Sun Science
By
Morien Ravenstone
The Sunwheel Grove is a Druid order that Combines modern science with what we know of ancient belief.
The Earth is our Mother,
And we are it’s children,
It provides us with everything we need,
And yet we are destroying it,
Poisoning the air that we breath
And the water we drink
The Moon, the only natural Satellite to orbit the Earth, it is beautiful and mysterious, its effect on our lives is subtle and yet astounding. There is still a lot to learn about the Moon and its cycle.
The Sun our Father, creator of our world, the supreme being.
The Sun is all this and more, because without it there is no life.
This is the Triad, the foundation of our belief.
What is the Sun Wheel
The Sun Wheel is the Earth’s orbit around the Sun which takes 365 and a quarter days.
The Sun is the hub or the centre of the wheel, the eight festivals are the spokes and the orbit of the Earth around the Sun is the rim.
The Earth’s polar axis is tilted by 23.5 degrees to the plane of its orbit, this is how we get the seasons.
The Northern hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun in June the time of our Summer Solstice and six months later in December and the Winter Solstice, the Southern hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun.
In March and September the Equinoxes, both North and South, have equal amounts of sunlight.
The Lunar Month
The Moon produces no light of its own. During its four week orbit, half of its surface is always illuminated by the Sun. Day by day, the changing position of the Moon, relative to the Earth and Sun, creates the phases from full to new Moon.
For a few days the Moon disappears as it lies in the same direction as the Sun. This is the time of the New Moon when sunlight falls on its far side.
On rare occasions the Moon passes directly between the Earth and Sun causing a Solar Eclipse, this can only occur at a New Moon.
A Lunar Eclipse however can only occur at Full Moon, this is when the Moon passes into the shadow of the Earth.