Winter Solstice
RITUAL: Annual | SEASON: Winter | HOLIDAY: Winter Solstice
Winter Solstice is the first day of Winter. It’s also the shortest day of the year. The moment when the sun is at its lowest elevation in the sky, symbolizes the death and rebirth of the sun. It’s a day to celebrate the return the light and look forward to brighter days ahead.
Winter Solstice Eve
Winter Solstice Eve, also known as Mother’s Night, is the longest night of the year before the darkest day of the year. It’s a time to honor our female ancestors, mothers and all the wise women who came before us.
Go for an evening walk in nature. Or, sit under the dark canopy of heaven and watch the stars come out.
Then, make yourself a warm cup of mulled wine or herbal tea, get comfortable and curl up in your favorite chair with a cosy blanket.
Use this yin energy to get still and quiet, go within and reflect, journal by candlelight or read by firelight.
Journaling Prompts
What aspects of my shadow have I integrated?
What wisdom have I learned and now embody?
What have I deepened my innerstanding of?
What seeds do I desire to plant within this dark fertile womb of creation?
Winter Solstice
To celebrate Winter Solstice and the reversal of the gradual lengthening of nights and shortening of days, begin by watching the sunrise with a cup of sunshine. Sip on warm water with lemon or fresh squeezed orange juice. Or, add a drop of Wild Orange essential oil to your coffee grounds before brewing or pouring over your hot water.
Then, go on a nature walk. Return home to decorate with your found gifts from Mother Nature. And return the favor by making something for the animals to enjoy this winter season - popcorn and cranberry garlands, seed and suet cakes or other nutrient dense, edible decorations you can hang in the trees.
Make candles from golden beeswax or light a bright yellow candle. Speak your intentions out loud as you gaze at the warm glow of the flame.
Or, write your intentions on a small slip of paper and plant it in the soil of a pot with seeds or a bulb.
Or, place your written intention under a citrine cluster and create a crystal grid around it in the shape of the sun and its rays of light.
Share in the comments what you plan to do to celebrate Winter Solstice. Share this with friends who you think might appreciate this article. If you enjoyed reading about Winter Solstice Rituals, please like. And subscribe to HER Rituals for more intentional practices throughout the year ahead.
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Dara Eden is the author of HER Rituals for the Divine Feminine, a periodical guide created in December of 2021. The 8 Elements, her life’s work, provides guidance about how to honor the essential needs and highest values of your personal feng shui element. Inspired by an Internet challenge designed for men, she created 365WISE, a daily self-care practice that supports women in honoring their needs and listening to their inner wisdom.
In HER Rituals, she offers insights, ideas and intuitive guidance about ways to honor your needs, values and unique expression of the divine feminine.
HER Rituals is a Womb Wisdom KeepHER’s guide to cyclical rituals for sovereign women. It provides insightful information, inspirational ideas and intuitive guidance on daily and seasonal rituals you can practice as a form of self-care. Read about ancient wisdom and philosophical principles, holistic approaches and traditional skills, slow work and intentional living, embodiment practices and immersive experiences.
