Solstice Blessings

WINTER SOLSTICE

honor the darkness in the heart of wintertime

welcome the returning of light

JoAnne Dodgson  •  www.pathwaysforhealing.net

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In the northern hemisphere, December 21st is the Winter Solstice – this particular alignment with the earth and sun marks a turning time, the longest night of the year, a seasonal shift into the winter’s cold and quieting on the land.  In the Southern Hemisphere, this is the Solstice of Summer – the beginnings of a new season, the longest day of the year, the heat and blossomings of summer.  Such an intriguing constellation of energies and changes unfolding all at once in our world.

The Solstice has been revered by humans for eons.  Among indigenous cultures and diverse traditions in all regions of the earth, there are ancient sites, stories, art, ceremonies and celebrations related to the Solstice. This reverence is rooted in our enchantment and awe in sharing life with our planet and our star. There’s a collective hearts’ calling to feel and celebrate our connectedness with the vast mysteries and magic of life, with the everflowing cycles of change.

The Earth and her rhythms are sacred. This knowing is woven in the vast web of life and throughout human existence across great expanses of time.  This ancient regard is innately part of who we are.  It runs through our veins.  We can feel it in our bones. So when the sacredness and magic of life on earth feels hidden or out of reach, it’s simply then a time for remembering.

The Winter Solstice invites us to honor the darkness on this longest night of the year.  In the ways of the earth, darkness is essential, just as life-giving and beautiful as the light. Night creates balance with day. All that takes place in the dark fertile soils of the earth is vital to the growth above ground. Yet we’re so often taught to be afraid of the dark.  Winter Solstice offers an invitation to renew our natural kinship with the darkness  – creating safety, embracing the stillness, nourishing inner resources, receiving the gifts of rest and restoration and replenishing the darkness provides.

Winter Solstice is a pivotal time, a shifting in the earth’s rhythms into the returning of more sunlight.  Joining up with this dance with the earth and the sun, we can bring clear and conscious attention, more and more light, to our inner world, to the dreams we want to hold, to the changes we want to manifest in our lives and in the world.

Wishing you a beautiful Solstice, filled with joyful celebration, boundless peace and love.

Heart to Heart, JoAnne