Happy Solstice

And just like that the Winter Solstice is here, the season changes and darkness will turn into light.

I am grateful for the seven women who generously offered their reflections here during the past three weeks and to YOU for stopping by. I hope the words and images shared gave you chance to pause and consider your own entry into winter.

Today I offer you no profound reflections or words, but a joyful ditty I discovered last year called Winter Solstice, by The Tea Party (the band). It makes me smile - I hope it makes you smile too.

Happy Solstice,

Stephanie

Solstice Reflections: Pixie Campbell

Solstice Reflections 2011 is an online gathering of reflections by seven lovely women on the spirit of winter and the migration from darkness to light. My hope is that they may offer you a momentary respite from a sometimes hectic season, allowing you to sit with your own reflections as you enter your personal winter. Click here for all posts to date.

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Winter Solstice is my True North holiday. Every year my family creates a fire outside in the firepit and writes what we're releasing on little slips of paper and when the fire is nice and hot, and it has become very dark, we toss in our scraps of paper and say goodbye to the darkness, the year that has past, and our old ways. I have loved hearing my six year old prepare for what he wants to release, which this year includes fear of new experiences and anxiety about living in a new town.

photo by Elke May Glendenning

In celebration of letting go of the old, I designed a ritual called The Mother of All Releasings Ceremony. When the idea came to me, I envisioned a critical mass of people, who had never done a ritual such as the one my family does on Winter Solstice, releasing individual and collective fear and pain, and so I shared the idea with my blog readership and a movement toward this was born. In working with women in SouLodge, my online e-course, I've heard that so many of us are carrying thoughts, fears and feelings that are no longer useful to them. When forward movement is desired, these old voices and modes of being appear as resistance to change, and obstacles to growth. I created a recipe for them to make a releasing bundle to throw into the fire on Solstice, and that can be found right here.

photo by Stacy de la Rosa

I am a communal, village-loving woman. I love to chatter and harvest the ripest berries with those around me. Winter Solstice is a time of quiet reflection for me, during the season when the light is slowly making it's way back-back into the northern hemisphere, back into my consciousness, back into the collective. For just a short while, it's a time to stop the chatter and the business of planting and harvesting, to sit in gratitude and the wisdom of lessons learned during the year, to let go of all that has become dark, and step cleanly into the light and the new creative year.

2012 is a powerful year to let the old ways go and step fully into creative self-expression and abundant support for our dreams from All That Is. It is a time for visionaries to create reality.

~~~

Pixie Campbell is a mixed-media artist, traditional crafter, workshop leader and mama who is passionately dedicated to shedding old skins and helping others do the same.

www.pixiecampbell.com
www.soulodge.com

Solstice Reflections: Kelly Letky

Solstice Reflections 2011 is an online gathering of reflections by seven lovely women on the spirit of winter and the migration from darkness to light. My hope is that they may offer you a momentary respite from a sometimes hectic season, allowing you to sit with your own reflections as you enter your personal winter. Click here for all posts to date.

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walking my way into winter

cotton-ball snowflakes falling gently on a night with no wind.

tree branches like lace against a lavender sky.

a fresh expanse of snow unmarred by footprints.

glittering.

the fresh smell of winter's morning.

birds calling.

cardinals dotting a hedgerow like oversized berries.

a fire that roars while the wind howls outside.

kittens curled up and basking in the glow.

time to read and hibernate, a little.

forced to slow down.

a little.

dreams of spring and green and gardens.

wrapped in quilts that feel like love.

::

my footsteps crunch their way through this season.

leading me from endings to beginnings.

i catch a snowflake on my tongue.

hold it there.

savoring the flavor.

another solstice.

rising.

::

~~~

Kelly Letky works as a freelance graphic artist and jewelry designer. In addition to those two hats, she also wears those of photographer, writer, wife, mother, sister, daughter, crazy cat lady, friend, runner, knitter and gardener. Beyond that, she makes regular attempts to be kind, caring, loving, generous, artful, and immersed in each and every moment. She writes at www.mrsmediocrity.com and www.thebluemuse.com.

Solstice Reflections: Rebecca Klier

Solstice Reflections 2011 is an online gathering of reflections by seven lovely women on the spirit of winter and the migration from darkness to light. My hope is that they may offer you a momentary respite from a sometimes hectic season, allowing you to sit with your own reflections as you enter your personal winter. Click here for all posts to date.

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Snowflake

Tree with berries

Starry Night

~~~

My name is Rebecca. I like to make and create. On any given day I have been known to sew, paint, crochet, glue, draw, knit, hammer, dig, photograph, plant, design, build and sometimes sing really loud in the car (not necessarily at the same time). My subjects are what moves me - watching a plant grow or birds fly or children laughing or a dog snoring.  I don't like to point myself in any one direction as I'm always curious as to what I left behind or what's around that other corner. Will work for Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies.

(Note from Steph: You can enjoy more of Rebecca's words and illustrations at her Website, deutschemexicana.com.)

Solstice Reflections: Jen Lee

Solstice Reflections 2011 is an online gathering of reflections by seven lovely women on the spirit of winter and the migration from darkness to light. My hope is that they may offer you a momentary respite from a sometimes hectic season, allowing you to sit with your own reflections as you enter your personal winter. Click here for all posts to date.

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 Listen to Jen's Solstice Reflections podcast:

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Jen Lee is a voice recovery specialist, independent media producer and a beloved performer in New York City’s storytelling scene, including The Peabody Award-winning Moth Radio Hour and The Moth Mainstage. She is a sought-after mentor and guide for workshops and retreats unleashing creative expression, and the creator of Finding Your Voice and Telling Your Story, cutting-edge personal breakthrough courses. Her latest book, The Care and Keeping of Creative Souls: A Manual, is now available.

Bio photo credit: Bella Cirovic (shetoldstories.com)