Solstice has always been a celebratory time in my life. My late friend Nicole and I would put on big events at the house, filled with community and sweetness.
Solstice parties, ceremonies, rituals, dinners, fires, and friends.
This year is going to be different - just as the Holiday season is different.
How can we warm our hearts and care for ourselves in the darkest of times?
That is what Winter is… the darkest of months and Solstice being the longest night. Even though the light is returning the coldness is settling in.
Solstice is also a day of hope. It is a reminder that the light never dies. And that it does return. Solstice celebrations can keep us connected the wisdom in these cycles.
In truth, each phase of life has its encouragement, its demands, its gifts, and its limitations. Each have energies that bring us into a different being-ness.
Cold can only be cold. We don't expect it to be different. It can force us to layer up. It can ask us to gather around the fire and warm our bellies with soup. Cold and wet can influence us to retreat into our caves. We innovate, we adapt, and we continue to wake and move through the times.
What if we could face the situation of today with that same level of acceptance. What would you day be like if you were not asking things to be different than they are? What if you were leaning into innovation, adaptability and creation? What would be possible then?
If we can accept these changes of the Seasons - can we more easily accept changes happening in our lives and within ourselves? These cycles can remind us of our ingenuity if we allow them to.
Solstice celebrations can help you tap back into the magnificent wisdom and resilience in the world and in you.
Many modern cultures teach us that consistency and dependability is valued over changing things up and ditching that which isn’t’ work… even if it’s only been a little while. We are taught to “stick with it”. And I believe this is why change tends to be more painful than it needs to be.
While the seasons, and the human spirit walk of the Medicine Wheel, teach us that life changes quite often with the rising of tides, the stages of plants, flowers, and trees. The animals show us from season to season how to change activities, shift and adapt. Even the weather itself shows us that things aren’t the same from one year to the next for the Winters can be mild and wet or full of snow and ice.
The pear trees can be laden or sparse. The songbirds may stay longer or disappear early.
Nature shows us flexibility, adaptation, and living in a listening way.
Are you listening? Listening to the changes within you?
What is your life needing now that is different than last Winter? What is feeling heavy and burdensome that you could let go this year?
What has been working for you that you want more of in 2021?
Solstice is a time to trust in the ebbs and flows of life. Trust the bigger picture.
Solstice is a time to remind ourselves of our strengths as a whole. A reminder that we need each other to survive and thrive.
Solstice is a time to listen in - what is your truth? What brings you happiness and how can you shift to bring this in?
Focus on that which "lights you up". Fear will never steer you towards joy. Worry will never lead you to love.
You have deep wisdom inside of you. Just as the darkest hour slowly fades to dawn. You too can invite the light of a new day into your life. You can feed your brain activities and rituals that support trust and connection.
Here are some of my favorite ways to celebrate Solstice:
Make a Yule log:
My mother brought the Yule log tradition to our family. She and my Dad saved part of the past year's Christmas tree and we would cover it in medicinal herbs, like Rosemary and Mullen Flowers. Then pour wax over it to make the herbs stick. This would be used for the start of the "First Fire". The First Fire is the start of a fire that would be tended and kept going throughout the winter months. Think of wood as your only source of heat during the cold months! The First Fire was a celebratory time.
Get a log.
Fill bowls with dried medicinal herbs.
Melt wax.
Sprinkle herbs pour wax and repeat.
You can also tie some herbs to the log. Make two so that you can start a yearly tradition of burning last year's Yule log. You can also just bundle up all the herbs if you have branches or stocks. Or skip the log and create a dried her bundle for health and protection in the home.
Candle Making:
Get mason jars and put dried flowers, pine or fire bows, pine cones or dried fruits, cinnamon sticks, or star anise in the bottom. Put in your wick. Melt and pour wax for a festive and beautiful gift for yourself or others.
Solstice Altar:
When creating an altar to honor Solstice I use a bright yellow altar cloth. I put many candles out and winter foliage. Sometimes I have a bowl of spices like star anise, nutmeg, and cinnamon for the ancestors. Faces of Suns are fun to have on the altar. The Bear or the reindeer may make an appearance. Mushrooms are fun too. The feelings I get from Solstice altars are warmth, softness, loving care, and peace. You can put sunstone gems or other Sun or Winter/North honoring crystals like black tourmaline and moonstone. Add a place to write down that which you are asking to shed, release, and let go of. Or a wish for more understanding, answers, and awareness. I will put food out for the spirits, guides, and ancestors.
Fire:
Go outside on Solstice night and create a ceremonial fire. Burn all those things you are letting go of. Raise your voice, release sound, cry, or dance if you feel. Shake around the fire, throwing any emotions into the fire you no longer want to carry. Then sit with your fire and daydream, space out, or sing. Allow the fire to work its magic.
Story Telling:
There are two ways I’ll mention storytelling. The first is to tell stories of the year. Reminisce or process the year verbally. This can be inclusive and even done over zoom with a close group of friends. It can be celebratory and honoring to hear and witness the growth and changes within a year of life.
Second is the telling of many Winter, Christmas, Solstice, St. Nicolas legends, and stories. Look up other cultures' myths and symbols or traditions of this time. It can be validating and/or inspiring.
Life by Candlelight:
Spend a whole day not using electricity in any way. Yes, device-free. Allow yourself to remember what life might have been like without all the amenities. Come into slowness and more energetic quietness. Spend some time outdoors and go in with only candles to carry you through dinner and sleep routines.
Solstice Dinner:
This can be so fun. Using foods that are warm-colored, yellow, orange, and the link. Loaves of bread, soups, and cider. This is a fun combination of food you may not usually provide at the dinner table. Enjoy this pleasurable celebration of foods and abundance and warming the Hearth.
Journalling - End of Year Contemplations:
What have you accomplished!?
What is coming to an end?
What is coming into clarity? What do you want more of?
What seeds are you planting? Or will it be planting?
Solstice can be a powerful tool to start visioning the next year. Some pages you might end up embellishing in your New Year ceremonies while others might go into the flames of transmuting.
In my practice, the Solstice is the stepping over point into the hallway between one year and the next. The Chinese New Year in February is the door I am walking to. This allows me about two months to clear out and create clarity. It feels in flow with the seasons, the cultural celebrations, the transition of the New Year, and the process of ending, pausing, resting, walking, and beginning again.
May this Solstice mark a time of entering the Portal into a new world. This is the creation time on Earth… we are creating it - Creating our realities.
Are the seeds you are planting in the soil of Fear and Worry or in the earth of Trust and Innovation?
Solstice will carry you for the next walk around the Medicine Wheel may these suggestions allow you to celebrate and honor you, your life, and your loved ones.
Here's to your future - may it be bright,
Amber Jane
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