Beautiful Mother Earth rotates on her axis around our Sun , and we- her children- are swung from season to season as the wheel of the year turns. Her greatness corkscrews through the galaxy, swinging all upon her from summer to winter, seemingly endless days to long and frigid nights.

December 21st-22nd marks the longest night of the year in the northern hemisphere. Symbolically, it is a time for introspection and reverence of the turning of the season into a new solar year. Traditionally, it’s a time of celebration.

The longest night always brings the birth of our Sun in the astrological sign of Virgo the Virgin, as it begins its trek northward once more. For millennia, our ancestors honored and revered the turning of the wheel of the year and the shift of the stars with elaborate stories that would form and shape mythologies for centuries to come.

 As creatures of Earth, our bodies’ natural rhythms are perfectly synced to the cycles of nature. It is within our natural rhythms to ebb and flow with the seasons. Humans, like many other animals, have natural tendencies to slow down and hibernate for the winter. Even our hair grows slower in winter and faster in summer.

The Winter Solstice asks us to reflect, and have gratitude for all that we have manifested in our lives over the course of the solar year. For those are what sustain us through the darkness. But also, it’s a time for planning and prayer, and a reminder of hope for the year to come.

 A lot of our holiday traditions come directly from Winter Solstice celebrations of old. Before our ancestors had a better understanding of how our solar system worked, it was believed our Sun may just keep retreating south until it was no more. They lit bonfires to entice it back, and prayed to the gods that the Sun may return. They brought evergreen trees into their homes and hung gifts to the gods on their branches, and decorated their homes with plants associated with peace, protection, and life.

These traditions of prayer and celebration were so important and profound to our ancestors that we continue them to this day. As a young child, I thought surely Jesus was born under a pine tree surrounded by holly and ivy, and a ball of mistletoe! Even though we understand, now, that our Sun isn’t going to disappear over our southern horizon never to be seen again, we still bring in the evergreens and decorate as our ancestors did. We give gifts- not to the gods, but to each other.

Our understanding of the cycle of seasons doesn’t make their turning any less profound, just less frightening. When we can set aside the capitalistic materialism of the season, we can tune in and truly appreciate the magic, joy and wonder of the turning of the wheel of the year- the bright and hopeful dawning of warmth and abundance.

Kalinah is a Spiritual Life Coach, Reiki Master/Teacher, Ordained Minister, and founder of River Grove Wellness. She’s our new regular contributor here at Wildsom of the Wildwood.

Her website is www.RiverGroveWellness.com
Insta @RiverGroveWellness
Twitch www.twitch.tv/KalinahRGW