What is Winter Solstice?
Winter Solstice is the exact midpoint of winter; the shortest day of the year, and the longest night of the year. In some countries, that day is only four hours long. This is the perfect opportunity to tune into all the lessons that darkness and winter have for us – you’ll love these cosy Winter Solstice rituals.
Falling around June 22 in the Southern Hemisphere, and December 22 in the Northern Hemisphere (which is why it’s also known as Yulemas), the solstice is one of the Pagan Sabbats in the Wheel of the Year.
Why celebrate the Sabbats?
These Sabbats follow the seasons of nature and use their energies to remind us that we too are cyclical beings that need to slow down, let go and begin again, just as the trees do in winter.
Modern witches celebrate the Sabbats because they help us design more sustainable lives – most of the world is in a constant hustle-y, extroverted, goal-crushing Summer phase (and it shows: everyone is burnt out, anxious and undernourished).
Stopping to observe and honour the rhythms of nature means we can enjoy better health and more energy, have check-in points with our hearts and remind ourselves of what’s important to us. Otherwise, we’re just on the hamster wheel, moving in one direction our whole lives – sounds boring to me.
What does the Winter Solstice represent?
The Winter Solstice invites us to copy what nature is doing: sit in stillness, look at what truths can be found in the darkness and consider what our next steps will be come spring.
1. Reflect in stillness
We’ve spent autumn letting go of all that doesn’t serve us, like the trees shed their leaves; now, with everything stripped back, what matters to you the most? Where have you been just ‘going through the motions’ with something (or someone) that doesn’t light you up anymore?
Just as those traditional societies who lived in tune with nature would have, (because they had to; no electricity!) winter is a time to cosy up inside with your nearest, spend hours staring into the fire and contemplate what worked and what didn’t over the last year. They definitely weren’t out socialising, sowing seeds or tilling the farm.
2. Shadow work
Witches take this energy and create space in their lives to honour winter. One of the main gifts of winter is to change our relationship to darkness and stillness – two things that most people tend to avoid, because they’re confrontational. They reveal truths.
The Winter Solstice is the perfect time for shadow work: sit with the parts of yourself you don’t often like to look at, greet them with compassion instead of shame, and heal.
3. Starting a new cycle
Winter is also the end of the cycle, a clean slate, and that’s why I love setting my intentions for the year ahead on Winter Solstice (instead of on New Year’s Eve), so that come spring I can see the beginnings of new growth of my seeds. You’ll find my intention-setting ceremony below.
This Solstice has a special place in my heart because it happens to fall on my birthday (which I don’t believe is a coincidence – the lessons of Winter Solstice line up pretty well with my life’s purpose and unique gifts). I have another set of special rituals I dedicate to my birthday, or solar return, so it’s a very magical week for me.
Now that you’re vibing the energy of this season, here are my favourite rituals for getting cosy, getting deep and beginning again.
Winter Solstice Rituals
1. Create a Yule altar
Designing a seasonal altar for each Sabbat is a fun practice, and it also serves as a visual reminder throughout the coming weeks of what the season is asking you to remember. Create a space on a shelf, table or cabinet.
Decorate with:
- Gold or yellow candles (symbols of the sun, and finding guidance in the dark)
- Bits of nature (pine cones, pine needles, evergreen sprigs, nuts, berries)
- Red, green, white and silver tones (even some natural-looking Christmas decorations!)
2. Create some cosiness
I also love decorating my home with smells during Yule. The morning of the solstice, I’ll brew mulled apple cider and have it simmering all day long, to create a cosy atmosphere. My loved ones and I will sip it in the evening or as we do our rituals. You can also have essential oils like rosemary, frankincense and orange diffusing.
Create space in your life around the solstice to slow down and simply be: maybe reading in front of the fire, meditating and journalling alone or having a long self-care bath. This is a naturally quiet, reflective time of the year.
It’s also the perfect time for baking, because that’s the cosiest activity ever invented. Gingerbread, while now thought of a Christmas thing, was traditionally part of Pagan Yule celebrations and was only allowed to be baked during the winter solstice season – it was hard to come by, and a real treat to look forward to.
Lighting candles was also a Pagan tradition to honour the rebirth of the sun on the solstice, as the days start to grow longer again. Plus, they’re ridiculously cosy! I love filling my home with even more candles than usual to make this time sacred and magical.
3. Yule Reflection Ritual
This long, dark day is time to reflect on what has come up for us in the last few months since the Autumn Equinox, in our emotions, relationships and bodies. The darkness coaxes us to turn inward, confront our shadows and decide what we want to heal before we step back into the growing light.
I love doing this ritual by candlelight in the evening of the Winter Solstice, after a day of stillness and rest.
- Take your journal (and warm apple cider!) to your Yule altar.
- Cleanse the space with incense or sage. Light your candles on your altar.
- Always start by slowing your breath to ground yourself and come into the present. As you breathe, bring your awareness to your heart centre.
- Spend a few moments in quiet meditation, checking in with what feels alive in your body and heart. Consider the last few months and where you have felt imbalance, disharmony or friction – listen for any memories or sensations that present themselves to you.
- As emotions or memories come up, begin to breathe love into them, maybe placing your hands over your heart and womb. These feelings are coming up as an opportunity to heal them and let them go. If you find yourself lingering or getting weighed down in any emotions, return to your breath and use your hands to ground yourself in your body.
- Take a deep final inhale, and as you exhale imagine releasing all these from your body and mind, into the dark night. Slowly come back to the space around you.
- Open your journal and title a new page as your Winter Solstice entry, so you can refer back to it later. Use the prompts below to journal on, or draw tarot cards on for extra guidance.
What’s hiding in the darkness, in my subconscious, that I need to explore?
What must I release during this season of rest to create space for growth?
What aspect of my life most requires hibernation?
How will this hibernation benefit me?
What lights me up from within?
What seeds am I planting for the next year cycle?
Our delicious black & gold journals are the perfect place to set your intentions for the year ahead this Winter Solstice.
4. Welcoming the Sun Ritual
This Winter Solstice ritual is about celebrating the return of the light, and preparing for a rebirth that comes around at Spring.
After cleansing and releasing during my evening Yule Reflection Ritual, I love waking up for sunrise the following morning to welcome back the sun. This is my true New Year’s celebration.
- Take a candle (and blanket) outside with you, in a place where you can see the sun on the horizon.
- As the sun rises, welcome his warmth and light back. Soak in the rays as they hit your body and watch the way the world lights up with colour.
- Focus on your intention for the New Year (which you set in your Yule Reflection Rule), allow yourself to daydream and conjure images, thoughts and feelings of what you want to call in.
Enjoy the magic that the darkness and rebirth of Winter Solstice has to offer. Here’s to a witchy, enchanted New Year ahead!
Love,
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