As our Earth grows dark tonight
and the north winds blow,
As the fire dwindles to ash
and ice blankets the land,
May the light of our Sun
find its way home.
~Nancy Lankston
✨
#solstice
#dark
#light
✨
Image: Celtic Tomb,
Ireland
“This year I do not want
the dark to leave me.
I need its wrap
of silent stillness,
its cloak
of long lasting embrace.
Too much light
has pulled me away
from the chamber
of gestation.
Let the dawns
come late,
let the sunsets
arrive early,
let the evenings
extend themselves
while I lean into
the abyss of my being.
Let me lie in the cave
of my soul,
for too much light
blinds me,
steals the source
of revelation.
Let me seek solace
in the empty places
of winter’s passage,
those vast dark nights
that never fail to shelter me.”
~Joyce Rupp
❄️
#dark
#still
#inward
#winter
Photograph: Lonely Tree
by Renate Wasinger
“I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says, ‘Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.’”
~Lewis Carroll
❄️❄️
Photograph by Nancy L
in the belly
of the mother
seeds are stirring
shhh, listen.
life is awakening
in the body of her
the sacred wheel
turns toward spring.
~Nancy Lankston
There is natural magic afoot right now. It is there, running just beneath the surface. Can you feel it? All winter long, Mama Earth holds the seeds of spring safe for us. As the cold wind blows and the snow piles up, the Mother holds them safe in her soil body.
Then, in early February, as the wheel of the year slowly turns towards spring, the seeds begin to stir. Life is reawakening in the ground of the Mother. Imbolc has quietly arrived.
Imbolc was a ritual feast time for the ancient Celtic tribes. Their legends tell us of the Cailleach — the divine hag Goddess who rules over winter and death. The Cailleach is said to gather firewood for the rest of the winter on Imbolc. If the Cailleach wishes to make winter last a lot longer, she will make sure that the weather on Imbolc is bright and sunny, so she can gather plenty of firewood. But, if Imbolc is a day of foul weather, it means the Cailleach is asleep and winter is almost over. This is the origin of modern Groundhog Day.
The Cailleach is the sacred Earth Mother Goddess in her bare winter form. She is is also the Bone Mother who collects the bones of the animals that die in the winter. The Bone Mother sings and prays over the bones of the animals all winter long. She does this out of love, so that the animals will cross over and be able to return as new life in the spring.
Celebrate!
Spring is on its way.
Note: Imbolc means “in the belly”. It is an old Irish word that honors the pregnant ewes carrying new life in their wombs at this time of year. Imbolc is traditionally celebrated at the halfway point between winter solstice and spring equinox.
Winter Solstice is upon us in the northern hemisphere.
Our Earth has reached a transition point in its journey around the Sun (far right in the graphic above). Here in the north, our days have been getting shorter and shorter since summer. But now, the light begins to return to us. Our days will gradually lengthen and lighten until Summer Solstice in June (far left in the graphic).
At Winter Solstice, our ancestors paused to celebrate this seasonal shift and the return of life giving sunlight. Now is a time for earthy rituals.
Light a candle, say a prayer, walk in nature and offer our Earth and Sun gratitude for the alchemical magic of sunlight, water and soil that sustains us all.
🌞🌎
#CyclesandSeasons
#ReturnoftheLight
Image: Wikipedia
Winter Solstice officially occurs Saturday night December 21st in North America. But the entire weekend is filled with sacred solstice light.
This is the perfect time to pause for a moment or two. Silently express gratitude for all life on Earth – Life made possible through the magic alchemy of sunlight, soil and water.
Winter Solstice Chant
Vines, leaves, roots of darkness, growing,
now you are uncurled and cover our eyes
with the edge of winter sky
leaning over us in icy stars.
Vines, leaves, roots of darkness, growing,
come with your seasons, your fullness, your end.
~Annie Finch
☀️
Winter Trees
All the complicated details
of the attiring and
the disattiring are completed!
A liquid moon
moves gently among
the long branches.
Thus having prepared their buds
against a sure winter
the wise trees
stand sleeping in the cold.
~William Carlos Williams
Image by Marinus Keyzer.