Winter
Solstice:
The
Re-Birth of the Light
Solstice
Sunrise
The
Wheel of the Year begins at Winter Solstice, the birthday of the Sun
and of our New Year. This first gateway is the time when the northern
hemisphere experiences more hours of darkness than hours of light in
the day. At the Autumn Equinox, the Sun begins its yearly journey
south of the Equator, and at the Winter Solstice has moved as far
South as it possibly can. At Winter Solstice, the Sun seems to stand
still for three days before it begins its journey back North.
The
time of greatest darkness! And yet, it is within this time of great
darkness that the sunlight seems to be reborn, because now the hours
of daylight will begin to grow and the hours of darkness will lessen.
In the same way, the inner Light of Spirit is once again reborn out
of the death and darkness of another year. The story of the Divine
Child’s birth resonates in our hearts because it is in the darkness
of unknowing that we hope and pray a deeper Light and fuller life
await us in the coming year.
Down
through the ages, our ancestors expressed their connection with the
Earth by celebrating these markers of the Sun’s journey through the
year.
In
all cultures, the Winter Solstice is a time of thanksgiving, a time
of rejoicing and a time of hope, when the beauty and truth of the
Light is remembered and honored. We light fires in hearths and in
candles, gather together with our loved ones, give and receive
presents, and make wishes for the New Year. For this small space of
time, we embrace the ideal of Peace on Earth, Goodwill toward All.
At
each of the eight gateways of the year, we connect to the natural
laws governing this world and the cosmos. Inner and outer become One,
and Life's dramas are manifest. It is at Winter Solstice that the
truth of our Oneness is most evident. The season’s gift of the
outer darkness provides a mirror to our inner darkness and aloneness.
And that’s the moment we pray for the Light. In the deepest
Darkness, we search for the Light. And when we find it, we share the
precious gift with our loved ones and community. Our celebrations and
joy are the gifts of gratitude we offer to Life for the amazing
blessing of the Light.
So
come and sit around a fire and let me tell you a story….
This
is a tale that has been told by the women of my family for
generations; it is always told before an open fire on the darkest day
of the year. When I was a little girl, this was one of my favorite
times, for although the days were short, there was always light and
joy and hope in our house as the family gathered 'round the glowing
fire to listen to my grandmother tell this story. As I grew older, my
mother took her turn as storyteller, and now it is my turn to tell
you this tale.
This
is a story about Grace. Do you know what Grace is? No? Well, Grace is
a gift that Spirit bestows on all of us, regardless of whether we
deserve it or not. It is an unexpected gift of Love, which we need to
recognize and be thankful for.
Once
upon a time, there was a land shrouded in darkness. This was not
always so; at one time, it had been a land of great Light and depth
and beauty.
Until
The Darkness appeared. And strange things began to happen.
At
first, the darkness was just a vague impression on the edge of sight,
an uneasiness that tickled awareness—then fled. Over time, the
tickle turned into a shiver as the darkness sent out tendrils, like
premonitions, in the night. People were not afraid, however, for one
reason: this darkness made the Light in the land even more beautiful
and radiant. The darkness became a riddle that called out for an
answer.
But
as time went on and the riddle went unanswered, people forgot to
notice and give thanks for the Light, for they were fascinated by the
darkness. And slowly, over time, the darkness spread and the Light
became dimmer and dimmer, though the people didn't even notice that
the Light had changed. You see, their eyes became accustomed to the
dimness and they could see just as well as ever, or so they thought.
But
not everyone forgot the beauty of the Light that used to cover the
land. Sometimes these people read about it in old books; oftentimes
they dreamed about it; and some passed the knowledge of it down
within their families from generation to generation. And in not
forgetting the Light, it turned out that it lived on in their
imaginations so brightly that it filled their eyes with its very own
clarity, and they could see things that other people could not see.
But the ones who remembered were only a few compared to the others,
and if they talked about what they could see, they were most often
ignored and sometimes reviled.
Eventually
the land grew so dark that more people began to acknowledge that they
really couldn't see very well at all! But since there were so many
others still stumbling around in the dark, everything became even
more chaotic and frantic. In short, things got even worse!
And
the Darkness deepened.
One
day, a woman sat watching her children at play. This woman was
neither young nor yet very old, and her children were not babes nor
yet were they grown. And because she was one of those who loved the
memory of the Light, and imagined it and longed for it until it shone
in her eyes, she saw something no one else saw. She saw her children,
who were filled with a sense of her own inner Light, growing dimmer
and dimmer with each passing day, for the full weight of the darkness
around them was too hard to fight off.
Gradually
a resolve grew in this mother until one night when she put her
children to bed, she told them she was leaving on a journey, and why.
Since she didn’t know how long she’d be gone, she wanted them to
take care of each other, to love each other, and to remember her own
love for them every day. She promised she’d come back to them as
soon as she could.
The
woman set out that very night, determined to travel to the source of
the Light which used to cover the land, and entreat it to come
back with her. Although she had no idea where to begin her search,
she walked through the cold lonely winter night with great joy in her
heart, despite her worry at leaving her children. For she rejoiced in
the thought of seeing the Light at last, the Light she had loved and
imagined all her life. She soon found herself singing to the Light in
the dark of the night. And although their own light was very much
dimmed in that land, still the stars and the Moon in heaven heard
that mother's song, and they sang back to her melodies of the glory
she was searching for.
In
the morning, the woman came to the outskirts of a village. But
something was terribly wrong! Trees had been uprooted and left to
rot; the fields had been dug up in piles of dirt, while all the
animals in the fields looked as if no one had taken them back to the
barn for weeks! In the village, it was even worse. People scurried
around like unsettled ants. They were so focused on looking for
something they completely ignored the woman, even when she
called out to them. She had never seen such chaos!
The
villagers were dismantling their homes, turning up the streets,
peering into dark places. When she finally managed to get someone to
stop and speak to her, she was told there was a great treasure of
gold hidden somewhere within the village, and whoever found it would
be rich beyond imagining. Then before she could ask another question,
the villager rushed off to continue his search.
Shaken
by what she was seeing, the woman came upon the village green—a
small patch of undisturbed green grass with one white bare-branched
birch tree. As she walked over to rest under the tree, she saw the
most beautiful golden glow (like the glow of a summer sunrise in our
world!). When she came to the tree, she saw within the golden light a
carved wooden chest full of gold coins!
There,
right in the midst of the village, was the gold in plain sight! Yet
obviously, no one saw it! As a matter of fact, she began to notice
that people's eyes glazed over as they looked in the direction of the
green, as if they couldn't even see the tree—as if they saw nothing
at all! Then they quickly turned their gaze away and began seriously
squinting at the ground they had already gone over. The woman watched
this for a while and sighing, shook her head, silently turning to go.
It was not for her to take the gold, even if she could carry it
away.
At
the edge of the green she stopped, for she noticed a young man
building a house. As she watched him, she saw that he had the
eyes of a dreamer, and that there was some Light in him. So she went
to him and brought him to the tree, and asked what he could see. Why,
the tree of course! And the green, green grass.
The
mother looked in his eyes and asked if he could see anything else. He
held her gaze and then blinked and looked again. Well, he couldn’t
say for sure, but he did imagine there was a hazy golden something
in the air. So he asked the woman to describe the gold to him and
perhaps he could imagine what it looks like. The woman describes the
light and the gold, and before very long the young man could see the
skillful workmanship of the carved chest, and the abundance and
goldenness of the coins. The woman told him to take the gold and use
it to help the villagers rebuild their homes after the madness of the
search passed.
And the
young man solemnly promised to do it.
At
nightfall, the woman found herself deep in the woods near an ash tree
on a grassy knoll. Pulling her cloak tightly around her, she lay down
under the tree, planning to rest for a few hours before continuing on
her way. As she slept, she dreamed a round, luminous Moon came down
out of the heavens and sank into the Earth beneath the tree. She got
up to search for it and started digging up the dirt around the roots,
until she came upon a pearl-like crystal, which shed its milky light
upon the tree, giving it a glimmering sheen. The light grew brighter
and her heart filled with hope that she had finally found what she
was seeking.
Suddenly
the villagers were all around her and when they saw the light-giving
crystal, they took out their pick-axes and hammers and began chipping
away at the stone, until all the light disappeared and there were
only shards of crystal left scattered on the ground.
The
woman awoke, crying.
She
desperately searched the darkness of the surrounding forest, fearful
that the villagers had come, but there were only the animals and
birds of that place, making little adjustments in their dens and
nests. She looked at the knoll beneath the tree, and without
thinking, began digging in the ground. Very soon she came upon the
shining stone of her dream, and with an anguished cry, she stopped.
She didn't want to expose the light, but it was her only clue to
finding the Light.
Elana Gibeault ~ Artist
What
should she do? What should she do?
She
sat there, waiting . . . waiting for an answer. And before long it
came. She heard a gentle voice telling her to Come in. But
come in where? Why into the stone, of course! And once
again without thinking, the woman stretched out her hand to the stone
and suddenly found herself slipping into its pearly light.
Once
inside the luminous light, she was filled with such sweet warmth that
it brought to mind an old memory of a time when her grandmother
rocked her to sleep. In truth, she felt as if she was being held
within a woman's arms, all safe and snug and listening to a lullaby
about the beauty of the Light that used to shine upon the land.
Her
quest! And with the memory came a voice that bide her to go on,
on through the luminescence in search of the source of the Light. She
felt a gentle shove on her back and started walking, even though she
could discern no path for her feet to follow.
Quite
unexpectedly, she found herself in darkness again, but this time a
very warm, almost cozy darkness. Before long, she realized she could
see what was around her, because unlike the upper world, this lower
world's darkness was very alive! She saw all the flower bulbs tucked
into the Earth for the winter, just as snug as her own children in
their beds at night.
She
saw the roots of trees stretching down into the Earth, just as their
branches reached up to the heavens above. There were rivers and
streams of pure water, flowing through crystal rocks, as well as
solid rivers of gold, silver and copper veining the ledge. The stones
themselves were so colorful, they rivaled our most beautiful sunsets,
and there were gem stones that twinkle like the stars in heaven! She
walked past all these wonders until she came to the center of the
Earth, and in that crystal cavern, beyond a pool of azure water, she
saw a glorious Light.
Gazing
across the watery depths, her heart thundered and tears flowed down
her cheeks. Here was the Light she was seeking. On the wings of that
joy, she suddenly found herself standing before the source of that
Light.
There,
in the heart of a shining halo, was a Child, a most wondrous and
beautiful Child. And just as mothers always do, the mother couldn't
help but smile with love at the sight of the tiny Child enfolded in
the Light. The Child looked at the woman with a tender smile and she
seemed to hear it say to her, I’ve waited for you so long! How
glad I am you’ve finally come."
With
these words, the woman's heart grew large with love and she bent over
to pick up the Child, cradling the baby in her arms. She wrapped the
baby inside her cloak and turning, left the cavern. She made her way
back to the pearly chamber, and as she passed through it, she felt a
feather-light kiss upon her brow and knew that she was loved just as
surely as she loved the small baby in her arms.
She
couldn’t say for sure when she finally left the luminous light
behind and emerged into the wintry night, because the pearly light
and the first snowflakes blended into each other. As she hurried home
with her precious burden, the snowflakes drifted down faster and
faster from the night sky, and she had to go slower and slower. But a
Light shone from within her cloak where the Child lay next to her
heart, and as she went on, the animals of the forest and the winged
ones of the air saw the Light and followed after her.
She
silently passed through the village, now quiet and cozy under its
blanket of snow. As she passed, the young dreamer suddenly awoke in
his chair next to his hearth, and with a cry of delight, ran out into
the snowy night. Then the children of the village woke up from their
sleep and ran to their windows to see the Light filling the night
with splendor, and they called joyously to their parents to Come
out! Come out! And see the great wonder.
The
mother finally approached her own village, followed by a great crowd
of humans and animals. She was so intent on getting home to her own
children that she didn’t see they were already hurrying down the
road to meet her, for the Light now flew before her and filled the
night.
When
the mother saw her children standing there in the snowy night, her
face lit up and she stumbled through the snow to embrace them. Then,
gently unclasping her cloak, she bent down to show them the baby. A
great glory shone from the Child, and all the creatures there that
night imagined that they each sheltered the baby from the storm.
Everyone felt their hearts open and they smiled, just as anyone would
smile at the sight of a beautiful newborn baby, and the Child smiled
contentedly back.
No
one could quite remember when the Child and the Light began to fade
away with the storm, except the mother who heard the silent farewell
in her heart. The stars glittered brightly in the cold dark sky and
the Moon sent down her blessing. Blessed with this unexpected grace,
the people felt a great peace and joy descend upon them, the Light
once again shining in their eyes. The animals and the birds sang out
their own joy, and there was great rejoicing all around. And in the
days that followed, the humans and animals made a peace which exists
to this day.
And
from that night, the Light and the image of the Child lived on in
their hearts, and it spread from heart to heart, until the Light was
as bright as it had once been in the land. Now, all people could see
and love the Light, but they didn’t reject the Darkness, for they
had finally solved the riddle. They knew that the Darkness had a
beauty all its own.
For
it was in the Darkness that the light of the stars and the Moon
brought to mind the Child and the Light that had come back to them on
that cold and snowy winter's night.
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