While our readers in the Northern Hemisphere will be welcoming the fruitful season of summer soon enough, we didn’t want to forget about our readers in the South, who will be experiencing all the magic of winter at the same time.
So, if you have been curious to know about the history and spirituality of the equinox and solstice of our Earth (no matter where you are coming from!), you have come to the right place!
Given the deep spiritual significance of these powerful natural shifts, the knowledge we gain from understanding them can help us navigate them and tap into our own inner power.
Ancient cultures understood the movements of the Sun and its potent effect on Earth. It was through the solstices and equinox that they centred their lives, celebrating the shifts in season with rituals and ceremonies.
It is only in modern times that we use the “clock.” But ancient cultures understood the potent significance of seasonal shifts and how we are innately connected to the movements of the Sun.
Understanding this knowledge allows us to tap into our unique abilities and manifest our existence.
Although the Northern and Southern hemispheres have different dates for their shifts, the energy and potency are the same.
Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere
The Summer Solstice is celebrated on June 20th/21st in the Northern Hemisphere, and is the longest day of the year.
In a number of ancient cultures, including the Ancient Britons such as the Druids, they celebrated this time at Stonehenge, an ancient monument with mysterious origins.
Summer Solstice in the Southern Hemisphere
In the Southern Hemisphere, celebrations for the Summer Solstice begin on December 21st/22nd, which is also the longest day of the year.
This was traditionally celebrated by ancient cultures such as the Aborigines of Australia who honored the Sun and gave thanks for the life and power it brought.
Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere
In the Northern Hemisphere, the Winter Solstice is celebrated on December 21st/22nd, the shortest day of the year.
Ancient cultures such as the Ancient Egyptians and Romans celebrated the Sun’s return with rituals and ceremonies involving invoking the Sun God, making offerings of food and drink, and engaging in ancient chants and spiritual connection with the solar energy.
Winter Solstice in the Southern Hemisphere
For those in the Southern Hemisphere, celebrations for Winter Solstice occur on June 20th/21st and it is the shortest day of the year.
Welcoming the return of the Sun includes a number of ceremonies and rituals, often occurring outdoors, and may include burning incense, chanting, and connecting with the Sun’s rays on a deeply spiritual level.
Read this next: 5 Ways to Rebirth This Winter Solstice
The Significance of the Equinox
Equinox signals a time of powerful new beginnings, hence in ancient cultures these were seen as great opportunities for renewal, birth and fertility. The Spring Equinox (also called the Vernal Equinox) is celebrated in the Northern hemisphere on March 20th/21st. In the Southern hemisphere, it is celebrated on September 22nd/23rd.
The Autumn Equinox signals a time of balance between the light and dark. It is this balance that maintains the forces of life. When the balance is out of sync, the world plunges into chaos.
The Autumn Equinox is celebrated in the Northern hemisphere on September 22nd/23rd. In the Southern hemisphere, it is celebrated on March 20th/21st.
While we in modern times may see it as a simple shift of season, the ancient cultures understood the power of these shifts, the polarities between light and dark, the understanding of the Sun’s energetic frequency, and its effect on humanity, as well as the way that human beings had the ability to connect to these forces with the right rituals and ceremonies.
Read this next: The Spiritual Tools You Need in Your Environment, Based on Your Sign
The Truth Behind the Seasonal Shifts
Above all, the Equinox and Solstice signified a connection to the land. Ancient cultures, whether it was the Sumerians, Britons, Egyptians, Mayans, or many others from thousands of years ago, knew the importance of land connection.
Many stone circles were created in order to honor these connections. Rituals took place at stone circles. One of the most famous of these was Stonehenge, where the druids would perform ceremonies to invoke the Gods at the time of the Equinox or Solstice shifts. It was here that they were able to unlock their own powers, communicate with the Gods, and soak up the Sun’s rays.
The Sun does and continues to send our solar flares, which activate the spiritual DNA within human beings. Hence, our ancient ancestors were in tune with their spiritual nature, and with it, their understanding of the cosmos and the connection to the natural world.
Monuments such as Stonehenge in England, Chichen Itza in Mexico, and Newgrange in Ireland were created to align with the equinox and solstice.
Over time, as industrialism, commercialism, and materialism became the dominant forces, resulting in an imbalance of feminine and masculine energies, plunging the world into a dominance of masculine energy, the connection to land was forgotten. The ways of the ancient cultures lay lost in the cycles of time. Particularly in the last 1,000 years, much of humanity lost its connection to the land and its own spiritual nature.
The Renewal of Connection to Land
However, in recent times, a great awakening has begun taking place across the globe. We are in the midst of a great shift for humanity itself and with this comes a spiritual remembrance of the ways of our ancestors.
We are remembering the connection to the land we have lost. We are being activated at a spiritual level, recalling ancient wisdoms and knowledge that was long forgotten. We are feeling the importance of the solstice and equinox energies and the way that they align with us as the masculine and feminine energies begin to rebalance once again.
This is a pivotal and exciting time in human history!
Remembering who we are and that we are so much more than we have been led to believe is an exciting time for us, not just here on our planet, but across the whole cosmos. If you are fortunate to be within reach of a stone circle or a place of ancient worship, know that great ceremonies and rituals took place there, and you too can embrace the energies of the land.
All land has its own unique spiritual blueprint, just waiting to be embraced. It is part of the great shift of realignment that we are experiencing with our planet as humans and the land remember that they are inseparable and each gives and takes from the others as equals and, above all, family.
Related article: Say Goodbye to Winter & Hello to Spring With This Equinox Tarot Spread
