A THOROUGH GUIDE FOR WINTER ALIGNMENT
The earth is silent, wet, cold.
It feels like an end or a beginning. It is both, at once.
Winter is here, offering us a liminal space to look into the past and into the future. In this time we are invited to be mysteriously suspended in the in-between, without any other concerns. Now is the time to meet the pure Beingness that has been witnessing it all.
This time of the year can be both hard and soft, light and dark. The Winter is full of contrasts, full of opposites, inviting us to experience the extreme polarities of life. Winter teaches us to be suspended in between. To witness without attachment, and with total receptivity. After all, it is with this receptivity that all of life has been created.
Nature teaches us about receptivity at this time, as she is holding space for both death and life. If we pay attention, we will notice that it is all happening at the same time. While many trees and plants have now lost their leaves and all that makes them recognisable, clearly following a pattern of hibernation or death by bringing energy back down into the soil… other beings appear almost out of nowhere. Mushrooms. Moss. Wild Greens. Mysterious and rare winter flowers.
It wouldn’t possibly make sense to describe the Winter by solely focusing on the concept of hibernation. Nature would laugh at us. Hibernation and death is only one part of this multi-dimensional Winter process.
In this process, death does not lead to death. Death is what creates life. Deep rest and hibernation create miracles. All of which we are invited to witness, both without and within. What miracles can emerge, when we step into the silence?
What we can feel on an energy level as the seasons move from Fall to Winter is subtle yet powerful if we choose to pay attention. Both Seasons are energetically feminine (yin), with the Winter bringing the energy deep down into the center of the Earth - into the vortex where all new life can be created.
As we approach the Winter we might feel a sense of heaviness and a more intense degree of density, as if the earth pulls us towards her. We might also feel, on a spiritual level, as if our own Being pulls us towards itself. That is not without its challenges, as we must be ready to go inwards and enjoy meeting ourselves at this silent, grounded place. We must be willing to hear that Nature’s call, in a world that seems to never stops running, competing and making a reality out of our sense of Self and all that is happening “outside” of us. At this moment we must have the courage to refuse taking part, to take a break, to align with Nature as we are meant to.
“I am out. See you later”
We shall guide ourselves to our own inner cave with grace and compassion.
We shall join that shamanic place in the fertile void. We shall meet our own light and our own darkness with radical honesty, transmuting the old to create what is waiting to be birthed anew within us.
RELATING TO THE ENERGY OF WINTER
The Winter reflected in the Elements, the cycles of Moon & Day and in the feminine archetypes.
ELEMENT
Earth
Complement: Fire
In the Wintertime, the life-force of Nature comes down into the depths of Earth, to compost. All matter that once had a form, transforms here, becoming food for what is to emerge anew. All of life here in this physical plane, begins and ends on Earth, including ourselves.
The Element of Earth represents this physicality and the Winter calls us to honour it, no matter how impermanent it is. To connect to the body and the senses, to home and shelter, to gravity, to density, to the knowing that we are being supported in this life. As strange as it may be to be alive (and contained) in this body, everything we do comes back to it.
We are bound to body and bound to Earth. Earth is what forms us. It is what contains and nurtures everything we wish to create. Earth calls us to fully ground here in this experience and to not get too lost in abstraction. Earth also invites us to remember all that preceded us and has given us life: our families, our ancestors, our communities. To honour all they built for us to enjoy and all the paths they laid out for us. Like the mycelium webs in the ground, we are all connected in our incredible physical beingness.
The complementary ally to this Season is the Element of Fire. The Fire is the energy of transmutation and creation. The Fire takes what is old and transforms it, while keeping us warm and connected to Spirit. In Winter we meet this Fire is at the heart of the home (woodstoves, candles, seeking light, warmth), and at the core of ourselves. It represents the inner flame, our own unique life force that keeps us going. In this time we are invited to go meet this flame, through the pathway of the body, of the sensing, of pure presence.
MOON PHASE
Dark Moon
Earth (and Winter) energy is present in the Dark Moon.
She is the invisible moon, which happens in that moment when a moon dies and gives birth to a new cycle. Her darkness has the presence of a wise elder. She gives us the opportunity to stop looking outside of ourselves and go inwards. To take a moment to look back, let go of what we no longer need and set intentions for what to begin anew.
TIME OF THE DAY
Night
The evening becomes night when darkness is at its peak.
Without the sun, we lose access to our habitual senses and 3d vision. The darkness brings us to our most vulnerable state, being completely open to other ways of perception. Of course, that can be quite terrifying in our human experience.
The night invites us to let go of our sense of Self and join the infinite cosmic gateways. In the night, we may rest, we may dream, we may shape-shift. Whether we know it or not, we are accessing other dimensions of reality and receive visions. We go hunting - collecting all the pieces that make our waking lives a reality.
ARCHETYPE
The Crone
The Grandmother
Others: Spider Woman,
Bone Woman
The Crone is the wise elder, who is suspended by the thread of death & life. She has had a long journey, collecting joys and sorrows - and has radically accepted the fleetingness of it all. She knows that her passing time is near and sees it as the door to liberation.
At this stage in her life, she can sit back and observe, as if held from above. She has gained the purest form of wisdom and clarity on what she is, at her essence. Her body and her limbs have been weakening, dissolving bringing her to presence with what is, as it is. There is nowhere to go, only HERE. There is no one to be, only NOBODY. The simplest of things, like watching the fire at the hearth, captivate this woman. After all, all of Eternity is right here.
The Crone embodies deep inner knowing and intuition, guiding us through the transition of life, and going inward to bring forth the light for transformation.
ENERGY CENTER
Root Chakra
The Winter is connected to the root chakra, which is our first energy center located at the base of our spine.
The root chakra rules our sense of survival and belonging in the most primal sense. It gives us the driving force to accomplish physical achievements without fear. Many spiritual seekers ignore the root chakra and rush to bring their energy upwards, but we must remember that without that pure sense of grounding and stability, nothing can feel safe enough to emerge. Just like all of Nature, we must first ground with confidence before ascending.
“I AM”
”I belong”
ALIGNING TO THE ENERGY OF Winter
TENDING TO THE CAVE
The Winter calls us inwards in all the ways. The space where we spend most of our time during this season is the inside of our home. Even if it’s not our dream home, even if it is temporary - in this time of the year we can simply not take this place for granted. It will serve us as a shelter, a temple, a cave, a place to rest and dream.
Now is a time to pay attention to what makes your home a nourishing place to be in.
Is there anything you need to tend to, to make it feel even more supportive? The Element of Earth furthers our connection to our sensorial awareness, so we may feel called to invite a pleasing sense of texture, with wool and warm, natural fabrics. Additionally, it brings with it a sense of practicality. Take note of what you already own. Is there anything that needs mending, or a slight adjustment? Honour those cold months of the year as an invitation to pour more Love into your space. Tune into your inner grandmother who knows how to make it a home.
DEEP GROUNDED ROOTING
Many of us feel tempted to escape our place in the winter, but that is the time that we are most naturally in tune with Earth, can receive her medicine and truly witness the spirit of the place we live in. Make room for this and see what you receive. Take walks outside, observe what is growing in this season. Learn about the wildlife. Gather wild plants, commune with them, through tea, food, medicine making - even if you are a beginner, there are so many ways to practice. Create an earth altar with treasures you collect. Allow yourself time and space to become one with the spirit of the place you are in - yes, even in a city! The spirit of the land is never truly quiet. If you take time to know it, it will speak to you, support and ground you through this Season (and many more). We are not alone. We are not separate. The Earth is our Mother and is always available. Lets take this time to slow down and be in Her presence.
ANCESTRAL REMEMBRANCE
With Earth connection and the inwardness of Winter comes an incredible opportunity for travelling back in time and remembering our roots. What lands do you come from? What people birthed you into existence? What were the traditions of your grandmothers and grandfathers? And… how did they sustain themselves during these Winter months? What did they eat? What crafts and activities kept them busy and connected to Source?
Ancestral work is a deep journey to dive into, and it will open up many pathways through time.
It all truly starts with a bit of curiosity, and can be a joyful experience.
I find it extremely grounding (and fun) to connect to ancestors through food, for example. I love to connect to my grandmother by simply cooking the food she would cook. The warm stews. The slow cooked meats. The beans and the dense foods of Winter. Our ancestors lived in harmony with the land - they had no other choice. Learning about their ways can teach us how to live in alignment, how to appreciate Nature, to receive the wisdom and healing it has all brought through generations all the way back to us.
RADICAL REST
Many things will come up through the wintertime. In this portal we receive a LOT of food (physical, mental, spiritual) to process, to chew, to compost. Of course, all this processing will require some of our energy and will leave us feeling quite exhausted. Now is not the time to “get things moving”. Now is the time to rest. Rest. Rest. And then rest some more.
Resting means different things to each of us. But the main medicine about rest is: surrendering and letting go. This can be quite hard for very active people and creative minds - those of us will find every possible excuse to resist rest, because we are terrified of the facing the void.
Can you sense me speaking from personal experience here? :)
I find it helps to find things that I know have the power to ground and nourish me: getting more sleep, napping, observing nature, listening or playing to soft music, being in silence, eating dense foods from the earth very slowly. Simply making room in my days for these things. I also try to consciously tune into what depletes me, and limit that to a minimum. Having less energy at this time of the year means I have to learn to say “no” much more radically. To feeling into what my body and spirit needs every day, which may be different. To letting go of fixations, constraints, judgments - simply hold myself through it.
SILENT SELF-DISSOLUTION
The Winter is a beautiful time to practice dying. To practice becoming nobody. To experiment with setting aside all of the ways we present ourselves to the world and just play with being naked, as a human being, stripped off from the stories of our ego.
I’ll go ahead and say it: social media doesn’t help with that. It feeds the stories. It brings life to the stories others tell us about who they are, and those we tell ourselves about where we belong there, in that story. It is not “bad” in its nature - just as anything else it can be a fun game to play. But at this time of the year, if you wish to know those deepest parts of who you are, it is best to take yourself out of that. To dance with being unreachable and away from any network at all.
Going to meet yourself in the cave demands some intentional self-isolation and desire for self-dissolution. So get off of social media even for just a couple of weeks. Seek nothing external. Experiment with periods of silence. Dissappear for a while. See what that brings up for you.
COURTING THE DARK
The Fall and the Winter have been bringing us short days and long nights.
Of course there is medicine in this as well.
What is your relationship to the night? What shifts do you experience when night comes?
This Season offers us a wonderful opportunity to become really intentional with our evenings. Creating simple rituals to transition from the day time to the night. Experimenting with exclusively using candle light on some evenings and noticing how your sleep patterns change. Night walks and stargazing in the winter sky, which is clearer at this time of the year. Making room for nightly dates and encounters. Deeply listening to the sounds of the night. Experimenting with dreaming and visioning in the fertile darkness.