::SOLSTICE CONJUNCTION 2020::
I do hope this finds you keeping cozy this holiday season!
Although we may not be able to join in the sort of festivities that we may have traditionally created for ourselves with family & friends there is still much to celebrate...the longest night of the year known as Winter Solstice! The Winter Solstice is an ancient pagan holiday known for rituals and traditions that celebrate nature. It is the moment when Earth is tilted as far away from the Sun as it will be all year, making for less hours of daylight and more hours of night in the Northern Hemisphere ~ the celebration lies in the graceful rebirth of the Sun!
And that's not all...there is a planetary shift happening in the cosmos with Jupiter and Saturn known as the Grand Conjunction. What makes this so dynamic for us on Earth is that these planets haven't been visible from Earth since the Medieval times in 1226. These rare celestial occurrences make for transformative times when we work with the energies created by such motion. Saturn is known as the "task master" and likes to provide structure and rules, whereas Jupiter is more easy-going, promoting growth, healing, and good fortune. Both of them moving into the sign of Aquarius allows for more innovative thinking, expansiveness, and responsibility for change for the greater good. Like working with the phases of the Moon month to month, these sort of planetary happenings are ripe for making magic.
Ask yourself…
What direction would you like your life to go?
What needs to shift or change to start heading in that direction?
What responsibilities would inspire you to make those changes?
"Expanded awareness begins with dreams" ~ Starhawk
Today, December 21, marks the shortest day of the year signifying the end of Fall and the official start of Winter. A time to allow for the contemplative quiet within ourselves and setting intentions for the coming season. An auspicious time to release the old thought patterns and habits that do not serve you, in order to transform in the name of growing and new beginnings! After a tumultuous year (to say the least) for most people, this celebration can provide comfort and rest.
A traditional honoring of this time is in creating an altar and the burning of the Yule log, a piece of wood burned to signify the light of the rising Sun.
Create an altar devoted to the season of Winter and the Sun. Gathering branches, pinecones, making wreaths of fallen leaves and winter greens, and of course, candles!
This is a potent time to think about those deep heartfelt desires that you'd like to manifest in the coming year ahead. Write them down to place on your altar to inspire and give energy to. As always, it's a good practice to release something as well...thought patterns, habits, and worries that you would like to banish ~ write them on a piece of paper that you can offer to the fire, or bury in the earth to release.
Now like the Sun growing stronger in the days and months to come continue to feed that dream of yours, how it inspires you, what you'd like to create, and how you would like to see it grow stronger in your life.
And don't forget to show some gratitude to Mother Nature! Get some seeds to charge with your intentions, keep them on your altar to plant in the Spring ~ Earth Care is Self Care.
And So It Is!
