yesterday evening was the winter solstice – the shortest day, the longest night. the point at which, blessedly, finally, the earth begins to turn back towards the sun.

the incas were sun worshippers, and all their most sacred places and rituals reflected that. in visiting machu picchu, you first approach the ancient city by bowing your head at dawn to pass through intipunku, the “sun gate”. in the city itself, you learn about how all the walls and windows and temples were built to align with the angles of the rays of the solstice, to try to capture every last gasp of light before the sun sank behind the surrounding mountains. you learn how their calendar revolved around the festivals of capac raymi and inti raymi, celebrating the solstices and the return of the sun each year. you see the large column of stone placed at the highest point of the city, dedicated as Intihuatana – “the hitching post of the sun”, where priests conducted rituals to bind the suns precious rays to the earth and prevent their escape.

and as i explored the temples and touched the stones, i could feel it resonate within me – i instinctually understood this compulsive need to try to grasp at the light, to hold fast to something so essential and lifegiving. i could understand the panic that must have settled into into their chests when, day after day, the darkness continued to grow and the sun faded. and i could almost sense the jubilation that must have washed over them upon the sun’s annual return – the kind of intense relief that makes one giddy and lightheaded, a little drunk with joy.

i could feel that in the air at machu picchu, because i feel it now. i need light as much as i need air. and today, knowing that the longest night is on the wane, i am giddy with relief.

frente! – open up your heart and let the sun shine in

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