Winter Solstice - a festival of inner renewal

Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year, is the mirror image of the longest day, or Summer Solstice. The Winter Solstice is the deepest moment of the winter, the point where the sun stands still, where motion ceases, nature holds its breath - yet life begins to stir again. Winter remains to unfold particularly in this part of the world but a cycle has reversed, spring has been born. Seeds asleep under the cold earth and animals in hibernation will not move yet but within them a process has completed itself.  As we become more conscious of that cycle within ourselves we can use this time of death and rebirth for our personal growth. We can use this time for reflection, considering where we are on life’s journey and what we intend to shift this winter and birth in spring. 

This realisation may help fight the January blues as celebrating the Solstices can break what can seem like the long haul from Christmas until the spring. Taking time out on the 21st to gather with friends, meditating, relaxing or simply making a promise to you to do nothing at all can be a welcome respite from the exhaustion and tedium of commercialised Christmas. For me this practice alleviated the dread of the long winter months just knowing that on this day we were already half way to Spring Equinox and the return of the sun led me to look forward to it more each year. On a deeper level, the more I worked with the energy of the solstice, the more I appreciated the chance to turn within, look at the year gone by, let go of what no longer served me and plant my seeds of intention for the year ahead. (And it seems even more so this year – read in conjunction with Alison Rae’s message for this weekend

During this period, align with the higher-dimensional frequencies through individual and group ritual, prayer, ceremony, meditation, dance, drumming, chanting and creative activities. Allow for the transformation of your beliefs, ideals and aspirations. Let go of judgment and what you think you know. Reach higher, commune with cosmic intelligence. Go for the extreme experiences. Journey into unknown realms. Channel your creativity in new and stimulating ways. Now is the time to manifest your dreams and visions!

and note also that  the new moon is on Weds the 20th at 14.01 and the solstice at 22 past midnight on 22nd – mega chance to set intentions for the new age ahead)

We can assist that process quietly and privately or use some of the many rituals and celebrations that have been handed down the ages. The rituals are designed to help us remember that the seasons of the year like the seasons of our lives come and go. It is our choice whether we are aware of the dynamic that controls them or not. Winter and the dark months initiate the coming of light and life. Fact. If we consciously participate in it we can input now what will be born in the summer –plant the seed that will sprout in the spring. 

My favourite ritual for the winter solstice is gathering in front of fire or around the table after dinner with a large new red candle in the centre to represent the group as a whole and the Solstice Sun. You may wish to place the candle within a Yule Wreath as a symbol of cycles of nature. Participants all have a smaller red candle (tea lights are good). As each person lights their candle they speak a vision or wish for the planet for the coming year: “My Solstice Wish is ….” then place their candle in a circle around the large one in the centre. One year after a slap up “Solstice Feast” with friends including children aged between 2 -10 we shared the very best and the very worst of the year gone by and our personal wishes for the year ahead – fantastic. The children of course surpassed anything the adults came up with, their honest simplicity bringing tears and smiles to the adult faces.

Remember rituals are not set in stone for use only by new age hippies but are ideas and traditions to be used and adapted to suit you, your family and friends, so try something different this year. Other ideas to play with are greeting the Sun at dawn on Solstice morning by ringing bells, drumming drums, singing or chanting. Lighting a Yule Log fire and as it begins to burn, throwing in one or more dried holly sprigs to say farewell to the old calendar year (Holly represents the waning solar year, Summer Solstice to Winter Solstice). Farewells can take the form of thanksgiving and appreciation and/or a banishment of old habits or personal pains. Once the Yule Log itself starts blazing, think of the year ahead and the power of possibilities, then throw in an oak twig or acorn into the fire to represent the year ahead (Oak represents the waxing solar year, Winter Solstice to Summer Solstice) and call out a resolution, hope or dream.

This year solstice falls on 22nd December 2011 at 5.30am and sunrise is approx 8.45am on that day. The colours of the celebration are Red, Green, and White.