Celebrate the winter solstice
Originally written Dec 21 2021
As many of you may know if you have been following along my journey lately, I have made a real effort to live in tune with and honor the natural rhythms of Mother Nature. Living in Boston there are some (at times extreme) seasonal shifts. The darkness of this time of year can feel bleak, depressing, and at times, oppressive. It can be easy to dread winter and everything that comes with it. But what if, we embraced Winter?
What if we embraced the slowing down, the turning inward, the REST? What if we allowed space in the darkness to feel our feelings and to hold ourselves through them? What if we honored that we are NOT meant to be productive 24/7? We are meant to experience seasons and cycles. We are meant to slow down and root down so we can grow bigger, stronger, and more resilient.
As a small aside, I am working on a seasonal self-care "thing"... honestly I don't know if it will be a course or an ebook (or maybe an actual book #lifegoals). A way to help you embrace the seasons of the natural world and the seasons of your life. Alas, that is a project amidst all the other projects. For now, read more of my musings and my plans for the Winter Solstice.
First though, what is the Winter Solstice?
Sometimes it is known as Yule, Midwinter, the Longest Night. It is the celebration of the longest night of the year usually celebrated from December 21st- December 22nd
This is a time of darkness and of the dark harvest. The darkest of days, the deepest part of the inward spiral of the natural world--when the night is long and the day is short. During this time of year, we are often called to spend more time indoors, by ourselves, letting everything from the past year land and integrate into our mind, body, and soul.
The Winter Solstice welcomes and inspires the return of the Light as daylight starts slowly increasing from here. After the solstice, the days begin to lengthen and the sun steadily returns. We honor the lowest turn in the wheel of the year but we also welcome back and celebrate the return of summer and warmth. In the natural world, the winter solstice is the beginning of a new year of growth– a new cycle of birth, growth, and death beginning. This can be an incredibly hopeful and inspiring time of year BUT also an incredibly slow and inward-facing time of year. It is not the time to shout from the rooftops but to honor your inner wisdom
This is a great time for introspection, reflecting on the year past and setting intentions for the year to come. It is a great time to look back on your past year, to reflect on what happened and what you can take away: lessons learned, wounds healed, and accomplishments. It’s also a great time to tap into your intuition and your internal power and knowing.
You can Celebrate the Winter solstice in any way that feels right to you. I hope that by sharing some suggestions and what I plan on doing I inspired you to turn inward, honor your need to rest, and really truly embrace our natural world.
great ways to celebrate The Winter Solstice:
Fire pit and fire lights
Candlelight dinners and evenings
Anything peppermint
Scents of Siberian Fir, Cypress, and Pine
Yule logs
Cookies, candy canes, and chocolate
Mistletoe hung around the house
Make a Gingerbread House
Bring Fresh Greenery into your home
IF journaling is your thing, check out these journal prompts:
A SOLSTICE REFLECTION:
As the light returns with the new year what habits would you like to cultivate? What do you value? What do you need to do to be successful? What habits or negative thoughts do you need to let go of and leave behind?
As you continue to spend more time indoors, how can you fuel yourself? How can you connect deeper to yourself? What would that look like?
How do you live in alignment with the current season? How have your daily habits and rituals changed? How can you embrace the Winter Solstice fully?
Consider the things you have--Was there a time when you wished for what you have now? What are you grateful for?
Write about a negative thing your life has in excess. What will you do to minimize it for the next year?
As the new year approaches, what can you let go of that is no longer serving you?
P.S. These journal prompts are from ONE of the many ebooks in my Nourish Your Nervous System 6-month group coaching program. We spend a WHOLE month (and more) diving into the seasons of Mother Nature, the seasons of life, and how they affect your nervous system. Sounds amazing, right? Sign up for the FREE 5 Day Nourish Your Nervous SYstem Challenge and learn more about the program! The challenge Starts on January 2nd!
Here are some other Great Resources for the Winter Solstice:
Inward Spiral Class From Locust LIght Farm: I purchased and will be watching tonight! (also not affiliated with Locust Light Farm, I just genuinely love all the work she does in the world)
The Woman of Winter by Sea Witch Botanicals: Part of embracing the seasons of the natural world has been learning about lore. For me, I have been really into Celtic Folklore and Germanic as I am quite Irish (who could have guessed– Kerry McGinn?!?!) and German descent.
Last but not least, my plans…
As I am about to sign off and it is almost 7 pm I realize the day has gotten away from me. The main things I wanted to do were simple.
Go for a walk *check*
Light ALL my candles *check*
Sauna Blanket (physically symbolizing the clearing out and letting go of what no longer serves me from this past year) *heating up*
Solstice Tea: I haven’t decided the recipe yet but will share on Instagram as soon as a I do
Solstice Journaling: ready and waiting post sauna
Bonfire Ritual: This might be a little ambitious for me tonight so I will wait and see how I feel. I will share my bonfire Ritual for letting go of what no longer serves you and welcome in new light in a future post:)
And while it might not be cold where you are, I hope this inspires you to embrace the seasons of life.
HAPPY SOLSTICE MY FRIENDS!
P.S.S. If you love learning about this sort of stuff, drop a comment or go follow me on instagram @dr.kerrymcginn where I will be sharing more nad more about seasonal life AND how it effects your nervous system!