The pyramid of Kukulkán, Chichén Itzá, Mexico

Dear Friends,

As we arrive at the midpoint between the summer and winter solstices—the September Equinox—we are invited into balance. Day and night are equal, reminding us that life is not meant to be lived in extremes but in rhythm, reciprocity, and respect for cycles.

For thousands of years, cultures across the world have looked not to clocks or artificial calendars, but to the sky—to the moon, the sun, the stars, and the shadows they cast—to guide the pulse of life. The Maya understood this profoundly. At Chichén Itzá, the pyramid of Kukulkán was built with such precision that as the sun sets on the equinox, sunlight creates the illusion of a serpent slithering down its steps, symbolizing renewal, transformation, and the sacred union of earth and sky.

In the ongoing production of our new film From the Mind’s Eye, we are learning that the moon played as important a role as the sun.

At the ancient sites of Stonehenge and Hopewell in Ohio, we recorded the dramatic eighteen-and-a-half lunar extreme in cultures separated by 2000 years and nearly 4,000 miles. We were profoundly moved by their common reverence for the moon — witnessing their extraordinary efforts to capture it in monumental sites of exquisite geometries. These alignments resonate and affirm how the Chaco people commemorated the moon in multiple expressions of their shrines and architecture.

These discoveries are now informing our next filming trip as we continue to expand our inquiry and share the connections between sacred architecture, celestial rhythms, and the resilience of the moon and women’s wisdom.

In December we will meet Maya Archaeo-astronomer Alonso Mendez at Palenque to witness the alignments of its magnificent temples to the moon at its Major Standstill. We will record Alonso’s understanding of how the kings and queens designed their great city to reflect their understanding of the cosmos. We will delve into the mythological and historical records that reveal how royal births, accessions and death dates were chosen to harmonize with the larger cycles of solar and lunar events.

Mayanist Michael Grofe will explain the 260-day Maya calendar that evolved from the earliest Maya peoples and spread widely across Mesoamerica — the only ancient Maya calendar that remains in use in modern maya culture. An unbroken tradition lasting more than 2,000 years! In Michael’s reading of Maya hieroglyphic writing, the 260-day cycle conveys a woman’s gestation period and includes individual day signs that are associated with the cycles of women’s fertility.

Moon over Stonehenge, Photo by Anna Sofaer

These insights are inspiring us to continue our journey into the present Maya world. Next February we will be learning from Dolores Ratzán of Santiago Atitlan in Guatemala about her traditional healing practices—to this day, practices guided by the lunar cycles and the 260-day calendar. The moon’s power is so revered in this traditional Maya culture that it is said the moon gave birth to the sun. Its rhythms are seen as the fundamental force in the patterns of nature — in all of life. The Maya moon goddess is a powerfully nurturing figure, for women’s arts of healing, midwifery and weaving.

Through this ongoing work, the Solstice Project seeks to illuminate how global sacred sites reflect the profound astronomical knowledge and spiritual vision of ancient and present traditional cultures—and why they matter now more than ever.

In a world where patriarchy is straining to survive, there is resistance to these natural rhythms. Patriarchy thrives on linearity, extraction, and control. The moon, women’s cycles, and ancient and indigenous ways of knowing remind us of another way—of ebb and flow, of rest as much as growth, of balance between light and dark. These cycles are not weaknesses to overcome, but wisdom to be gathered and nurtured.

This equinox, let us look to the serpent-shadow of Chichén Itzá, the inscriptions of Palenque, and the moon above us. Let us remember that cycles—like women’s wisdom, like the moon’s pull on the tides—are enduring, resilient, and essential.

Please consider supporting our efforts to bring our new film, From the Mind’s Eye, to the screen. We’d appreciate your help in carrying these stories forward.

As day and night find their balance, may we, in these challenging times, find our own balance.

Warmly,

Thank you,

Anna Sofaer
President

Solstice Project
222 East Marcy Street #19
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501

PAYING TRIBUTE TO ROBERT REDFORD

I was privileged to know Bob, and he changed my life. In the 1970s, on a trip to study rock art in Chaco Culture National Historical Park, I was by serendipity the first non-indigenous person to witness a ‘sun dagger’ bisecting a spiral at noon on the summer solstice—a discovery that led to my life’s work with Chaco culture. Bob took an interest, narrating my first two documentaries with sensitive appreciation and wise support. For five decades, he championed both the Solstice Project and the protection of Chaco. With great sadness, we feel his loss, and with deep gratitude we honor his generosity, vision, and enduring legacy.—Anna Sofaer

Robert Redford with Anna Sofaer recording his narration for The Sun Dagger film, 1981

If you prefer, please mail your donation to the Solstice Project address above. Please note that the Solstice Project is a 501c3 non-profit organization and your contributions are tax deductible to the extent that the law allows.