When we think of winter, we often think of a tnime for hibernation, for putting plans and dreams aside ready for the forthcoming spring. Yet winter time can often be the most beneficial healing time in our lives, a time for contemplation, recuperation and for families and communities to share quality time together.
The 25th of December is associated with the birth of Christ and the celebration of the nativity, but it is also an amalgamation of pagan festivals and traditions dating back before the birth of Christ. It was known to our germanic pagan ancestors as Yule the festival of re-birth (21st December). At Yule (from the Norse word for “wheel”), the sun is reborn. According to Wiccan lore, the Goddess gives birth to the "Child of Promise" and the time of the Holly King ends as the time of the Oak King begins. This is a time of introspection, as everything in nature sleeps through the cold winter. But it is also a time of hope.
While pagan tribes celebrated this special time with feasts and nature rituals, some Native American tribes saw this unique celestial event in a different light. Among the Iroquois, it was a time of dreaming. Rather than staying up all night to celebrate the dawn, the People of the Longhouse turned in early, to sleep, to dream. As Mother Night reigned supreme, in dreaming they walked between the worlds of light and darkness, gathering great meaning from what The Great Mystery illuminated for them.
In Mayan culture the winter solstice is connected with the healing spirits of plants or the lunar cycles, and we find ourselves ready to harness earth energies towards personal healing and growth and the healing and positive evolution of the planet. It is in darkness that we have the greatest opportunity to shine our light forth , in our lives and on the planet and to celebrate the return of the Sun in each day.
It is a time when we enter a spirit of stillness. Culturally we like our lives to be full and active and inactivity can cause fear and guilt, but when we take the time to stop and assess our lives, this emptiness fills our lives with infinate possibilities and thus our dreams take wisdom and form ready for their emergence in spring.
It is at this time that we too must enter into the spirit of stillness. Culturally, we like to be full
and active. We fear the void’s indeterminate state, but emptiness is the place of infinite possibility.
and active. We fear the void’s indeterminate state, but emptiness is the place of infinite possibility.
It is at this time that we too must enter into the spirit of stillness. Culturally, we like to be full
and active. We fear the void’s indeterminate state, but emptiness is the place of infinite possibility.
and active. We fear the void’s indeterminate state, but emptiness is the place of infinite possibility.
Winter t is at this time that we too must enter into the spirit of stillness. Culturally, we like to be full
and active. We fear the void’s indeterminate state, but emptiness is the place of infinite possibility.It is at this time that we too must enter into the spirit of stillness. Culturally, we like to be full
and active. We fear the void’s indeterminate state, but emptiness is the place of infinite possibility. It is at this time that we too must enter into the spirit of stillness. Culturally, we like to be full
and active. We fear the void’s indeterminate state, but emptiness is the place of infinite possi
and active. We fear the void’s indeterminate state, but emptiness is the place of infinite possibility.It is at this time that we too must enter into the spirit of stillness. Culturally, we like to be full
and active. We fear the void’s indeterminate state, but emptiness is the place of infinite possibility. It is at this time that we too must enter into the spirit of stillness. Culturally, we like to be full
and active. We fear the void’s indeterminate state, but emptiness is the place of infinite possi
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