The Subtle Magic of the Winter Solstice
Dear Ones,
The Winter Solstice is my favorite High Holy Day in my honoring of the seasonal turns of the wheel. A time to honor the darkness, embrace the slow down that our bodies naturally feel and at the same time celebrating the returning of the light. It's a period of allowing ourselves to release what is no longer serving us to make space to going into a deep dreaming and visioning time, to REALLY feel what wants to be nourished emerge as we move into Spring. The magic of the Solstice is subtle...unless of course you are ready to really burn away a lot of things that don't serve you. I have done that in years past and now I am in a place where there is very little in my life that doesn't serve me. That is the blessing of doing this type of seasonal honoring and living within the cycles, year after year, I grow and transform, and I simplify. Through this work I have moved into a place of surrendering to the beauty of life and my experiences and a discontinuing of striving, forcing, "crushing goals" and are able to celebrate each and every step on the journey, in present time. My biggest dream in my sacred work is to see all women more towards that place of allowing and recognizing the magic in all of life, not just the huge goals.
The Winter (and Summer) Solstice is subtle because we intellectually know it is the first day of winter, and so we think about the "long, dark winter" because it has just begun. But the truth is, each and every day after the Solstice more daylight begins to return...and we often don't even notice. We don't begin to notice the light again until we change the clocks again, because the light becomes much more apparent and the weather is getting warmer. I happen to love ALL the seasons in their own way, but there is something about being in the dark womb of winter that I adore. I give myself permission to slow down, to dream, to be. Although, admittedly by the end I am pretty done with winter and so very ready for Spring.
This year is an especially magical Solstice astrologically because Saturn and Jupiter move into Aquarius and this is a once in a lifetime event. Astrology is not my genius so here is a quote from Chani Nicholas about it, and below I will share a resource if you want to go deeper into it.
"Because 2021 is shaped by a once-in-our-lifetime conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in Aquarius, one that takes place in December of 2020, we are reminded that Gregorian calendars are human made; the cycles of the planets are more accurate containers of time than numbers on paper. The Jupiter/Saturn conjunction is the dawning of a new era, one that is lived out in the style of the waterbearer. Under these auspices, the power of the collective and the need for structures that help us all thrive are undeniable."
From Earthsky.org "Jupiter and Saturn are getting closer, as they near their once-in-20-years conjunction on December 21, 2020. At their closest, they’ll be only 0.1 degrees apart. Astronomers use the word conjunction to describe meetings of planets and other objects on our sky’s dome. They use the term great conjunction to describe meetings of the two biggest worlds in our solar system, mighty Jupiter and the glorious ringed planet Saturn. The next great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn will be December 21, 2020. That date is, coincidentally, the date of the December solstice. It’ll be the first Jupiter-Saturn conjunction since the year 2000, and the closest Jupiter-Saturn conjunction since 1623, only 14 years after Galileo made his first telescope. However, that conjunction was only 13 degrees east of the sun (closely following the sun at sunset), and it is considered unlikely that it was noticed by many. The closest observable Jupiter-Saturn conjunction before that was as long ago as during medieval times, in 1226! At their closest in December, Jupiter and Saturn will be only 0.1 degree apart. That’s just 1/5 of a full moon diameter.
The extra-close Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in 2020 won’t be matched again until the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction of March 15, 2080."
I think this is all pretty cool, and I can geek out on this stuff. But what this has all made me really reflect on, is that 20 years ago is when those two planets were last conjunct. Big things happen. Coincidentally...or not...20 years ago is when I first stepped through the threshold of moving from the corporate world to the healing and spiritual arts world. It is also 20 years ago that I received a letter from one of my first wisdom teachers on the symbolism of the Winter Solstice (which I will attach below if you would like to learn more about this Holy time in the world calendar and all the wisdom traditions) and that was the moment i began to explore living in harmony with the cycles of nature, and my life has never been the same since. That letter may have been one of the biggest gifts I have ever received, I didn't realize it at the time but it shifted everything about how I live and how I design my life and sacred work. It has taken since then to really learn, to really weave it in and integrate it into a way of life..IN ALL AREAS of my life and treat all of my life as sacred, even those things I don't love doing. And like everyone else, I have had beautiful and magical moments, and dark nights of the soul, hot mess expresses and everything in between. I have realized dreams, and grieved the loss of others. But living this way..slowing down when the cycles (and my being) say its time to slow down, and create when its time to create, has assisted me in navigating and staying aligned (or quickly coming back to alignment when I am not) and using these cycles as my compass to True North.
This year has been unlike any other, for all of us.For me this is the first year in many that I will not be hostessing a Winter Solstice Ceremony for the community, and I would be lying if I said I wasn't sad about that. So below I am going to share some resources of events and ceremonies I will be partaking in so I can feel supported and part of community. Some are complimentary and some are not. My biggest wish for you is to learn more, by reading the attached letter from my first wisdom teacher Enoch Dasa, and then to make the space to celebrate, reflect, release and dream on this Sacred Day in the calendar that has been forgotten by so many.
Also, there will be one more newsletter next week and then I am "going behind the veils" from Solstice until January 10th, because I take at least 3 weeks for my internal dreaming and visioning process.
See below for the teaching on the solstice, and resources if you want to attend some of the most potent events I am taking part in. (I get no compensation for sharing these...these are my wisdom teachers and I am honored to share their work.)
Love and Light,
Dina
Complimentary Offerings
From my mentor and friend Christine Arylo- I do this every year and it is so powerful! A Year End pause and Reflection ritual. https://bit.ly/3lYoPdQ
From my Priestess lineage, Winter Solstice High Holy Day ritual https://bit.ly/3gs0A6m
Paid Offerings
Deeper Astrology Workshop on the Solstice and Jupiter/Saturn Conjunction
My personal astrologer Virginia Rosenberg is offering this amazing workshop on the planetary happenings and their magic. https://bit.ly/3oAPor7
Full On At Home Solstice Magic of the Conjunct Yoga Retreat
My Kundalini Yoga Teacher jai Dev is doing a full weekend retreat, and since I am not doing a ceremony, I am treating myself to truly going into "retreat space" for the entire weekend. I have warned the hubby and son to only bother me if someone's hair is on fire. This is more than yoga. It is teachings on this powerful time from many wisdom traditions, yoga, meditation, chanting mantra, and music from his amazing wife and teacher Simrit. Her music is so, so powerful. I am super excited. For me this is going to supercharge my visioning, and I am already getting inner wisdom on next year, which will be an integration year and bringing things to their very essence. A powerful year full of surrendering to the mystery. To learn more https://bit.ly/2LkYkCE
So that is what I am up to, I invite you to choose one thing, all for you, only for you and to nourish you before you move into more traditional holiday craziness.