Winter Solstice: Darkness Gives Way to Hygge and Light
The Winter Solstice is at 2:23pm PST on Friday, December 21st (Sun enters Capricorn)
Full Moon is at 9:50am PST on December 22nd (Moon in Cancer opposes Sun in Capricorn)
Before the Roman calendar there was the Wheel of the Year - cycles guided by Sun and Moon. There are 8 primary points or gateways on the wheel. In the Northern Hemisphere, the Winter Solstice marks the northern gate, ushering us into the realm of magic governed by the element of earth. Earth is the power of manifestation and the wisdom of the ancestors. Earth is the enduring memory in bones, trees, ice and stones. Earth is the coziness and love shared in physical connection with one another.
Not only is Winter Solstice (Yule) associated with earth, but also with rebirth. The longest darkest night gives birth to the Light: In Norse legends, the Goddess would sit through the night at her spinning wheel (Jul : Yule), weaving Fate, weaving Dreams - her hands the hands of time, tying in loose ends of despair, adding colorful threads of hope and possibility, foretelling the stories of life/death/rebirth...and thus, Midwinter is also called Mother’s Night, for the Holy Mother gives birth again and again to Her-story which is Our story with each cycle around the Sun.
So tomorrow, we will step through the northern gate. The Full Moon will cast a shimmering invitation across the frozen lake, illuminating the way to snow-capped mountains of dreams, mystery and memory. A land of white paths and black silhouettes, of white hope and black despair, of white furry coats and black shiny noses.
On the outside of town, a little match girl lights her final match and slips away forevermore. While inside, families and friends gather to share stories, eat homemade treats and sip warm beverages around flickering candlesticks and yule logs... this is hygge - where we meet the darkness with the warmth and light of our hearts.
My little family travelled up to Montana where we are staying cozy with each other and a house full of animals. After Taliesin goes to sleep tonight, Mike and I will whisper our hopes and dreams for the season, speak to the habits and ways of life that are dying, and recall memories of seasons past. Our rituals are simple these days as we do our best to stay present with each other, Taliesin and the new foundation we are building in Bend.
How to Celebrate Yule: A Ritual of Hygge for Winter Solstice
Gather close with the ones you love - people, animals, crystals, trees..
Make an altar, simple or extravagant.
Craft a Yule log and place it in the fireplace; wrap up in warm blankets; light candles everywhere; sip on hot drinks; decorate with evergreen trees and homemade wreaths; bake fresh cookies; read winter myths of Sasquatches, Angels, Ice Queens, Baba Yaga and Christ; listen to music; make big pots of soup and crunchy bread; tell stories of your ancestors; recall memories of your childhood; read poetry that speaks to the soul...
Talk of the things that delight and connect you to the heart. Then allow yourself to drift into a comfortable silence and hold vigil through the night, reflecting on the poignancy and fullness of life.
See, Winter Solstice is the turning point - a time of darkness and death that also holds the promise of life and light's return carried on traditions, stories, poetry and dreams. Dreams are most potent at this time, and I find that they are even more magical when shared. Dreams are messengers that come under the cloak of night while everyone else is sleeping. Speaking of, my dream course, Awakening Through Dreams, is in the final stages of review and will be ready soon soon soon!
In the meantime, a poem for you by David Whyte:
THE WINTER OF LISTENING
No one but me by the fire,
my hands burning
red in the palms while
the night wind carries
everything away outside.
All this petty worry
while the great cloak
of the sky grows dark
and intense
round every living thing.
All this trying
to know
who we are
and all this
wanting to know
exactly
what we must do.
What is precious
inside us does not
care to be known
by the mind
in ways that diminish
its presence.
What we strive for
in perfection
is not what turns us
into the lit angel
we desire.
What disturbs
and then nourishes
has everything
we need.
What we hate
in ourselves
is what we cannot know
in ourselves but
what is true to the pattern
does not need
to be explained.
Inside everyone
is a great shout of joy
waiting to be born.
And
here
in the tumult
of the night
I hear the walnut
above the child’s swing
swaying
its dark limbs
in the wind
and the rain now
come to
beat against my window
and somewhere
in this cold night
of wind and stars
the first whispered
opening of
those hidden
and invisible springs
that uncoil
in the still summer air
each yet
to be imagined
rose.
…
And as always...
Magical Ally: Frankincense
Frankincense is the ultimate oil for the Winter Solstice portal. I find it particularly precious as it is a resin - the weeping tears of a Boswellia tree. In ancient times, frankincense was more valuable than gold. It is a magical oil with more powers than I can even begin to list!
Burn the resin as an incense to soothe a tired and anxious mind.
Burn the resin or diffuse the essential oil to assist deep meditation, tranquility and inner peace.
Wrap a bit of resin in a cloth and carry in your pocket to attract wealth and abundance.
Diffuse the essential oil as you pray and imagine your prayers being carried up on golden wings to the Divine
May these dark days be blessed with golden light and hygge,
Love,
Jennifer
P.S. If you'd like a high quality frankincense essential oil, you can order a single bottle HERE at retail price. Or, if you’d like to receive Wholesale pricing on all doTERRA essential oils and products, you can get started HERE or email me!
