Solstice Vigil of the Dying Sun

Ceremonial climax of the sacred Sun Wheel calendar

Upon summer solstice, longest day,
Let the ring of flame be lit within the sacred city.
The dancers will celebrate, joys of body and mind.
We shall chant prayers to the sun, holy in all names,
And lament the waning of days, death of light.

— excerpted from “Covenant of Fire," Sage of Dawn

Religious Ceremony
Type: Solar Cult (Mazta, Ormahz)
Ethnicities: Arenko, Azoturian, Pachuco, Pimacan
Location: Pimaca City
Date: Late June (Indepa)

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Introduction

The various solar cults of the Forbidden Zone differ in matters of theological doctrine and ritual observance but they share a common sacred calendar known as the Sun Wheel. The focal point of their sacred year, the summer solstice, is likewise common to all Eldenterra's "Children of the Sun."

All observe the summer solstice as the holiest day of the year and participate in a shared ecumenical rite known as the Vigil of the Dying Sun. This ceremony takes place annually in Pimaca City on the longest day of the year and encompasses the spiritual beliefs of all celebrants.

For the entire month the faithful gather together in the Green River pilgrimage procession which culminates in an all-day ceremony led from the top of the Pyramid of Two Suns. The rite mourns the "death" of the sun but celebrates the inevitable triumph of spirit over flesh.

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Execution

At dawn the solar priests of Mazta light hundreds of bonfires arranged to form a massive ring in Pimaca's Sun Square before the sight of the great Pyramid of Two Suns. While the gates to the pyramid and square remain locked, the assembled pilgrims begin marching clockwise around the pyramid clockwise. They do this ten times while chanting hymns of praise to the sun god. Once the tenth circuit is completed, the celebrants don black robes of mourning. They proceed to march for another ten revolutions in the opposite, counter-clockwise direction. These twenty revolutions represent the twenty months of the Sun Wheel. The first ten circuits signify the waxing of the sun's power from winter to summer. The days grow longer as the sun's power increases. At the midway point of the sacred year, the summer solstice, however, the days begin to shorten and the sun's power begins to ebb. The mournful mood of the last ten revolutions around the Two Sun Pyramid is a response to the symbolic death of the sun, an event that mirrors the cosmic struggle of the two suns.

At midday, after twenty processional cycles have completed, the gates of Pimaca's pyramid compound are unlocked and the pilgrims are permitted to enter the heart of the holy city. At this point a spiral procession begins coiling around and through the massive Sun Square parade ground. As drummers strike a rhythmic beat, dancers weave and wheel among the procession. This procession, known as the "snake winding," is done in honour of the Kundalini Leviathan and recognizes the mastery of the sun over the created world. Chants of praise punctuate the phases of the procession, which culminates at midday when the celebrants begin filing into the pyramid's lowest tier. Inside the temple they disrobe before the Altar of Transformation and don orange robes symbolizing the snake god's solar metamorphosis.

The ceremony is a symbolic blending of sorrow and joy, for it commemorates the duality of the sun in both its dark and light natures. The metamorphosis of the serpent god, expressed in the nature of the celebratory procession, also symbolizes the duality of human nature, a blending of happiness and sadness, cruelty and compassion, intellect and ignorance. After the celebrants leave the pyramid they retain their saffron garments and participate in feasting and merrymaking throughout the evening. The revels continue until dusk, when the setting of the sun is observed with a minute of silence. As the last rays of light disappear behind the horizon the bonfires of the parade square are extinguished and a flaming ring is raised atop the temple pyramid between the twin temples of light and shadow.