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A Winter Solstice Ritual To Honor the Longest Night

Blog · Your Self


We are entering the potent portal of Winter Solstice. It’s the longest night of the year, and with it comes an energy of being in the dark. You may feel this manifest as confusion, the desire to rest, and or the longing for more space.

For me, my life has felt complex over the last couple of weeks. My kids have been sick and I have been experiencing some anxiety. These are signs that I’m doing too much and I need to slow down.

Yet, it’s the time of year for parties, shopping, cooking, hosting, and present buying, which can feel the opposite of slowing down.

So what I’m doing is acknowledging that the busyness of the holidays is just the human side of things. But nature is up to something entirely different.

Nature is still and quiet. Everything is hibernating and empty – the earth is cold, the trees are bare, and the animals are sleeping. It’s the resting half of the year for nature – there’s not much going on.

We are also in the darkest days of the year.

Right now, nature is inviting us to take the medicine of the Winter Solstice and find space and stillness.

I am doing this by asking myself how I can allow for more space and what can I take off my plate or off of my schedule in order to have that space.

I am showing up for this initiation and heeding the call of the cosmos to align with who I really am.

I know it feels really hard to do this work right now, with the holidays around the corner, but it’s these initiations that will give you exactly what you need to keep going.

The Winter Solstice brings the lesson of putting everything aside and being with Mother Night, the Queen of Death, and the stillness of winter.

On the 21st, relish in sacred space and allow yourself to go into the darkness. Do this any way you can. Take social media off your phone, save your to-do’s for another day, turn off your phone for a few hours, turn off the lights and live by candlelight for the night or follow the ritual below.

Whatever you decide to do, know that you are in the company of women all over the northern hemisphere gathering in ceremony, in the dark, and in the light to honor this potent portal of change.

Here is a very simple ritual you can do to honor the Solstice:

  • Gather with a few loved ones. You can just have your kids and partner, have some friends over or get people together on zoom. (You can also do this solo with a journal and your higher self :).
  • Consider making a traditional Wassail or chicken soup for everyone to share.
  • Turn off all the lights and sit in the darkness for a little bit. See what comes up as you let your senses rest.
  • Light a fire or central candle.
  • Light a candle and pass the flame to the other people.
  • Journal or share with others the darkest part of your year. What has been hard? Then share the light that has been born from it. What have you learned? If life is a mystery school, what is the lesson of this season teaching you?
  • Then share how the other people in the room have brought more light into your life.
  • After this, sing, share, and celebrate as you see fit in the candlelight. There’s something so magical about being only in a candle-lit room. It brings us back to our roots and helps us to remember our inner stillness.


If you have kids, adjust this ritual to include them. I always honor Yule by pulling my kids from school, being outside during the daylight, spending time by fire and candlelight, opening magical earthly gifts, and visiting our land to sing to the trees. Honoring this day with my children is one of my favorite parts of motherhood.

Please let me know how it goes.

Sending you all of my love,
Sarah

P.S. When we emerge from the dark night and begin to welcome the light back in, I am going to share a new, 3-hour masterclass that will support you in getting very intentional about carving out time and space for yourself in the coming year. You may want to clear the next Friday the 13th. For now, we rest. See you on the other side, witches.

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