Winter Solstice Celebration

Last evening on the Winter Solstice at approximately 9:30 Central Time, my mother, Steve and I celebrated the Winter Solstice for the first time, of what I hope will be many. It was wonderful, My husband Steve stoked the wood stove on our porch that has been in my family for a long time. We made and filled our burlap bundles, we offered natural tobacco, lavender, sage, and chamomile, as our offering. We thoughtfully wrote down the many things that were not invited into our lives for 2012. It was powerful. We sat in front of the roaring fire, with the cold chill in the air. My husband began and gave a beautiful prayer to Source and Universe, and asked that the Universe acknowledge that he is releasing these things and the energy of these things that keep him stuck, he placed his bundle in the fire, and we watched it burn away. We discussed and contemplated our goals for the new year, we discussed our indian heritage, we discussed the old ways, and wondered wistfully if we would all come full circle back to the earth and an appreciation for the plant spirit, rock spirit, and every being that needs to be acknowledged on this planet. I gave a small list of my list of released there were so many, my bundle was bulging and took a long time to burn. I released, fear, guilt, anxiety, shame, negative self talk, my armor, etc.... so so many things. We laughed because my mother and husbands burned readily and quickly, my just lingered there smoldering, to the point after at least 15 minutes it still looked whole and recognizable, i finally nudged it into a deeper hotter flame, and watched it burn, and stared as if waiting to see the form of all of these things swell up out of the fire, and drift away on the smoke into the universe anticipating the ember ashes would fall to the earth and nourish, turning something no longer useful into something useful to the fertile earth in prepartion for a new beginning a new birth. I believe, I believe I believe. A year of blessings and light to all.