Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark.
Rabindranath Tagore
Tonight, Dec. 7, is the third night of our global Solstice Sun-Wheel Prayer Circle, if you are counting down to Winter Solstice. Otherwise, if you are counting down to Christmas only, this is Week 2.
As I have explained in past weeks, this is simply because this year, there is an extra Sunday between Solstice and Christmas.
For folks who are honoring both holidays, you can simply light your final candle again for Christmas.
The Basics
This ceremony uses a wreath and five candles and is intended for all paths, both spiritual and non-. The Christian church calls it the Advent wreath, which was probably borrowed from much older Pagan celebrations, marking the days preceding Winter Solstice. (As most Christian scholars know, the birth of Christ was probably in the Springtime, but the tradition of holding the feast day around the Winter Solstice became a way to increase its popularity).
Whether you are Pagan, or Christian, or something else (you don’t even have to be religious!), please participate with us. Simply assign each candle a meaning that is important to your faith or worldview. There are lots of alternative ideas here.
Please remember – you can join us any time. And you can’t get it wrong!
So even if you’ve missed the first two lightings, no problem! I’ve provided links to the first two weeks further down this post.
This also means you can still invite your friends and loved ones to join us! Please do, so that our prayers and our magic circle the globe in every time zone and continent. And join us on Facebook, if you use it. We have a private, safe, and beautiful gathering there, where people are sharing photos, stories, music, and traditions.
Again, you can go here to read all the more ceremonial details, including our intention. Please don’t be overwhelmed by the length. I have tried to anticipate as many questions as I can.
What If I Live in the Southern Hemisphere?
I believe you are a vitally important part of this work because you are preparing to celebrate your Summer Solstice. We need your sunny blessings and warmest gifts to aid our renewal.
Perhaps you would like to use a wreath of flowers and fruit, instead of evergreens.
But in any case, please join us at sunset, wherever you are, too!
Tonight’s Ceremony
This is the prelude to a moment that has been celebrated since prehistoric times by people of every culture. The dawning of the Winter Solstice and the rebirth of the Light come to all beings across the Northern Hemisphere, no matter what they believe about it!
So gather with friends, loved ones, or alone, ideally around sunset. Ground and center yourself, or create sacred space in whatever way is right for your practice. Turn out the lights where you are with your wreath, candles, and lighter ready.
Remember that you are joined in this sacred circle by men, women, and children of many paths, from many lands — so many that, in this, our 21st year, we number over 2,200 souls and are still growing.
Over the years, people have told me that sensing the many, many others in observance with them is one of the most powerful components of our practice.
So you may wish to take a moment to open your awareness to the countless people from all around the globe, from every walk of life, different languages, and myriad faiths and beliefs, who are participating with you.
We may be celebrating at the exact moment as you or ahead of, or behind you, in “real” time. But in sacred time, we are all in the Circle, in our own liminal moment, as evening sweeps across the Earth.
Take a few moments to absorb the deep quiet of the dark. Give thanks for its time of gestation, the sweet blackness that holds and feeds our roots, the mystery that nurtures, the sleep that stills our weariness and gives space for our dreams.
Then, as the dusk deepens, with our intention in mind, light your first candle (either from Nov. 23 or last week, depending on your choice of countdowns).
Focus on all that it means to you, perhaps reviewing this aloud with your loved ones. Has its significance changed or grown stronger for you since that first lighting?
Counting Down to Christmas ONLY: The Second Candle
For people only counting down to Christmas, tonight is your 2nd candle. In many denominations, it may represent Love.
Some churches call it the Bethlehem candle, referring to the gifts of hospitality and the preparations of body and spirit for receiving the Divine One.
Other traditions consider it to be in reverence for the gift of the sacred scriptures and the Word.
If You Are Counting Down to Solstice
This will be your third candle lighting. If you are using the Elements as your guide, this candle is for the Element of Water.
Many Pagan traditions consider that Water is the Guardian associated with the direction of West. It empowers our emotions, dreams, intuition, empathy, and compassion. West is sacred to Autumn and the setting Sun.
Let us give thanks for all the ups and downs of our emotions. They can be tumultuous at times and strangely prescient. They open our hearts and sometimes break them, bringing cleansing tears and joyful laughter. What a sacred gift it is to feel our feelings, even when it hurts!
As you gaze upon this wondrous addition of light to the wreath before you, consider also the life-giving blessings of Water. See in your mind’s eye the beautiful rains when they come gently, in balanced abundance.
Perhaps offer a prayer for good, gentle, plentiful rains to extinguish the wildfires that have disrupted life in so many places. May kindly rains come to soak the Earth in places that are suffering from drought and food scarcity.
Give thanks for the incredible gift of turning on a tap at your home, and having clean, pure, hot and cold water pour forth. Such luxury was beyond the imagination of gilded pharaohs and emperors of old!
Remember Mama Ocean in your thanksgiving. She is the Mother of us all, the ever-restless, changing, flowing source of all life on our blue planet.
Know that the river of blood, tears, and joy is a deep, ancient one that defines our humanity. It gives us the motivation and possibility of the true, deep, lasting transformation we so desperately need. May tonight’s light heal the fear, the hurt, and all of our troubled waters.
In alignment with our intention, you may wish to make a promise or vow regarding how you will serve the gifts of tonight’s candle.
For All:
Gaze now at the dancing flames of your candles. Isn’t it astonishing how much light they create?
Tonight, it becomes truly clear that a great birthing is on the way!
Prepare! Prepare! The dawn of the Light is getting brighter, and despite the still-deepening darkness that surrounds us, we know that the birth is coming. Let us anticipate its approach with joy, passion, and wisdom. Feel it coming with your own faith, like birds who prepare to sing.
May the powers of these Elements and Gifts of Spirit weave together, as we ourselves are joining together, to illuminate and bless our world.
When you are at peace and the time feels right, going backwards from Water, to Fire, to Air, (or from Love to Hope), gently extinguish your candles.
May our prayers be fulfilled for the good of all.
Blessed be!