Being all together as a family, quite marooned on our “island” (repeated flooding has truly cut us off from the world!), I decided to go even more all out with the Sabbats, to give our family a much needed break from the intensity of sanctuary life, as well as a major dose of magic!. It’s so important we take time out of busy schedules to both have fun and do deep spiritual work, especially right now in the middle of the Great Turning.
The Great Turning is what others call the Shift or Ascension or the New Earth. And we are at the sharp edges now, and it’s feeling so heavy. So what do we do when the dark comes… we put on the lights. We need to amp up our light.. and that, for us, is what the solstice is really all about.
Once upon a time, we always made the trek to my cousins place for a Christmas family gathering. We’d arrive with a van full of dogs and baby goats or lambs or both , bring our own vegan mains, juggle bottle feeding and dog runs and games with social discourse with family members, and then make the trek back. Then we’d feed the horses and the other animals in sanctuary! They were always such big and exhausting days.
So today, with everyone grown and partnered, our Christmas has become a much needed quiet day with just the three of us, to really rest the spirit. Energetically it is so quiet and peaceful. And we bring out the Solstice leftovers (if we still have some) and put our feet up with a good movie, in between the normal sanctuary caring.
Andrew was raised in a Jewish family, so has no connection to Christmas. We found celebrating Solstice really, really worked for our own little family, as no matter if you are nature-based faith follower or not, the day is the longest day of the year, or the shortest if you are northern hemisphere. And it matters to us commonly… as part of our druid path.
Solstice avoids the pressure of consumerism and family. You can celebrate it with friends or by yourself.
For us solstice, is about the ritual and ceremony, feasting and fun and it can be as simple as honouring the light, the ancestors, and the fae, noting the seasonal change of the wheel, or going right into the magic of fire ceremony, ancient rituals, divination, journeying leaving an offering, sympathetic magic ( winter solstice) and joyous celebration with the unseen to raise the frequency.. setting yourself up for the next chapter of the story of your year. It can be a time for magic and leaving the mundane for the enchanted.
This year the Unseen are asking us to group together to raise the vibration. They have things they want to share with us. So , if you are called, please come to our Faerie Solstice Gathering on December 19.
Boxing Day
Before I sign off I wanted to also talk about Boxing Day — the day after Christmas. Christmas itself can bring up a lot of stuff for people. It can be a very lonely, stressful day, especially with the media push of the old paradigm of consumerism. And today with Covid, and everything that goes with that, there may be people emotionally estranged from their families, or unable to be with them.
When we lived in Sydney, nearly three decades ago, we would gather all our Christmas-traumatised friends together on Boxing Day. We would go to the beach or sit around our little house and just de-brief, have fun, and continue the merry spirit of the family of community. Friendship.
So if you can, reach out to the elderly, the lonely, and the troubled. Lots of people have lost their jobs and are struggling in this new Covid era we find ourselves in. It’s definitely a time to be kind.
Christmas holidays are also a time when companion animals really need people to step up and be kind. Some people will dump their dogs so they can holiday travel. (And then pick up a new one on their return. Can you believe it?)We have traditionally always rescued dogs around the holidays because we knew the pounds were overflowing. So if you are called, don’t second-guess, or feel you can’t, that call is for you. If you open the doors of your home and your heart to a new family member, you won’t regret it!!
And don’t forget if you want to learn about the solstice and why the fae want us to remember how to celebrate, join me in the Wise Woman’s Cottage for a party around the hearth at the Faerie Solstice Celebration!
