Winter Solstice
around December 21st
Yule, Christmas, Midwinter, Saturnalia
... And She births the spirit within us, bringing light and hope to us all...
- Shekhinah Mountainwater
The winter solstice, hiemal solstice or hibernal solstice occurs when one of the Earth's poles has its maximum tilt away from the Sun. It happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere. Astronomically marks the beginning of lengthening days and shortening nights -Wikipedia
In many traditions, this is seen as the sun being reborn. It marks a shift of the sun growing and a promise of returning warmth in the future. Where I live January is still the worst of it winter wise and its important to remember that even in the worst of times we will have a shining light at the end.
I see the Winter Solstice as this time of shifting balance, a time of manifestation and hope for change. This also aligns with the cultural ending of the year, where we make resolutions!
In Wicca, they view this holiday as the rebirth of the Sun/Son God, reflected in Christianity as the birth of Jesus. As Dianic, we obviously do not celebrate that.
Instead we view this as a time where the Goddess has conceived Herself as the transition from Crone to Bright Maiden. She is becoming a faint spark within the darkness that will grow, but She is not yet filled emerged/grown and bathing Her light unto the world yet. I mean how safe would it be to give birth at the beginning of winter vs spring?
We honor the Roman Goddess Juno (or Diana) with the epithet Lucina. Lucina was a term that later evolved to Lucifer, "Bringer of Light". Juno Lucina is the Goddess of light, mothers, childbirth (bringing babies into the light), and the moon (light of the moon).
At Samhain, we saw the Goddess as death/rebirth and looked towards the future. We only saw darkness and possibilities. The potential was reborn but it was as open as all infinity. At the Winter Solstice, we begin to see the first little sparks of energy manifesting towards the new future.
To imagine this, let's say at Samhain, we sit down at a fresh blank canvas. At Winter Solstice we have an idea of what we want to paint and maybe even at envisioning it and starting to mix the paint. At Imbolc, we will begin to give it the first shape with paint on canvas, as we nourish and grow the idea.
Things are beginning to come together but they are fragile things just taking shape, still infants.
It is such a time for faith and hope. We can see this in so many Christmas movies as our faith and hope in humanity is restored!
This was a time when winter was pretty scary. They had a lot more concern than us just hoping we don't get snowed in and can't make it to work. It was life and death. Struggle to make sure they had enough food, light, warmth. They had to hope and pray the light and sun would be returning soon.
This can be a difficult time. We do not have the light, but we must carry forth the hope and trust that the light will return. We can think of it as the first weeks of pregnancy where there is so many unknowns, they tell you not to tell anyone yet just in case. You may even still be deciding if you want to keep it or not. Perhaps our light is not physical motherhood and found in that choice instead.
This is also a time of dreaming and rest. Let us dream of the future coming light. Let us pause and take a moment within the dark before we need to put in the energy to grow. Sometimes we need to just hit the snooze button and dream a little bit more.
As the wheel turns...
At the beginning of Samhain, we saw our potential ahead of us as we left the past behind. At Winter's Solstice, we hope and trust in the spark of light to grow and manifest.
Women's Mystery:
The Ouroboros (symbol of a snake eating its own tail) is present here. Or the symbolism of a caterpillar transforming into a butterfly. The Crone Goddess is at rest and is preparing to transform Herself into the new light. Conception.
Ways to celebrate:
Light candles and place them in windows to welcome back the sun (use LED candles or only use real fire when completely and constantly supervised)
Taking time for yourself- say no, hit snooze, take a self care day, relax
Start or add to a dream journal
Spend time in the dark
Gift-giving that inspires faith, love, and spirit
Donate your time in helping others
Stay up all night and await the sunrise
Burn a yule log
Colors:
Winter colors- blues, whites, silvers,
Colors of light and hope for the returning green and sun- dark greens, reds, golds
Foods:
Things warm, hearty, comfort foods
How to celebrate as Dianic:
For me, I see this as a time to celebrate the dark, the rest, the peace, and self-care. Quite often for many people, this time of year is filled with stress, rushing about, and taking care of a million things! We might be planning holidays, gift buying, visiting family, trying to decide who to visit or if we should or saying no and all the stress added to all those choices, worrying about money, our forgotten diets, etc... It is a stressful time of the year.
Take a moment to focus on self-care. Take that bath with all the salts, candles, rose petals, etc... read that book you have been meaning to that is pure fluffy trash so you don't have to even think. Wear a facemask, do your nails, drink some wine, go for a walk. Do whatever you find relaxing and as self-care. It can be about you sometimes!
This is a great time to think about dreams and hopes. I like to combine it with the idea of new years resolutions somewhat. I pick a thing or things that will better me and set goals towards completing it in the upcoming year. I try to pick things that will better my spirit and that are long term yearly goals that I can continue to work on throughout the year.
I also like to make a dream/vision board of the future year. Put it on my altar to help practice mindfulness. Starting a dream journal is a great idea here as well.
This is a time I really like to reflect and think about the future and my goals and hopes. I do a lot of meditation and prayer. I may ritually fast leading up to the solstice.