How To Celebrate Winter Solstice
All about the Winter Solstice and some ideas to honour its gifts of stillness and soul time.
The Winter Solstice marks the shortest day and the longest night of the year, when the Sun is at its lowest elevation in the sky.
Winter Solstice is also known as Yule coming from the Middle English yol and Old Norse jōl , a 12-day midwinter festival. It’s also known as Alban Arthan in Druidry, meaning ‘the light of Arthur’.
The world ‘solstice’ means ‘sun stands still’ – for at this time the sun appears to halt in its journey across the sky and to change little in position for a few days, though from this point forward the length of daylight increases little by little.
A time of rebirth
The Winter Solstice can be viewed as the rebirth of the Sun.
And, of course, it is at this time of the Sun’s rebirth that Christianity overlaid ancient ways with their birth of the son of God.
We’re in midwinter and nature withdraws within herself, and all is apparently asleep. The branches are bare. Life is dormant. Animals are in hibernation. The air feels still, the land empty.
Depending on the climate where you live in the world, midwinter may bring cold damp days, snow or frosty nights and glittering mornings.
Low pale-golden sunlight casts the longest of shadows now.
An Inner Tension
It’s a time which calls you to stop, to embrace the short days and long nights with cosy evenings at home lit by candlelight.
You may feel called to eat comforting, warm soups and stews … and drink mulled wine and eat mince pies.
Yet even though you may feel the pull to hibernate, the push of Christmas / midwinter festivities and their call to be busy and make merry is strong.
There’s an inherent tension at this time of year, as we hold the opposites of being in the darkest phase in nature yet knowing the Winter Solstice marks the return of the Sun and the growth phase of the cycle.
You might yearn for deep replenishing rest whilst also feeling the stirrings of the beginnings of new life, particularly as the days start to lengthen after the solstice and we’re bombarded with aggressive “new year, new you” marketing messages as the year turns.
But I counsel you not to rush forward too soon into the light.
We live in a culture that denies the wisdom of the darkness.
But this darkness is a regenerative energy: without death there can be no rebirth. Without darkness, there is no contrast to the light.
To go inwards allows you to connect to your deepest needs and wishes.
So, lean into the energies of this time of year and allow them to move through you.
Get out in nature – yes, even amidst the gloom and dampness and cold.
Winter air can be crisp and clear, blowing away the dust-coated cobwebs in your mind, allowing for greater clarity and inner vision.
Can you feel that deep, cocooning stillness? The frosty nip in the air? The muffled calm of a grey, foggy day? The silence? The feeling of dormant life.
That sense that all has apparently died. Leaves have decayed. Birds are quiet. Branches are bare.
A time between worlds
This is a time between worlds. It’s the centre of the spiral of life… The end of the out-breath where all is silent and still … before the inhale of the year comes, bringing longer days and the spiral outwards towards spring. Don’t rush now. Embrace the stillness.
Spend some time in the profound depths of this tranquillity and quietness. Let the darkness embrace and envelop you.
You are suspended in the void, that space between death and rebirth. Time has stopped. Past, present and future co-exist.
In these depths, let all else drop away. In this space all is possible.
Just as the Sun does at this time of year, stand still.
Pause. And, even if just for a little while, can you just be?
Winter Solstice Energy
Energetically this six-week period around the Winter Solstice is a time for:
Rest and renewal
Immersion in the healing, regenerative darkness – the fertile void of creativity
Connecting to your own wisdom
Pausing at the end of a cycle – the pause between the exhale and the inhale; the time-between-worlds that is the space between death and rebirth and to appreciate this still point before the next cycle begins
Reflection on the cyclic nature of life – ponder on how all of life is change: a constant cycle of life, growth, release, death and rebirth
Reflection on what you may wish to bring into the next cycle and what you wish to leave behind.
Patience: let yourself hang out in this in-between space before the spring arrives – as it surely will, come Imbolc.
Above all, Winter and the Solstice asks you to pause – and to sink deeply into your inner world.
Winter Solstice Rituals
Ritual can mean different things to different people. I like simplicity so here’s how I consider it. A ritual is a devotional act, carried out with the intention of facilitating change. I use rituals to shift my energy, to ask for cleansing and/or blessings, and to offer my prayers to the Goddess.
Here are a few simple rituals to honour Winter Solstice and to harness its energies.
1) Prayer to the Air Goddess
Sit in front of your altar, light your candle, and say this simple prayer to invoke the Air Goddess:
Heart to heart, flame to flame,
Air Goddess, I invoke Your name.
Light of clarity, light of dreaming, light of the soul,
I open to your presence and welcome You in.
Please share with me Your peaceful presence
That I might feel/receive [add your own words for what you request from the Air Goddess]
...And now sit a while and open to any images or words or feelings that arise.
You might like to make a note of them in a journal.
2) Rebirth Your Inner Sun
So here’s a simple way to mark the return of the sun. You’ll need a candle.
The night before the Solstice - ideally around sunset - light a candle and as you gaze into its light, take some time to reflect on the last 6 months. The challenges; the achievements; what you’ve learned. Journal on this if you wish.
As you extinguish the candle, offer gratitude for these experiences and acknowledge that they have now passed.
In the darkness open to receive through meditation or your dreams, your soul’s guidance for what you wish to bring into your life in the coming six months.
On the day of the Solstice, get up before sunrise - not too challenging a task at this time of the longest nights and shortest days! Sit in the dark and reflect on what you wish to bring into your life in the coming weeks and months - journal on this if you wish.
Then as you sense or see the sun rising, light the candle and bring your wishes to life! Set your intentions alight as the candle flame flickers and burns.
3) Aura and Energy Cleansing
You’ll need some incense and a fan, such as one made of ethically-sourced feathers, for this. (For example you could, over time, collect feathers shed by birds that you find around your local area.)
Light some incense - whether an incense stick or cone, or incense from a pot which is a mixture of herbs, resins, flowers and/or spices, burned on a small charcoal brick in a heat proof container.
Cleanse your body and your home with this sacred, perfumed smoke.
With your fan waft the smoke around your head to cleanse your mind and thoughts.
Waft the smoke around your throat to cleanse your words and communication.
Now at your heart, cleanse your intentions.
Now around the lower abdomen, cleanse your actions.
If you wish to cleanse your home, using the incense smoke and fan, spread the incense scent and energy around your rooms - paying particular attention to corners, or anywhere where the energy feels stuck or unpleasantly heavy.
Finish by thanking the element of air for its cleansing and finish by touching your fan to your heart and let air bless your heart with love.
You can also do this with sound - such as chimes, a singing bowl or bells.
Your Next Step
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Presence - the breath cycle
Daily Rhythms - the circadian cycle
Sacred Blood - the menstrual cycle
The Moon - the lunar cycle
The Sun - the solar cycle, exploring the seasons and the wheel of the year
The Life Cycle & Goddess Archetypes - exploring the life cycle archetypes of Maiden, Lover, Mother, Queen and Crone
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