Tonight, this darkest night of the year, is a great night for dreams. As part of our solstice celebration, we filled an old family bowl with water and dropped in what we had on hand for wish making - eucalyptus leaves, berries, and small quartz crystals. We wished for what we want to dream about tonight. Tomorrow morning we'll gently take our dream water outside into the darkness. We'll gather over it once more to share our dreams with each other, then we'll eat sun cake and feed the birds as we welcome the sunrise.
I really liked the idea of making wish bread, dropping wishes (raisins) into the dough as we knead it. But we all prefer the taste of sun (lemon) cake, so we combined the traditions, substituting cranberries for raisins. A wish for the coming new year falling with each cranberry, stirred into the cake batter - it was my favorite part of the evening.
The idea for the dream incubation is in this book, along with amazing seasonal activities, stories and recipes for the entire year. We were in real need of nature-themed, seasonal, archetypal stories that honor women and girls with the dignified roles we deserve - it's no surprise that stories from the goddess tradition do this really well. We do Waldorf homeschooling here, and while I agree that fairytales are beneficial for some of their archetypal imagery, I'm super put off by many of the stories in our curriculum. Often women are simply props or property to be married off to a young (male) protagonist as a reward for demonstrating his bravery. Obviously, such stories are not useable - I've spent too many nights rewriting them. Much of the Waldorf style of learning really resonates with us, so I'm happy to find such kindred substitutes for the parts that don't.
I'm going to end my night with some painting after a ten year break. I used to really love painting, but I quit because I wasn't great. I was missing the point then, but I won't tonight.
How are you celebrating?
How are you celebrating?
Wishing you all the time and space for quiet reflection and rest in the coming months - happy solstice!
image by Fabio Leone
…. thank you darkness, thank you dreams. Last night I was directed to go into the new year with a trust in being authentic and transparent, to let go of what is gone - of so much striving, to listen to the emotional truth of my experiences more than "what happened", to explore movement as a holder of memories, and to break through the institutional walls that were never holding me in anyway.
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