Winter Solstice Ritual

The longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, the Great Conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter, Sun in Capricorn, Moon Pisces into Aries.

Winter Solstice is my favorite day of the year. It is the Earth’s new year, an opportunity for us to dive deep into the darkest corners of our individual and collective psyches to discover what we want to bring forth into the light to grow with the lengthening days that follow. This year, the Great Conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter falls on this day. The two planets are closer than they have been in over 800 years, forming an alliance of light that appears as a bright star in the sky.

This Winter Solstice, I invite you to join me in drawing a line in the star dust and crossing over into an era of radical self-love and acceptance, release of expectations, and an embrace of community near and far.

We are experiencing trauma on a global scale that no one has experienced in 100 years. There is devastating loss of life, erosion of trust in systems meant to support us, vast isolation and loneliness, and revelation of the true nature of personal relationships. But this collective trauma is also an opportunity for us to recognize and embrace our inherent connection as humans. How do you want to meet that connection? What do you want to bring to the table? And what will you accept from it?

If you live in the Southern Hemisphere, you can adjust this ritual for your Summer Solstice by focusing on what you want to fully illuminate with this longest day of the year.

Use what you have on hand in your home. Work with what you have, both in terms of physical items and knowledge and experience. Be more concerned with doing what is authentic to you than with what is “correct”. The most correct thing is the thing the you truly connect with and evolve through. You have everything you need.

Gather what you have of the following:

CLEANSER: sage, palo santo, incense, energy cleansing spray, selenite wand, a bell – whatever you use to clear the energy of your space is great. 

IMAGES: Print outs or drawings of The Moon and The Sun cards (you’ll want to keep the actual cards in your deck to use for readings)

CANDLES: Seven white tea candles. If you don’t have tea candles, you can use a 7-day white ritual candle or simply follow the clearing, incantation, and visualization prompts.

CANDLE DRESSINGS: Frankincense oil and dried chamomile flower (most easily procured by ripping open a chamomile tea bag). If you are using a ritual candle and it is pre-dressed, leave it be.

ADDITIONAL ITEMS: A small dish of water and any crystals or other symbolic items you wish to include. Ideally, one piece each of quartz crystal, citrine, and rose quartz. If you don’t have these, feel free to improvise with what you have on hand.

PRACTICAL THINGS: matches, a pen, a napkin or paper towel to wipe oil from your finger

Perform the ritual:

STEP 1: Clear the energy of your space, then close your eyes and take 3 deep cleansing breaths to ground yourself in space and time.

STEP 2: Place a candle in the center of your altar area. Place the images of The Moon and The Sun, one on each side. (If your first language reads left to right, place The Moon on the left, if it reads right to left, place The Moon on the right)

STEP 3: Place a drop of frankincense oil on top of the candle and trace it around 3 times clockwise, then sprinkle a tiny bit of crumbled dried chamomile flower on top. Frankincense strengthens Divine connection and chamomile flowers are symbolic of the sun.

STEP 4: Place the quartz crystal in front of the candle, the rose quartz on The Moon, and the citrine on The Sun.

STEP 5: light the candle and say “I bravely travel to the deepest and darkest corners of myself to find self-love, to retrieve what I need to grow and prosper, and to be one with the world, in the open, in the light.”

STEP 6: Close your eyes and spend a few minutes finding the most complete stillness you can. Use your breath to bring your consciousness deeper and deeper inside of your being until you are in complete darkness. Feel something appear in your hand. Keeping your hand closed, use your breath to bring your consciousness back into the present and - keeping your eyes closed - in your mind’s eye open your hand to see what you retrieved. Visualize yourself in a freshly tilled field. The object you retrieved has transformed into a seed. Plant the seed and thank the sun for shining its nourishing light to ensure it grows healthy and strong. Notice that the field is dotted with countless little mounds where others have planted their own seeds. Then gently bring your consciousness back to the present and open your eyes. Repeat this visualization daily for 7 days, dressing and lighting a new tea candle each day.