Winter Solstice Blessing 2024

“ The Winter Solstice is a time of ending and beginning, a powerful time – a time to contemplate your immortality. A time to forgive, to be forgiven and to make a fresh start. A time to awaken.”` ~Frederick Lenz

The Winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere is when the Earth’s pole reaches its maximum tilt away from the sun. It is the day with the shortest period of daylight and the longest night of the year when the sun is at its lowest maximum elevation in the sky. (wikipedia) Since the earliest of times the Winter solstice is a significant cultural and spiritual event. I have described some of these celebrations and spiritual practices in previous blog posts in 2021 and 2022.

The Buddha and his followers would celebrate the Winter solstice for three months by hibernating and meditating until the end of the rainy season.  Today “Dharma Day” is a solstice celebration  to examine the Buddha’s writing and a reminder to meditate and cultivate calm and quiet.  

The Winter Solstice is known as Lori or Maker Sankranti in Hinduism. There are celebrations to give thanks for the upcoming harvest. Fires are started to keep warm in the cold and to win over Surya, the sun god and Agni, the fire god.

People swim  in the holy rivers in hopes of absolving any bad karma from the previous year. Homes are swept clean and old items are discarded to get rid of any previous negative energy and to begin again. 

Ring the bells that still can ring. Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack, a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in ~Leonard Cohen

This year in particular it is most important to let the light in. We are keenly aware of  global wars, hunger, political unrest and  the natural disasters resulting from climate change.  

Yet there are many ways to find hope in the dark. As light slowly returns after the darkest day we can re awaken to new ideas. “It could be something like turning towards someone you really want to speak with.” ~Michael Lipson, PhD. In other words, you may want to rekindle an old friendship or reach out to a new friend or a spiritual guide to foster an awakening or a new self awareness. 

Finding hope in the dark may be a call to action: 

“ Hope is not a lottery ticket you can sit on the sofa and clutch, feeling lucky. It is an axe you break down doors with in an emergency. Hope should shove you out the door, because it will take everything you have to steer the future away from endless wars, the annihilation of the earth’s treasures and the grinding down of the poor and marginal.  To hope is to give yourself to the future and that commitment to the future is what makes the present inhabitable”. ~Rebecca Soinit 

One may find this quote disheartening but like the symbolic meaning of the solstice it is a reflection to restore the light of the new season. Action allows light to follow the darkness.

 Hope can drive out darkness as expressed so beautifully by Emily Dickerson:

Hope is the thing with feathers 
That perches in the soul-
And sings the tune without the words –
And never stops – at all –

In the yoga tradition the solstice is a sacred time for turning inward  and for quiet reflection. It is a time to rest, restore and reflect. “The Winter solstice is a time for deep introspection, reflection and stillness.” ~Sierra Vandervolt, 

Sierra reminds us that our bodies are intuitively connected to the energies of Nature. Thus during the cold days of Winter, we strive to slow things down and dive more deeply into more subtle ways of being. There are many yoga practices to harvest the Winter solstice energy. Yin and restorative yoga are ideal ways. Following the Ayurvedic tradition of preparing meals for the season, we may enjoy filling our belly’s with warm stews and soups, spices like turmeric, nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon. Don’t forget the hot cocoa!  Please see my Winter blog for more suggestions. 

Here is a soothing winter solstice yoga practice from the Yoga Journal article by Sierra Vandervolt (updated July 14th, 2023) 

• Sukhasana – Easy Pose 
• Balasana – Child’s Pose 
• Sphinx Pose 
• Cat-cow poses and variations 
• Pigeon Pose 
• Happy Baby 
• Savasana 

Besides yoga, meditation, and mindful actions,  here are some more ways to celebrate the Winter solstice :

• gather with family and friends
• make a bonfire
• walk in Nature, taking in the fresh cold air – hope for a new glistening snow
• dine by candlelight 
• make an orange pomander 
• burn a Yule log
• watch the sunrise
• watch the sun set 
• plant an amaryllis   

Please enjoy some of these winter solstice quotes:

It only gets lighter from here.

The Winter solstice isn’t a time of darkness but of new beginnings 

As Winter begins, let the light return to our lives.

With every moment of daylight we gain from here,  let us feel  renewed and at peace. 

And finally, my very favorite blessing for the solstice and every day:

May I live this day
Compassionate of heart
Clear in mind
Gracious in awareness
Courageous in thought
Generous in love ~John O Donohue