family

Seed Corn

Posted on August 9, 2014 by Molly

I dream of a sacred fire where
a family circles
arms linked
as one.

Shared dream
shared harvest
shared blessing
of family, spirit, hearth, and home.

Light the fire
with your children.
Sing with your partner.
Create a temple
of your hearts
hands
and bodies.

This afternoon we had our tenth session of Rise Up and Call Her Name. The focus was on Mesoamerica and we looked at the Virgin of Guadalupe and at the Sacred Corn Mother.

As the year has progressed, I’ve gotten much better at the process of intentional altar creation. I used to always include basically the same items and the process of laying out the altar items was often somewhat rushed and also rote. I’d put the altar items out as one of the last tasks before people arrived. Now, I make the altar creation process a priority much earlier in the day. I center and focus and choose items specifically and intentionally to reflect the theme or focus of the class or ceremony. I let the items “tell” me what wants to be included, rather than including what I think should be there.

Our group was small today, but our discussion was robust! At the close of the class, we did a seed corn ritual in which we considered what we would like to save from this year’s “harvest” to plant in the new year. We also closed our eyes and let the seed corn share a “dream” with us. The above lines are what my seed corn (actually, popcorn) had to share with me. Ever since our summer ritual, I’ve been thinking of ways for the upcoming year to include my family more in my rituals and events and how to welcome/include the families of the women I circle with. A lot of the reason behind having women-only rituals at this point in my life is purely logistical. It is difficult to impossible to have a full “retreat” with kids also present. Someone has to take care of the kids during said retreats…hence, single-sex rituals/ceremonies make the most sense! However, shorter and simpler rituals are possible with kids, though they have a completely different feel and even function and so that energetic output needs to be balanced with the renewal and restoration we often need as mothers and women. In our conversation today we talked about how to “change the world” for women and my mom mentioned that perhaps one of the biggest impacts is how we raise our sons. So, I’m not surprised my seed corn dream opened with a fire and a family surrounding it.

Categories: community, family, feminist thealogy, friends, parenting, poems, priestess, retreat, ritual, spirituality, womanspirit, women, women's circle | 2 Comments

Blackberry Summer

Posted on July 3, 2014 by Molly

Summer’s bounty
both sweet and spiky
sun-kissed and thorny
able to draw blood
and to cause you to smile
as you taste the juices of life.

Summer is a time when you both wrestle with what isn’t working and celebrate the fruits of your labors. When you peek under leaves only to discover bugs in your cabbages, whether literal or metaphorical. When you bask in what is growing well, what has taken root firmly, what is beautiful in the sunshine, what you can trust, taste, enjoy and savor. In the summer, we see both weeding and harvesting. Planting and tending and maintaining. We see withering. We see giving up. We see what is dying and what is thriving. This is the balance of the year. The wheel turns and turns and turns and before we know it, we are holding a palm full of blackberries once more. Older, different, changed and yet, right there, again. That juicy bite of summer.

Heat and light. Growth and transformation. Bearing fruit. Spreading open in the sun. Digging up by the roots. Weeding out. Composting. Turning over. Turning over. Turning over.

I’m preparing for our summer ritual tomorrow afternoon and the themes above are on my mind. Summer is a perfect time to see what is growing well and what needs to be yanked out by the roots.

Last year, I expressed similar thoughts in my summer solstice poem. It is interesting to see how the wheel of the year is reflected within my own mind and thought processes. In the late fall, I turn inward and feel like retreating and pulling away from commitments. In the winter, I incubate and make plans. In the spring, I emerge again and feel enthused with new ideas. In the summer, I start to make decisions about what to keep and what to prune away.

It feels fitting that I am gestating a new baby right now and making decisions about what I need to wrap up or change before he is born in the late fall. Then, we’ll be ready to cocoon through the fall and winter together.

—

Crossposted at SageWoman.

Categories: family, pregnancy, seasons, theapoetics, woodspriestess | 3 Comments

Gourd Drum!

Posted on May 5, 2014 by Molly

My birthday was this weekend and my husband gave me some gourds and some goatskin rawhide pieces so we could make a gourd drum! I already have forgotten the exact details, but sometime in March we somehow came across a mention of a gourd drum and were instantly intrigued. We liked the idea of being able to make a drum without having to shape or acquire a wooden circle for the base. We liked how gourds are used throughout the world for musical instruments and how they have a long legacy through history. My husband bought the hides and gourds from two different sellers on etsy. We used instructions from the very helpful Arizona Gourds website (hides are very inexpensive from this site as well). We did use a small wooden embroidery hoop to secure the lacing rather than a metal ring and it worked just fine.

We had tons of fun and felt very successful. We already bought some gourd seeds to plant this year and now we’re even more excited to plant them. In the future, I would like to make one using a bigger gourd. I’d also like to experiment with dyeing the gourd and hide both purple and making an amethyst drum!

Categories: art, drums, family, music | 2 Comments

Family Spring Equinox Ritual Recipe

Posted on March 21, 2014 by Molly

Today we had a simple family ritual to celebrate springtime. We missed our family full moon ritual this month because I was out of town at a Goddess Weekend (and then it was St. Patrick’s Day and we had a corned beef and cabbage dinner and full moon cookies, but no ritual. Too tired!) It feels important to me at we do at least one family ritual a month, so today felt perfect! My three year old daughter helped me set up a spring-themed altar outside. She had tons of fun choosing items to add and I let her set most of the altar up herself. It looks a little haphazard accordingly, but she really enjoyed herself.

Our ritual recipe was as follows:

Gather in circle by altar and group hum (hands on each other’s backs, hum together three times).
Smudge with sage (my daughter got very into this—we don’t usually smudge during family rituals so it was new to her—and just wanted to keep doing it).
Drumming invocation—I use a modified version of Circle Casting Song from the Second Chants CD

Eastern morning
First breath of the soul
Worldview forming
Sacred and whole
Wind of knowledge
Simple and wise
Bringer of the lightning
That strikes in our minds.

Come to us.
Be here now.

Southern Fire
White rays of the sun
Source of will
That always is done
Heat of passion
Longing and need
You who push the green one
Out of the seed.

Come to us.
Be here now.

Western River
Devotee of the moon
Gentle sculptor
Of babes in the womb
Spring of jubilation
Courage and tears
Bringer of the sweet love
That soothes all our fears.

Come to us.
Be here now.

Northern Mountain
Body of the earth
Finite treasure
Of infinite worth
Cave of transformation
Childbirth and death
Suckler of the wild ones
Who curl upon your breast.

Come to us.
Be here now.

Planting ritual—we planted primrose seeds in front of the house. Each person took a turn stating what they’re hoping to “grow” this season and this was probably the best part of the ritual.
Chant (from a website I recently became reacquainted with from my Priestess Path group: En-Chant-Ment

Sweet water and warm sun bless us
Sweet water and warm sun bless us
Oh spring comes hope—begins in us
Oh spring comes hope—begins in us
Out comes the leaves, up comes the grass
Out comes the leaves, up comes the grass
Sweet water and warm sun bless us

Earth Listening exercise—I forget where I originally learned about this, but basically you lie on the ground with your ear to the earth and listen, first tuning into your own heartbeat and then following it to the heartbeat of the Earth and as you continue to breath and connect and go deeper, see what else you hear…
Drum/sing—Mother I Feel You

Mother I feel you under my feet
Mother I hear your heartbeat
Mother I feel you under my feet
Mother I hear your heartbeat

Heya heya heya, ya heya heya ho
Heya heya heya, heya heya ho

Heya heya heya, heya heya ho
Heya heya heya, heya heya heya ho

I can hear your heartbeat, heartbeat, heartbeat
I can hear your heartbeat, heartbeat, heartbeat

Mother, Mother, Earth, Earth
Mother, Mother, Earth, Earth

Closing:

Open your heart to the Sun
Open your eyes to the Sky
Open your ears to the Sea.
Deep love to the round Earth who has given us bodies.
Deep love to the stars for their energy and light.
Deep love to our mothers and fathers for the gene patterns of our souls.
Deep love to our mothers, for the home of our first growth.

We bless each other for the truths we have shared.
We are people of love.
We are people of bone.
We are blessed.
We are people of light
We are people of words.
We are blessed.
We are people of truth.
We are blessed.

May it be so.

–Rachel Pollack, The Power of Ritual via Blessing to Close a Ritual | WoodsPriestess.

Decorate hard-boiled eggs
Make honey cakes

Spring Honey Cakes recipe

(modified from this one: Easy Spanish Dessert – Fried Cakes with Honey Recipe – Tortitas con Miel)

I opted to roll larger circles and cut them into quarters before cooking.

6 eggs
4 Tbsp sugar
6 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp vanilla
3 cups flour (I had to add at least 1/2 c. additional to get a rollable dough)

oil for frying
honey, fruit, or powdered sugar for topping

Beat all ingredients together, using your hands to finish mixing. Divide the dough into two-inch balls and roll out flat (about 1/4 inch thick and four inches around). Heat oil and fry the rounds until they are puffy and golden on both sides. Drain on paper towel and serve with your chosen toppings (honey recommended so that they are actually honeycakes).

—

There were a couple of hiccups with our ritual—basically, priestessing ritual with children is not for the faint of heart or easily discouraged!—such as the kids rolling around and fighting during the Earth Listening, but overall it was a satisfying experience!

Categories: family, holidays, priestess, resources, ritual, spirituality | 3 Comments

Spell for Family Balance

Posted on March 10, 2014 by Molly

Cross-posted at Pagan Families.

For a number of years we’ve had a family mantra: our family works in harmony to meet each member’s needs. At times, I’ve felt like I’m repeating it through clenched teeth. At times, I have felt that none of our needs are being met well and at times I’ve felt like harmony is a distant, unattainable treasure. However, we keep using it and sometimes, sometimes it feels like we’re there. I do not subscribe to the ideal of the self-sacrificing parent. I refuse to repeat the cliche that “everyone has to make sacrifices” and I refuse to see my work in parenting as a sacrificial endeavor. Our family works in harmony to meet each member’s needs. Each member of the family is important. Each person, including both parents, has needs and our family unit is responsible for working together to help each other and to contribute our best to a healthy, well-functioning, happy, harmonious family.

I am a professor who works mainly from home and teaches outside of the home once a week. My husband and I have a shared goddess art business. We homeschool our kids. We know we are lucky to have two parents in the home almost full-time and to be able to live on the income produced by only one out-of-the-home day per week for one parent (though this arrangement was also only possible beginning July of last year after careful planning, hard work, and a leap of faith). I teach on an eight-week session schedule. The final week of the session involves piles of papers to grade and final exams to give. While we know it is coming and I’ve been keeping this schedule since 2009, it throws our family out of balance every time. Our family works in harmony to meet each family’s needs. Hahahahahahahahahahaha! ::::sob:::: I begin to feel as if no one is getting what they need from me and I’m not getting what I need from myself. I’m snappy at my husband and feel beleaguered and put upon and unappreciated and unsupported. I start casting around for things to quit because somehow, I must STOP doing everything. I must reclaim myself and some sensation of harmony. Then, magically, the session ends. I did manage to do it all…again. I am often left with a lingering sense of frustration and dissatisfaction and am often heard to make the vow, “next session will be different,” and typically attempt to enact sweeping family changes that will Change Our Lives ™.

Recently, I reviewed a jazzy little book called Goddess Spells for Busy Girls. Written by Patheos writer Jen McConnel, this book is a collection of 80 simple spells using readily accessible materials and focused on 25 different goddesses. Each goddess is carefully chosen for relevant spells and appropriate cautions are issued about not calling upon a goddess like Sekhmet lightly or on a goddess like Aphrodite with an irrelevant issue. The book is somewhat like a “recipe book” of suggested spells for busy women, with each mini-ritual requiring as little as five minutes (or one hour. It is up to you!).

Written in a casual and conversational tone that feels intended primarily for single or non-parent women in their 20’s-30’s, the book’s lightweight attitude towards magic and the “sparkle” added by goddesses may feel either accessible and friendly or insufficiently serious, depending on your own spiritual path. However, as a parent who always has her eyes open for material to add to my own family’s full moon rituals, I found the brief length of several of the spells to be very appropriate for working with my children. Related to our family mantra, this Spell for Family Balance immediately caught my eye:

No matter who constitutes your family, sometimes it can be hard to please everyone. Use this spell to help you find balance in tricky situations.

You will need:

About six inches each of red, black, and white thread (I use embroidery floss, but yarn works, too.)

1. This spell is best done outside, or at least in a well-lit room. Take the three strands of thread. Tie a knot using all three threads at once, and try to position your knot as close to the center as possible.

2. Say, “I am bound by ties of love.” Starting at the knot first, begin to braid the three threads. Tie off the end. Now, begin to braid the threads beneath the knot. Tie off the threads.

3. Put this charm in your kitchen (the junk drawer is an ideal place). Whenever you are feeling stretched or stressed about your family, take out the charm and look at it…

(p. 48)

While I may need to repeat this every eight weeks, I found it a simple and soothing affirmation of the ties that bind, and that bond, our family.

Our family works in harmony to meet each family’s needs.

—

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes.

Categories: family, Goddess, parenting, reviews, self-care, spirituality | 3 Comments

Embrace Possibility

Posted on February 1, 2014 by Molly

Usually when I create a new design for a pendant or figurine, I know who I’m making when I begin. A few days ago, I created a new design who emerged as a mystery. When she was finished, I loved her. But, I didn’t know her name or what she represents. I asked on my facebook page for input and I got some suggestions…

Druid priestess. Seraphine. High Priestess. Tri-Goddess. Mother. Celtic goddess.

I took her to the woods and held her in my hand and spoke in a little sing-song of emergence…

She who unites body, mind and spirit. She who calls upon earth, sky, and river. She who speaks to oaks and mountains. She who sings with the ocean. She who opens arms to the sky and feels raindrops bless her brow. She who circles in the moonlight. She who gathers with her sisters. She who hears the drumbeat of the earth. She who tunes her heartbeat to this call. She who steps in time with the wind.

Of this earth, for this earth, on this earth.

She holds the vision. She holds the space. She holds an ancient wisdom.

Encoded in her cells, written on her bones…

The mantle settles around her shoulders.
Sinking into belly, bones, and blood,
until she knows,
without a doubt,
that this is who,
she really is.

The next afternoon, a friend who has one of these pendants sent me a message suggesting a title: Embrace Possibility. I thought about what I’d written in the woods. I thought about how different women saw different names for her and I knew that THIS was it. Embrace Possibility. What message does she hold for you?

This new pendant is one of the designs released for the launch of Brigid’s Grove, my collaborative project with my husband. We’re hosting giveaways on our website throughout the month of February to correspond with our launch and one of these pendants will be offered as a giveaway! We’ve also got an etsy discount code, a free digital Ritual Recipe Kit, and more to check out on the Brigid’s Grove website and Facebook page.

Categories: art, blessings, family, friends, priestess, sculpture, spirituality, theapoetics, womanspirit, women's circle, woodspriestess | 2 Comments

Happy New Year!

Posted on January 1, 2014 by Molly

On New Year’s Eve even though I had a horrendous migraine and family due to come over for a party, I took some time in the early afternoon to go down to the woods for a review of the past year of my Woodspriestess experiment. It felt really important to me to spend some good time looking over the past year and what I’ve learned in and from the woods. I ended up recording 15 minutes worth of reflections and I’ll come back to them later—I think they will come in handy for the conclusion of my thesis/book project. (One of my reflections was that this year was a complete thesis project and it just needs to be shaped and refined into an integrated document now.) After recording, I decided to try out an exercise I’d read about the night before in In the Shadow of the Shaman. It was essentially about going to a special spot in nature and walking no more than 12 paces in each of the four directions. At the twelfth step, or when felt called to stop, you are supposed to look down and find a gift. This felt like a very fitting ritual to conclude my year in the woods and so I did it. And, at the twelfth step in each direction, I did, in fact, find something waiting for me. To the East I found a piece of a hornet’s nest (I also see this as a helpful reminder from the woods to take a much closer look at the hollow tree nearby, because I think I was being told that it is harboring something stingy!). To the South I found two acorns joined at the caps. To the West I found a mossy piece of fallen branch. To the North, I found a small square rock. I laid them out on the stone to look at as a whole…And I picked up a message that felt like the closing thoughts for me from the land itself in terms of this year-long project. The message was this:

things change and decay and pass away (the branch), new things grow (the acorns), sometimes the world is sharp and stings you and it hurts (the hornet’s nest), but it is possible to discern clear edges and find a solid core (the rock)

This afternoon my husband and I worked on the New Year Intention candles that we’d started as part of the simple New Year’s Eve ritual we did with our family last night. These were my idea to be a combination of a vision board and an altar candle, with each lighting of the candle throughout the year serving as a reaffirmation of our intentions for 2014. I had a wonderful time creating mine and it felt like just the right project. We then lit the candles and spent some time on the Biz section of the Amazing Year workbook and it had a really incredible time of synchronicity and clarity about the direction in which we will be going in the year ahead.

Happy New Year!

Categories: art, blessings, family, holidays, prayers, resources, ritual, spirituality, woodspriestess | Leave a comment

Gratitude’s Song

Posted on December 30, 2013 by Molly

Thank you sacred one
thank you sacred ground
thank you Ancient Mother
thank you sacred womb

Thank you loving family
thank you sacred ground
thank you sacred body
thank you healing sound

Thank you sacred one
thank you sacred ground
thank you Ancient Mother
thank you sacred womb

Thank you loving family
thank you solid ground
thank you sacred body
thank you shining moon

Thank you solid stone
thank you sacred oak
thank you ancient wisdom
thank you sacred hope

Thank you ancient rhythm
thank you song of blood
thank you holy hour
thank you holy wood

Thank you sacred one
thank you sacred ground
thank you Ancient Mother
thank you the world around…

The day after Christmas I took some of the books I’d received as gifts down to the woods. I laid them out the rocks and felt so appreciative of having a family who cares about me and what I’m interested in. I got a selection of priestess books, other books from my Amazon wishlist, and the Amazing Year workbook from my friend. I felt so grateful to have a mom who looked at the picture of the pottery elemental altar I showed her in a magazine at some point this year and then worked and worked to make one for me as a surprise. I felt grateful that she comes to my rituals and reads my blog. I felt grateful for other family members and friends who read my blogs and cheer me on when I make new things and try new avenues. I felt grateful for parents who will hold candles in the darkness on solstice night with me, for a husband who will make a drum and cast pewter with me, for friends who support and encourage me and are able to accept when I need to make changes or let go of things. I felt grateful that I live in a beautiful place and that I have woods to go to and rocks to sit on. I felt grateful for the small adventures of the past year and even for the losses and the lessons of grief and change. Then, I picked up my drum and I sang a song. I feel like acknowledging that yes, I can see there are flaws in my lyrics in that they are perhaps roughly patterned and could be reworked into something smoother, but when I listened to the recording of it again I heard something authentic and something that worked for what it was, when it was. And, I decided I like it just the way it is.

And, then, just now as I type…I felt grateful for myself-–that I will sit in the woods with a drum and sing spontaneous things and write blog posts about it even though maybe I could be embarrassed or self-conscious instead and hide my song away instead of posting it for people to read and possibly feel critical and judgmental of, but I do it anyway and I own it and I keep trying…

(and that is a run-on sentence and I’m not going to edit it either)

Today, I hung up the new goddess-ful Good Karma flags that my mom gave me for Christmas. They’re gorgeous and I loves ’em!

I’m working on making a “Temple” workspace for myself instead of just huddling in a corner with my computer…

(my new little altar goes in front of the Cretan priestess figure here, but it is still on the living room floor waiting for me to finish my life-and-biz-planning session)

BOOKS! Oh my first love, I will never forsake you!

Categories: blessings, chants, family, friends, holidays, moontime, music, nature, poems, prayers, readings, spirituality, theapoetics, woodspriestess | 1 Comment

Birth of a new year

Posted on December 29, 2013 by Molly

“Let’s work together, you and I,
alongside earthsongbeat,
heartfirst, handtouch
souldance.
please.”

–Holly Wilkinson
(in We’Moon on the Wall, 2014)

Today my husband and I set a date to start our 2014 biz and year planning using Leonie Dawson’s annual workbook, which was a very thoughtful solstice gift to me from a good friend. We got started on our planning session a little later in the afternoon than we’d hoped, but rather than let that derail us, we just did it anyway (Leonie would approve, I think). It was important to me that we set up a nurturing and inspiring little nook in which to work, with items near us that symbolize some of our intentions and goals for 2014:

We even added some snacks (and some wine and tea!) as we went…

And, then some kids….

Interestingly, we finished out the 2013 review section of the workbook and right as we finished putting our hands on the “closing circle” page to symbolize the ending of 2013, the candle went out in our altar space on its own. And, right then the kids got home as well. (Not-so-symbolically signaling the ending of our time to work uninterrupted!) After the kids came home, our focus definitely waned and we decided it was a natural pausing point anyway, since it was the start of the 2014 section of the book. We fixed dinner and came back to our planning nook later in the evening. One of the things I wrote down for 2014 was to listen to my body and to honor natural pauses, calls to rest, need to eat, and so on. We realized as we got to number 35 on the “things to do in 2014” list that we were both yawning and starting to feel a little more trapped than inspired. Rather than push forward and force it, which can be my habitual inclination, I said, “hey, I think we’ve done great with this today. Let’s pick back up tomorrow morning when we feel full of energy and possibility again!” And, this felt like the right answer, even though the planning part of me had envisioned doing the whole entire workbook TODAY and really we only got through the first pages of 2014. We already feel more organized and clear about what needs to change with our household organization and business planning. Looking forward to what tomorrow holds…

Categories: family, friends, parenting, resources, retreat, ritual, self-care | 2 Comments

Woodspriestess: Animated Stardust

Posted on December 29, 2013 by Molly

Where did I come from?
When did the I become aware?
How did I come into being?
Where am I going?
What is my purpose?

These are the timeless questions
of a thinking animal
animated stardust
hopeful spirit.

The stuff of life of is transformation
everything we see passes away
to the next moment
a constant, unending flow
of dissolving experience
energy and time.

And yet, part of one pattern
part of one weaving
part of a beautiful whole
that cradles the world
in infinite space.

I actually wrote this in September, but never finished getting it ready. It seems fitting to share today, after so many more moments have dissolved away into infinite space since the time during which I originally transcribed this poem. The picture, however, was taken today…not in my usual woods, but in the little woven fort my kids are working on next to the labyrinth at my mom’s house.

Categories: family, nature, poems, theapoetics, woodspriestess | Leave a comment

Beauty Way

Posted on December 27, 2013 by Molly

“The quality of our laughter and joy, the knowledge of our voices, thoughts and actions are weaving beauty around the land. –Dhyani Ywahoo (in Open Mind, 12/27)

Today after a long day of errands in town, I asked my husband if he’d like to go down to the woods with me and drum for a little bit before taking a walk. He has been down there quite a few times before (these rocks were part of the reason we bought our land in the first place), but never to drum with me. I looked at him on the rocks with the drum and said, “it has been almost a year and I’m still seeing things in the woods I’ve never seen before!” 😉

Categories: family, nature, quotes, self-care | Leave a comment

The altar of love

Posted on December 26, 2013 by Molly

This is my body; this is the temple of light. This is my heart; this is the altar of love.” –Sufi song (quoted in Birthrites)

“Traveler, there is no path. One makes the path by walking.” –Antonio Machado (in Birthrites)

This is a picture of the lovely elemental altar bowl my mom made me for Christmas. It “holds” all four elements in one: Earth the clay it is made from, water in the dish surrounding the candle, fire in the candle, and air in the smoke/flame.

I was going to write a bit more about the large stack of books I was lucky enough to amass over Christmas and solstice, but I decided a short, quoteful post will suffice for today (I also posted a thealogy-related Mary Christmas post at my other blog).

While I’ve read a chapter each in most of the books I received, I completely finished reading one of them: Birthrites by Jackie Singer.

Two quotes from Birthrites about the value and purpose of rituals:

Making ritual diverts our attention from the everyday tasks of survival, and for a brief time allows us to notice and comment on where we are. Faced with the awesome experience of findings ourselves conscious in an unpredictable universe, making ritual is a noble attempt to confer rhythm and coherence to our lives…

…there is a paradox inherent in the whole concept of new ceremony, because part of the power of ceremony is that it has the weight of tradition behind it. In times of continuity, ritual would be something handed down by the elders. Perhaps this is an ideal, but we do not live in times of continuity. Rather than abandoning the whole idea of ritual as irrelevant, we need to respond to the challenges of our fast-changing age by renewing ritual practise in a way that honours the past but makes sense to us now.

Merry Christmas! May we all remember that we carry an altar of love within us.

Categories: family, holidays, quotes, ritual, spirituality, woodspriestess | 1 Comment

Solstice Spiral

Posted on December 23, 2013 by Molly

Last year’s spiral.

In my winter solstice post, I referenced our family’s tradition of walking a “solstice spiral” each year as part of our year-end ritual. It is based on the Waldorf tradition of an “advent spiral,” which is often made outdoors using evergreen branches. During the first year we tried the spiral, I did decorate the outside of our spiral with evergreen branches, but since then I’ve simply opted to lay out a spiral shape on the floor using silver and gold tinsel garlands. It is simple, but once ringed with candles and the household lights turned out, it becomes magical! I wrote about the purpose somewhat generically in this winter solstice post from last year:

Then, lighting candles, we walk our traditional “solstice spiral” (made with gold garland laid out in the spiral on the floor, ringed with evergreen branches and candles)—leaving behind our losses and that which we no longer need in the darkness, and carrying forward the bright spark of new possibility that is taking root in our lives for the new year. After exiting the spiral, we place our candles together on the Yule log to represent that which we hope to bring into the full light of dawning year.

via Goddess Wheel of the Year: Winter Solstice Ritual | WoodsPriestess.

Solstice spiral. We shut the lights out and walk it with candles.

This year’s spiral before the lights are out.

Each year during our family winter solstice ritual we review our lives from the past year—things we’re proud of, things we’d like to let go of—and then set new intentions for the coming year. We write these down on pieces of paper that I then roll up together and put in a box. The following year, we each open our papers and read what we wrote the year before and see how/if these intentions manifested over the year. It is very interesting to see how we rarely remember exactly what we wrote and yet, how often those things have come to pass. After this goals review process, we all get our candles and walk the solstice spiral in turn to symbolize the setting forth of our new intentions. This year, as each person came out of the spiral, I gave them a stone totem animal that I’d purchased from a nifty ebay seller and also a card from the Animal Powers Meditation Kit I’d conveniently won in an online giveaway recently. The stone animal was my gift to each and the card was just an intuitive solstice message for each that they then returned to the box. We carried our candles over to the Yule log and did the following responsive reading as I lit each candle in the Yule log:

Little stone bear.

When the earth is barren.
The light is reborn.
When the animals sleep.
The light is reborn.
When the leaves have all fallen.
The light is reborn.
When the rivers are frozen.
The light is reborn.
When the ground is hard.
The light is reborn.
When the shadows grow long.
The light is reborn.
When warmth has fled.
The light is reborn.
In the darkest night.
The light is reborn.

(via Family Winter Solstice Ritual)

Lit Yule log.

Then we each shared the animal message from our cards. I’m actually planning to do a variation of this ceremony on New Year’s Eve when some other members of our family will be visiting. We will use it as a welcoming-the-new-year path and I have some different things to give them at the end of this one (you’ll have to wait to hear about that later, because some of them read this blog and I don’t want to spoil my little surprise!)

My boys and my husband getting ready to walk the solstice spiral.

Daughter waiting for her turn.

My mom waiting for her turn too.

Setting forth…

Categories: endarkenment, family, holidays, night, readings, ritual, spirituality | 2 Comments

Winter Solstice Meditation

Posted on December 22, 2013 by Molly

Winter solstice
deep, long, dark night.
Cold cracks
brittle branches
icy stone.

Winter’s song
echoes in skeletal treetops
and crackling leaves.
Rest time.
Hibernation.
Silent watchfulness.
Waiting hope.

Sink down.
Open up.
Receive and feel.
Hold peace.

Pause and check within
for that glowing emberheart
in your soul.
What purpose calls your name?
What seed incubates
waiting for the breath of hope
and the breath of action
to coax it into life?

Winter Solstice.
Time for your light to shine
from within the sheltering dark.

If you pause in darkness what does your body have to tell you? What do your dreams have to tell you? What does the frozen ground have to tell you? What do the spirits of place have to tell you?

What song can only be sung by you?

What emberheart can only be ignited by your breath?

What path have your feet found?

What messages are carved in stone and etched on leaf for your eyes and in your name?

What promise are you keeping?

—

This afternoon my husband and I worked together on the drum kit he gave me as a solstice gift. It is still hanging up to dry, so I don’t know if it completely worked yet, but it was fun to do together and I’m extremely pleased with the result. I love it so much! It is elk hide and the kit is from Centralia Fur and Hide. I felt very mindful while working on it that this was a creature’s skin and I both felt disturbed or guilty, as well as respectful of that.

Categories: art, blessings, endarkenment, family, holidays, nature, poems, prayers, retreat, spirituality, theapoetics, woodspriestess | 2 Comments

Happy Solstice!

Posted on December 21, 2013 by Molly

The winter solstice happens in nature around us. But it also happens inside of us, in our souls. It can happen inside of us in summer or winter, spring or fall. In the dark place of our soul, we carry secret wishes, pains, frustrations, loneliness, fears, regrets, worries. Darkness is not something to be afraid of. Sometimes we go to the dark place of our soul, where we can find safety and comfort. In the dark place in our soul we can find rest and rejuvenation. In the dark place of our soul we can find balance. And when we have rested, and been comforted, and restored, we can return from the dark place in our soul to the world of light and new possibilities.

via Family Winter Solstice Ritual.

Our family ritual today turned out beautifully. My favorite part is our solstice spiral tradition. I will write more about it later, but I promised myself that I would do a quick quote-and-picture post only today so I can continue to hold the mood of the day, rather than staying up late typing 🙂 I’m also going to browse through some of my new books!