Winter Practices: Advent of the Sun
Plus: a peek at the evolution of “The Old One" on my drawing board
Dear Ones,
For the next few weeks I’ll be sharing some of my favorite winter practices … the ones that never seem to lose their luster, even though we return to them again and again.
In the northern hemisphere, we’re deep into the shortest, darkest days of the year. We who walk the Sacred Wheel know that darkness is nurturing, not frightening. We embrace darkness like a warm cloak, wrapping ourselves in it for comfort, as we gaze at sparkling stars on a black velvet sky or the intense crystal colors of a winter sunrise.
Marking the rhythms of sun and moon, keeping close to the nature spirits in our neighborhoods, reaching out to celebrate the mysteries with community: these are some of the things that will keep us going through any rough times headed our way.
Advent of the Sun
We know that Pagan traditions and Christian ones have been layered on top of each other for centuries, each feeding the other. Advent (the time of waiting) is one of those. Christians light a candle on an Advent wreath for four Sun-Days before Christmas, the birth of the Son (aka the Child of Wonder). Other folks choose to honor the metaphorical rebirth of the Sun on Winter Solstice, when the days start to grow longer again, though minutely at first. Some people mark the countdown to Solstice and to Christmas Day.
When I first moved to the Pacific Northwest in 1990, my friend Helen Farias (founder of the original Beltane Papers) invited folks over to her place on each Sunday before Solstice for good cheer and to listen to stories she had written about sun goddesses. After Helen died in 1994, our friend Waverly Fitzgerald picked up the tradition and shared it with many more people through her “School of the Seasons.” Waverly is an ancestor now too, along with Helen. Whenever I light a candle on my Advent altar, I remember them both.
My friend Beth Owl’s Daughter picked up the tradition in 2004 and has turned it into a worldwide prayer circle or spell weaving. Since she does such a beautiful job of hosting it, I invite you to check out all the details here, on her site. She writes:
There are now thousands of people, in different time zones around the world, who are participating in this [ceremony] with you. As the shadow of night rolls across the face of our globe, they gather in harmony with you and your family.
All of our hearts are joined in this quiet act of both acknowledging the dark and then energizing our purpose as we light a candle of hope and renewal.
— Beth Owl’s Daughter
If you check her blog for the next four Sun-Days (beginning today, November 24th), you’ll find weekly recommendations for focus.
There’s also a lively community group on Facebook, where people like to share photos of their Advent wreaths.
But, basically, it’s very simple. You can do this alone, or with others.
1. Create an Advent wreath (simple to elaborate) with four candles marking the four directions, and one candle in the center.
2. Take a sacred pause on each of the four Sun-Days before Winter Solstice (December 21st) at dusk. Turn out all the lights, then light one candle on the first Sun-Day (that’s today, November 24th), two on the second Sun-Day, and so forth. On the fourth Sun-Day before Solstice, December 15th, you’ll light all four candles. On Winter Solstice, you’ll light the center candle. (If you can’t start today, no worries! Just start next Sun-Day with two candles.)
3. Create your own ceremony. Beth will have ideas for us each week. But you can also make up your own. Say a prayer, lift a libation, read a poem, listen to a favorite carol. Pray for your family, community, town, region, country, planet. Pray for all who are suffering. Sit in the close and holy darkness for a time, observing the candle flame.
4. Extinguish the candle flame when you are complete, experience the full darkness, and then turn the lights back on.
Do you already have an Advent practice, or will you be starting one this year? Please share your thoughts and ideas. I always love hearing about the ways that other folks are celebrating.
