Do you find yourself huddling against the cold, the rain or the howling wintry wind?
Do you walk through the elements with a grimace on your face and resentment in your heart, thinking, ‘This is a sod of a season’?
Do you even start thinking with envy of your friend who jumped on a plane to escape winter by spending summer in the northern hemisphere?
You might like to try this
There is a way to embrace even the soggiest, chilliest weeks of winter.
It’s about two things:
- Learn how to welcome in winter
- Discover how to kindle the inner fire
Every season deserves a good welcome, and every season has something to give. How do you create a welcome and fuel the inner fire?
Ritual is a time-honoured way.
How ritual can help
On the night of winter solstice, June 20, I led thirty Auckland celebrants through a welcome to winter; well more specifically, to the returning sun.
Afterwards, a number of people came up to me with glowing faces, saying they felt uplifted, moved and heart-warmed. One woman said that she had arrived feeling frazzled from her day, with too many things to attend to. She left feeling happy and energised. What had changed?
Transformation happens
An effective ritual creates an inner shift. It provides a container for clearing away negative energies, distractions and fragmentation and restoring a sense of wholeness.
That’s what had happened for this woman. In fact, the energy in the entire room lifted as we went through a clearing, welcomed in the sun, lit candles, sang and completed with a spiral dance.
I left with a feeling of great happiness. The inner fire had been kindled, and when I walked the streets in pouring rain today to do my shopping, I felt I was carrying the sun inside me.
Would you like to learn the seven principles of ritual so that you can create your own? It’s fun and immensely rewarding.
This is why I’m offering my online course The Sacred Art of Ritual once more. Click here to learn more.
After reading this, Juliet, I put on my gumboots and jacket and went out into a dark and wet night to visit the sea! I hadn’t been for days and it was just the tonic I needed. Thank you.
Margie, how delightful! I never regret taking a walk outside in the elements. Today I went in the rain and wind and visited my favourite tree in the park. I’m so glad you gave yourself a tonic. Thank you.
Oh, thank you for this, Juliet!
I love living in cold climates (and feel most alive amidst the contrast of seasons)…but my partner most definitely does not. Though it’s hot and summery in our new home of Nelson, BC, Canada, he has been fraught with worry over the coming months.
We needed this post and will be returning to its sage, soothing guidance. So much gratitude!
Dana, I’m so glad this post was well-timed! Being of slim build, I also feel the cold, but since learning to cultivate the inner fire my attitude has changed. My book ‘Dancing with the Seasons’ has a whole chapter on strategies to build the inner fire during winter. I’m working on a short video with a reading from it, and it will be ready when I’ve sorted out the tech side. I’ll post it on my Facebook page when it’s done: julietbattenbooks
Cultivating the inner fire – so important! I went to Sydney for a few weeks a month ago, and stepped straight into Winter as I arrived back in Tasmania. Such beautiful reminders – thanks Juliet.
Thanks Lure. I can imagine the contrast in temperature between Sydney and Tasmania. Keep warm on the inside!