Winter Solstice Reflections: Nine Souls, One Flame.

Winter Solstice Reflections: Nine Souls, One Flame.

Last night, we gathered.

Nine souls in circle. Held by the Medicine Wheel, held by the Spirits of this land, our ancestors, those who gathered by the view, thin as it was, on the evening of the deepening, the evening of the sacred pause.

On the darkest night of the year, we came together not to chase the light, but to honour the dark. We came to honour ourselves, each other and those that came before us. We came to honour and celebrate in ways lost to the ancient times, ways that are being remember, being awoken.

The fire crackled. The wind moved. The kookaburras sang. The dogs barked their excited welcome.

Within this space, outside held within in the Medicine Wheel, right out the front of my little cottage, we sat together, two sacred masculine hearts anchored into the centre of a deeply feminine space. Their presence reminded me that the masculine is not here to dominate the ritual, it is here to witness it. To hold it. To stand steady as we unravel. It was beautiful to have their masculine energy around us all last night.

Seven women, two men. Nine of us in total.

The number nine, a numerological symbol of completion, wholeness, the threshold before rebirth. It felt perfect. As the nine of us gathered around the fire, breathing, anchoring, writing, I could feel the energy of the nine, feel the ending that we were all balancing on the threshold on, the moment before we let go and surrendered into the Winter Solstice energy, to shed, to be reborn.

The Winter Solstice is that ending.

A pause.

A breath between the exhale and inhale.

And we met it with reverence.

Though I rarely work on my bleed, I was on day three of my Inner Winter and this time, it felt right. It aligned with the energy of the Winter Solstice so fully, and even though my energy levels waned throughout the day in preparation, I knew with my team, my guides and the aid of Mother Cacao I would hold and guide as needed.

And it was a true blessing to sit in circle while my womb softened and bled.

To pour Cacao into sacred vessels and invite others into deep heart opening. Into heart listening.

To guide the drumming, to lead the meditations and rituals, while being held in the stillness of my own sacred season.

It felt less like work and more like devotion.

This morning was slow, and gentle. A soft morning as I watched Father Sun rising over the valley, shining his light through the trees and waking the kookaburras. I reflected on the ceremony last night with a smile on my face as the day began, a new. The longest night of the year had passed, the mid-winter had passed, and we were now on our way, on our way to blooming.

And yet, it is not a time to rush. Not a time to make to do lists, this is still a time of pause, of rest. A time to just be. Allow the energy of the Winter Solstice to carry this through to your heart, permission and an opportunity here to breathe. To be.

I am forever amazed by the wisdom of Mother Cacao, she held us gently as she always does.

Heart medicine. Womb whisperer. Portal opener. She is the one who aided us in feeling into what was there, just below the surface, ready to be seen, to be heard, to be listened to. She encourages us to expand our heart, to allow for the softening, the opening. I am in awe of her, and am honoured to work with her.

There is something profoundly humbling about serving Mother Cacao in ceremony. She knows exactly what’s needed. She softens the sharp edges and makes space for feeling. Her medicine moved through us with warmth and clarity. Warmth in our hands as we held the cup, in our bodies with each sip. Clarity in our mind as we softened, quietened.

And then there is the land here in Main Ridge which continues to be the greatest teacher of all. I feel the presence of the Fae daily now sometimes as flickers in the trees, sometimes in the knowing that rises from the soil. The Spirit of this Land brings feelings o joy, and excitement when I speak of ceremony, ritual, whether it be my own personal practice or for the guidance of others. The Nature Spirits here are always ripe with offerings, from leaves and feathers at my door, to crystallised sap and too perfectly placed elements of nature I’d only just mentioned I needed…

Here, a few steps from my little cottage, there is a large and ancient offering tree I’ve been tending, with a little Fairy door nestled at its base. It’s become a place of communion, of gratitude, of magick making. And this tree was the first to catch my eye here as wanting to connect when I moved here almost 7 months ago now. I cannot express enough the specialness, the sacredness of this land, of this place I am lucky enough to call my home. My sanctuary.

To bleed on this land, to facilitate ritual on this land, to be witnessed by tree and fire and spirit is a blessing I do not take lightly. I am in awe, my heart wide open and so very, very full.

And as we crossed this Solstice threshold, I felt the soft arrival of something I’ve poured so much of my heart into…

The Inner Winter Oracle is now officially released.

Born from my own relationship with my bleed, from years of ritual and remembrance. A way to deepen into the space with declarations, reflection prompts and practices.

These cards are a tool, a companion, a mirror.

They honour your slow.

They honour the pause.

They are not here to rush you forward, they are here to meet you where you are.

And they are ready to journey with you.

Over the past few days I have worked with them, sat with them, journaled page after page and feel so deeply joyous they are out in the world. Ready to embrace your bleed with you.

If this speaks to you, if your body longs for deeper ritual around your bleed, you can purchase your deck now. She is ready to be held, to be worked with, to be remembered.

Thank you to all who came last night. It was an honour to gather with you all in the first of my Solstice Ceremonies.

To those who held space by simply being. To the ancestors. To the land. To the spirits who gathered with us.

To winter, you are not something to survive, to run away from.

You are something to be met. To be welcomed in with open arms.

Thank you for your teachings.

Something sacred and old has been awoken in me here, a new way of offering myself in service to Spirit and humanity. This land has not only been a space of offering, but a deep receiving, a deep healing of myself and I know I was meant to walk this land, meant to settle here and make a home.

I am honoured, absolutely honoured to be continuing my studies whilst here, held and supported by Spirit, and I am already bursting with ideas for my Spring Equinox Ceremony, but for now, for now I rest, I pause, I continue in the slowness of the Winter energy, the Winter Solstice energy. For updates on upcoming ceremonies, one on one work here in Main Ridge, or anything else about my way of expressing, please follow my instagram and join my mailing list. I share lots on my stories, more personal aspects that I want to share are here in my blogs and my mailing list is usually the first to know about anything and everything.

It is an honour to walk this Earth, to walk with both feet firmly on the ground and my heart guided by the love of what I do. Thank you to all of you who support me, all of you who make this possible.