Winter Spiral Walk
Celebrating Winter Solstice with an inward journey
Dec 21st, also known as the Winter Solstice, will mark when the path of the Sun in the sky is farthest south in the Northern Hemisphere. This means our shortest daylight and our longest night.
Since we can remember there have been traditions and rituals to honor the seasonal cycle of light and darkness from the physical and environmental changes to the more intimate quest to find our "inner light".
The silver lining of all this is that the longer night (darkness) is also the dawn of a new light (longer days right after) and a rebirth. This is a pivotal spiritual time that you can use to: - become more mindful of your journey - set intentions - embrace the darkness relinquishing fear - let die all that doesn't serve you anymore
IDEAS ON HOW TO CELEBRATE THIS PASSAGE
1. Collect items that symbolize light and darkness, cycle of life. 2. Put them in a spiral shape (labyrinth). [For those of you who have come to my retreats you already know the inner journey of the labyrinth]
THE SPIRAL is one of nature’s many patterns and can be found in shells, flowers, pinecones, fingertips, and galaxies. In this festival honoring the return of light into the world, we use the spiral to represent the seasonal rhythms as well as representing the contemplative journey we take to find our own inner “light.”
If you have space in your backyard walk the labyrinth from the outside in, (if you don't have a backyard you can do an indoor labyrinth on your carpet or build a micro one and walk it with your finger)...
labyrinths vs mazes have this amazing ability to lead you without mistakes to the inner core..
in a labyrinth we are meant to find ourselves, in a maze we are meant to lose ourselves.
Embrace the darkness knowing that the light is just around the corner, whether darkness is a physical unbalance or an emotional one, or both which is often the case, surrender to it and be comforted that in itself darkness brings light. Unravel the message and the lesson of your darkness and then slowly let it go.
You can do so by visualizing all of this as you walk (or trace) your spiral.
In the darkness lies the seed of our rebirth.