Sacred Alignments: The Spirituality and Architecture of the Solstice

For thousands of years, man has looked to the sky for knowledge, understanding, and wisdom – about who he is, what he comes from, and where he is going. Since long before the emergence of today’s major religions, worship of the cosmos formed a remarkably universal theme in spiritual practices around the world. The sky was a metaphor for ancient peoples, as “both the symbol of the principles that they felt ordered their lives and the force behind those principles.” They connected the clues above to their earthly existence, regarding the sky as “the mirror of our mind’s own eye,” a reflection of our consciousness. [1.0] Wherever ancient man set foot, he built sites to observe and measure cosmic events, and performed rituals to celebrate the intrinsic and indivisible linkage between celestial forces and the human experience. One of the most important of these events was the solstice.  

“Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you.” - Maori proverb 

Let’s begin by reviewing some astronomy to understand what a solstice is. Solstices are solar events that occur twice a year – in June and December – and mark our planet’s longest and shortest days. They result from the tilt of earth’s axis (23.44 degrees) and its annual movement around the sun. In the Northern hemisphere, the summer solstice occurs around June 21^st, when the North Pole reaches its maximum tilt towards the sun. On this day, the sun climbs to its highest point in the sky, shines for the most amount of time, and is at its greatest strength. The date also approximates the start of summer. The Northern hemisphere’s winter solstice occurs around December 21^st, when the North Pole is angled farthest away from the sun and receives the least amount of sunlight. Correspondingly, this solstice approximates the start of winter. Solstices are reversed for the Northern and Southern hemispheres, so that the start of summer in the north coincides with the start of winter in the south, and vice versa. To recap, the summer solstice is the longest and brightest day of the year, and the winter solstice is the shortest and darkest day of the year. These events, in conjunction with the spring and fall equinoxes, delineate the four seasons and mark the passage of time on earth. [2.0]

“That which is Below corresponds to that which is Above, and that which is Above corresponds to that which is Below, to accomplish the miracle of the One Thing.” - The Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus 

Other than kicking off the start of the summer or winter seasons, solstices hold little meaning for most of us nowadays [3.1]. But this indifference was not always so common. For thousands of years, celestial phenomena were observed, measured, and celebrated with great reverence [3.2]. For ancient peoples, the sky was a “tool” that “enabled them to orient themselves in time and space” [3.3]. But as their familiarity with the exoteric (or literal) phenomena of the cosmos developed, so too did their knowledge of its esoteric (or hidden) meanings, and eventually astronomy and spirituality became intertwined [3.4]. In the patterns and cycles of the cosmos, man recognized parallels on earth: the tides, seasons, and qualities of natural life. Yet they also began to see the sky as a metaphor for something more: the journeys of their own souls [3.5]. The linkages between universal and individual, between celestial and infinitesimal, between cosmic and earthly, and between spiritual and natural, is summarized by the ancient concept, “As Above, So Below.”

Indeed, the framework of As Above, So Below is key to understanding why ancient peoples worshipped the cosmos. This expression is very old, dating back at least 2000 years to the Hermetic texts, which are believed to be of ancient Egyptian or Greek origin, but may in fact be much older [4.1]. Put simply, the Hermetic texts teach the oneness of God in all things. They integrate themes of mythology, alchemy, magic, and astrology; and share many principles with major religions and philosophies, such as Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, as well as with more esoteric belief systems like Gnosticism, Transcendentalism, Neopaganism, Zoroastrianism, and the Occult [4.2].

“For those who are awake, the universe is one.” – Hericlitus

Basically, the concept of As Above, So Below means that the same principles and forces that govern the formation of galaxies, stars, and planets also rule the smallest bodies of matter, right down to level of an atom. Furthermore, these principles and forces do not just rule the outer, physical world; they also rule the inner, spiritual world [5.1]. Along these lines, ancient peoples worshipped the sun for both its physical and spiritual properties [5.2]. On the one hand, the sun delivers heat and light essential for the existence and nourishment of physical life on earth. At the same time, it is "but a mere physical vehicle of an even more stupendous Consciousness, which pervades the solar system in layer after layer of unimaginable glory" [5.3]. This dual role of the sun - both as a physical and spiritual epicenter - likely explains the entity's dominant role in ancient spiritual belief systems [5.4]. Indeed, the mystics of ages past taught that the sun is "the only representation of God," the creator and destroyer of all life, and the source of all human energy [5.5]. As such, celestial movements like the earth's rotation about the sun - along with the solstices and equinoxes that form major waypoints along that cycle - symbolize on a galactic scale each of our own spiritual journeys of birth, life, death, and rebirth [5.6].   

Image: Sciencefreak (Pixabay.com). Public domain. 

“The sun gives light and life to all who live, east and west, north and south, above, below; it is the prana of the universe.” 

– Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita

While ancient peoples worshipped many celestial phenomena, they assigned special importance to the solstices and equinoxes [6.1]. The word equinox means “equal light,” whereas solstice means “sun stand still.” In autumn, the equinox denotes a time to harvest crops and prepare for winter. Metaphorically, it symbolizes a moment of balance: of growing darkness, the soul’s descent from spiritual truth, and death [6.2]. As the shortest and darkest day of the year, the winter solstice has traditionally been a time to celebration creation and birth [6.3]. The next major spoke along the great wheel of the year is the spring equinox, which represents balance – when day and night are equal, but darkness is giving way to light. As such, the spring equinox is linked to spiritual concepts of spiritual change, resurrection, and ascension [6.4]. Finally, as the longest and brightest day of the year, the summer solstice symbolizes enlightenment, awakening, and a return to the light of Source [6.5]. Following the summer solstice, darkness begins to grow once more, and the journey starts anew. The earth begins another rotation about the sun, and consciousness descends once again from the light of spiritual wakefulness to the darkness of physical being [6.6].

Image: FreeSally (Pixabay.com). Public domain.

“Behold, O Hermes, there is a great mystery in the Eighth Sphere, for the Milky Way is the seed-ground of our souls…” – Poimandres

In keeping with the concept of As Above, So Below, ancient peoples built earthly monuments to study and worship the sky [7.0]. These included temples, shrines, observatories, and sun dials, remnants of which are found all over the world today. The solstice appears to have been a primary focus of sites like the Great Pyramids, Stonehenge, Chichen Itza, the Serpent Mound, Great Zimbabwe, Angkor Wat, the stone statues of Easter Island, Mayan pyramids in Uxmal and Tikal, the Ajanta caves in India, and many, many other locations [7.0]. Two that we’ll pay particular attention to are Machu Picchu and Chaco Canyon.

“Few romances can ever surpass that of the granite citadel on top of the beetling precipices of Machu Picchu, the crown of Inca Land.” – Hiram Bingham

Machu Picchu is a ceremonial center located in the Andean cloud forest of Peru, 46 miles northwest of Cusco. It was famously discovered in 1911 by Hiram Bingham, who believed (incorrectly) that this was the last refuge of the Incas from the Spanish conquest [8.0]. Today, most archaeologists believe the site was built in the 1400s as a royal estate for Pachucutec, the 9^th Inca king, whose name means “he who overturns space and time” [8.1]. The site lies atop a ridge between two mountain peaks – named Machu Picchu (“old mountain”) and Huayna Picchu (“young mountain”) – high above the Urubamba River. It exhibits remarkably sophisticated methods of engineering and masonry, along with extensive irrigation systems, terraces, double jamb doorways, niches, sacred walkways, and usnus (sacred platforms) [8.2].

(Above) Machu Picchu, the "lost city" discovered by Hiram Bingham in 1911. 

(Below) Machu Picchu contains many geocosmic alignments, including windows that focus the viewer's attention upon distant mountains.

(Above and below): Examples of Machu Picchu's magnificent architecture.

Of all Inca archaeological sites, Machu Picchu also contains possibly the greatest concentration of huacas (sacred shrines) and geocosmic alignments. Multiple buildings and walkways are oriented with solstices, equinoxes, and zeniths, as well as with local land features such as mountains. Some of the most notable examples is the Temple of the Sun (or Torreón), a circular, walled structure that contains a trapezoidal window and horizontal stone slab; at dawn on the winter solstice, light from the rising sun aligns with the edge of the stone slab, as well as with a distant mountain. Another example of Machu Picchu’s alignments is the cave system known as Intimachay, which appears to mark the summer solstice and both equinoxes. A stone pillar known as the Intihuatana seems to align with the zenith – a moment when the sun is directly overhead and casts no shadow. The Temple of the Condor aligns with the anti-zenith sunrise. Even the ridge upon which Machu Picchu sits has a north-south alignment [9.0]. And these are only a few examples – the results of field studies and research continually suggest the possibility of additional alignments [9.1]. While most conventional archaeologists attribute Machu Picchu to the Incas, alternative archaeologists and historians continue to ask thought-provoking questions about the site’s age, purpose, and method of construction.

(Above) The Torreón, a semi-circular structure built atop a natural cave. At sunrise on the winter (June) solstice, a shaft of light enters the eastern-facing window to align with a horizontal stone slab.

(Below) Machu Picchu's intihuatana, the "hitching post of the sun," a slanting pillar that possibly aligns with the solar zenith. Intihuatanas may have been plentiful during Inca times; however, the majority were destroyed by the Spanish conquistadors. 

(Above) Machu Picchu's most famous "replication stone," seemingly chiseled to conform with the outline of a distant mountain. I found several other stones at Machu Picchu (and throughout the Sacred Valley) that I thought bore striking resemblance to the silhouettes of faraway mountains.

"As great as is the light above us, greater by far is the light within.” – Anasazi Foundation

Chaco Canyon is a collection of archaeological sites in the desert of northwestern New Mexico. The canyon includes the ruins of shelters, large circular houses (kivas), and paved roads that may have been built by the Ancient Pueblo people. The canyon is believed to have first been settled around 6000 B.C., but the buildings whose ruins line the canyon today are alleged to have been constructed between 800 and 1000 A.D. [10.0]. Archaeological evidence suggests the site may have served as a ceremonial center or trade post; some of the artifacts found there include wooden staffs and wands, jewelry, beautiful bows and jars, carved human figures, seashells, feathers, and bones – many of which appear to have come from hundreds of miles away. Even the quarter-million wooden poles used to reinforce the stone buildings were likely harvested in distant lands [10.1].

Chaco Canyon also contains geocosmic markers and alignments, along with associated rock art. One famous example is a spiral that was carved into the rock above the buildings. On the summer solstice, the spiral is pierced by a dagger of sunlight, and on the winter solstice it is bracketed by two daggers. During equinoxes, a shaft of sunlight aligns with the center of a smaller spiral. Down below the spiral, among the collection of great kivas, lies Casa Rinconada. This circular structure contains a single window on its eastern wall through which the sun shines at dawn on the summer solstice to illuminate a trapezoidal niche on the far (western) wall. At another great house, rock art depicts a star, crescent moon, and handprint; some Chacoan experts believe these are records of past cosmic events – perhaps a supernova that would have been visible from Earth in 1054. The sun dagger, Casa Rinconada, and rock art are the most famous examples of sun worship at Chaco Canyon, but others may have existed. Much of the ruins and artifacts have been forever lost to the forces of time, nature, and looters, while others might be waiting to be found by future archaeologists [11.0]. In any case, much of Chaco Canyon’s history is not known today.

(Above) Casa Rinconada, the largest kiva at Chaco Canyon.

(Below) The sun dagger of Fajada Butte marked the summer solstice with a dagger of light through its center. The stone has shifted in recent years and is no longer accessible by visitors. Image in public domain (source).

(Above) Peñasca Blanco rock art of Chaco Canyon may depict a supernova that would have been visible here in 1054 A.D. (Image: Alex Marentes, cc-by-sa-2.0)

"No answer is also an answer.” – Hopi proverb

Worship of the sun and stars appears to have been a central theme of ancient spirituality. Examples of these practices are implied in the architecture, artwork, and mythology left by people thousands – or even tens of thousands – of years ago and all over the world. Despite being separated by time and distance, many of the approaches used are amazingly similar [12.0]. Numerous sites incorporate alignments with solstices or equinoxes. Rock art displays spirals, crosses, and circles, features which seem to reflect understanding of universal and ageless principles [12.1]. And the births, deaths, and rebirths of mythological deities are celebrated on the dates of these cosmic events. Perhaps the wisdom of As Above, So Below is older than we think, originating long before the Greeks or Egyptians embedded them into the Hermetic texts. Maybe the idea that all is connected, and that the same principles and forces apply to all creation – large and small, physical and spiritual – was recognized and understood long before our modern religions or study of science [12.2]. These questions – like so many others about ancient sites like Machu Picchu and Chaco Canyon – remain open and unanswered. Perhaps this is their purpose – to cause us to think, to search, and to understand. In any case, they remain intriguing mysteries for future generations of archaeologists, historians, mythologists, and truth seekers.

Till next time, don’t stop exploring!

Andrew C. Katen

References and Further Reading

[1.0] Krupp, E. C. (2003). Echoes of the ancient skies: The astronomy of lost civilizations. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, p. 2-3.

[2.0] US Department of Commerce, & NOAA. The Seasons, the Equinox, and the Solstices. Retrieved from https://www.weather.gov/cle/seasons. Astronomy of solstices, equinoxes, and seasons.

[2.0] Sky Tellers - The Myths, the Magic and the Mysteries of the Universe. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/skytellers/seasons/ Overview of causes of seasons, solstices, and equinoxes.

[3.1] Heinberg, R., & LaChapelle, D. (2014). Celebrate the solstice: Honoring the Earths seasonal rhythms through festival and ceremony. United States: Quest Books, p. 6. "Gone is the sense of participation in the cyclic interaction of the Earth and the heavens...Could there be a connection between our ignorance of the seasonal festivals and our loss of relatedness with one another and with the Earth?"

[3.2] National Geographic Society. (n.d.) Solstice. Retrieved from https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/solstice/ “Since ancient times, many cultures have marked the solstices with holidays and festivals.” They recognized the winter solstice as a time of death and rebirth, of saying goodbye to the old year and welcoming the new.

[3.2] Pruitt, S. (2016, December 20). 8 Winter Solstice Celebrations Around the World. Retrieved from https://www.history.com/news/8-winter-solstice-celebrations-around-the-world

[3.2] Polich, J. B. (2001). Return Of The Children Of Light: Incan & Mayan Prophecies For A New World. Rochester, VT: Bear & Company, p. 28. Although solstices and equinoxes “were important because they indicated when the people should plant their crops, it is also known that these dates had a greater spiritual significance.”

[3.3] Krupp, p. 1.

[3.4] Sacred-Texts.com. (n.d.). The Sun, A Universal Deity. Retrieved from http://www.sacred-texts.com/eso/sta/sta11.htm "With the growth of man's knowledge of the constitution and periodicity of the heavenly bodies, astronomical principles and terminology were introduced into his religious systems. The tutelary gods were given planetary thrones, the celestial bodies being named after the deities assigned to them. The fixed stars were divided into constellations, and through these constellations wandered the sun and its planets, the latter with their accompanying satellites."

[3.4] Swedenborg, E. (n.d.). Spiritual Sun. Retrieved from http://www.scienceofcorrespondences.com/spiritual-sun.htm Written in the 17th century, this paper distinguishes between the "spiritual” and “natural” suns, which delivers both natural and spiritual fire to mankind. “The universe in general is divided into two worlds, the spiritual and the natural. In the spiritual world are angels and spirits, in the natural world men. Without a double sun, one living and the other dead, no creation is possible.”

[3.5] Polich, p. 51. Modern archaeoastronomy has linked the skies viewed centuries ago by the Maya and Inca with the myths they told. Recent "observation of equinoxes and solstices has revealed the significance and the particular alignment of certain sacred sites."

[3.5] CrystalWind.ca. (n.d.) Solstices and Equinoxes: An Esoteric Perspective. Retrieved from http://www.crystalwind.ca/astrology-basics/solstices-and-equinoxes-an-esoteric-perspective “The annual cycle of the sun, and the increase and decrease in light, represents the process of growth in consciousness in the human kingdom.” Discusses the path of human consciousness that occurs through “many, many cycles of the Earth around the Sun,” as well as the specific spiritual meanings of the solstices and equinoxes.

[3.5] Andrews, T. (2004). Nature-speak: Signs, omens and messages in nature. Jackson, TN: Dragonhawk Pub. Explanation of spiritual meanings of earth’s seasons, including how “a return to Nature's rhythms on an intuitive level” can promote human evolution. As cited in https://mytruthsetsmefree.wordpress.com/2012/03/21/spiritual-mysteries-of-the-vernal-equinox/ 

[3.5] Highestquest. (2011). Spirituality behind the Winter Solstice. Retrieved from https://highestquest.org/2011/12/18/winter-solstice-an-ancient-ceremony/ Overview of universal esoteric teachings, including relationships of solstices and equinoxes to man's consciousness and spiritual evolution, association of religious and mythological characters and dates with celestial phenomena, and widespread nature of cosmic worship in ancient religions.

[3.5] Harris, G. (2011, May 25). The Spiritual Meaning of the Summer Solstice. Retrieved from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/summer-solstice-a-sacred_b_619051

Observers of the summer solstice “all are witnessing the turning of the wheel of the year. People attune themselves to the rhythms of the natural world and invite the seasons of waxing and waning, of birth, growth, death and renewal to reverberate more consciously in their lives.”

[4.1] Mead, G. R. (1919). As Above, So Below. Retrieved from http://gnosis.org/library/grs-mead/grsm_asabove.htm. Originally appeared in The Theosophical Review, Vol 34, by G. R. S. Mead. This phrase is of ancient origin. 

[4.2] Hermeticism. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermeticism

Background and discussion of Hermeticism, the concept of "As Above, So Below" and the oneness of God, and Hermeticism's foundational role in many ancient belief systems.

[4.2] Campanelli, P., & Campanelli, D. (2003). Wheel of the year: Living the magical life. St. Paul (MN): Llewellyn Publications, p. 2-6.

[4.2] Polich, 64. “The Gnostics and the Greek, Hindu, Buddhist, Sufi, and Medieval Jewish philosophers all embraced the macrocosm-microcosm principle. Medieval alchemists used the phrase ‘as above, so below’ in referring to this idea. It is also the basis of the hologram.”

[5.1] As Above, So Below. (n.d.) Retrieved from https://gnosticwarrior.com/as-above-so-below.html. "In the heavens above, the planet’s energies are that which is so below on earth. We humans who live on the so below are made of these same heavenly energies of that which is as above. Hence, the microcosm is oneself, and the macrocosm is the universe…. Humans are made of the heavens who are found among the stars and planets. The heavens on the AS ABOVE is the macrocosm, and we humans on the SO BELOW, the microcosm. The same chemical energies found in the AS ABOVE stars such as phosphorus, hydrogen, sodium, Sulfur, magnesium, and iron can be found in almost all living organisms including we humans on the SO BELOW.”

[5.2] Swedenborg. “[K]nowledge of a spiritual Sun is not new in the Writings. Among the ancients, God was pictured as haloed by the solar circle. Pythagoras, who was trained in the temples of Egypt and Babylonia and redirected into Greek thought some of the mental currents of the older Orient, is said to have taught his adepts that our sun was only a faint reflection of the "central fire" around which all things moved. And in the Old Testament, the coming of the Lord is referred to as the rising of the Sun of justice with healing in His wings (Mal. iv. 2).”

[5.2] Polich, p. 48. “It has been said that the light of the sun carries higher knowledge, which is perhaps the basis for its worldwide worship.”

[5.3] Gayatri. (n.d.). The Physical Sun, the Heart of the Sun, the Central Spiritual Sun. Retrieved from http://www.aquaac.org/about/suninfo.html Essay on the exoteric and esoteric power of the sun. Includes a translation of the Yajnavalkya-Samhita (Sanskrit) in Gayatri by I.K. Taimni: “The Spiritual Light which is hidden within the sun is the most excellent light. It is shining through the hearts of all living creatures in the form of consciousness. The Spiritual Light which is shining within the physical sun also shines within the heart of every being. This Light is more brilliant than Fire or comet. The Light which is shining in the heart of all jivas [individuals] in the form of consciousness is also shining through the universe in the form of the Heavenly Man and making it a living organism.”

[5.4] Sacred-Texts.com. “The adoration of the sun was one of the earliest and most natural forms of religious expression. Complex modern theologies are merely involvements and amplifications of this simple aboriginal belief.”

[5.5] Lewislafontaine. Carl Jung on the Sun as God. Retrieved from https://carljungdepthpsychologysite.blog/2019/02/15/carl-jung-on-the-sun-as-god/#.XOwEMZNKgcg Jung explains how the sun is "the only representation of God," the creator and destroyer of all life, and the source of all human energy, and that this knowledge was taught by the ancient mystics.

[5.5] Wigington, P., & Wicca Practical Magic. (n.d.). Why Do People Worship the Sun? Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-sun-worship-2562246 Presents ancient cultures that worshipped the sun as a life-giving force, often claiming direct descendance from the sun. Offers tips for celebrating the sun as part of modern spirituality.

[5.5] Polich, p. 38. Many ancient spiritual belief systems emphasized “the importance of light as a spiritual force…This light [of the sun, moon, and stars] was not ordinary light but the light of divine consciousness that manifested in form.”

[5.6] CrystalWind.ca. “The annual cycle of the sun, and the increase and decrease in light, represents the process of growth in consciousness in the human kingdom.” Discusses the path of human consciousness that occurs through “many, many cycles of the Earth around the Sun,” as well as the specific spiritual meanings of the solstices and equinoxes.

[5.6] Thackara, W. T. (1998, June). Summer Solstice. Retrieved from https://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/sunrise/47-97-8/4s-wtst.htm Relates the cycles of earth's annual journey about the sun (and corresponding solstices and equinoxes) to “crossing points” in mankind’s “natural cycle of birth, growth, maturity, and passing.” Solar events are “the greatest of the initiations,” or levels of awakenment, that were practiced and taught within the mystery schools. “Ancient mythographers frequently associated the sky with universal mind or intelligence, which orders the structure and behavior of stars, planets, and all the creatures inhabiting them. The universe itself was considered to be a living entity in which all beings, including ourselves, were rooted, and drew life, meaning, and substance.”

[6.1] Holloway, A. How Ancient People Marked the Equinox Around the World. Retrieved from https://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-places/how-ancient-people-marked-equinox-around-world-001464. “For thousands of years, the spring equinox has long been celebrated as a time of rebirth and abundance by many countries and cultures around the world.”

[6.1] Summer Solstice, Midsummer, Sun in Cancer, Ceremonies. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.crystalinks.com/summersolstice.html Discussion of the astronomy, traditions, cultural aspects, and astrological meanings of the solstice throughout the world and across time.

[6.1] Polich, 61. “There are many reasons why the equinoxes and solstices were important to ancient people, including determination of when to plant and harvest crops. Also, on a spiritual level it appears that our predecessors understood what some contemporary esotericists still believe – that the intervals before, during, and after the equinoxes and solstices are spiritually powerful times.”

[6.2] CrystalWind.ca. “The annual cycle of the sun, and the increase and decrease in light, represents the process of growth in consciousness in the human kingdom.” Discusses the path of human consciousness that occurs through “many, many cycles of the Earth around the Sun,” as well as the specific spiritual meanings of the solstices and equinoxes.

[6.3] Booth, J. Why the Winter Solstice Is The Best Day Of The Year To Focus On Self-Reflection. Retrieved from https://www.bustle.com/p/what-does-the-winter-solstice-mean-spiritually-its-celebrated-in-tons-of-religions-cultures-7620273 “The birth of these higher beings at this time of the solstice was symbolic of the birth of the spiritual sun within, that we are not separate from the creator, as we have been conditioned to believe to feel that we are less than divine beings.”

[6.3] Highestquest. Comparison of the lives of Jesus Christ and other important religion figures to the earth’s path around the sun and resultant solstices and equinoxes.

[6.4] Tanaaz. (n.d.) The Spiritual Significance of the March Equinox 2018. Retrieved from https://foreverconscious.com/spiritual-significance-march-equinox-2018 As the start of the astrological new year, the vernal equinox highlights the balance of light and dark, emphasizing the increase of light as a symbol of growing health, strength, and clarity.

[6.4] Landau, B. (2018, March 30). Why Easter is called Easter, and other little-known facts about the holiday. Retrieved from https://www.pri.org/stories/2018-03-30/why-easter-called-easter-and-other-little-known-facts-about-holiday Discusses the pagan traditions of the spring equinox, themes of rebirth and resurrection, and integration of these concepts into conventional religion.

[6.5] Ketler, A. (2018) Summer Solstice 2018: The Spiritual Significance & How You Can Reflect in Your Life. Retrieved from https://www.collective-evolution.com/2018/06/21/summer-solstice-2018-the-spiritual-significance-what-it-can-represent-in-your-life/ Description of the summer solstice as “a time of ‘energetic opening’ and ‘celestial potential’ pouring out from the sun.” It represents “enlightenment, awakening and the triumph of lightness over darkness.”

[6.5] Heinberg, R., & LaChapelle, D., p. 6. During seasonal festivals of ancient times, “each person found a heightened connection with the Source of all life.”

[6.6] CrystalWind.ca; and Thackara, W. T.

[7.0] Polich, p. 57, 64. Ancient cultures “demonstrated a profound understanding of the universe” and “desired to replicate on the physical plane the glory of the higher worlds,” a concept known as “spiritual correspondence.” In other words, as a way of connecting with and passing along astronomical and spiritual knowledge of “above,” they constructed myths, architecture, and art “below.”

[7.1] Farmers Almanac. (2018). Five Ancient Sites Aligned With the Solstice and Equinox. Retrieved from https://www.almanac.com/content/five-ancient-sites-aligned-solstice-and-equinox. Discussion of the linkages between worship of solstice and equinoxes at ancient sites such as Stonehenge, Machu Picchu, Chichen Itza, Chaco Canyon, and Newgrange.

[7.1] Gardiner, K. (2018, June 20). 8 Architectural Marvels Inspired by the Summer Solstice. Retrieved from https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/summer-solstice-architectural-marvels

[7.1] List of archaeoastronomical sites by country. (2018, November 27). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_archaeoastronomical_sites_by_country

[7.1] NASA. (n.d.). Traditions of the Sun: Ancient Astronomy. Retrieved from http://www.traditionsofthesun.org/ Exploration of the tradition of sun observation and worship at ancient sites around the world. “The builders of Angkor Wat were not interested in creating a temple merely to honor their deities. They created in its very structure and orientation, a reminder of the greater cosmic order, reflected in both the passage of time, and in the changing rays of the sun at propitious times of the year.”

[7.1] Scherrer, D. (2015-2018). Ancient Observatories – Timeless Knowledge. Retrieved from http://solar-center.stanford.edu/AO/Ancient-Observatories.pdf

Outline of the archeoastronomy of ancient sites. Published by in conjunction with the Stanford Solar Center and NASA.

[8.0] Machu Picchu. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machu_Picchu

[8.0] Pachacuti. Retrieved from  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pachacuti

[8.1] UNESCO. (n.d.) Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu. Retrieved from https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/274

[9.0] Malville, M. M. (2010). Cosmology in the Inca Empire: Huaca Sanctuaries, State ... Retrieved from https://erenow.net/ancient/ancient-astronomy/13.php. 

[9.0] Urton, G. (1978). Orientation in Quechua and Incaic Astronomy. Ethnology, 17(2), 157. doi:10.2307/3773141. Andean religion included significant study and worship of the constellations, which aided understanding of spirituality, seasons, and agricultural cycles. Furthermore, in 1571, Polo de Ondegardo observed, "[The Incas] believed that all the animals and birds on the earth has their likeness in the sky in whose responsibility was their procreation and augmentation" – an observation that highlights the Andean peoples' understanding of the earth as a microcosm of the universe.

[9.0] Ziegler, G. R., & Malville, J. M. (2013). Machu Picchus sacred sisters: Choquequirao and Llactapata: Astronomy, symbolism, and sacred geography in the Inca heartland. Boulder, CO: Johnson Books. Based upon their abundance of replication shrines and solar alignments, important Inca sites like Machu Picchu, Choquequirao, and Llactapata seem to have been constructed and used primarily for mountain and sun worship, and including features like intihuatanas, stairs, labyrinths, caves, shrines, and ceremonial platforms to observe and worship the cosmos (46). These sites include doorways, windows, and corridors aligned with the June and December solstices (72). “Shamanic transcendence through the three planes of the cosmos was a continuing theme in Andean cosmology (56). [Author’s note: intihuatanas, or “hitching posts of the sun,” may have represented an anchor by which to draw the sun back after its northward journey following the December solstice.]

[9.1] Crystal Links. (n.d.). Astronomical Observatories. Retrieved from http://www.crystalinks.com/observa.html Discussion of ancient sites that align with “events like the seasons, lunar phases, solar phases and so on. As mankind has always been fascinated by the heavens, their mythologies reflecting many of these monuments connected to the Gods and Goddesses their civilization worshipped." Highlights the summer solstice sunrise as a moment of "peak power": observatories "became temples for meditation, a place to talk to their Gods, or to move through 'interdimensional doorways.’”

[10.0] UNESCO. Chaco Culture. Retrieved from https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/353 

[10.1] National Park Service. History & Culture. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.nps.gov/chcu/learn/historyculture/index.htm 

[11.0] Solstice Project. Chaco Cosmology. Retrieved from https://solsticeproject.org/Book_Research/Chaco_Cosmology/index.html 

[11.0] Eboch, C. (2015). Digging up the past: Chaco canyon. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Abdo Publishing.

[12.0] Barrie, T. (1996). Spiritual path, sacred place: Myth, ritual, and meaning in architecture. Boston, MA: Shambhala, p. 15-18. Just as archetypes and myths arise from a “collective unconscious” shared by people around the world and across time, sacred architecture also seems to employ timeless and universal themes and patterns that resulted in similar temples and shrines being built by cultures everywhere.  

[12.1] Ward, G. (2018, March 01). The spiral: The eternal sign of the creative and organising principle at work in the universe. Retrieved from https://medium.com/@geoffjward/the-spiral-the-eternal-sign-of-the-creative-and-organising-principle-at-work-in-the-universe-8889ba092300. “The spiral is the age-old intuitive symbol of spiritual development and our identity with the universe. It is found in cultures the world over and reflected in shamanism, serpent cults, dragon lore, geomancy, magic, mysticism and ritual art and dance throughout history.” The spiral is found throughout nature as a “favored form for the transmission of its energy,” and has since ancient times symbolized the path to God and was, therefore, replicated in the architecture of ancient sites.

[12.2] Polich, p. 30-37. Ancient myths and scriptures around the world cite the existence of primordial species, god-giants, and civilizations (i.e., Lemuria and Atlantis) whose cultures were rooted in the “light of truth.” After a great cataclysm, the displaced beings of these civilizations became “world teachers” who traveled earth and rekindled in mankind “the doctrine of inner light” to “[awaken] the physical form to its inherent function as a vehicle of light.” Such prophets as Enoch, Quetzalcoatl, Wiracocha, Zamma, Krishna, Moses, Jesus, Hermes Trismegistus, and others sought to show their followers “the true nature of light” and “path to enlightenment.”

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