The Solstice and the Great Mother

This time leading up to the solstice, the darkest day of the year, on December 21, is a wonderful time for appreciating the mystery, power and beauty of the universe you live in. The elements, earth, air, fire and water, nourish and support your human life. The human being is one aspect of universal being. In this realm of existence there are also plants, animals, rocks, minerals, earth, air, stars, clouds, sun, moon. There are the colors, red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple, all the colors of light that nourish and sustain you. Take time to appreciate the water as you drink it, as you bathe, as you sit beside a river, or the ocean or lake. Appreciate the gift of water. Take time to appreciate the fire. Gather others and sit in circle around the fire, in the ancient tradition. Appreciate the element of fire as you feel the warmth of sun on your skin, as you sit by a fire in the coming autumn evenings, as you get into your car on a cold morning and you turn on the heater and the warmth comes. Appreciate the gift of fire. Appreciate air, as you watch the clouds in the sky, as you breathe the air. Tainted though it sometimes is these days, the air does its best. It wants to nourish you. Appreciate earth as you walk on it, sit on it. Feel how it supports you, grounds you, gives you life. Find ways to express your appreciation. Perhaps it's through prayer and meditation, song and story, connecting and communicating with the elements. Perhaps it's in very straightforward and practical ways. Make sure you are recycling. Pay attention to what you put back into the earth. Think about how much you use your car, what sort of heat you have, what sort of chemicals you use in cleaning, what you spray daily into the air. What do you put back into the air and the water? How much electricity do you use? Electricity is the energy of fire. Do you respect it, conserve it, honor it? These days every single human being that is aware of his or her interaction with the elements on a daily basis, of helping to sustain, conserve and support the energies and resources of this earth, is performing an act of worship, a sacred act. Every single time you place a can in the recycling bin, use a biodegradable soap, refrain from buying an electrical appliance you don't really need, you are playing the role of priest or priestess at an ancient altar performing a sacred ritual ceremony in honor of the great earth sky ocean mother.

This universe is a place of great mystery and power. These days the elements are actively expressing their power. The wind and water create extremes of weather, the earth shakes and cracks. Remember the more you are aware of your relationship to the earth, air, fire and water, the more you honor that relationship, the more balance there is. And again it matters what each individual does.

When you take time to gaze out at the night sky, or to imagine it with your eyes closed, the great darkness full of stars, remember the ancient energy of the Great Mother. She can be called Skywoman. She comes clothed in a robe of stars, pouring out her blessings every night. Feel Her presence. From that great darkness is born the child of light, the star in your heart. As you sit in stillness, let that darkness embrace you. Let your heart become dark, vast and silent. Then feel the light grow within it. Mystery, stillness, power and blessing. This is what She brings. From now until the solstice is a wonderful time to experience in the night time that depth, that stillness, that beautiful darkness out of which all light grows.

May all beings be happy, peaceful and free of suffering.

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