Longest Night, Shortest Day

The Winter Solstice is always a time of contemplation and reflection. The Wheel turns, the Seasons change, the Light returns. So what better time to consult the tarot or an oracle deck for a little wisdom and guidance? 

For that purpose, here's a special Winter Solstice Spread by wise woman and tarot artist Joanna Powell Colbert --

Pull a tarot or oracle card to spark a response, then finish the following sentences:

1. The gift of the nurturing darkness is ...
2. The promise of the returning sun is ...
3. I find potential or hope for my personal life through ...
4. One action I can take to offer hope and renewal to the larger community is ...
5. Today, my Holy Helpers most want me to know ...

If you make use of this Spread, I hope it enhances the beauty and wonder of this special day for you!

Winter Solstice Blessings!

Winter Solstice Blessings

You know, I wasn't even going 

to bother decorating for 

the holidays this year. 

But getting out my Sankta Lucia statue 

to photograph her for this earlier post 

inspired me to dig through a few 

drawers and cupboards and 

LO AND BEHOLD

all of a sudden I had put together 

a nice little Winter Solstice 

altar arrangement on my sideboard.

So now on this, the shortest day

following the longest night,

I WISH YOU ALL --

[First photo © Debra She Who Seeks, December 2020;

Second image comes from the internet]

Happy Winter Solstice!

Singing Through the Darkest Night

Night of long darkness

Candles burn

Songs call the light:

"Return, touch our hearts"

The Winter Solstice is here -- the longest night and shortest day of the year.

When Darkness and Light spiral together . . . 

. . . in the Eternal Dance.

Winter Solstice blessings to you all!

[All photos from the Internet]

Winter Solstice Blessings to You All!

The Moon is Mother to the Sun

Today is the Winter Solstice, when pagans celebrate the return of the Light following the longest Night of the year. Artist, blogger and tarot guru Joanna Powell Colbert has created a wonderful new image to capture this ancient spiritual truth. Officially entitled Mother Night Who Gives Birth to the Child of Wonder at Winter Solstice, Joanna also calls this artwork by a much shorter title: Dark Madonna & Daughter.

Joanna describes the piece as "the archetypal Divine Child, born on Winter Solstice . . . [who] glow[s] like the reborn sun in the arms of the holy night." The title of my post comes from an equally perceptive description of the artwork by a 4-year old girl whom Joanna quotes in her December newsletter.

The 2015 Winter Solstice arrives in the northern hemisphere on Tuesday, December 22 at 04:49 UTC but time zone differences mean that it arrives here in Edmonton, Alberta today at 21:49 MST. So I'm celebrating now, although a lot of you will mark the occasion tomorrow instead.

To all who read my blog, may the blessings of the Mother and Daughter be yours on this Winter Solstice and throughout the upcoming year!

[Art © 2015 by Joanna Powell Colbert and used with her permission. Joanna's website and blog are here and her art prints may be purchased here.]

Blessings of the Winter Solstice

Darkness deserves gratitude. It is the alleluia point at which we learn to understand that all growth does not take place in the sunlight.

--Joan Chittister, Uncommon Gratitude

As we celebrate the return of the Light, may we nevertheless continue to benefit from the peace and nurturing to be found in the Darkness.

Deep peace of the midwinter stars to you, my Solstice friends.

Happy Winter Solstice!

That's right! Strip off and run around with flaming torches, everyone! Let's all welcome the Return of the Light in the old-fashioned way!

It's hard to believe that a whole year has passed since the much-ballyhooed End of the World on the 2012 Winter Solstice. Remember how nervous some people were at this time last year?

And Now, the Post-Mortem (So To Speak)

Winter Solstice Blessings

So today will tell whether we survive another predicted End of the World. But while we're waiting to find out what happens, let's all have a nice eggnog with rum and celebrate the Winter Solstice, shall we?

May the Holly Goddess shower an abundance of Solstice/Yule blessings on you and yours! And always remember . . . .

Winter Solstice

According to Universal Time (UT) measured at Greenwich, England, the winter solstice occurs at 5:30 a.m. on December 22. So why am I posting my winter solstice greetings today? Because my time zone of Mountain Standard Time (MST) is 7 hours earlier than UT, so in Alberta the winter solstice arrives at 10:30 p.m. tonight. Depending on your time zone, the winter solstice may occur today or tomorrow.

Either way, winter solstice blessings to you and your family! May the returning light herald a wonderful holiday season for you all! *SMOOCH!*

Winter Solstice

Darkness deserves gratitude. It is the alleluia point at which we learn to understand that all growth does not take place in the sunlight.

--Joan Chittister, Uncommon Gratitude

As we celebrate the return of the Light, may we nevertheless continue to benefit from the peace and nurturing to be found in the Darkness.

Deep peace of the midwinter stars to you, my Solstice friends.

Winter Solstice

Deep, deep, deep into the heart of the winter.
Deep, deep, deep into the womb of the Mother.
Deep, deep, deep where there is no other
Song but the song of my soul!

--Anne Hill

As we mark the year's shortest day and longest night, enjoy both the Light that will return with greater daily strength and the Dark that nourishes us with introspection, rest and rejuvenation.

Night of long darkness.
Candles burn. Songs call the light:
"Return, touch our hearts."

--Antonia Matthew

Solstice Blessings to you all!

Winter Solstice

Today is the Winter Solstice, longest night and shortest day of the year. The sun returns and now will grow stronger each day until our period of restful hibernation ends with spring. My favourite Solstice chant is by Anne Hill and perfectly captures this time of introspection and renewal:

Deep, deep, deep into the heart of the winter.
Deep, deep, deep into the womb of the Mother.
Deep, deep, deep where there is no other
Song but the song of my soul.

Solstice blessings, everyone!