The Longest Night

As I moved closer to the day of the winter solstice, I began to wonder about it.  I pondered the meaning of this special and sacred day. What was it? What did it mean? What was its importance? What was it that I was I feeling through the energy of this day? It occurred to me that there was something there, beyond what lay on the surface, beyond the fact that it was the shortest day of the year and beyond that the sun was furthest from the equator on this day. I was thinking about this point in the cycle of our seasonal year that held more darkness than light and I began to wonder if S.A.D. (seasonal affective disorder) may be more about descending into the center of that darkness than it was about lack of sunshine.

This thought came in the midst of that descent into the darkest night of the year––the winter solstice.  It was as if this space was talking to me, revealing its secrets. Could it be that our true trepidation towards the winter season was about that descent into the deepest point and not necessarily the cold or sparseness or lack of greenery and light. The pondering led to …

An Energy Dance

Imagine as the universe is made of light, waves of energy dance in a harmonic motion of contraction and expansion. Now imagine. as above––so below, and the earth being a microcosm of the macrocosm, even the seasons reflect that universal song of undulating vibrations. Imagine the seasons are a dance of this motion of contraction and expansion and the winter solstice––the dead of winter––was the deepest point of contraction. Imagine that this point in space and time in the movement of seasons is the most contracted point, holding the most concentrated energy of the entire season––of the entire year. Imagine the POWER of this point in space and time.

This winter solstice day being the deepest space in time is the furthest removed from the highest point of light. It is furthest from the multitudinous-ness. It is the most solitary point of being on this earth plane. So close to oneness, yet it feels the furthest away. In the comfort of abundance there is the illusion of belonging. In our aloneness we try to surround ourselves with MANY––many people––many things––many actions. We fool ourselves believing that filling our lives with abundance will fill our hearts with belonging but nothing could be further from the truth. For if it were true we would not continue through our entire lives to seek out FULLNESS.

Filling the emptiness

We can never be filled by things outside ourselves. We will always feel empty somehow. And so we continue to try to fill the emptiness. We continue to be drawn to the light; to other people; to work; to causes; and to substances like food and drink and things that distract us from our aloneness, like work and adventure. What we can’t escape no matter how hard we try is the darkness and depth of the outer season, especially the day that is the darkest––the winter solstice.

Falling into darkness

What we perceive as lack of light and lack of warmth is an outer shell of what the winter is truly about. The winter season is a time of gestation and introspection and GREAT creativity. But it is something more too. It is the point in time where we are closest to the oneness that holds the belonging we so desperately seek. It is the SOURCE for filling the emptiness within. For that is what the winter is, truly. It is a time of inner fullness and growth. A very creative season. The winter solstice is the closest point to creativity that we can reach in our three dimensional timeline. All else arises from that depth. Held there like a sling shot. Pulled back as tight as we can get it before it is propelled outwards into the next season and then boomerangs back in full circle…EACH YEAR.

But the revelation is hidden by the darkness and starkness of our outer existence. We look outside ourselves for direction and so we don’t see the richness and fullness of the inner self. There is purpose though in that outward deception. It is about balance. About keeping up the illusion of our physical reality. It is about maintaining the mystery. You see, it could be easy to lose ourselves in either world. We can fall too deeply into the rabbit hole or rush too quickly into the light. Losing ourselves to either extreme. Falling into darkness or floating up into the light.

In-between dark and light

Perhaps the contrast was created to keep us centered and engaged in the story of our lives. The in-between seasons are often the most comfortable for us physically and that’s because energetically we are literally centered at those times between the extremes. Between the powerful magnetism of dark and light, especially from the dark which we confuse for being the furthest from the light of oneness.

Awareness of this magnetic movement through time can offer some peace through the ups and downs––the dark and light. There are other things that can ease our anxieties when we are in the throes of either extreme. The stone beings can be of great help throughout each of the seasons. There are those that can offer us grounding when we need – the heavier, darker stones like hematite and jasper and pyrite.  Then there are those that can take us up into the light when we need like selenite, thulite and ice quartz to name just a few.  However, it’s best to be open and trust that the perfect stone for each situation will make itself known. The stones are very special that way. 

sending lots of love through the darkness and the light…

Originally published December 31, 2013