Over the last few years, I’ve noticed a trend called Sunwait becoming more popular on social media as a way to countdown to the Solstice. I initially thought of trying it with the Futhorc, as I found it to be a lovely way to take the lessons of the runes and apply them to the season, but I didn’t think the runes would speak to my child or partner in the same way and I really wanted it to be a tradition that could be adopted by us all.
After a fair amount of gradual reflection, my Planetary Sunwait was born:
It’s small, simple, and short in its timeframe in order to keep the attention of a nine year old! The Earth isn’t in it – I’ve opted to use the Moon as we focus on the celestial bodies as we look up. I’ve placed it in the last decan of Sagittarius, which is associated with carrying the culmination of the load (think 10 of wands) before the energy shifts and we begin again. There’s something so lovely to me about the idea of lighting candles and bringing joy, hope, and light into the darkest part of the year as we wait for the rebirth that comes with the sun start to grow in strength again. The last decan of Sagittarius also contains the start of Saturnalia, a festival dedicated to merriment dedicated to the task master, Saturn. The is a history here of seeing this time as being a space where we rest from work, where we drop the loads we carry to find light in the dark.
I will light each candle, 1 per day, leading up to the Solstice, starting from the farthest away: Neptune. As I light each planetary candle, I will talk with my child about the nature of the planet and its mythological symbolism. What does it have to teach us in this season? Roughly put, I’ll look at it generally through this lens (I may vary things as I go):
- Neptune: spirituality, unconditional love. Beginning the journey by starting within and being guided by Agape.
- Uranus: independence, innovation. Understanding the self as part of the journey and our power to bring about change.
- Saturn: responsibility, discipline. Recognizing that structure keeps us grounded and the role of Pragma love (in other words, that discipline and discernment can be a form of committed love that guides us).
- Jupiter: spirituality, optimism, luck. Knowing how to see the positive in life, even in the darkest moments. Nurturing Philia and Storge.
- Mars: strength, action. Taking action in life and having the drive to enjoy the world around us. Ludus.
- Moon: intuition, emotion. Trusting our hunches, hearing our inner voice, and understanding how our emotions impact us.
- Venus: beauty, inspiration. The last star we see in the morning. The beacon of hope and beauty and how that guides us. Eros.
- Mercury: communication, curiosity. Learning to navigate between realms. The desire to understand and share ideas.
- Sun: self, hope. The perspective from which we experience the world and celebrate the hope we all carry within us. Philautia
I’m very much looking forward to our nightly conversations about the planets and philosophies as we move towards the solstice.