Mornings are chilly now in our desert town. It's 7 am on December 19th, and the sky is beginning to light up in pinkish peach hues, yet the sun is still hidden.
These last days leading up to the Winter Solstice are always laden with mystery and divinity. Oh, how I love the change of Seasons and the unique qualities it brings. Yule time may be my favorite, possibly because I’m a Sagittarius or maybe because I’m just a lover of holidays, celebrations, ritual and gatherings. I embrace any good reason to be merry with the people in my life and share food, stories and songs, as we do among my folk. Last weekend I had a Solstice Holiday Fiesta Show and performed with my soulful band members to a pub full of friends, neighbors, staff and fans of funky medicine music. This magical evening filled me with such immense gratitude for the people in my life, my heart is still bursting with love. That’s the kind of holiday feeling I cherish.
It’s 7:17 am and the sky is a soft pink, but the sun has not yet risen. My feline children are gathered around me wondering when I’ll stop writing to feed them.
7:26 am and a blood-red sun just peeked out over the far east mountains. Thank you for another day on Planet Earth, I intend to make the most of it.
By the time you receive this newsletter, it will be December 21st, the Winter Solstice, the shortest day and longest night of the year. The wheel has turned once again as Sir Darkness hands the baton over to Lady Light — I WISH YOU A HAPPY WINTER SOLSTICE, BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE! As Autumn turns to Winter, the last of the harvest is stored away, food is pickled and canned, the fields are tilled, animals find shelter from the cold, and we enter the season of rebirth. Though these ideas may be figurative for many of us in modern times, the old ways of the tribes and farmers remain metaphorically relevant to humankind as long as we live on Mother Earth.
The Winter Solstice carries immense energy for effective emotional cleanup and can supercharge our intentions for the year — similar to a New Moon but in much greater magnitude. On this day we want to clearly identify our fears, false beliefs and perceptions as well as patterns and actions that we must clear away to make room for new growth. I find the best approach is to just write it all down, as specific as possible. It helps me to group them into categories such as "Health/Wellbeing/Peace of Mind," "Relationships/Love/Passion," "Work/Success/Money," "Wisdom/Growth/Contribution" and “Matters that cannot be changed at this time.” Then I take those same categories and write down my wishes and prayers while setting intentions and visualizing those nurtured seeds planted deep in the ground where they can develop over the Winter Season to sprout in the Spring. There is no rush to complete this all in one day, you have until the mid-Winter Season, a day known as Imbolc (February 1, 2018) to hone in on what truly matters, and work on sharpening your intuition.
It’s 8 am, time for Yoga, meditation and a smoothie….but first I need to feed those wild animals of mine.
Warm Wishes of Light for your Solstice, Holidays and New Year!
Much Love,
Kate
Mom
December 28, 2017
I am touched by the beauty of your thoughts! Thanks, my lovely daughter!