“Changeless, yet
changing, from mountain to shore,
a circle of
wonders for us to explore!”
Solstice Moon Solstice Sun
The first of the Wheel of the Year books, Solstice
Moon Solstice Sun tells the story of one of nature’s great turning points--when the hemisphere
experiencing the winter solstice turns from the darkness of the longest night towards
longer days and the promise of spring.
The winter months are a time of rest, when the Earth’s
energy is stored in roots and within the slowed metabolisms of hibernating animals.
All life must adapt or perish. Just like little Owlet, winter can weigh us
down and we need reassurance that balance will be restored as earth circles the
sun.
Like Owlet and his mother, our ancestors, were keenly
aware of the natural world. They told stories to explain the transition and
observed the winter solstice with festivals such as Yule and Saturnalia.
Along with humorous touches (Mama Owl’s fluffy pink
slippers and a mouse infested house) Solstice Moon Solstice Sun features traditional
symbols and powerfully symbolic characters.
The Characters—touching
past traditions while relating to the present
Solstice Moon Solstice Sun’s animal characters and woodland
setting were inspired by the gently rolling countryside of the Brandywine River
Valley and characters from European folkways that are part of our heritage.
Owlet: Like
any little one, Owlet misses his friends (who are hibernating), is tired of
cold, gloomy days, and longs for a change in his routine. He reaches to his
mother for a reassurance that the seasonal cycle will continue and that he will
be reunited with his friends.
Mama: A wise
owl mommy, she knows that words alone aren’t enough for a little person and
takes him into and through the heart of nature-- a sacred space--to experience
the change. Owlet follows with perfect trust.
The Mice and
Owlet’s friends: Children will adore finding the mice hiding in
every illustration and will giggle at the illustrations of the Bear and
Woodchuck families.
Ellen’s magnificent illustrations of the Oak King, the
Holly King, and the Lady reflect the strong spiritual and cultural traditions
this time still holds for many.
The Holly King: Lord of
the Winterwood, The Holly King represents withdrawal and rest—the dark half of the
year when the sun’s light is waning (mid-summer solstice to winter solstice).
He also represents the old year and the sage. Traditions like displaying holly
sprigs come from the Holly King legend. The Holly King
is also depicted as Father Christmas (or Santa Claus), driving a sleigh pulled by eight
stags/reindeer, dressed in long robes with a crown of holly on his hair. His plant is
the holly.
The Oak King: Lord of
the Greenwood, the oak king represents growth and expansion-- the light half of
the year when the sun is waxing in strength (from the winter solstice to the
mid-summer solstice). In this story he also represents
the newly-born New Year. His plants are the oak and
mistletoe (another symbol of this season).
The Lady: Lady of
the Greenwood/Lady of the Winterwood, Mother Nature, Mother Earth. However your
tradition chooses to interpret her, she gives birth to the child of promise and
hope.
Solstice Moon Solstice Sun nurtures a conscious connection to nature
As Earth revolves around the sun, each object and living
thing tells endless and varied stories that help us understand the wonders of
our planet and our connections to what exists upon it and beyond it.
If we’re patient and attentive, we often discover the
greatest lessons and wonders in the smallest things—a snowflake—a butterfly
sipping nectar from a flower growing in a window box, and sometimes a huge event is as quietly glorious as the sun rising a minute earlier in a pale winter sky.
Solstice Moon Solstice Sun fulfills a need within the community
Solstice Moon Solstice Sun fulfills a need for well
written, beautifully illustrated stories that help children dream, wonder, explore, and love the natural beauty all around them—even in the
midst of a city. For what they love, they will fight to preserve and protect.
The purpose of our stories and illustrations is to
recapture, in some small way, a toddler’s wonder and joy as he plucks a dandelion,
blows, and watches the fluff soar away on the breeze.
As followers of nature-based spirituality, it is our duty
to nurture this wonder and, in the process, to refresh and strengthen our own
awareness and connection to the Earth.
Spend time talking with
your child about Solstice Moon Solstice Sun’s pictures
and words, about the characters and how they feel, how the events reflect
the passage of the seasons, and how this
story relates to their own life and experience. Like Mama Owl, take your child into nature.
