wishing everyone a profound and peaceful solstice. I feel like if I make the effort to tap into it, here in the UK, I can feel the earth being at this time of deep stillness and I am trying to mirror it in my life. Hopefully we will make it to Stonehenge or Avebury this solstice to feel the atmosphere there. Wishing everyone here a holiday period where they can connect to their Being and feel refreshed for the new year, whether you’re in the frozen north or the sunny south. Much thanks to Lara, Mark and everyone in this community for the structure and support that helps keep this spiritual work moving forwards.
Thank you Lara, we are so excited for the new books and wish you both and the entire team a lovely & inspiring Solstice. Thank you for everything and all the work going into the new books. We’re really looking forward to them!
It’s been a very big year, I know many of the people here, friends and family all over seem to have had big and impactful events throughout 2025, some exciting, some challenging. Nothing like this year though. My heart goes out to everyone, and may the magic of the solstice and all the intricate and invisible threads pulling you closer to the sun, to the source, to the stars and to the sparkling twilight of the unknown continue to shape and build your spirit towards the next year and to the Magnificence of what can be…
On behalf of the Sura Ondrunar Publishing team I wanted to say a sincere and heartfelt thank you to all that have supported us over the past few months and year. We really appreciate it and couldn’t do what we do without you. We’re really looking forward to releasing the upcoming books next year.
Wishing everyone an inspiring solstice time where ever you are in the world 🌞
I’m staying fairly close to the Arctic circle at the moment. It’s incredible how weak and slow the sun is. It took it full 45 mins from the moment of sunrise to climb above the treeline, and that was still last week. Then it isn’t long until it starts setting again, after moving very low and golden a short distance in the sky. It makes the meaning of the winter solstice more tangible.
Exciting news about the unexpected book! May it along with your other work shine brightly in the world to bring light, like the new born sun. Thank you for tirelessly working to restore and revive the Religion of the Sun.
Wishing you and Mark, and everyone here, a very peaceful and uplifting solstice, with new treasures of understanding and freedom.
Hey Laura,
Thank you for sharing, it must be such a magical event to witness! ❤️ 🌞 ❄️
Your post inspired me to search for some timelapses of it online, and found this beautiful video, thought maybe others would enjoy it too: https://thekidshouldseethis.com/post/a-winter-solstice-time-lapse-in-fairbanks-alaska
Yes, that’s a lovely video, Lucia. It reminds me of when I was staying by the sea some years ago and sat watching the sun pass from morning till evening. It was a very peaceful time.
Thank you Lara for the wishes and for the update. I am sure the new book will be anticipated by many and, like all of yours and Mark’s previous books, it will provide an opportunity to gain further personal insights into universal truths. Thank you very much for your continued work, and to everyone who has been contributing to making it possible.
I can’t believe the solstice is upon us. It just seems that we had the equinox not long ago. I would like to add my wishes for everyone to have a spiritually inspiring and internally uplifting solstice.