Winter Solstice Blessings 2013

I love the holy days. Note that I wrote holy day, not holiday. Even though that is where we get holiday from, I often think of them as different things... But that's another musing. Today is about the solstice, the winter solstice.

Winter solstice is one of eight seasonal holy days. I like to think of it as the first, a new beginning. Because even though it is the longest night of the year, the very next day, the light 'returns' and our days slowly grow longer, we move closer to the sun, until summer solstice, around June 21st. Then the nights grow longer and round and round we go.

I love that this is a cycle we can rely on and also agree on. No matter your personal beliefs, most of us feel pretty comfortable with the theory of earth moving around the sun by now. It is a rotation that is universally recognized and in many cultures, revered.

I like the reassurance of the sun coming closer each year but I never celebrate the same way. Every winter solstice may symbolize the power of dark and the gift of light, but every year, the world is different. I am different. I like to honor that in my sacred celebrations.

That is the balance, after all. The linear, masculine, fixed solar path of point a to b, giving us focus, strength and fiery intent, and the cyclical, feminine, lunar flow that connects us to emotion, intuition and faith.

This particular solstice my thoughts are on the Goddess.

I usually feel the sun as masculine, as I stated above and many cultures agree. But some see him as a she. And at a time of reversal and dreaming, why can't the sun change sexes or perhaps belong to both?

One of the oldest and most sacred Sanskrit chants, the Gayatri mantra, was originally dedicated to the sun goddess. And on this solstice, our most feminine planet, Venus, goes retrograde. The evening star, goddess of love and beauty, appears to descend into the underworld and emerges just a couple of days before the next holy day, Imbolc, as the morning star.

It is poetic and exquisite.

I pull a Tarot card for each holy day, which serves as the theme for that six weeks. My son pulled the card this time, well, he more grabbed at the deck as five month old babies grab at anything, but his hand ended up directly on the card of the empress. In the deck I use, Empress represents the earth goddess, spirit manifested.

These two events, Venus' transformation and the reign of the Empress over winter, shifted my intent for this solstice.

Darkness has always been connected with the feminine, yin, moon energies. People in our culture don't spend enough time in the dark. In the dark is where healing happens, where the seed is planted, where the roots form, where many animals go to hibernate and where we offer our dead. Darkness defines light. Darkness is magic, mystery and every possibility. In the dark, the surface becomes void and all that matters is spirit.

Rather than fearing or avoiding dark, rather than banishing it, I want to see her as part of this goddess cycle. Venus descends and is reborn. From the longest night, the light returns. It is the exhale of the goddess before her big breath in.

We need darkness. We need light. We need to remember that both, equally belong to her.

May darkness heal us, cleanse us, bless us and hold us. May the light renew, inspire and empower us.

May we see the Goddess in all we are, all that is. And in her wholeness, may we find our own. From our wholeness, may we offer light, love and power back to her and may she be restored to her full power. In the dark. In the light. In the goddess.

Blessed be.

Cancer Full Moon 1/8~ Nourish & Nurture

Cancer Full Moon~ Nourish & Nurture
From the top of Capricorn mountain, our attention is now drawn down and west, to the depths of the ocean, or the Cancer full moon.


Cancer is cardinal earth, the initiator of emotion, and for me, nothing has embodied the mystery, healing, sensitivity, life giving qualities of this sign more than the ocean. 


Well, except for my own mama, who happens to have a Cancer moon and arrives the day this lunation begins. She did not know that when she bought her ticket, but these are the synchronicities that assure me we are in the flow of nature. Cancer is the only sign that is also ruled by the moon, so this is where the lunar goddess feels most at home. I did not know my mom had a Cancer moon until I was older, but now it is extremely easy to see.


Where the moon falls in your chart generally indicates what you need for emotional fulfillment. It is our "feeling" side, where we are most sensitive, fragile and also truly fulfilled. If you are ignoring the needs of your moon, you will probably never feel completely whole. My mother is the most loving, sensitive, intuitive, healing person I have ever known. She cries at the drop of a hat, has the most nurturing hug and I don't think I have ever had a single friend my entire life who did not love my mama and claim her for their own. Some people were just meant to be moms, to everyone, you know? And I would make a little wager that a lot of those women have Cancer somewhere close to their moon.


This is the weekend of receiving the motherly love you need. 2012 has come in strong and most of us sense this is going to be a big year of change and growth. Capricorn has already gotten many making plans, preparations and their heads "in the game." But the universe is about balance, and lest we burn out before February even gets here, Cancer asks us to take a break, check in to see if our "physical" plans harmonize with our "emotional" needs and lay our heads in her lap. I cannot wait to put my head in my mother's lap and I know how blessed I am to have my very own Cancer moon Great Nurturing Mama with me this full moon cycle. But a lot of folk don't have that and there are a lot of other ways to receive the tenderness we all require to thrive.


A trip to the ocean and just meditating on the waves is a great practice. As you sit on the beach, imagine each inhale pulling in cleansing waters and every exhale letting go of your anxieties, fears and doubts. With each breath, let the salt air soothe you, the singing birds soften you and the power of mama ocean hold you.


If the ocean is not available, sitting under the full moon will work just fine. Perhaps pull out your favorite blanket, stuffed animal or pictures of a healing mother in your life, whether it is your own, mine, the Saint Amma or even a mother goddess like Durga, Demeter or Isis. Bundle up under the moon feeling "held" by the images or items and again work with your breath. Let your breathing invoke the ocean, pulling the inhale like a wave of love and support, and releasing the exhale as if letting go of anything that does not nourish you. 


It would also be a nice idea to get LOTS of hugs from friends, take a warm salt bath or hit the spa. If you feel like journaling, maybe just list all the emotional qualities you want to manifest in your life as you move forward in the new year. It is so easy to disregard our feelings when we are beginning a new year, and without a healthy relationship to the emotional body, a lot of plans will eventually fail. I would recommend, if you don't know it, finding out what your moon sign is and then spending the last two weeks of this cycle nurturing it. 


Finally, Cancer is the sign when I most like to make an offering back to the mother. She is always giving and if we only take, soon she will have nothing left. If you feel comfortable ringing out your moon-blood in water and giving the water back to the ocean, earth, stream, etc, that is a very powerful gift. Or, if that is not your style, make a donation to Heal the Bay or Plant a Fish, non-profits that take care of our waters. I also plan on treating my biological mom to the spa for the same reasons;)


Be gentle with yourself this weekend. Drink lots of fluids, be around water in whatever way you can, pay attention to your emotions, do activities that are nurturing and take time to honor and receive the Great mama in your life.