The Winter Solstice takes place on December 21 in the Northern Hemisphere and June 21 in the Southern Hemisphere every year. It marks the longest night and shortest day of the year, the time when the sun reaches its lowest point before it begins to gain strength again. This time of year marks the beginning of winter, the beginning of the darkest and leanest time of the year. In the U.S., most of the traditions we celebrate this time of year are an amalgam of practices from across Western Europe, including Saturnalia and Yule.
For our pagan ancestors, survival was based on agriculture, and in Europe, there wasn’t much to be done around the Winter Solstice. All the crops had been harvested, and it was a time for staying in and turning inward. Most of the traditions around the Winter Solstice are a reaction to this time, and include celebration, worship of the sun, and reflection.
Here are some modern-day ideas for celebrating the Winter Solstice that incorporate ancient influences and traditions.
1. Have a Winter Feast
Having a feast is a common tradition for the Winter Solstice festivals. Every year, the ancient Romans celebrated the Winter Solstice with the Saturnalia festival, which started as a day and was later elongated to an entire week. It was celebrated every year on December 25 in the Julian Calendar, and consisted of a raucous party that resembled modern-day Mardi Gras. The celebration honored the Roman god Saturn, who ruled over agriculture. It was believed that before the intervention and rise of Zeus, Saturn ruled over a golden age that saw eternal summers, bountiful crops, and no suffering. Throughout the year, bonds were tied tightly around the feet of Saturn’s statue in his temple; at Saturnalia these bonds were loosened. The Celtic celebrations of Yule were a bit similar, and often special liquors, spiced foods, and other dishes were set aside for celebrating the Winter Solstice.
For your own celebration, you can incorporate whatever foods you like, whether they are seasonal, specific to the area you live in, or just your favorites. With this meal, you can thank everything that has brought this food to your table, whether that’s the deities of agriculture, the people who farmed and picked it, the people who raised and culled the livestock, the ones who transported the food, the individuals who packaged it, and even the people who delivered it to you. In this day and age we’re very detached from the process of how our food grows and comes to us, but you can use this as an opportunity to thank those who worked hard to make sure you have enough to eat.
You can also incorporate foods that are sacred to this time of year, some of which are mentioned below under Herbs and Essential Oils. Foods that represent the sun are common for this time of year, including spices and oranges. Apples are seen as year-round emblems of the sun, and you could include them in a dish as emblematic of the sun’s energy and vitality.
2. Get a Tarot Reading
The Winter Solstice marks the beginning of winter, a time for introspection, as well as the beginning of Capricorn season, a time for action and planning. Capricorn season helps us to use diligence, planning, and a strong work ethic to survive the harshest season. You can use the lessons and insight you gain during this time to help you plan for whatever you want in the coming year.
For some additional insight, you can book Kajora Lovely’s Winter Solstice Tarot Reading, in which I’ll use tarot cards and mediumship to answer the following questions for you:
What issue remains unresolved or still needs to be addressed?
What’s a message of hope for you for the coming year ahead?
What’s something your ancestors or spirit guides want you to know regarding your future?
This tarot reading is $50, and your custom reading can be emailed straight to your inbox. Simply email Kajora Lovely at kajoralovely@gmail.com, and you can prepay on Venmo to @Kajora-Lovely.
3. Have a Hygge Day
The Danish word hygge (pronounced hue-ga) is a noun that translates to: a quality “of coziness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being.” In Scandinavian countries, winters are long, cold, and dark, and as a result, hygge became a common practice. After a day of sledding, snowshoeing, or even working in an office, the idea is to get comfy in your favorite sweater and warm socks, and enjoy being.
This can include cozying up in front of a fire, watching your favorite show under a warm blanket, having some friends over for a meal, and otherwise enjoying being warm, fed, happy, and comfortable. A lot of discussions about hygge center around lighting candles and eating cinnamon rolls, but the idea is to whatever feels right for you. There are plenty of books written on this topic, and a great New York Times article that flushes out the details, but it’s really all about the foods you like, the clothes that make you feel comfortable, and the people you love.
In many ways, this has become a benchmark of most Christmas movies, however cheesy it might sound: spending time with the people you love. Of course, hygge isn’t limited to the holiday season, it’s practiced year round, but it’s especially helpful and nourishing during the winter months.
4. Make Your Own Protection Salt
Either on the Winter Solstice, or between then and the New Year, is a great time to use protection salt around your home. You can learn all about how to make them here, and you can place them in front of your doorways or windows. If you live in a house, I suggest placing them outside every doorway that anyone can enter through, even a garage. If you live in an apartment, you can place them inside every doorway, and even every window if you like.
Protection Salt can be used to keep anything unwanted out of your home—living or spirit. When you’re making the salts, you can call in the spirits you work with who you believe offer the most protection, and ask them to look after you, your home, and any loved ones who live with you or come to visit. This salt can be replaced as you think it necessary, usually once a month or so, depending on how many people or spirits are visiting your home.
5. Tell Ghost Stories
When A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens was published in 1843, telling ghost stories at Christmas time was a common practice. It’s believed this hearkens back to an older, probably pagan tradition, which makes sense—this is the darkest time of year, a time better than any for the veil between the living and the dead to be at its thinnest. In many ways, A Christmas Carol sums up the lessons of ghost stories, combining the lessons of the past, present, and future to help us make better decisions for the new year ahead.
For your own Winter Solstice tradition, you can read or watch the many iterations of A Christmas Carol, or read some of your favorite ghost stories. If you’re looking for holiday-themed spooky tales, there are some books of Victorian ghost stories you can find online. Another option is to do some ancestor work, and connect to those in your bloodline who have come before you to see if they offer any insight or guidance into the coming year. Either way, this time of year is perfect for gaining insight into yourself and your life, and using that to help you move forward in a way that’s for your greatest benefit.
6. Burn an Ode to the Sun
At the Roman Saturnalia celebration every year, it was common for the Romans to give one another candles as presents. Candles, and all aspects of fire, represent the Sun, which we all need in order to survive. It not only provides nourishment for the plants and animals that feed us, but its nutrients feed us—both mentally and physically. Regardless of how much time you spend in the sun, you can always burn something as a way of honoring the sun’s power and ability to help everything on this planet grow.
Yule Logs are common this time of year, and come from pagan Scandinavian traditions. An ideal Yule Log comes from a thick, hearty piece of wood, and is lit using a piece of the previous year’s Yule Log. Once it’s completely burned, it’s believed that you can scatter the ashes around your home for protection and good luck over the coming year. You can also burn a single candle or candles in a way that feels right for you. As part of the process, you can also thank the individuals and spirits that look over you and work for your highest good, asking them to continue to do so in the coming year.
7. Use Herbs & Essential Oils for Winter Solstice
Whether it’s in a sugar scrub, bath salts, or even some of your favorite dishes, you can incorporate the herbs and essential oils that correspond to the Winter Solstice (although I wouldn’t recommend eating essential oils). According to The Hearth Witch’s Compendium: Magical and Natural Living for Every Day by Anna Franklin, these are the plants that correspond to the Winter Solstice:
Apple - Ash - Aspen - Bayberry - Blackthorn - Calendula - Cinnamon - Cypress - Fern - Silver Fir - Frankincense - Holly - Hop - Ivy - Juniper - Mistletoe - Nutmeg - Oak - Violet - Water Lily - Yew
To make your own bath salts, start with about two cups of Epsom Salts, and add your oils or plants from there. You can place the herbs in a muslin bag separately, and have them steep in your bathwater just as you would tea, or you can add them to the salt and let them float in your bathwater—it’s up to you. For a sugar scrub, start with one cup of sugar and three tablespoons of melted coconut oil or your choice of oil. Add small amounts of the herbs or oils you want to use, smelling as you go, until you reach a combination you like, then store in an airtight container and use within a couple weeks.
Whichever practices you choose to incorporate this year for the Winter Solstice, please keep in mind there is no right or wrong way to do anything. My only suggestion is to do what feels right for you. And whether you practice alone, with some friends or your coven, or force a few loved ones to join you, it honestly doesn’t matter. All that’s important is your intention, and what you choose to do with it. Have a Blessed Winter Solstice!
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