the dichotomy of light are dark are at play…
What does darkness mean to you?
Fear? Solitude? Difficulty?
The womb? The Void? Inspiration?
Calm, quiet, home?
In nature leaf mould is composting, roots have rooted, bulbs start their ascension.
How can we re-frame the ideology of darkness as a natural state for space, love, hope, action and creativity?
I definitely don’t have any answers, but these are the questions I ask at winter solstice.
a note on winters solstice
Historically there is little evidence of rituals other than great feasting at this time1. But witches have always used this moment in the wheel of the year to honour darkness and think about the interplay of light/dark, solar/lunar, light work/shadow work.
In the Gardnerian Wiccan tradition, the genesis of Drawing Down the Moon happened at midwinter. Here the Goddess was invoked into the High Priestess. This interplayed with another rite known as the Descent of the Goddess - based on the ancient myth of the goddess of witches descending into the Underworld to discover why all life must fade and perish. The God fell in love with the Goddess teaching her that he provided a place of rest and peace before new life. Like the myth Persephone, this asks questions of the human nature to fear death, darkness and the necessity for renewal.
But it also entwines ideas of love/darkness.
“There is light in darkness, you just have to find it.”
Bell Hooks
The beginning and the end. A sprial. The return of the Sun. Tonight we are to experience the darkest longest night, Midwinter, Winter Solstice, Yule. After this point the days slowly gain more light.
The earth is at a tilt that makes the northern hemisphere furthest away from the sun - therefore the sun never rises high in the sky. It is low, heavy, prostrate.
The Winter Solstice is one of eight points in the wheel of the year. It may be the beginning or not, but it is another subtle turn of the natural world. Whether it be a seasonal change, an energetic shift or a simple marker of time - the eight points are marked by two solstices (winter & summer) where day or night are longest or shortest, two equinoxes (quarter points) when day and night are equal and four festivals known as cross quarters that fall at seasonal peaks.
There is no right/wrong way to celebrate these markers - simply knowing they are there acknowledges a spiral passing of time and awareness. They help to mark the year into distinct sections for magical work - personal introspective work - external desires and dreams - rest - collective care/ action. For me this is particularly important when we are called to continue to support and amplify the voices of those subjected to oppression and war.
And so this ends with a thank you for all your support and friendship in 2023 and with this gift. A playlist by dear friends Time is Away. I’ll be back at the end of January when the shop will open again.
Ronald Hutton, Triumph of the Moon, 1999