Happy Winter Solstice (Northern Hemisphere)

If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, today you can celebrate the winter solstice, the longest and darkest night of the year and the shortest day of the year.

Celebrations of this day are among the oldest in human history, as today represents the day from which you have more daylight and also the beginning of the Winter season.

So, let’s see how we can celebrate with some winter solstice rituals.

In Pagan traditions, the winter solstice is known as Yule. Its celebration, somewhere between December 20 – 23, depending on the year, focuses on rebirth, transformation, creativity, new beginnings, and getting rid of those habits that keep us bound.

Clean & Declutter Your Home

The idea here is to prepare our living space for the incoming energy coming from the longer sunlight hours. To do this, we can remove all the things that physically block light and energy flow.
This decluttering effort can, and should, also be made within ourselves, by removing all the blockers, the limiting mindsets, and the habits that no longer serve us.
This is the perfect period of the year to give away, recycle/repurpose, or even sell the things that are no longer needed so that they can share their energy where it is more needed.

Set Up a Yule altar

Create a Yule altar with a wood log.
If you don’t have a fireplace, you can light up candles and incense instead of the log, in a safe place in your home. This will help to release the burden of the past and banish old or negative energy that you don’t want to bring with you into the new season.
Around the log put some holly, mistletoe, cinnamon sticks, boughs of evergreen trees, berries, wreaths, oranges, apples, pinecones, crystals, golden discs, coins, candles, incense cones or sticks to welcome the new energy that will start flowing in you and your living place from today on.
This is also the time of the year to celebrate by sharing time together, or making some ritual sacrifices (leave some spare food in front of your log like nuts, biscuits, or candies), and gift-giving.
Treat yourself with something that embraces the natural and spiritual world around you. Something that holistically connects you to the period.

COMMIT TO Your Winter Intentions

From today to the Summer solstice we have 183 days, so we have plenty of time to commit to some winter intentions. These intentions are meant to let us grow, progress, find who we really are, discover our purpose, and achieve what we want and deserve.
To do this, turn off your notifications, open your windows to change the air in your house, light some incense or candle, and take some time to think – or meditate – about who you really are. Then write down, not on the computer or on your phone, but with pen and paper, your intentions.
On the Summer solstice, you will burn that piece of paper, checking how many of your intentions you will have honored.

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