Why Winter Solstice is Your Time to Transform

 

Winter Solstice Blessings!

 

I hope you had a wonderful Winter Solstice over the weekend.

As I felt into the energy of this Solstice, I wanted to share some reminders about this powerful portal of opportunity, and how it can help us transform.  So grab yourself a cuppa and give yourself permission to take some time out of your day to immerse yourself into the story of Winter and the power of the Solstice.  It may just transform your vibes and help you create more magic and wonder into your life, and I so want that for you!

 

Winter Solstice here in the Southern Hemisphere occurred exact on

Saturday 21st June 2025, at 6.51am AEST.

 

It marks the shortest day of the year and the longest night of the year, as it’s the time on the seasonal wheel where the Sun reaches its lowest point in the sky and hovers there for 3 days before it begins to ascend on the 25th June.

Winter Solstice can symbolically represent the “dark night of the soul” where one may experience emotional and spiritual challenges, as well as a sense of transformation.  This can therefore be a time where we experience feelings of isolation, despair and inner turmoil as we review the past year and determine what needs to change.

It’s the perfect opportunity to delve deep into ourselves, to review old out-dated patterns, process deep emotions and understand our needs at this time, so we can move forwards on our own personal journey.

 

 

This is the turning point…

 

Since winter is all about locking energy in, know that this deep hibernation of power during these cold and dark months, will later awaken as a rebirth and renewal in the Spring.  There is a promise of the coming Sun and warmth that we absolutely can rely on.  This increase in light will continue to fuel faith, trust and confidence in our dreams and desires.

So….

Where are YOU at this Winter Solstice?

What needs to change?

Which parts of your life do you wish to bring more light into?

Why is this important for you?

How will this make you feel?

Remember the power of your FEELINGS!

For it is your feelings which determine your reality.

They are the powerful magnet that consistently attracts what you are experiencing into your life.

And this is why it is so pertinent and potentially transformational for you to delve deep and decide how you WANT to be feeling for this next cycle.

Winter is referred to as the most feminine time of the year not only because it tunes us into our inner most feelings as we naturally retreat inwards both physically and energetically (like nature does at this time), but because it symbolically takes us deep beneath the surface of the conscious mind, and into the vistas of the subconscious, into the shadows and darkness.  Here lies the key to unlocking the depth of meaning behind our feelings.  Here lies the wisdom.

Notice the emotional patterns that play out in your life on the conscious level and know that you have the power to transform them, but you may need to dig deep.

If we don’t take the time to slow down and take it easy, to consciously go “within” to honour and acknowledge our feelings, including the underlying wounds they stem from, then this can manifest as depression (anger, exhaustion and frustration turned inwards at the self, rather than taking time out for self).   It’s also important to note that the subsequent lack of sunlight during winter depletes our serotonin levels which affects our ‘happy vibe’.  Other ways we can increase our happy hormone levels when there is reduced sunlight include:  exercise, happy & positive thoughts and a diet high in Tryptophan, which is an essential amino acid required to produce the neurotransmitters of serotonin and melatonin.  This amino acid specifically influences our mood and sleep.  So if you find yourself being a grumpy-bum at the moment, start to include more of these foods into your diet:

• Poultry – chicken, turkey
• Fish – salmon, tuna
• Omega 3 fatty acids
• Dairy – eggs (especially the yoke), cheese, yoghurt, milk
• Seeds – pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds
• Nuts – especially peanuts
• Fruits – dates and bananas
• Other – tofu, oats

 

Stress can also be a factor of not taking the time out for self.  Stress affects the nervous system.  The nervous system and the immune system go hand in hand – which is why people get sick when they are stressed.  And in winter, we can be more prone to sickness if we do not take these physical, emotional and mental precautions.

We need to:

• Slow down
• Eat nutritious warming seasonal foods and liquids
• Stretch and warm the body with gentle exercise plus walking
• Enjoy indoor activities; a bath, cosying up, reading, watching movies, board games, jigsaw puzzles
• Take immune stimulant herbs (I use a blend of olive leaf, echinacea, astragalus, horehound, garlic, licorice, thyme, cats claw, sage, red clover and eyebright.)
• Take Vitamins A, C, E as well as Zinc
• Probiotics for a balanced gut flora & health

 

 

Mother Earth as Our Guide – The Story of Demeter

Recognizing that we are cyclical beings can help us move through the winter season with a greater sense of clarity and faith.   And we can look to nature for greater insight as a guide as to how to gain the maximum benefits during this time on the seasonal wheel.  As Mother Earth rests, she gives us permission to do the same.

And though it may appear She is barren, lifeless and has nothing to offer, beneath Her surface, there is a gestation going on.  Something of great importance is occurring beneath the soil and within the bare trunks of those trees with their leafless, seemingly dead branches.  And you will see it at the beginning of August, when the first growth starts to emerge – stronger and more determined than last year, where the energy gathered during the hibernation cycle helped produce a healthier and more resilient specimen.

Just as Winter can do that for you too dear one.

Make time to take stock of what is no longer serving you, and let it go, so that you can move forwards with lighter energy.  It’s about shedding the old ways that just don’t serve us any longer.  It’s realising we have out-grown some parts of ourself, and being okay with that.  When we do this, magical and wonderous things start to happen in our life, because we have created the space for the new to enter.  Letting go infact, is a conscious decision to allow something new into our world.

And this ought to be celebrated!

 

The Story of Demeter and her Daughter Persephone

The Greek myth of Demeter and Persephone symbolizes the changing seasons through this ancient story of the Harvest Goddess and her daughter.

In the ancient world, Demeter was worshipped as a deity who represented the feminine power that is within the Earth herself.  She presided over bountiful harvests and was celebrated late in Summer when the crops were harvested as it was believed that it was she who ripened it for the picking.  She ruled the cycles of nature as well as all growing life forms, especially the gestation and birth of new life.

Demeter lived with her daughter Persephone, in ancient Greece, where she raised her with a healthy balance of knowledge and wisdom between understanding the gifts and fruits of each season, and how to care for those in need within her community.  All was calm and bright and loving in the world, until Persephone grew from a child into a young maiden, where one day, Hades, the God of the Underworld kidnapped her and held her captive deep beneath the surface of the Earth.

Wrought with grief, Demeter approached the God Zeus, who was the father of Persephone, and begged him to command Hades to release her.  Instead, Zeus decided it was best that Persephone stay with Hades, being that she was no longer a child, and it was a necessary step for the girl’s individuation from her mother.  Persephone would become the Queen of the Underworld, alongside Hades, and there she would stay.

This decision sent Demeter into a wild rage, where over consecutive months of searching for signs of her daughter, turned into deep grief and sorrow, affecting her entire energy and disposition.   Her energy was depleted, her frame weak and stooped, and she had incredible weight loss from all that walking and searching.  This caused the lands to become barren where crops were failing.

While away on her search, Demeter neglected her agricultural duties, causing the Earth to become barren and leading to Winter.  This famine concerned Zeus since all that he created was being threatened without her input, so he sorted a deal with Hades to release Persephone from the Underworld.

During her stay down there however, Persephone had eaten six seeds from the pomegranate fruit, which meant that she must reside for six months of every year in the Underworld, and could return to Demeter for the rest of the other six months of the year.

The time that Persephone spends with Demeter is the Spring and the Summer, when the Earth shows signs of its new growth and begins to flourish.  It then reaches full bloom and the harvest then follows.

The time Persephone spends in the Underworld with Hades is the Autumn and Winter, when the Earth is letting go, the days growing shorter, the cold setting in, with it becoming bleak, barren and desolate.

 

We are here now, in the depths of that barren land, dealing with our own stuff…

knowing that we are exactly where we are meant to be…

in the thick of it all…

gleaning the sparkles of wisdom from deep within…

so while you are are here,

if only for a short while,

take a moment to breathe into your centre,

and pay attention to any parts of you that are crying out to be acknowledged,

for they will be your key to helping you heal and transform.

 

The myth of Demeter and Persephone not only explores the seasonal symbolism, but also reflects themes of motherhood, loss, grief as well as the cycle of life, death and rebirth.

Be gentle with you as you go through this natural process.

And remember,

As the seasonal wheel shifts, the cycle changes when Persephone is released,

and the emerging Spring energy will offer us a new opportunity for growth and renewal.

 

The Dance of the Feminine & Masculine

With myths and stories of Goddesses throughout history being portrayed as the presiders over the Earth, with all that is natural and life sustaining; the land, the waters, the vegetation and all life from the tiniest insect to the largest mammal, there are also myths and stories that portray the Sun as the masculine energy, and revered as a God.  Without Him, Mother Earth could not sustain herself.  The dance between the two is imperative for survival on this planet, and like any healthy relationship its a combination of courtship, togetherness, intimacy as well as time alone for self.  The courtship between the Earth and the Sun occurs at the cross quarter seasonal vortex directly between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox, referred to as Imbolc in Pagan traditions and symbolizing the gradual return of warmth and light.  The Earth Maiden and the young Sun God begin their dance here, and at Summer Solstice the Maiden has transformed into a Goddess, pregnant and in full bloom, and the Sun God has reached his climax of shining as brightly as he can.  The proceeding season of Autumn depicts the Sun God declining in power, and then Winter reflects his period of rest, and even death.  Some cultures see it as the Sun having transitioned into another realm, or a period of rejuvenation before returning in the Spring time.

It’s important to note here that light verses dark or good verses evil, is also one of the most ancient mythological dualities ever known.  For example, the Egyptian Sun God, Horus from 3000 BC representing the light of the world, had an enemy named Set, who was the personification of the darkness or night.  And metaphorically speaking every morning Horus would win the battle against Set, while in the evening Set would conquer Horus and send him into the underworld.

As we know, this duality ideology is still expressed on many levels today.

The Sun God Returns

It is astounding to learn of similar stories throughout history which depict the same Winter Solstice narrative, one that we still hear within the current religious systems.

And it goes back 10,000 years, from what archeologists have discovered, to just after the younger-dryas period.

From this time, history is abundant with evidence of people’s respect and adoration for the sun.  Each day the Sun was honoured for its vision, warmth and security that it brought.  It was a welcoming comfort from the cold, blindness and predators of the night, without it the crops would not survive and therefore, either would life – the Sun was the most important and adorned of all time.  Therefore the shortening of the days and the dying off of the crops approaching Winter Solstice, were symbolized as death.  The death of the Sun God.

Together with their knowledge of the Sun’s cycle, people then were also aware of the movement of the Stars.  They could recognise and anticipate events, such as the eclipses, new moons and full moons.

They classified stars into celestial groups that we now know of as constellations.

And they were familiar with the “Cross of the Zodiac”, one of the oldest conceptual images in human history.  It reflects the sun as it moves through the twelve constellations over the course of a year/12 month cycle, as well as the four seasons, solstices and equinoxes.

Zodiac Images were personified as people or animals.  The people of these earlier civilizations didn’t just follow the sun and stars, they actually personified them with elaborate myths of their movement and relationships.

The Sun with its life giving and saving qualities was personified as a representative of the unseen creator or God, God’s son/sun, the light of the world, the saviour of human kind.

I bet this is all sounding familiar, right?

But wait, there’s more…

Likewise, the 12 constellations represented the travel guide for God’s sun, and were identified by names, usually representing elements of nature that happened during that period of time.  Today we know them as the twelve signs of the zodiac.  (Aries through to Pisces all have their own constellation from whence they originated as well as a symbol of representation).  Christianity has adopted this and created a story about Jesus and his twelve disciples with whom he travels about with.  Actually, Jesus represents the Sun God, and his twelve disciples represent the twelve constellations that he travels about with.

 

When reading the following historical notes, please keep in mind that these stories originate from the Northern Hemisphere where the 21st December marks Winter Solstice.

 

The Story of Horus  (Egypt, 3000 BC)

• Born on December 25^th of the Virgin Isis-Mary
• His birth was accompanied by a star in the East, which in turn 3 kings followed to locate and adorn the new born saviour
• At the age of 12 he was a prodigal child teacher
• At the age of 30 he was baptized by a figure known as Adupp and thus began his ministry
• Horus had 12 disciples he travelled about with performing miracles such as healing the sick and walking on water
• Horus was known by many gestural names such as The Truth, The Light, God’s Anointed son, The Good Shepherd, the Lamb of God, amongst others.
• After being betrayed by Typhon, Horus was crucified, buried for 3 days and thus resurrected.

 

Other Gods throughout history have also had a familiar story with the same general mythological structure…

Attis of Fridgea  (Greece, 1200 BC)

• born of the virgin Inanna on Dec 25^th
• crucified
• placed in a tomb
• dead for 3 days
• then resurrected

 

Mithra  (Persia, 1200 BC)

• born of a virgin on Dec 25^th
• He had 12 disciples and performed miracles
• Upon his death was buried for 3 days
• And thus resurrected
• He was also referred to as The Truth, The Light, and many others
• The sacred day of worhip for Mithra was “Sunday”

 

Krishna  (India, 900 BC)

• Born of the virgin Devaki,
• With a star in the east, signalling his coming
• He performed miracles with his disciples
• Upon his death, was resurrected

 

Dionysis  (Greece, 500 BC)

• Born of a virgin
• On Dec 25^th
• Was a travelling teacher who performed miracles such as turning water into wine
• Referred to as the “King of Kings”, Gods only begotten sun, the Alpha and Omega, and many others
• And upon his death, he was resurrected

 

And the most recent of the Solar Messiahs…

Jesus Christ  (Bethlehem, approximately 1 BC – 1 AD)

• Born of a virgin mother, Mary on Dec 25^th
• His birth was announced by a star in the east
• Which 3 kings or magi followed to locate and adorn the new saviour
• Child teacher at 12
• At 30 yrs of age he was baptized by John the Baptist, and thus began his ministry
• Jesus had 12 disciples which he travelled about with, performing miracles such as healing the sick, walking on water, raising the dead,
• Also known as King of Kings, Light of the world, Son of God, Alpha and Omega, Lamb of God, and many many others.
• He was betrayed by his disciple Judas, and sold for 30 pieces of silver, was crucified
• Placed in a tomb for 3 days
• Was then resurrected
• And ascended into heaven

 

The Birth Sequence is Astrological

1. The Star in the East is Sirius, the brightest star, which on Dec 24 align’s with the 3 brightest stars on Orion’s Belt, referred to in ancient times, as the 3 KINGS.
2. The brightest star and the 3 Kings align and all point to the sun rise on Dec 25^th.  ie) The 3 Kings follow the star in the East in order to locate the Sun Rise, the birth of the sun, the birth of God’s Sun at Winter Solstice.
3. The Virgin Mary represents the star constellation Virgo – also known as Virgo the Virgin.
4. The ancient glyph for Virgo is the altered ‘M’, this is why Mary, along with other virgin mothers had names beginning with “M”. –Myrra – Adonos’ mother, Maya – Budha’s mother. They begin with an “M”
5. Constellation of Virgo was also known as “The House of Bread” – represented by a virgin holding a sheath of wheat.  This house of bread and symbol of wheat represents the months of August and September (Northern Hemisphere), at the time of harvest.
6. Bethlehem literally translates to “House of Bread”.  Bethlehem is thus a reference to the constellation of Virgo, – a place in the sky – not on Earth!

 

 

The date of December 22^nd in the Northern Hemisphere is when the Sun’s demise is fully realised.  The Sun has moved south for 6 months and is at its lowest point in the sky.  Here a curious thing occurs – the Sun stops moving south, at least perceivably, for 3 days.  (Dec 22, 23 & 24).  Here the sun resides in the vicinity of the “Southern Cross” or CRUX constellation, and after this time, on Dec 25^th, the sun moves 1 degree, and this time North, forshadowing longer days, warmth, and spring.

And thus it was said, The SUN died on the CROSS, was DEAD for THREE DAYS, only to be RESURRECTED/BORN AGAIN.

This is why Jesus along with other Sun Gods are represented with the crucifiction/3 day resurrection concept.  Jesus, representing the Sun God is depicted in front of the Zodiac Cross, as in the image above.

It is actually the Sun’s transition period, before it shifts it’s direction back into the northern hemisphere bringing Spring, and thus salvation!

However, the resurrection of the Sun is not celebrated until the Spring Equinox, or Easter.  This is because at the Spring Equinox the Sun officially overrides the “evil darkness”, as the days become longer in duration than the night, and the revitalising signs of spring emerge.

 

It is mind blowing to me that the truth behind our modern religious sects lies in ancient metaphors which simply describe the cycles of the seasons.  To think that so much distortion of the truth has occurred, resulting in thousands of wars throughout the centuries, well it just breaks my heart.  Men fighting for their God, in the name of God, against another faction who also claims the same heroic purpose!

It seems like complete chaos to me…

 

The duality of Light and Dark certainly play out in interesting ways, that is for sure.

In today’s modern world, we are witness to the duality of “dark and light” playing out symbolically in their reflection of the “ego verses the heart”.  Egos that are vying for their version of power over others, fuelled by fear and the subsequent need for control and domination can be seen across the world stage.

We may also feel this play out in our own personal lives, where our ego gets in the way of us living our best life.  It’s important to note here, that the ego gets set up in the first seven years of a child’s life – and believes it is protecting that person from getting hurt.  The problem occurs when that child grows into an adult and those patterns that the ego set up to protect them with initially, just aren’t appropriate or working anymore.  The balance will come as the feminine wisdom of the heart is activated, and redirects the ego’s filters to protect in better and more constructive ways that are in alignment with our highest good and the good of all life everywhere.

Imagine if every being across the globe could heal and transform like this…

Since we are all connected, the leaps in consciousness would be phenomenal!

 

So, this Winter Solstice, why not delve deep into your own self and begin shifting that ego now!

Simple Ritual Idea

What you will need:

• 2 x candles (one to represent the past, and one for the future)
• Pen & paper
• Fire proof dish

1. On a piece of paper write out what you need to let go of and why.
2. Read it out loud and then burn it in the fire proof dish
3. Blow out that candle as a symbolic gesture of closing that energy down
4. On another piece of paper write out what you desire to create from here-on (be specific, and involve your senses so the Universe understands what you mean ie) how does it look, feel, sound, taste and smell when you imagine yourself to be where you want to be?)
5. Light the new candle representing the future and recite out loud your new intentions, giving thanks that all is now manifesting in alignment with your highest good and the good of all life everywhere.  And So It Is.
6. Place your intentions on your altar and know that the increasing light starting from 25th June will continue to feed warmth, confidence, faith and trust into this and all your thoughts, visions & creations.

 

 

Winter Solstice marks a turning point,

Are you ready to rise with the coming Sun?

 

Let us emerge together and help remind each other, that there are indeed, brighter days ahead!

On the 25th June, here in the Southern Hemisphere, the Sun God will move one degree towards ascension.

He is rising…

 

I am your sparkle today, shining into your world as a reflection of your own sparkly and divine self!

You. Are. Awesome!

 

Keep rising!!

 

Wishing you and your family a beautiful and meaningful Winter Solstice!

 

Big Love,

Amanda

XxxXxxX