May the candlelight always remind us of the sun that is soon going to return.
The winter solstice has been seen as a significant time of year in many cultures and marks the symbolic death and rebirth of the Sun. So, the winter solstice, or the shortest day of the year, happens when the Earth’s North Pole is tilted farthest from the Sun.
“Solstice” comes from two Latin words: sol meaning “sun” and sistere meaning “to stand still” because it appeared as though the sun and moon had stopped moving across the sky.
In this way, celebrating the solstice can be a beautiful remembrance that our lives are part of a larger order, always changing, always renewing.
“Winter is a season of recovery and preparation.”
— Paul Theroux
Probably the most important spiritual meaning of the winter solstice is that this is a time meant to reflect and recreate yourself, and this year I feel I truly need to celebrate the solstice, to create a space for reflection, a space to regain some balance in our changing spinning world.
So, on June 21. I will honour the solstice by l watching the sun set from our little patch of the world and then during an hour of silence, I will keep the lights off, light a candle and embrace the darkness and the silence. Silence is another beautiful way to celebrate the shortest day of midwinter. Reflect the stillness of the day by cultivating stillness in yourself.
A few days prior I like to collect objects in nature, symbols of the changing seasons and then on the solstice build a small shrine of these objects (you can do this as a family each person adding pieces or each person can create their own) by the candlelight as a reminder to my thoughts and reflections made at this time, to help me travel my path in the coming months.
Sharing food afterwards is an important part of any celebration, and is particularly meaningful during the solstice, as it represents faith in the return of the sun and the harvest.
So, I like to prepare a simple meal from autumn vegetables to share with friends or family or cook a dinner to enjoy in the welcome solitude of your own company.
So, if you are feeling disconnected and spinning all around please on the solstice take a hour and sit quietly, by candle light and reflect.
My eager heart aspires, To be a torch, To bear the Spirit’s light, Into the dark night, Of a wintry world blessing and blest.”
~Rudolf Steiner
