Imbolc 2024

Happy Imbolc, friends and family.  (Imbolc is the Gaelic name at this cross-quarter date.  Other names for this time of year are Groundhog’s Day and Candlemas.)

This winter solstice, Davd and I again were in the Four Corners area, continuing to get footage for our documentary Axis Mundi film project.  We plan our trips at particular times of the year, when the sun is behaving in particular ways of potential cultural significance.  We document and experience light/shadow interactions on rock art, on ancient buildings.  We watch the sunrise on prominent features on the horizon.  We learn constellations and starlore from cultures across the globe.  We interview extraordinary individuals who share their research and offer insights into cultural astronomy.  We celebrate the wonderful, diverse way that humans from all time periods interact with the sky above them. 

We have been working on this project for at least a dozen years, venturing out to various sites of cultural astronomical importance. Sometimes we are clouded out, or a camera lens fogs up in the bitter cold, a battery dies or some other technology malfunctions.  We come home elated and successful; we come home empty-handed, knowing we have to wait another year to try again.  

We have been doing this year after year and have the footage we need for the first and second volumes in our series.  Davd has been working diligently at the computer in all his spare time, editing together hours and hours of footage.  He has the first two volumes roughed out, and now the focus is procuring music, diagrams, maps, archival photos, narration, etc.  As we work towards finishing the first volume, we continue to go out on our trips, now getting footage for future volumes of Axis Mundi. 

In this video update, we share winter solstice footage old and new, and give a glimpse into several of the sites we have been documenting.  We hope you enjoy and are beginning to understand more what we’re up to!

Winter Solstice in the Four Corners

With Venus in the morning sky,

Chloe and Davd

P.S. New moon is on Feb. 9.  It’s the second new moon after the winter solstice, which also means it’s Chinese New Year!  Gong hay fat choy!  Good fortune in the year of the dragon.