Last Monday, Winter Solstice, getting up like every day around 20 to 5, taking a shower, doing some asanas and preparing for breakfast. But the solstice energy was already very much in my awareness, a very special moment of the year. At the longest night, in the Northern hemisphere, when the Sun enters Capricorn and is about to begin its seeming northern journey until Cancer., it is helpful to lift oneself up from matter to spirit.
The morning meditation was the WTT group gathering via Zoom – a new ritual since the beginning of the “Corona age”. This morning with a nice solstice video presentation prepared by the Spanish communication team.
After breakfast, when I was about to leave the apartment, my little granddaughter, who had surprisingly come the night before, came out of the bedroom and asked me, “Where are you going?” “I have told you yesterday that today I will meet with some friends at the Paracelsus center to celebrate Winter Solstice”. I explained to her that from today on, the darkest day of the year. the days will start becoming lighter again. And that there is a rhythm of the earth, so that we will come again to summer. in six months. “Ah, that’s how it is”, she said with wonder in her words; “see you tonight again”.
I picked up Mathilda at the train station. When we were about to enter the highway, we saw a strong orange light behind the forest. I changed direction and we drove to a little hill behind a nearby shopping mall. There was a breathtaking view of the Bernese Alps – a grand panorama. We greeted the solstice sun and received the golden light into us.
It was a short moment and the colours started quickly fading again when we took the highway. Soon it was gray all around and later foggy. About two hours later we arrived at the Sihlsee near Einsiedeln. Here, winter was still around.
We turned into the little side road and soon arrived at the Paracelsus center. In the past years, we had frequently met there at winter solstice, but this year, for a longer time, it was not sure if we could do so. The day before, Austria closed its frontiers to Switerland, and so our Austrian friends could not come. Others also had withdrawn due to the present situation. But since the present Swiss regulations allow such little meetings with due hygiene measures, we decided to keep up with the ritual. And two other friends joined us at the Paracelsus center – putting on masks.
Inside, we arranged a little altar with some fir twigs, flowers and candles. We we started with a small candle ritual and meditation.
It was a special day: 21 years ago, three times seven, in December 1999, the center had been inaugurated by Master Kumar with a seminar on Paracelsus and his ways of healing. There was much snow around when the entire seminar group came in small batches from Einsiedeln to the center. It is located above a restaurant, where we took lunch together. Exchanging about it brought back the souvenirs.
Now, at winter solstice, we read about “Sun’s Grandeur” and the ritual of Deergha Tamas (PDF), in the book on “Sun” by Master Kumar, p. 131ff, which is related to the mystery of winter solstice (see also the hymn in Appendix 1).
After the noon meditation, our two friends had to leave already. We prepared lunch and later did a promenade in the nearby area.
The path was full of snow and ice and there was profound silence around. A pale winter sun shone through the trees.
At one place we could see the house of the Paracelsus center with the bridge.
Later, we did an inventory of the books in the center and had an exchange. After evening meditation, the journey back home started. There was a strong rain and the lights on the highway were glittering on the street.
When I came back home, my little granddaughter was still awake. My wife told me that she wanted to wait for me. And so I told her about the day before going to sleep.
