The Sun Stands Still
The inner chamber at Newgrange, in Ireland.
The inner chamber at Newgrange in Ireland has been lit at dawn on the winter solstice for 5200 years
Winter is the season of death and rebirth. Both are happening simultaneously. The next cycle of life begins even as one dies. Because we are Earth in human form, how do we work with these energies consciously?
At the Solstice, the sun appears to stand still. In Winter, Nature appears to stand still, too. But she is very busy below the surface, resting, recharging, and gathering the energy she needs to begin again come spring. We are called to rest and recharge, too. For just as daffodils will not bloom without the deep, dark rest of winter, we too will not have the energy to reemerge robustly without the unique, deep recharge of winter. There is a mysterious, alchemical energy available only in winter that is the root of all of Life. Partaking of it, is like a sip from the magical, sacred well of Life.
The work of Winter/Water* is stillness. Inward, storing, incubating. Winter/Water gathers potential and stores the infinite, primordial possibilities of what might take form when the sun returns. Fear and Faith both live in the dark womb of Winter/Water. Will we make it through the dark cold and what will life look like on the other side? It is a time to be cautious with your energy and gently dream of possibilities.
In Spring, when Life returns, it is rooted in the compost of last year. How do we as humans root our spring rebirth in compost of the past year’s living? This is the time of year to reflect on the burdens we carry and what can be released to become the compost on which we build the coming year.
Winter Solstice sunrise on Beech Hill last year
Notice what is stressful in your life? In what ways are you over-giving, over-functioning, over-doing, or over-committing? What roles do we have in our families, work, and social communities that no longer fit the person we are becoming and now need tailoring? How have these overages impacted our health and ability to manage good selfcare? These are the burdens that live in the tight muscles, exhaustion, insomnia, gut issues, stress, and busy minds. It is not that they were mistakes. They made sense when we took them on, and honestly, sometimes there is no choice. But at this point, something has to give. Without a little time out, it is impossible to gather the magic, the energy, for anything new and creative to come into our lives. Winter invites us to set the burdens down for a minute, so the mystery of the dark can work on them the way it works on daffodil bulbs under the snow to bring forth blooms come spring.
The word Solstice means “sun stands still.” It takes about 12 days from the Winter Solstice to about January 2nd, which is when we start to notice the days getting a little longer. This is because the earth is rounding the corner in Her orbit before beginning the trip back to the south and longer days. It is this stretch coming round the bend, where time seems to stand still. Across cultures these 12 days were known to be a time out of ordinary time, a liminal, holy time. Can you feel it?
If the sun stands still for 12 days, maybe we, as Earth in human form, need to stand still as well? To consciously choose stillness? Maybe for these 12 days we could leave our burdens like suitcases on the threshold and let the deep alchemical mystery of the dark, holy, time-out-of-time, work its magic on us? This is a time for reflection and dreaming rather than decisions and action. A time of rest, recharge and renewal by incubating in the dark. It doesn’t have to be grand. It may look like 15 minutes of reflection while watching the sunrise with your morning coffee. Just a moment of stillness to let the unseen forces support you.
When we name the burdens we have carried and set them down for just 12 days before we pick them back up, some will have softened. No big decisions, no big plans, no big efforts, just a little stillness for 12 days. Some burdens will have changed size and shape, and some will have resolved, and many you will see differently. Winter/Water invites us into the balance of Fear and Faith. What will happen and who would you be if you weren’t the bearer of those burdens? Can you trust the deep, mysterious alchemy of winter to renew you as well? Can you trust the alchemy of winter to infuse and dissolve the burdens with lightness and possibility?
Winter on Rockport Harbor
By the end of the Twelve Days, January 2nd, something will feel different. Small seeds or a tiny flame in your heart that need gentle tending, not rushing. A feeling of spaciousness, a glimmer of hope, where possibility can take hold and chart out a new heading.
New Year, as we celebrate it, is asking the wrong question as we are just emerging from our 12-day incubation. January is a time of tending, listening, and dreaming of possibility, not launching new projects. Let yourself daydream about possibilities through the end of January. Then, once we get into February and the rising energy of spring begins, that is the time to start the activities of a new undertaking. February is truly the start of the new year. By then you will have more clarity about which possibilities have the potential to come into being this round and the energy to make the necessary adjustments.
What is laid down in the dark womb of Winter calls the deep alchemy of the Mystery to help carry the load.
*Winter/Water refers to the Water Phase in 5 Element life cycle which is represented by the season of Winter. You can read more about that here: https://www.camdenacupuncture.me/blog/winter-and-the-deep-dive-into-the-water-phase
I invite you to enjoy these daily reflections for the 12 liminal, holy days.
Day 1 — December 21 | Stillness
Reflection:
As you wait in the darkness for the light to return, notice what in you longs to rest.
What can be set down—just for now—without consequence?
Seed of potential for 2026: I have time and I do not need to rush.
Day 2 — December 22 | Remembering
Reflection:
Sense the longer story you belong to—
The ancestors, and lineages that carried life forward so you could be here.
What support might you receive if you lean into that connection across time?
Seed for 2026: I am not alone. I have the support of my wise, well ancestors.
Day 3 — December 23 | Listening
Reflection:
Beneath the noise of the world, there is a quieter knowing.
Where in your life are you being asked to listen more deeply—to yourself or to another?
Seed for 2026: I have time/space to listen and I trust my inner knowing.
Day 4 — December 24 | Warmth
Reflection:
Notice what brings you a sense of warmth and caring—
a person, time in Nature, a simple ritual.
How might you let that nourishment in more deeply?
Seed for 2026: I am connected to the web of Life. Belonging restores me.
Day 5 — December 25 | Light
Reflection:
Pay attention to the small lights that are already present—
moments of kindness, love, beauty, or quiet joy.
What if nothing more were required?
Seed for 2026: I am deeply nourished by small exchanges of loving kindness.
Day 6 — December 26 | Release
Reflection:
This is a day for allowing sorrow, disappointment, or fatigue to be acknowledged.
What feels burdensome? What do you long to let go of? Get help with?
Seed for 2026: Leaning into the possibility of support from the unseen realms is an act of care.
Day 7 — December 27 | Vision
Reflection:
Without asking how or when, let yourself imagine a future shaped by care and support rather than urgency and “to-dos.”
What do you sense longs to be born, however faint or unfinished?
Seed for 2026: Another way is possible. I don’t have to know how.
Day 8 — December 28 | Right Measure
Reflection:
Consider the balance of your energy, time, and attention.
What takes more energy than it gives? Where might less effort allow more authenticity to shine?
Seed for 2026: I choose to put energy into that which nourishes me. I choose sustainability.
Day 9 — December 29 | Voice
Reflection:
Notice where you could speak more honestly about how you are actually doing.
What truth wants gentle expression?
Seed for 2026: The unseen forces are only allowed to help when I ask, I am authentic in my speech.
Day 10 — December 30 | Trust
Reflection:
You do not need to see the whole path.
Where might I trust Spirit and the unseen forces to lead the way?
Seed for 2026: I meet life as it comes and follow the signs along the way.
Day 11 — December 31 | Completion
Reflection:
Take a moment to honor what has come to completion this year—
even if it ended imperfectly or without closure.
What are you ready to bless, release and compost?
Seed for 2026: Completion frees energy to be the compost for new life.
Day 12 — January 1 | Becoming
Reflection:
Instead of setting goals, sense the quality of being you wish to inhabit this year.
What do you want your day-to-day life to feel like? Who are you becoming as you step forward?
Seed for 2026: When I hold the quality of being as a seed, I am curious to see what Spirit will grow.