Winter Solstice
We have come to the edge of the wheel of the year. We have arrived at Everything’s ending and Everything’s beginning. Time stands still, and it is the perfect moment to celebrate the return of the Light through a quiet pause of gratitude and reflection.
A Sacred Winter Celebration
The Winter Solstice has been celebrated as long as anybody can remember. Delivered to us through ancient rock carvings and myths, human beings have celebrated the Winter Solstice as the last day of the year seen from the calendar of nature for more than 5000 years.
The wheel of the sun is one of the first cultural tokens of many indigenous medicine traditions representing the 4 seasons with the seasonal celebrations: Winter Solstice, Summer Solstice and Spring Equinox and Autumn Equinox. Then as now, the Winter Solstice was a celebration of the return the light and the rejoice of the coming new year.
On this shortest day of the year, we honour the sun as a life-giver. Standing on the threshold between the old and the new, we find ourselves in a magical portal of possibility, where the veils grow thin and we are granted glimpses of the potential held within our inner soul seeds.
Standing Still
The word solstice comes from the Latin solstitium — sol meaning ‘sun’ and stit- meaning ‘stopped, stationary’ (from the verb sistere).
In ancient Scandinavia, there was a solstice tradition known as “no wheel shall turn.” For three days, the wheels that usually kept life in motion — spinning wheels, wagon wheels, mill wheels, all manner of wheels — were brought to a halt.
Just like these wheels, we too can pause our own productive spinning wheel and feel the gift of slowing down and listening. Deep listening is so needed in our fast-paced Western society, where we so rarely give time and space to truly listen. Not only the listening that reaches outward, but the inner listening — the quiet attention to the voice of our souls.
From this place of stopping and sinking into deeper listening, we can begin to remember. We can open to this magical time of ‘filling up’ our inner stocking as we reconnect with the stories of where we come from and recall the values that root us — all guiding our remembering before we step into the new year.
TAKE a pause
and CELEBRATE Life today
as a constant interplay of
Dark and Light,
Moment and Eternity.
Listening in the Dark
Try to carve out some time during the days of the Solstice to connect with Stillness and Deep Listening. Slow down, set out on a medicine walk alone, or step outside into the darkness to look up at the stars.
Find a way to connect with nature and your inner sun, as we call back the Light and step into a sacred time in which the universe is both guiding us and listening to what lies within our hearts.
This is a time of deep remembrance — a time to ask the voice of the Earth to help us remember where we are, where we come from, and who we wish to be.
Solstice blessings to all,
Solstice Blessings to all,
Sidsel Solmer Eriksen, Founding Editor
Midwinter Solstice Practices
Take time to Feel
The Winter Solstice is a day where time is standing still. You can honour this special day by trying to clear the day of your normal to-do list. In the midst of the holiday season, this can be a quite a challenge, but this day is powerful and the universe supports you for a day spent in reflection and gratitude and a pause from the stress. This day is perfect for practicing gratitude for the gifts and teachings you have received during the year. A great way to do this is to write a reverse bucket list, that contains everything you received this year and discover how life can surprise you and some times even delivering above your wildest dreams.
Go for a walk
Spend the shortest day on going for a walk in the woods or by the sea, and let nature show you, what you are ready to let go of. Or go for a walk in the darkness and welcome the sun inside yourself. Look at the sky, ask for a guiding star to tell you how to lead you into the new year. You can find more advice on how to go on a medicine walk here.
Light a Fire
Fire is the ancient element of the sun and the light. Fire both consumes and nourishes. At the winter solstice, we light a fire to burn all the old cords, actions and vows. Everything that has been used up, and we are now ready to say ‘fare well’ to. You can also write your words on a piece of paper and throw them on the fire. Find more inspiration on the fire ritual here.
Do you have any traditions or rituals around the Winter Solstice or the coming New Year? Please share your stories or tips in the comments below.
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