The return of the Light, time to hold your dream close to your heart!
We have been feeling the depth of the darkness in so many ways and for a while now that it is time to be ready to welcome the Light back while we fully acknowledge and process "the darkness."
I am sure this year, and especially those past 3-4 months, you all experienced facing "the darkness" in your life, family, community, and country. For many who do not have access to ancient teachings or Love, the pitfall of anger, hate, and separation becomes the only path that can feel like belonging and safety.
From Christmas to Hanukkah, from the Solstice to Yule, Chinese, Native Indians, Druids, and Vikings, all traditions through the ages of time, have been celebrating this holy time of the year.
I wanted to share some of the meanings & practices to give you concrete tools to finally BREATH IN after what seemed to be an infinite EXHALE.
The Solstice word comes from the Latin words for "sun" and "to stop"; the Sun stands still. This is the time of the year when the night is the longest and when the day/light will finally grow again.
A long time ago, the Vikings, the Old Germanic people, and the Norse gods celebrated this event called Yule with a 12-day celebration starting on the Solstice. Yule is, in fact, said to be the pagan Christmas. I shared a beautiful video in a recent Facebook post (Watch here).
I see in those beautiful celebrations an opportunity not only to acknowledge the passing from darkness to Light but also the necessity to hold a communion of prayers with all our brothers and sisters on this planet, our ancestors, regardless of their religion, faith, color, belief, and spirituality. We have to build bridges if we honestly talk about "being spiritual," lending a hand where we might have created cracks and separations, and we have to include others in our prayers, however dark the life is for ourselves.
Here are some ideas on celebrating, praying, and tuning into this cosmic cycle.
But remember, every single cell of your body, every part of your soul, is designed to connect to the Sun and its energy, so there is no wrong way to celebrate. The most important thing is connecting to what rings true inside your heart.
Follow your instinct; TRUST the voice inside your heart.
- Clean your space/room/body with sage or mugwort smudging. You can use feathers to send the smoke of the smudge around, below, above, and on your body. If you feel like wearing "ceremony clothing," it will increase the acknowledgment that you are entering a sacred space (clean or new clothes, white is ideal).Â
You can also wear your crystals. Going outside and connecting to Nature (sky, Sun, moon, stars, trees, plants, animals) is an excellent way to tune into higher frequencies.
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- Take a few deep breaths in & out. Get into your body. Feel every part of it. Be present.
Stop doing, start being. Feel the rhythm of your breath, the beating of your heart.
- Light a fire or a candle. Offer some tobacco to the fire/candle. You can make a bundle of all you want to release and offer it to the ancient ones.
