The Winter Solstice

Winter Solstice • December 21, 2025

The winter solstice is a natural turning point. It is the longest night of the year and the moment when the light begins its quiet return.

In this subtle shift, darkness stops growing, and light starts increasing again.

Throughout history, people noticed this moment because it meant survival, hope, and continuity. It reminded them that even in deep winter, life was still moving forward. Some cultures honored it with rest. Others tried to use it for power or fear. But the solstice itself has never belonged to darkness or light. It belongs to balance.

When used for good, the winter solstice is a pause.

A breath.

A chance to stop forcing answers and allow what is hidden to naturally unearth and come to life.

It’s about releasing, softening, and trusting that growth happens quietly before it becomes visible.

This is how I choose to meet it.

So I settle into this longest night and choose to meet Christmas with purity.

I light a white candle and bless the birth of Jesus in divine union under a blanket of stars.

I thank the Earth for continuing her cycle even when I have doubted my own.
I thank my body for carrying me through seasons of effort and seasons of stillness.
I thank the light that has remained, even when it felt far away.

As the turning begins, I allow fear to soften.

I do not rush the return of brightness.
I trust the slow work of becoming.
I trust that what is meant to grow in me is already rooted.

I release what has completed its purpose.
I forgive what no longer needs to be remembered with pain.
I set down burdens that were never mine to carry.

I welcome the quiet return of light, both in the world and within me.

Not as pressure to change, but as permission to rest.

Not as demand, but as peace.

May the days ahead unfold gently.
May clarity arrive when it is ready.
May love remain steady within me.
May I remember that life renews itself without force.

I honor this turning.
I honor this pause.
I honor this night.

Amen.