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Meanwhile, Down South…
Yesterday I posted on the impending Northern Hemisphere Sabbath of Summer’s Waning or Dimming. But of course, this also means that what approaches in the Southern Hemisphere is Brightening, the holiday marking the point at which winter is technically over and the days have noticeably lengthened from their shortest phase at the solstice. Brightening is a hopeful holiday, a time to make plans for achievement of the coming year’s goals. I wrote in more detail about it here. So to Southern Atheopagans, I wish you the new hope of the strengthening Sun, audacity and aspiration in your new plans, and the tenacity to get through this last little bit of…
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Brightening
It interests me that the new dawn in American politics comes at the same time that it has become evident (in the Northern Hemisphere) that the days are lengthening. We are no longer in the darkest of winter; the February Sabbath approaches, and the Sun, though young, is definitely returning. A member of the Atheopagan Facebook group dubbed the February Sabbath (or, in the Southern Hemisphere, the August one) “Brightening”, and though in my region I celebrate this as Riverain, the Festival of Water, I like that characterization a lot, as it is so universal. And who knows? It might even share a word root with Brighid, the Irish goddess…
