The deepening time of Winter Solstice 🌲 🍄 ☀️

Through careful observation of the sun over many moons, they witnessed four distinct moments on the sun’s journey through the skies and correlated these moments with shifts in weather patterns:

• Spring and Fall Equinox: the length of day and night were equal; the sun rose due East and set due West.

• Summer Solstice: the sun reached its zenith and stood still for 4 days, rising in the Southeast, and setting in the Southwest.

• Winter Solstice: the sun reached its nadir and stood still for 4 days, rising in the Northeast, setting in the Northwest.

These ancient ones recognized the holy nature of these cycles, creating lay-lines and stone circles to align with these moments, with rituals to honor them.

Winter Solstice was considered the most holy of all holy days, for it marked the end of one sun-cycle year as well as the return of the light. It was a time for introspection, contemplating the year past, setting intentions for the year to come. But most importantly, it was a time to honor the natural world and the life-giving force of the sun.

And for some of us, it still is.

In our current world, this time of year brings a busy-ness that makes it easy for us to disconnect from these cycles, forgetting that modern holidays stem directly from ancient rituals honoring the sun.

If you’ve been feeling that disconnect — from nature, from community, from your creative self, from the light — this month, we invite you to deepen with us in honoring the sacred cycle of light.

Thursday 12/11 from 6-8pm

This coming Thursday evening, we will be leaning into these longer nights with our writing, allowing the season to plant its luminous seed within our creative womb. In a cozy cabin in Quilcene, we’ll share snacks and socialize then warm up our writing with a fun creative exercise. We’ll then dive into deeper writing with two longer prompts inspired by the Solstice season. Please join us for an evening of depth, creativity and connection — and probably a belly-laugh or two.

Cost: $25 to drop in; free for those enrolled in a monthly Writing in Nature Membership. Register: email Carrie at csb@withinsight.be.

12/14 from 11am-3pm

One of the most wonderful treats of fall in the Pacific Northwest is mushroom-hunting. Due to the abundance of many varieties of mushrooms this fall, I too have fallen in love with this pastime, wandering off the beaten path and finding a new kind of wild within. Mushrooms are mysterious and wonderful beings — the greatest of Zen teachers! — and foraging is a master-class in patience, presence and flow. Amidst our foraging forays, we’ll have lunch and intervals of writing amidst the mushrooms and their fairy-keepers. And fear not, though we are late in the season, there are still many mushrooms to be found and marveled over!

Cost: $55 to drop in; free for those enrolled in a monthly Writing in Nature Membership. Register: email Carrie at csb@withinsight.be. Exact location will be disclosed upon registration.

12/21 from 7-10am

As Winter Solstice brings the four longest nights of the year, it is a time to cherish every moment of light bestowed upon us — and what better way to do this than greeting the sun at sunrise! This year, the exact moment of Solstice is 7:03am and the sun rises at 7:56am, so our early meeting time allows us to greet both Solstice and sun. While it may be dark and early, fear not — at East Beach on Marrowstone Island, there’s a stone shelter with a large hearth, so we’ll be writing next to a cozy fire with steaming mugs of hot cocoa. There may even be a scone or two.

Cost: $35 to drop in; free for those enrolled in a monthly Writing in Nature Membership. Register: email Carrie at csb@withinsight.be.

Many blessings of the Solstice season to you and yours,
Carrie & the Nature Beings