Winter Solstice Surprises

Photo by Kristopher Roller

I had never paid much attention to the significance of the solstices growing up, except for the fact that it meant we’d start getting more daylight, and the nights would, of course, be shortened, and then the opposite would happen in the summer. I was not particularly interested in delving deeper into the ‘whys’ of it all, because I was an artist, not a scientist. I didn’t think there was much more to it than it being a date on a calendar. At least that was my attitude until my husband, Jim, and I met some new friends who were really into celebrating the solstice, which included practicing some of the ancient pagan rituals, because of their importance.

We were at our local Christmas bazaar and met a tall, kind-looking man who, with his family, was selling handmade candles. He said his name was Matthew, his wife’s name was Marta, and their daughter was Maria. Cute, I’d thought sarcastically, as he was explaining the reason for the candles being 100% beeswax, with natural dyes, and pure essential oils that were made specifically for the solstice, although useful for Christmas decorating, also.

He asked if we had plans for celebrating the solstice, and when we shrugged and told him that we didn’t have any special plans for that occasion, that it was just another night for us, Matthew had gaped at us as if we had told him Mother Nature was a myth and pure bullshit.

“What!?” I queried, upon seeing the horrified looks cross each of the threesome’s faces.

“We take the solstice very seriously,” Matthew began, “It is a very important night. As you probably know, the term ‘solstice’ is derived from the Latin words for sun, which is sol, and sistere, which means ‘to make stand’, since that is when the axis of the earth seems to pause its shift for moving in the other direction. This pause is the start for bringing on a new year of movement and growth…a new solar cycle.”

“I kinda knew that,” I said, trying to hide my stupidity, or at least my ignorance of this information.

Matthew continued, “This winter’s solstice is considered the seasonal dark night of the soul and is a time to spiritually honor the lightness and the darkness inside us. It is Nature’s New Year, and a time for making resolutions and intentions to make your life better, your soul happier, and your mind more at ease. As you might guess, this New Year is deeper and much more significant than what is shown on a calendar, and more meaningful.”

When Matthew first began talking about the solstice and mentioning rituals as part of their celebration, my inclination was to dismiss these folks with their cutesy names and their spooky beliefs, until they all pitched in enthusiastically to explain to us their sincere thoughts and feelings about this time.

Many things they told us surprised me. Although the information was probably widely known, I had to wonder how many people bothered to actually acknowledge the realness of the solstice, like me, for so many years. After hearing them out, I was realizing that this date seemed much more significant than celebrating the changing of a calendar to a new year.

From the information told to us, this process — this seeming ‘pause’ of the sun — takes three days to happen when the sun is waiting for this ‘new year’ to begin. Our new friends explained that this is a time for us to realize how important El Sol is to our lives, our outlooks, and inner growth, and a time to reflect upon what we, ourselves, want to change within us.

Okay, I thought, getting a bit more excited to hear more.

Photo by Aaron Burden

The couple continued telling us that this phase, or ‘pause’, having the most darkness and the least amount of sun, is the turning point for increasing sunlight as the days begin to lengthen and the nights begin to shorten. What a great moment for our world, our lives, our inner selves.

“Think about it!” he said.

They continued to tell us that in the early days of the Pagans and Druids before Christianity came to be, this time was called ‘Yule’ — hence the songs about Yule-tide Carols, and such, which was borrowed by the Christians for their Christmas, I thought — and is a time of great symbolism and power that mark the return of the sun back toward earth and the days begin to get longer.

My mind is reeling with this information. I had no idea the universe was so complex in its rotative habits. I’m suddenly realizing how truly ignorant I am of these wonders outside our comfortable realm of atmospheric protection.

Our new friends continued, “About a month before Yule, we start to look around us to see what accumulations we’d collected over the past twelve months that can be cleared away so that we can function better on a spiritual and emotional level when everything is clean and clear of unneeded clutter. It’s amazing how much better we function. Once the unwanted stuff is gone, we smudge the house.”

“Smudge the house?” I queried.

“Yes, with a smudge stick of sage or sweetgrass, but you can also use an incense bowl to burn the same or use pine needles or even mistletoe. Mistletoe is a very old and revered healing and protective plant. In our reverence, we cut the mistletoe carefully not to let it touch the earth. The white berries of the mistletoe represent the fertile white semen of the life-giving male and were likely where the tradition of kissing under mistletoe came from: a couple wanting to take advantage of that magical fertility.

“Once the house has been cleaned of clutter and then cleansed for purity after smudging, we prepare a Yule Log, which can be done in advance, and a Yule tree. These are decorated, much like Christmas trees, but with all things natural. We decorate our house with holly, which symbolizes everlasting life, goodwill, and potent life energy — and with pine boughs, which bring healing and joy to the home — and with candles, which is to make light out of the darkness. We color the candles in green that represents the Sun God, and white, red, and black to represent the Great Goddess, or Triple Goddess in her three aspects: Maiden, Mother, and Crone.

“The Yule Log symbolizes light returning to conquer the darkness. The old tradition was to burn the log throughout the night for twelve hours and have it smolder for twelve days. We hope the embers last that long for us,” he stated wryly, then added, “If you would like to experience our traditions and rituals, we would love to have you two join us and a group of friends when we decorate the Yule Log and give it the blessing with the Yule ritual. Are you interested?”

I looked at my husband who gave a shrug and said, “Sure, why not? It sounds interesting.”

“Okay. We’re game,” I told Matthew, “When do we meet?”

Matthew gave us the time on the eve of the solstice and gave their address. “It’s at our house, which is in the country.”

Photo by Daniel Seßler

A few days later, we arrived at their lovely old stone house with holly bushes thriving beneath the windows in front. It was a cold winter’s day, and the light was waning by late afternoon as we followed the walkway around to the back of the house. What a nice surprise to see the large cobblestone patio surrounded by old mature trees. A firepit was built of stone in the middle of the patio, with a huge log on its edge. There were benches around the perimeter topped with many candles ready to be lighted, and people sitting in wooden Adirondack chairs near the firepit. There was a pine tree on the far side, and an altar draped in white fabric, pine boughs, holly, and more candles.

The bundled-up group, who had been waiting for us, jumped up and welcomed us. Marta went to a table that had a large steaming pot sitting in the middle, with cups, and plates of cookies, and breads and bowls of marmalades. She ladled out what smelled like cider into cups. My tummy growled as my olfactory picked up the smells of cinnamon, nutmeg, and baked apples. My husband and I took a cup of the offered steaming liquid and took sips. Our “Oooo’s” were genuine after tasting the rich, buttery apple drink that was spiced perfectly.

Matthew laid out the plan of the evening’s ritual, which included dressing the Yule log, and putting on a little play, where four women had a part and wore specific-colored robes while holding white candles. Dressing the Yule Log was fun and easy, using pine boughs and the abundant holly found in their yard, and then placed into the pit and lit.

For the play, the females each had a script to read, which was essentially about honoring the eternal cycle of birth, life, death, and rebirth, of honoring the ‘Crone’ of the past year and welcoming the ‘Maiden’ for the new year. They were saying ‘farewell’ and ‘thank you’ to the old and welcoming and praising the rebirth of the new Sun.

The one playing the High Priestess, then invited anyone who wished to make an offering to the Goddess to come and do so at this time. Pine boughs and holly were thrown into the fire, and we all were prompted to say, “We make these offerings tonight to show our love to you, Oh Goddess. Please accept our gifts and know that we are entering this new season with joy in our hearts.”

The fire was crackling when Matthew passed out small pieces of paper and pencils.

“Take these pieces of paper and write down that which you want to let go of within yourselves,” he requested, “and when you are finished, throw the paper into the fire, which represents the transforming of darkness into light. After this letting go process, set your new intentions for the next new season by speaking aloud that which you want to bring into your lives. Talk about your ideas for new habits, practices, or whatever you need to do to make your life happier and more fulfilled.”

We did as we were asked, and I felt considerably better about my next year. I thought this was really working on me to help me become a ‘new’ me.

Matthew then gave us each a small package, and said, “This is the birthday of the Sun; therefore, this is our time of gift-giving.”

I looked at this small gift and said, “Thank you, but we brought no gifts for you.”

He just smiled and said, “Oh yes, you did. You brought yourselves, and that is important to us to have made new friends who seemed to appreciate our ancient rituals and ways of welcoming in the new season. Thank you!”

Photo by DiEtte Henderson

We opened our tiny parcels to find red, orange, and yellow crystals laying in tissue — the colors of the new solstice year.

I gave Matthew and Marta and Maria hugs of thanks for their generosity, but the night was not over yet. We were directed to the food table where we saw the cookies and sweetbreads with the marmalades and such and also saw that some platters of savory smelling meats were sitting in a warm baking dish.

The meal was delicious, and the warm spiced toddy that was served with it was especially tasty. Everything seemed to have new meanings for me. I felt grateful for that, and for these new friends, and it wasn’t just the alcohol. I would forever look at the solstice as being a special time and will celebrate with gladness and gratefulness in my heart for our wonderful sun and universe.