Winter Solstice

Winter Solstice, Alban (light), Arthuan (bear), sometimes called Yule, is the celebration of the rebirth of life. It is humanities oldest celebration of humanity of the Goddess giving birth to her son, the sun, and the light. It is important to note that this celebration is more on a spiritual level, or the conception of the birth. The actual birth happens later. For example the symbol of a ray of light being the "immaculate conception" of Mary, is actually a symbolic representation of the Winter Solstice. In Celtic shamanism, Winter Solstice is the ethereal birth, or spiritual consciousness of the rebirth of the Sun.

This is the season of death and rebirth, with the focus on rebirth. In Samhain we focus on death. Each season interfaces with the next one. In Samhain the birthing from the physical death into the spiritual realm tool place. At Winter Solstice, the spiritual rebirth occurs. At Samhain we die and leave our material form and reenter the womb, the cave, the great abyss of the great Dark Goddess. At Winter Solstice, the Dark Goddess rebirths us into a spiritual, but not a physical form. This is the time we are born into the spiritual realm of light. So at the winter Solstice we are spiritually reborn into the other worlds, we may choose or have it chosen for us to be born into a physical body again, or not. This is the most metaphysical of the eight seasons, being spiritual and not physical. This is why the Judeo-Christian forefathers ascribed this season as the most spiritual, since they saw the physical as bad and the spiritual as good. However, if they truly understood the Shamanic philosophy, as well as the message of Christ, they would have ascribed the time of the birth of Jesus to Beltane.

In new age beliefs most people believe that everyone's soul continues to be reborn. In most ancient traditions, it was believed that most people's souls or energies cease and dissipate and return to the great abyss to then be reformed energetically into something else, out of the mud, into the Goddess. Whereas a few are able to, through intense spiritual work are able to go through the physical death process and have their soul identity or ego survive and be born on a spiritual level in that identity. So the adept or person who has practiced extensive spiritual disciplines in their life including rehearsing their own death and taken shamanic journeys into the underworld, it is these ones whose spirit is reborn in the spiritual realm. So in these sorts of traditions, we are talking about the Celtic traditions. The once born and the many born are the two types of lives a person can live. The once born soul's spiritual essence is recycled at death. The many born souls are reborn into different lives, either on this physical plane or into some other realm, be it spiritual or physical.

Ritual for Winter Solstice
During the season of the winter solstice Group member will do a ritual of empowerment of the crystal that they found during Samhain and purified it. They will be taught how to use the crystal tool and what it's traditional magical uses are.

The group will focus on a very conceptual level upon new ideas and actions for the new year, exploring this on a conceptual level rather than on any kind of material level. Group members should also be focusing on their own divine spiritual nature. It is particularly a good time to focus on the night sky, stars, constellations and the big picture of cosmic self. It is a time to be quiet, in the dark, be alone, to imagine things, to connect to the inner hermit.

The ritual occurs in the National AIDS Memorial Grove at night, because the Winter Solstice is both about death and spiritual rebirth. Each Group member is led through their own process of death with a guide, speaking of what they need to let go of in their life, then dying, then being greeted by loved ones who have gone before who lead them to the other world.

This death occurs between three redwood trees in the National AIDS Memorial Grove where the ashes of the dead are frequently spread (see picture below).