Plan your Winter Solstice

By Cate Stillman

With close to a week before the winter solstice, how are you planning on honoring the day of darkness?

Solstice = Sun standing still

Sol = Sun

Sistere = Cause to stand still

Yule = Wheel

This is the biggest invitation to pause in our annual Earth cycle. You can stand still and watch the wheel turn. You can see where you are in space, and mark where you are in time.

Yule was the pre-Christian Germanic Midwinter (celebration). It was one of the eight solar holidays. When the wheel of the year is at its low point it is Yule. Winter solstice marks the natural inclination of our hearts and minds to turn inward. What does this mean for us? Create the time to pause, to honor, to inquire, to reflect.

Mark sacred times

Cultivate
the quiet
the darkness
the field of potentiality
the potency of your inner light.

Mark the passage of time and illuminate your momentum.

Create a simple ritual that might include:

bathing feet or renewing your body (see Self-Care Extravagances)
anointing with fragrant oils
lighting candles
chanting or singing
journaling or contemplation
heart sharing
dancing or movement
a closing prayer or intentions for the new

What differentiates a ritual from an action is your intention and awareness applied to a regular routine.

Stillness.

Silence.

Listening.

This week, take time to be in the silence. Take time a few times a day. Take time alone. Take time with others. Stay away from the rush. Especially, this week… less is more. You will connect with the inner abundance of beingness. The fullness of the silence. The depth of the darkness. Sink into the darkness… the source of all light. The source of all activity. Be in the darkness. Be in the silence. Allow for no-thing. Allow for everything without preference. This week is the most potent to simply be in the joy of the silence. Renew your spirit. Rest your body. Rest your mind.

Read the simple truth from Jeanie Manchester, an Anusara Yoga teacher from Boulder, CO, who co-leads Women’s Solstice Gatherings every Winter Solstice:

“I have time for chai. I have time for a walk. I want community and relationship more than I want the crazy running around.”

Make the time to watch time pass.
Stand still.
Watch the wheel turn forward towards more light.

If you want to spread earth-based rhythms through your family and community, join Winter Traditions.