The trees are in their dream state and the creatures hibernate in the hidden secret burrows of the land.
Solstice tradition celebrates the returning of the Sun.
There is a primal comfort in passing by this threshold. Springtime can surely not be far away.
But the true gifts of this time are hidden in the depths of the darkness.
In the stillness and the silence and the hush of a frozen world.
On this, our longest night, an ancient passage opens once again.
We have labored long all year, and soon the Yuletide will engage us in its merriment and mayhem once again.
But here in this space, woven between the threads of hustle and bustle, a peaceful still point waits.
We are gifted in this moment, the invitation to journey into a magic only found in the still depths of the Solstice, in this mystical passageway between darkness and light, and to take this deep breath before we plunge into a new cycle, a new year, a new world
We are called to rest in the peaceful embrace of Winters slumber, to succumb to the overarching stillness, and to hear the snowy silence whisper secrets in our ear.
If we heed this primordial call, and venture into the dark womb of the Earth, the void from whence all life is born, we may find we can release the last vestiges of our wounded soul, surrender the trials and tribulations of the ebb and flow of a year well lived, and free ourselves from the binds of a dusty past.
Here in this beautiful darkness, in the cloak of this long night, we find the treasure of deep rest, and the renewal of body, mind and spirit.
We may take this time to cast our eye over the many blessings in our life and give thanks to our beloved Mother Earth for another year of great abundance.
It is a beautiful night to honor the Elementals and Earth Spirits, to make an offering to them in gratitude for their wisdom and guidance, over the seasons gone by.
It is in the darkness that the lights in our lives shine the very brightest.
And in this great stillness we may find our latent dreams, and our hopes for realities yet undreamt of.
We can then emerge with the rising dawn, with the return of the Sun and the new cycle of light, and blaze head first towards a new decade, renewed, reborn and reawakened to our most splendid self.
Sleep in Heavenly peace, beloved ones.
