Release + Receive :: A Winter Solstice Ritual for the Month of December

What is it about darkness that can make us so uneasy? Perhaps it's the thought of what might be lurking in the shadows. Or an instinctive impulse not to stray too far from the safety of the fire. Maybe it's simply a deeply-rooted, deeply-human fear of the unknown. Of that which we cannot see.

But there is great healing to be found in the dark, if we are willing to step into it. If we allow our eyes to adjust and our senses to heighten. It's where we dream, after all. And incubate. And rest. And look towards the stars. It's a place of deep transformation and magic. 

The Winter Solstice marks the darkest point in the year for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere. A time that asks us to send our energy downward. Underground. Into our roots. To tap into the wealth of nutrients and healing that lay beneath the surface. 

This beautiful ritual was created and shared with me by the lovely Bridget Ambrose of becrowbe. Bridget is an Intuitive Reiki Master, Integrated CranioSacral Practitioner, Energy Medicine Healer and all around modern mystic. What I love about her ceremony is that it is practiced the entire month of December. A wonderful way to stay conscious and mindful during the holiday season. To clear out any residual negativity and make space for the abundance of the new year. To honor the darkness, and welcome back the light.

The only thing you really need for this ritual is five large white candles. Everything else is totally optional. Bridget and I have put together a list of suggested stones, scents, and rituals to work with each week, but also encourage you to follow your intuition. Your ceremonies can be as simple or elaborate as you wish. You do you, loves. 

Each week, we invite you to light the candle for that week, as well as all the candles from the previous weeks. Sit in quiet meditation for a few minutes with the associated mantra. Maybe do some gentle journaling, or pull a card if you feel called to. Make a special cup of herbal tea. Practice self-care. Whatever feels good to you and your body. By the Winter Solstice on December 21, you will have all five candles burning. Continue to light all the candles every night, from Solstice through New Years Eve. 

December 1 - 7. This first week you will actually light two candles, one to release that which is no longer serving you, and another to call in love and healing. You can choose to light both these candles on the same day, or to separate them into different ceremonies. This is a lovely way to ground and cleanse your space as you initiate the Solstice Ritual. 

Release Meditation:  I am grateful for my shadow teachers and I surrender the patterns that are no longer serving me…

Focus on clearing any negative energy you no longer want in your life.  If you feel you need a fresh start or want to clear the air of any heaviness, start the process by burning this candle. Visualize it burning and composting that which is no longer serving you. I sometimes like to sweep the house or work with cleansing herbs.

Receiving Meditation: I open my heart to receiving love freely from self and others and I honor those walking this earth with me…

For the second candle, focus on opening your heart to give and receive love.  This candle surrounds you with the essence of love and harmony.  It can also be used to create passion or love possibilities and allow self-love to flow freely. This can also be used as a energetic candle, choosing to light it for a period of time when a love energy in your space is desired.

Altar Suggestions: Red or pink, rose quartz, rose oil, rose petals, ylang ylang to elevate the affectionate energy. Sage, cedar, celenite to cleanse.

Ritual Suggestion: Call in cleansing energy and loving self care with a candlelit herbal bath or shower. We recommend sprinkling in epsom salts, lavendar or sage for cleansing, and rose petals for love. Turn off all the lights and bathe by candlelight. Pour yourself a glass of lemon water. Let the healing water melt away any negativity or tension you may be holding on to.

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December 8 - 14. This week you will light the third candle, as well as the first two which were lit last week.

Meditation: I open myself up to the infinite source of creativity and inspiration from spirit and honor the impulse to follow where it leads. Every day I am creating healthy cells, vitality and a wonderful life...
 

Focus on unlocking a creative flow and accessing a confident source of inspiration from the Universe. Imagine it flowing into your being effortlessly. Use this candle to stimulate an artistic venture and create a visionary perspective.

Altar Suggestions: Orange, orange calcite crystals, oranges, bergamot essential oil, art supplies, or images that inspire you.

Ritual Suggestion: The second chakra responds to all of your wild, wonderful and difficult emotions. Its real essence is creativity or change. The moment we think of something different to do, we are creating. If you always walk or drive the same route to work, purposefully pick another route. Even playing music or dancing stimulates the creative center. You can dial up the creative energy in your space by creating these simple Dried Orange Garlands or Cloved Pomanders. The scent of oranges is also believed to inspire happiness and positivity.

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December 15 - 21. This week you will light the fourth candle, as well as the three previous.

Meditation: I open myself up to receiving from the infinite universe as I am worthy of prosperity and abundance…

Focus on manifesting success and good fortune into your life and creating a world of unlimited possibilities. Envision an endless river of abundance and prosperity flowing towards you. This is the perfect candle to burn to attract a new opportunity in your life or accelerate your desires.

Altar Suggestions: Green, patchouli, jade, citrine, green aventurine, incense, cash or coins, healthy plants.

Ritual Suggestion: Abundance Journaling :: Pour yourself a special drink and find a quiet place to journal. Light some candles. Get cozy. Practice feeling grateful for the places you have already been, and for the circumstances that brought you to where you are in life. It’s never too late to realize your dreams. Now is the perfect time to begin. Commit to the adventure of you. Imagine what you want and feel that you have it. Appreciate your life as if everything you want has already happened. It doesn't matter what it looks like. Fall in love with the feeling, not the how. Find even small things about yourself and others to appreciate. Maybe you can appreciate the way your morning coffee smells, or the warmth of a coat or the way a person holds a child’s hand. Begin jotting these down in your journal.

Here are some examples of what you might write to manifest your own abundance:
I’m a happy, healthy person and I will always be successful.
I am wealthy beyond measure.
My life is transforming in important ways.
True happiness lives in my life now.
I now allow the universe to send its unlimited treasures my way.

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December 21 (Winter Solstice) - 31. This week you will light all five candles.

Meditation: I love and honor my connection to spirit and the Universe…

Reinforce your spiritual connection with a white light of purification and peace. Use this candle to express love and gratitude toward the Universe. This can also be used as a energetic candle, choosing to light it only for a period of time when a spiritual connection in your space is desired, perfect for meditation.

Altar Suggestions: White, quartz, amethyst, frankincense, feathers, antlers, cedar, representations of light + dark, cranberries, evergreens, elements from previous weeks altars.

Ritual Suggestion: Gather with dear ones around a fire (or just the five solstice candles.) Make a special hot cocoa for kiddos or this lovely golden turmeric milk for adults. On a small slip of paper, have everyone write down one thing they would like to release for the coming year. Safely burn the slips of paper in the fire, releasing them to the dark.

Keep lighting the candles every night from Solstice through New Years to close the ritual.

So much love and gratitude to Bridget Ambrose for sharing her magic. To schedule a healing session with Bridget, (which I highly, highly recommend) please reach out to healing@becrowbe.com. You can also follow her everyday sacredness on ig @themysticbecrowbe and @becrowbe. 

Happy December, dear ones.
xoxo,

Setting the Table :: the Art of Everyday Ritual

As we retreat into the darker days of winter, I find myself deeply drawn to daily rituals. To simple acts like steeping and sweeping and setting the table. Making the bed. Stirring a pot of simmering soup. Perhaps it's the long dark nights, or the primal need to cozy in and hibernate. To turn inward. To retreat into our little burrows. Whatever it is, my homebody tendencies are off the charts right now. 

It's a little ironic that in this season of rest and retreat, it's so easy to get swept up in the cult of busy. To rush from place to place, laptop and presents and to-do lists in tow. To convince ourselves we don't have the time or space for slow living. I'm constantly reminding myself that all it takes is a little intention to transform daily chores into personal rituals. It doesn't need to be anything fancy. Quietly meditate while your tea steeps. Focus on clearing negativity as you sweep the kitchen floor. Light some candles on a weeknight. Start a gratitude journal. It can literally be anything. Whatever it looks like for you, finding ways to incorporate a little intention and ritual into daily habits can be a lovely way to stay nourished and grounded during the holiday bustle. 

One of my favorite personal rituals is setting the table. I love to weave in a little symbolism. To play with herbs. Light a few candles. Maybe break out the nice napkins. It's my way of creating sacred space for dear ones to gather. An altar to honor togetherness. This winter pomegranate and eucalyptus tablescape is admittedly much fancier than I would normally attempt on a weeknight, but hey, it's the holidays. Pomegranates have long symbolized the decent of Persephone into the underworld and the seasonal transition into winter. They are associated with abundance and prosperity. Eucalyptus is believed to ward off arguments and clear any negative energy. Grey candles promote balance. Magnolia leaves for relaxation. A secret spell to bless our table.

Sending you all love and light and lots of hygge today (and everyday.) I am so grateful for each and every one of you. 

xo,

DIY :: Bay Laurel Eucalyptus Wreath & the Dark Days of Winter

For thousands of years, the approach of winter was a dire, fearful time for humans. It meant famine and illness and death were on the horizon. That the world would be plunged into relentless cold and darkness and that not everyone would survive. It was a time to huddle together. To batten down the hatches. To hide away and hold on till spring.

December (and the winter solstice specifically), marked the pinnacle of this desolate season. But many cultures also used this as a time to celebrate life and light in the face of the encroaching darkness. To gather with loved ones around the fire. To feast and sing and share what little we had squirreled away. To celebrate the simple fact that we were still alive. Now don't get me wrong, humans have plenty of flaws, but I think there is something deeply beautiful about that. That on the longest, coldest nights of the year, when all was quiet and frozen and bleak, we shined our flickering lights into the vast darkness and found joy. 

I love that you can still find remnants of these ancient rituals in our modern holiday traditions. Little echoes of forgotten customs. We still hang lights in dark windows. We feast and sing. We bring in evergreens that don't mind the cold. Perhaps one of the most ubiquitous of these symbols is the humble wreath. There are many theories on the origin of this tradition, but my personal favorite is that the hearty evergreens and circular shape represent eternal life in the face of winter. We hang them in our doors and windows to remind our neighbors, "It's alright, friends. Even on the darkest days of the year, something green remains." What a lovely thought.

I made this simple wreath with bay laurel and eucalyptus and an old embroidery hoop. Nothing too fancy. Just simple supplies, a little time and a cup of peppermint tea. It felt good to slow down and breathe deep and play with plants for a while. A nice slow segue into the bustle of the holiday season. 

Happy December, dear ones. Here's to sharing and celebrating and shining our little lights. So much love to you. 

Supplies

- Hearty greens (I used branches of bay laurel as my base. They hold up nicely and smell amazing)

- Smaller greens & berries for texture (I used gunny, blue and seeded eucalyptus as well as a few dried pepper berries)

- Embroidery hoop of any size

- Floral wire

- Ribbon

Instructions

1. Start by cutting your bay laurel branches into more manageable lengths. I cut mine into roughly 1 foot sections. The size of these will depend on the size of your embroidery hoop. I set aside a few small sprigs to fill in any sparse spots later.

2. Play with the natural curve of the branches to find where they want to lay on the hoop. Word to the wise: don't try to fight the natural curve of the branches. Let them lay how they want to lay and work around their natural shape. Bay laurel lends itself beautifully to a circular wreath. Using segments of floral wire, begin wrapping the branches in segments around the hoop. It's okay if the wire is visible or there are some bare spots. You can cover these will smaller greens later. Use small lengths of wire to attach each branch in 2 - 3 spots.

3. Once you have your base greenery secured around the hoop you can start playing with the smaller greens. I wove in blue and seeded eucalyptus to fill in bare spots and cover any exposed wire. I also added a few more sprigs of bay laurel here and there. Even some pheasant feathers would be cool. There is no right answer here! Have fun and play with finding the right balance. I tend to like things a little more organic and unfussy so I left mine a bit wild. You can easily tame it with some additional floral wire if thats more your style. It helps to hold the wreath up to the wall now and then to get perspective and make sure the weight is balanced.

4. Tie a pretty ribbon or twine around the top of the wreath. You can either use this to hang it, or if you have a wreath hanger you could opt for the traditional bow. As a finishing touch, I wove in a few dried pepper berries left over from our Thanksgiving table. Those little guys last forever. 

5. Hang and enjoy! You can definitely hang these little loves outside, but I couldn't bare to be parted with the spicy, earthy aroma of the bay leaves. I opted to display ours in our front window so it can be seen from the street, but we can still smell it in the house. Everybody wins.

xo,

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A Foraged Thanksgiving Table & Frost Kissed Cranberries

There is one spot in our home we always seem to gravitate to. A warm little corner perfectly suited for morning coffees and late night cribbage and quiet moments alone. For simple evenings spent with good friends, sharing food and stories. Laughing. Being together. They say the kitchen is the heart of the home, but I have a sneaking suspicion it's actually the table. 

For years we all crammed around our tiny kitchen table, bumping elbows and balancing toddlers on laps. It was close and cozy, but often left someone standing at the counter or retreating to the couch in search of a seat. So my ever-talented husband built this gorgeous blue spruce coffee / dining / everything table, which has quickly become the centerpiece of our household. He made this in like an afternoon, you guys. He's like a little wood gnome, that one. And I am totally smitten with the result. There is something so grounding about sitting on the floor. Down-to-earth in the most literal sense. And lord knows I love to set a pretty table.

Setting a table can feel like something of a lost art these days. A relic of a bygone era of stuffy place cards and pickle forks. But I think there's something deeply satisfying about creating a lovely space for dear ones to gather. To set the vibe. To make things a little special. So this Thanksgiving, I wanted to create a table that felt simple and balanced and seasonal. Pretty and inviting and unfussy. 

I started by foraging through the garden and chilly neighborhood alleys for the heartiest herbs. The ones that have managed to survive early morning frosts and howling November winds. I returned with pink ears and cheeks and a fragrant bouquet of rosemary, sage, thyme, and eucalyptus. I supplemented with aromatic pepper berries and magnolia leaves from Habitat, my favorite little neighborhood flower shop, and mixed them in with this simple candle train I found for pennies at the flea market. The whole display cost less than a bag of coffee and smelled amazing.

I also whipped up this classic pumpkin pie with frost kissed cranberries (because c'mon, what's Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie?) I thought about writing a whole DIY on the sugared cranberries, but they are so embarrassingly easy it seemed like overkill. Simply dissolve 1 cup sugar with 2 cups water on the stovetop. Pour the mixture over a bowl of cranberries and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, drain the cranberries and lay them out on parchment paper. Roll them in fresh sugar and let dry for 2 hours. They taste delicious and look sparkly and festive on the table. Easy. Peasy. 

Hope you all have a lovely, restful holiday weekend filled with love and food and gratitude. I am thankful for each and every one of you. Happy Thanksgiving, dear ones! 

xo,