Winter Solstice Musings from the Crone Zone

The Winter Solstice slips in quietly…no fireworks, no fanfare — just a long, dark exhale from the Earth herself.

This is not the season for pushing.

It's the season for listening, for simply being

It's the time to re-connect to that stillness and wisdom within

Here’s a little Solstice ritual I love — simple, with an ancient-feeling about it, and surprisingly revealing:

• Take 12 small pieces of paper

• Write 12 wishes for the year ahead — one per paper

• Fold them up, mix them well

• Beginning on Solstice night, burn one each evening without looking

• By January 1st, you’ll have just one left.

• That one is yours to tend, midwife, and take responsibility for in the coming year.

The others?

Ahhh… well, those are released into wider hands:

• your wise and wily ancestors

• the land beneath your feet

• the unseen helpers, guides, gods, goddesses,

• or plain old Mystery

It’s a gentle reminder, that:

• not everything is ours to control

• not everything should be hurried into being

• and true power includes knowing what to let go

So as the wheel turns and the light slowly returns…ask yourself:

• Which wish am I truly willing to show up for?

• What am I ready to carry — and what can I finally trust the 'light' to hold?

No resolutions.

No pressure.

Just wisdom, firelight, and the deep knowing that you don’t walk alone.

A tiny bit of background ....

Long before calendars, Christmas lights, and end-of-year sales, humans watched the sky.

They noticed the sun sinking lower each day…the nights stretching longer…and they wondered: Will it come back?

The Winter Solstice  marked the longest night and shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.

After this point, the light slowly returns. I know all my SAD suffering friends love this thought.

Ancient peoples across cultures honoured this turning:

• Stone circles like Stonehenge were aligned to catch the Solstice sun

• The Romans celebrated Saturnalia, a time of rest, feasting, and role-reversal

• In Norse lands, Yule fires were lit to call back the sun

• Many early Christian traditions later layered Christmas onto this sacred solar rebirth

To our ancestors, this wasn’t symbolic — it was survival.

The return of the sun meant warmth, growth, life itself.

The sun was not celebrated at its strongest. It was honoured when it was most vulnerable

Just like us.

The Winter Solstice reminds us that:

• beginnings often arrive quietly

• strength is born in rest

• and wisdom ripens in the dark

Love from the Crone Zone at this special time of year, and I'm off to find my twelve pieces of paper!

xxx Maddie