Since ancient times, the shortest day of the year (in the Northern Hemisphere) has been celebrated for the return of the sun, and the symbolic triumph of light over darkness.
To modern Druids, today is Midwinter, and it’s called “Alban Arthurian,” which means “Light of Arthur,” because Midwinter is believed to be King Arthur’s birthday.
Surely the most wonderful creation to honor the solstice is Newgrange. Located about 25 miles northwest of Dublin in Ireland’s Boyne Valley, the megalithic grave site is reputed to be one of the oldest man-made buildings on earth, out dating Stonehenge by 1,000 years.
It was precisely constructed so that only during the Winter Solstice, the light of the rising sun shines through its roof box and into the inner chamber, illuminating it for just a few magical minutes.
In the Irish language, Newgrange is called Brú na Bóinne. Brú is the Old Irish word for “womb.” At sunrise on the solstice, the essence of the sun enters the divine feminine of Mother Earth, so our life-sustaining light will be reborn.
The late Irish folksinger and poet, Tommy Makem captured the scene in his poem, Brugh Na Boinne:
Where Boand’s river twists and turns and flows,
And Brugh Na Boinne lights up the shining hill;
In winter’s deepest darkness no light glows
To warm the earth, or ease death’s bitter chill.
But on the shortest day the sun returns.
Renewing life and hope in earth and bones,
He climbs the Brugh’s dark passage, where he burns;
His message carved on rows of standing stones.
To me, the triple spiral carved in stone at Newgrange symbolizes the great trinities. Christianity has the Holy Trinity – God in three persons. In Peruvian spirituality the three realms of earth, above and below are symbolized by the Puma, Condor and Serpent. The riddle of the Sphinx refers to the three ages of man. The three phases of a woman’s life are Maiden, Mother and Crone.
In about four months, on May 7, 2023, a small group of spiritual travelers will visit Newgrange and see its magical roof box, womb-like inner chamber and mystical triple spiral in person, and you could be in that group.
This Is Your Invitation To Visit Newgrange Next Spring
The Boyne Valley is just one highlight of our Enchanted Ireland Tour. A spiritual adventure in the land of the faery faith will visit the emerald isle April 29 – May 8, 2023. In addition to Newgrange, we’ll experience…
- St Brigid’s Holy Well and St Brigid’s Cathedral in Kildare,
- The Rock of Cashel and Hill of Tara,
- Skellig Michael with its 11th century monastery and beehive huts,
- The Ring of Kerry and Dingle Peninsula,
- And we’ll hold a Druid ceremony to celebrate Beltane in Grange stone circle near Lough Gur.
Click Here For Complete “Enchanted Ireland” Tour Details
Credits:
Brugh Na Boinne poem from “Tommy Makem’s Secred Ireland” St. Martin’s Press, 1997.
Newgrange sunrise courtesy of Anthony Murphy www.mythicalireland.com
Newgrange solstice interior by Ken Williams via Flickr
Lough Gur Stone Circle by Lukemcurley, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons