Image: The Hare in the Moon by Hannah Willow
Finding stillness this Solstice involves articulating our relationship with masculine and feminine energies; balancing the worldly human world in all its magnificence and catastrophe with the earthly energies of this sacred blue and green planet.
On Thursday 22nd of December at 7am we will meet at the fire to combust all that no longer serves us and pray peace. At dawn on the first day of the new solar year we will meet at the fire and offer our sincerest love and gratitude to mother earth our home and welcome the return of father sun whose warmth potentiates new life. If you wish to join us please email or text me for more details.
If you wish to do some personal preparation for this (or at any other time) you may like to do an altar to honour the dark masculine as it manifests within us as well as out in the world. To create the altar you may lay a cloth or pile some stones or greenery to create and earth your altar. In our mainstream media it is all to easy to find examples of dark masculine* energy manifesting in the world so you may choose to cut out some pictures or headlines and place them on your altar (this is not for the feint-hearted!)
* we are not here talking about men and women, we are talking about the masculine and feminine energies which we all hold. Many spiritual traditions around the world acknowledge that we are in a time of transition where the old paradigm is breaking down, with it all known structures. From a Shamanic perspective we are engaged with remembering the sacred feminine and bringing our energies back into balance in this way. Shamanic practise is grounded by shadow work, thus we acknowledge our dark masculine energies when we bring in the light. (There is of course also scope for honouring our dark feminine energies but this discussion is for another time)
With regard to the altar you may wish to 'feed' it with your intent, with incense, candles, sweets, feathers, flowers. In 'feeding' it you are bringing all of this energy out of the shadow and into full consciousness. In doing this you are giving yourself at least two opportunities: one opportunity is a greater understanding of self with the option to no longer choose to react in a toxic way and another opportunity is to deepen your resolve to no longer collude with consensual reality.
If you decide to come to this fire you may bring your altar pieces to place on the fire with your prayer stick. We will be doing this in ceremony and with the pachamama song so any children present need not be exposed to the contents of what we place on the fire.
NB: If you do NOT want to do this altar you are of course still very welcome to come to the fire!
We will celebrate the return of the light in all its manifestations and pray peace with the pachamama stick.
At the last fire there was a wonderful balance of strong women, gentle men and sparkly children, there was a deep sense of continuity across time and space.