Pagan celebration marks return of light

Sea Raven, a Unitarian Universalist pagan, led the group in meditation as they walked around the labyrinth and sang to the beat of a drum:

‘‘Oh the moon and the stars, guide our footsteps on our way; soon the sun returns and light will be reborn.”

The winter solstice marks the astronomical moment when the sun is the farthest distance away from the Earth, or the shortest day of the year, in terms of sunlight. From that day forward in the year, the days become longer.

Raven, Cosette Blackmer and Lora Powell, also members of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation, led the group in celebrating the winter solstice and its promise of light, rebirth and rejuvenation to the earth.

Blackmer said the congregation has celebrated solstices and equinoxes for at least six years at its location on Elmer Derr Road.

The congregation is a non-doctrinal church that welcomes different spiritual practices and beliefs. Among its seven core beliefs is the inherent dignity of each individual, social justice and a free and responsible search for truth and meaning.

Under the congregation’s umbrella of many spiritual practices is the Covenant of the Unitarian Universalist Pagans (www.cuups.org), an independent affiliate that honors earth-centered, goddess-based tribal and pagan spiritual paths.

Blackmer dressed for the winter solstice celebration in a green robe to represent an older woman. Raven donned a white blouse to symbolize a ‘‘fair maiden” and Powell wore red to signify a mother figure.

Once inside the round chapel, the group listened as the leaders lighted candles in north, south, east and west positions and spoke invocations to the light and read a meditation.

Blackmer said she identifies herself as a ‘‘neo-Pagan,” who follows an earth-centered spiritual path. ‘‘We’re trying to align ourselves with the rhythms of nature,” she said.

The word ‘‘pagan” is often misunderstood, Blackmer noted. One of the original definitions of the word is ‘‘country dweller,” she said.

Having a place for these beliefs and practices in the Unitarian congregation is ‘‘all part of the search for truth and meaning,” Powell said.

Celebrating during the darkest days of the year near the winter solstice goes back to ancient times, Blackmer said, when people met for large feasts and placed evergreens in their homes. It is these original traditions that interest Mike Morse of Gaithersburg, who attended the ceremony Tuesday. Many people don’t realize that Christmas has roots in such ancient practices, Morse said.

The coming of the light to world, whether literally or metaphorically in the Christian sense, ‘‘is all a take off from the [winter] solstice,” he said. ‘‘This kind of experience seeks to take back the wonder and awe of the coming of light.”

Although she regularly attends a church in Virginia, Grace Borell of Frederick said she embraces different belief systems and appreciates what they have to offer, but is able to stay within her Christian faith.

Pagan beliefs accent aspects of humanity, Borell said, such as being thankful to the earth and the elements that sustain life.

‘‘I’m glad to come and give thanks in this way,” she said.

What is wintersolstice?