The light in the darkness
/Hello my loves,
It’s winter solstice this Sunday - the longest night of the year, and one of the most magical. It's a time for feasting on all things warm and nourishing, the air redolent with spices wafting from simmering pots of mulled wine, the drip of fat from a roasting goose, and the fragrant smell of woodsmoke from crackling fires. Yup: it’s Christmas 😊. Winter solstice, or Yule, is where all of our modern Christmas traditions spring from - it’s just that we have an upside down version of them down here at the bottom of the world. When the great ships sailed from the north, they brought Christmas as a date, rather than a seasonal observance - the seasonal origins of the celebration having long since been absorbed by the church. That's why we have such funny mis-matched winter imagery for our summer Christmases here.
But this time of year brings much more than the opportunity for a feast. If autumn asks us to reflect and rebalance, assessing where we're at and releasing anything in our lives that no longer serves us, winter calls us to deeply nourish this new version of ourselves. It asks us to give ourselves permission to snuggle, ponder and cocoon, to release ourselves from the relentless demands of the modern world and sink into self-nurture, all with a cup of spiced wine in hand.
And there's something else, something very beautiful, that winter solstice calls us to. It asks us to honour the dark. It's a hard thing for us humans to do. Our default setting is to run from darkness, to resist and resent and fear it. When darkness enters our lives, as it does from time to time, it often leaves us blindsided, bereft, lost and struggling. We fight it. Or at least I know I have a tendency to. But some of life's deepest lessons are learned in the darkest times. Out of darkness, beauty is born, the beauty of deeper self-knowing, of inner strength, of self-reliance, self-nurture and self-love.
For me, winter solstice is a reminder to be grateful for the dark and the light. Without great darkness, there can be no great light: all things are always equal. And there is always light in the darkness: on the longest night, candles flicker and crackling flames warm our hearts, reminding us that tomorrow, the light will slowly and surely return.
If you'd like to delve deeper into the traditions of winter solstice, the incredible Rebecca Dettman is holding one of her amazing seasonal sacred circles this Sunday 21 June. I love Rebecca's circles. They're a gorgeous blend of tradition, emotional wisdom and real-time channeling on the current energetic issues the world is working through. They're virtual, so you can be there from anywhere, and you'll find all the details here.
And with that my loves, I'm off to bake a cake. A wedding cake to be precise, tall and beautiful and piled with buttercream, to be enjoyed at Hearth & Soul's first ever wedding, which is happening tomorrow. That's right, this year I get to spend winter solstice awash in the glow of candle light, serving a feast to honour the union of two beautiful souls, and immersed in the energy of love. I can think of no greater gift. Heartfelt blessings to you all on this very special weekend 💛.
Love, Rachel xxx
