The Darkest Night is Just Before the Dawn

We have arrived at the Winter Solstice, the tipping point where we in the N. Hemisphere mark the point where the earth will begin to rotate back to the sun’s full exposure. The Winter Solstice marks the longest night and the shortest day of the year.  While our modern calendar denotes it as the first day of winter, I and others from the time of the ancients mark it as the return of the light each day forward, bit by bit.  It is a time of hope and new beginnings – like a solar New Year. 

In a couple of hours, a few friends will gather at my home, take a walk, circle around a bonfire, sharing readings and thoughts.  We will also toss into the fire the things we are hoping to leave behind.  There are plenty for this year 2020 that I don’t even need to mention.  As we turn the corner in the heavens, let us heal from these disasters and let the fires of hope burn bright.

Happy Solstice!

Winter Solstice at Midnight

It is fairy dark

You can see their

Tiny torches in

The moonless night

Seeds stir

In their slumber

The earth turns on its axis

toward the light

The blaze of the fire

lights the shadows

hope burning bright

in our hearts