Happy Solstice to all my Pagan Friends.
This is a repost from several years ago...
First I must
say that I celebrate not only the light returning as our great mother
earth turns again toward Sol...but I celebrate this night, the longest,
the womb of the dark.
Here's a sweet picture of Mama Earth.
We
have such light seeking impulses. Probably as it helps with life
sustaining. But there is also the wonder of dark. The resting. The
dreaming through nights that are so much longer than daytime. Do you
have dreams?
I've been having sexual dreams
lately. At 73 I guess I've got the thoughts still, those juicy exciting
urges that bring a burst of physical joy after effort. I won't go any
further into details, but let you realize that the same urges that began
with the hormonal impulses of a teen ager do continue throughout our
lives.
Dreams belong to the dark nights. Darkness is
not bad...however it is coupled with many of our fears. I chose to look
at the darkness as a shroud of safety which offers supreme
restfulness. Don't misunderstand me that I'm out roaming any dark
streets at midnight, nor the woods.
I have observed
darkness most when in nature. But I haven't explored it lately. There
was a time when I found I could walk at night in a woods with just
starlight, or cloud light providing the difference between the solid
trunks of trees and the clearer greyer places where I could pass. It's
easier with some light from a moon, but not necessary.
If
you've never walked between tree trunks in the dark, never experienced
all the permutations of blackness to grey, you have yet to stretch your
night vision. Seriously. You see not so much by looking ahead, but by
scanning side to side, as that way you gather more information from the
sides of your eyes.
So this city gal did go camping for
many summers, and now remembers those trips from tent to bathroom in
the middle of the night.
But back to Solstice and celebrating the dark.
A ritual is called for, at least if you want to really get into celebration mode.
No
not to sing songs, or eat a feast, or wake up early and see if any
presents are under a fake tree in the living room. Think of what we're
going to celebrate. The Dark.
A long night of it.
Lots of comfort for sleep. Maybe a cup of hot cocoa before sleep.
Maybe a nibble on something that's soothing, cookies perhaps. Dreams
come when we're moving into a REM-state or waking, then returning back
to deep sleep. So preparing for a comfortable sleep is
important...wearing your jammies, having the best sheets and blankets
and pillows...having the heater set just right so you are totally
comfortable.
That's what the Dark needs of you.
Comfort. A small candle light before turning off all light is
soothing. Be sure to close all blinds and drapes to the intrusion of
outside street lights. Do some slow deep breathing, perhaps meditate,
perhaps say your prayers. Welcome the darkness with all her qualities.
What
does the dark mean to you? For me (as you see) there's the sense of a
womb, being closely supported by invisible forces, a place of growth and
nurturing, stillness, receiving rather than giving, resting, listening
to your sub-conscious through dreams, being alone rather than in
community, connecting to your own sense of the Source of all life, and
above all, rest.
If you want to record your dreams,
prepare to do that as easily as possible, with your journal and a pen
near your bed. Plan for a short awake time right after a dream, to
write a few notes, then back to snuggle into the dream-state again. In
the morning those notes can remind you of the full extent of a dream.
And another great fun thing is to actually go back into a dream. You
can just go back to sleep with thoughts of the dream, and maybe
intentions to do something "next". Dreaming is such fun. If you don't
have time the next morning, you can do a bit of "lucid" dreaming when
you go to sleep that night.
A dream journal is a place
to find out what you are telling yourself. I kept one for about a year,
and shared on a weekly basis one of my dreams with a Dream Group. Yes,
about a dozen people would share their dreams, and discuss what the
dreams might mean to themselves. Nobody gave a stock "meaning" to
another person's dream, but would share how it would have meaning for
themselves. Thus, no snakes were considered obviously phallic. As
Jeremy Taylor said, "It is my assumption that all dreams come in the
service of health and
wholeness and that only the dreamer knows for certain what his/her dream
means."
Oh, did I mention that Rev. Taylor wrote the book that started our Dream Group? Here is a link to his work.
Since
my involvement in that group was about 20 years ago, I'd say it made a
definite impact upon me. I no longer journal my dreams...though I have
mentioned some of the more potent ones to my best friend. We understand
each other pretty well.
So may your dreams be of most
use to you, yourself. And may you have total rest and relaxation from
the hurly burly world we live in these days. May the dark offer you
comfort and nurture.
Blessed Be.
I forgot it was the longest day, dh says we are in the tunnel, time seems to fly by these years and I wish it would slow up some.
ReplyDeleteBlessings Be xx
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