The darkness of the season is reaching its peak. Soon the sun will arrive at its lowest point, and make a u-turn to begin its journey back north. But the long nights will stretch their dark blanket over the land for a while before we notice the difference in the quality of light, before the plants respond and sprout and bud, before the energy of Winter shifts.
Winter arrives in just a few days, and the mouth of the season opens to swallow us in.
There’s something profound about this time of year. It’s the time of The Deep Unknown, the season of reaching down into the roots, weaving the world within, sinking into dreams, softening the realm of the seen, and through the darkness walking in the space between.
We humans used to be much more attuned to the earth’s cycles. Everything depended on our relationship with the land. There were more perils related to the seasons. The Winter was especially dangerous. So when the Winter Solstice arrived it was a big deal. It was a gateway to the most threatening time in the year, but it also marked the birth of light, and so it held in it the message of hope.
We now have a more cultural relationship with the cycle of the year. Where the sun was in the sky and how much light there was used to make a huge difference in people’s lives. Now we turn the light on or off with a switch. We can buy watermelons imported from the other side of the world at the supermarket in the middle of winter. Our interaction with the natural world has obviously changed a lot over time. And there’s no need to get too deeply into the damage that this imaginary separation caused. We all know we kinda ruined the world thinking that we are somehow superior to everything else in nature.
We are never not nature though. We are a (tiny) part of a much wider, bigger, deeper, wilder creation. We cannot really separate ourselves from it, but we did manage to cut some key important links, disconnect wires, and shut down conduits, and this severed connection is causing a lot of harm.
One of the incredible things about us humans is our cognitive capacities, and the kind of creativity that emerges from these phenomenal capabilities to imagine, to comprehend, to contemplate, and to inspire.
We are the expressions of nature’s creative impulse, the children of the earth’s generative power. Our own creativity is part of creation.
Our creative power and our capacity to comprehend can lead us further into destruction, or into the process of inventing solutions, finding each other and working together, and learning from other species, so that we can rewire, restructure, and reweave the cultural with the natural in reciprocity and respect.
Nature moves in cycles. We are cyclical beings too.
We don’t have to be aware of the energy of the season for it to have an impact on us. We are intertwined with the forces of the winds, with the warmth and light of the sun, with the phases of the moon, with the flow of water, and with the growing cycles of plants. We are natural beings.
We are also cultural beings. The way that we make connections is through cognitive functions. Our extended self – the part of us that is woven by story and art and tradition, by experiences and conversations, by the generation we belong to, by the products of the time – is how we reach into the core of our being, into the nature of who we are, into the genetic code, and the basic instincts, and the cycles of the earth.
On the one hand, the instinctual leads the way. From the realms of the unseen we are pulled toward something and pushed away from something else. The unconscious is a few steps ahead of the conscious. On the other hand, in order to make a connection with the unconscious, with the primal force of creation within us, we need to get to it through the aware, cognitive, cultural parts, through mythology and music, song, dance, and art.
We’re entangled with the cycles of the earth, and yet to make a connection, we might need a bit more than time outdoors and eating what’s in season. Our ancestors created rituals and told stories that tied them to the land and the sky and the shifting light and weather. To anchor in the season’s qualities, we reach for them through attention and intention, through awareness and inspiration.
Being more attuned to the rhythm of each season is helpful for the function of our hormones and our nervous system. By bringing our mind to it, our body follows. Noticing our body’s response to the changing light, helps our mind slow down. Cultivating a relationship with the natural world can help us get more grounded, be less reactive, and make choices that are better for us and more than us.
Developing a relationship with the rhythms and cycles of the natural world helps us cultivate a meaningful relationship with ourselves and our environment. The seasons teach us to constantly and continuously adapt. As we attune to the earth, we become more conscious of how we treat ourselves, how we treat others, and how we impact the land through our actions.
The season is cold and dreary. (Well, in theory… in LA, where I live, it’s been sunny and warm). The land, the beast, and the plant are dormant. Humans are still running around, getting stuck in traffic, trying to make it on time for their children’s holiday show, rushing to holiday parties, hurrying to the airport to catch a flight. The energy in nature is quiet. The days are short, the nights are long. Winter offers a soft opportunity to slow down, to rest, to dream, and to cultivate deep wisdom.
The earth receives that which we shed, and the seeds of our visions for what will come next.
There are things to grieve and others to celebrate, things to receive and others to release.
It’s time to tend to the hearth, to the heart, to the art of cooking a feast from life’s ingredients. Time to gather with loved ones and share stories and food. Time to stir the brew of dreams and ideas in the cauldron of regeneration. Time to cast a spell for transformation.
Let’s mark the seasonal shift together, shall we? I have three special opportunities for you:
Winter Solstice Somatic Ceremony in person
Join me in person if you’re in LA! We’ll gather on the beach on the actual Winter solstice – Saturday December 21st, 2pm-5pm – for a ceremony that will enliven our connection to ourselves, to one another, to the sun, to the earth, and to all the beings we share this planet with. We’ll watch the sun setting on the shortest day of the year, and cheer for its rebirth.
We are going to tell a story and invite this moment of dissolution in the natural world to move us into our own transformation. We will move our bodies and connect to the land, the sand, the sky, the ocean, and the sun. We will chant and do breathwork and journal. And together we will make a mandala out of items we collect in nature, infuse them with what we wish to give back to the soil for regeneration, and work with the power of imagination to plant seeds of vision for the next season.
I am SO excited to see you there, to play and laugh and maybe cry, to let the salt waters of the ocean, the softness of the sand, the breath of the wind, the vastness of the sky, and the colors of the sunset support us in weaving magic into the world.
Winter solstice somatic Ceremony online
If you can’t come to the beach with us, you can enchant the season with this powerful collection of rituals to enliven your relationship with the earth through a mythopoetic exploration that weaves into physical movement, mantra, mudra, meditation, and breathwork.
This creative journey will support your seasonal transition and be a resource for contemplation and transformation all the way to mid-Winter, when the energy begins to shift again.
This ceremony is packed with nutrients for the soul. There’s a lot in there, so check out the details here, and sign up for this candle lit mythic adventure.
Winter Journey
If you are looking for an in depth program to support you on those days between the Winter Solstice and New Year’s Day, but you need it in small bits that you can sprinkle throughout the day, this course is for you! You’ll still be able to do all the things with family and friends, but it will help you carve little pockets of time for reflection, contemplation, meditation, and imagination.
Each day you’ll receive three videos – 30 minutes or shorter each – with a theme, a physical yoga practice, and meditation and pranayama. You’ll also get prompts for journaling or conversation starters, as well as ritual ideas and poem prompts to activate your creative energy. I’m also excited to invite you for a bonus zoom call on January 2nd to close the circle, connect to each other, listen to and share with one another.
Go here for more details and to sign up.
I can’t wait to connect with you, and to find ways into the season together!
If you need financial aid for any of these, there’s a way to adjust the price to fit your needs on each of these, AND if you absolutely can’t afford it and you really wanna be there, please write to me. No one will be left out for lack of funds!
If you have any questions, please reach out. I LOVE hearing from you!
And if you’re in LA, I’m teaching a public class again – Fridays – 9:30am – at Crescent Yoga in Altadena! It’s been beyond wonderful and I would absolutely love to see you there!
So much love,
Hagar