Winter Solstice

 The Winter Solstice is a time for....

Letting go.

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Releasing old patterns.

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Rekindling hope.

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Welcoming the light.

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Seeking new inspiration.

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Beginning a new cycle.

May the Solstice bring the warmth of family and cherished friends, providing you and yours much peace and happiness.

quote credit to: *Blue Moon Shamanic Reiki

A #latergram Solstice

While sitting on the airplane yesterday, I composed my winter solstice blog, but between an extraordinarily early morning and hitting the ground running once in sunny California, I was beyond spent and didn't get it posted. Better a little late, than never :)

Other than funny little coincidences , like the fact we stayed on the 13th floor of the hotel in Chicago last night, or light joking with the family that we were traveling home, not for Christmas, but so that we could toast the last day of the world with them, all of this talk of the Mayan calendar really seems to distract from today's true purpose...solstice. Today is the shortest day of the year. Fifteen years ago today, the sun set on my grandfathers life, and only a few short months before the sunrise of my marriage. It is always a special day of remembrance and re-birth for me. Though our long cold evenings full of starlight seemed to peak last week while we watched the meteor shower, today's darkness will be the longest before we slowly creep back toward the light. We are fortunate to be able to spend this solstice with family, warmed by the light of hearth and home. Fitting isn't it that on this shortest day, we spent much of it up above the clouds in pure sunlight.

Darkness and Light

 Each morning I look out the window and watch the sunrise.  This morning it was striking the change in location of the sun.  It has happened gradually, but with many mornings of clouds and fog was disguised, and it's now obvious skew now hits me.  It has now taken up residence much further South in our tree line.  In fact, the sun will barely reach above that tree line these days at it progresses much lower across the sphere each day.  We are now almost dark by about 4:20.  I relish that special angled light this time of year as we approach the solstice, and that darkest night before the light slowly returns.  It is almost as if we are watching the sun nap, and she will soon begin to stir and stretch, as she slowly begins her climb back up higher in the sky.