by Stacy Vajta
The Winter Solstice. It’s a turning point as the wheel of time makes yet another cycle; where life will once again be regenerated as the sun’s light begins to increase, little by little.
It’s been dark out there as of late. And yes, the days have been growing shorter and the sun barely warms us with its rays shining practically horizontally…but, it’s felt really dark out there.
As we’ve been creeping toward this longest night, the energy has been begging us to go within and explore our darkest corners. The winter’s dark guides us inward—both literally and figuratively. We move inside in all ways, wrapping ourselves up in a womb-like atmosphere to guard against the cold and increasing darkness.
Yet, Nature, and her cycles, gives us the opportunity each year to find our own inner light, to help us manoeuvre through the darkest time. We use this light to connect us to the Divine, and it guides us in our healing.
The long dark nights also call us home. Winter is a time of celebrating community and family. In the days of old, we’d gather around the fire and storytellers would tell of our history and weave the path to where we were headed.
Honouring this spiral pathway out of the darkness and into the light is an important piece in marking our collective journey. And in this time of great transition—which it seems we are now in as we re-envision our global community and learn to move forward in new ways yet to be imagined—it seems critical that we find our way out of the darkness once again and learn to trust that the light will be there.
This transition, or transformation from darkness to light, is where we can recognize our own ability to transform. It is here, at this juncture, where things evolve into form.
It can be a challenge to hold the light in this time of darkness. But as we do, each year, we participate in the Great Mystery. We heal both personally and in community, and we learn to see the Divine in all. And the more we can do this…the more we heal our hearts.
So here’s to the darkness for all it holds to be discovered; and to the coming light, where we can take what we have healed in ourselves and bring an ever deeper healing to our world.
