All About the Winter Solstice

on making numerological magic this weekend!

When we recorded Call Your Coven’s December forecast way back in November, I had no idea just how spot on I would be about this month’s beautiful, but tricky energy of everything, everywhere, all at once. I also predicted this overall 11/2 month would bring forth many choices to make, but as the month has played out, I’ve realized that I neglected to foresee how this numeric combination would manifest as having to surrender to unexpected circumstances, practice patience and perseverance, and simply deal with not having a choice in the matter. If this has been your experience as well, I am holding your hand and brewing you a cup of something warm and yummy to drink.

Still, December 2024 is flying by and soon it will be January 2025. We are spinning through the final lessons of this eight (8) collective year, and preparing for all that the nine (9) year will bring. We are sifting and sorting and wrapping things up, and perhaps preparing for holidays and travels and gatherings big and small.

But first, because time is fickle and relentless, this weekend brings us another turn of the wheel, and another seasonal threshold to cross—the winter solstice.

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Photo by Pigoff PhotographY on Unsplash

Happening this Saturday, December 21st, the winter solstice, also known as the hibernal solstice, marks the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. From the Latin solstitium, meaning the “point at which the sun seems to stand still,” this uneven day sees the Sun’s most succinct path in the sky (due to the tilt of the Earth’s axis), which results in the year’s longest and darkest night.

While the widening gyre of capitalism demands a continous schedule of labor and production, the winter season ushers in a natural slowing, a steady march towards sleep and death, and a chance to rest and (hopefully) relax. And even though the necropolitics of the colonial West fuel machines of war, famine, and the extinguishing of life and diversity, it promotes and practices a culture that is quite death-averse. So it’s no wonder that the deep darkness of winter has become synonymous with danger and destruction.

However, the pagan roots of the winter solstice remind us that this seasonal shift is actually an opportunity to reconnect to the radical and reasonable rhythms of the land. As Yasmina Floyer writes for Cunning Folk Magazine, “Darkness brings connotations of malevolence, but it can also be nurturing and replenishing. It is the soil that holds bulbs and seeds deep within its belly until they are ready to split come spring. It is the depth that we sink into each night when we close our eyes.”¹

Themes of the winter solstice include rest and reflection, renewal and rebirth, taking stock and giving thanks, and trusting that slowly, but surely the light will return. It invites us to sit in our own depth and darnkess, in order to both practice the art of surrender and release, and build strength and resilience. Light the good candles, brew a cup of something cozy, and call upon your nearest and dearest as we venture into deep winter and the new year ahead.

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A NOTE ON YULE: From the Old English geól, and the Old Norse jól (a heathen feast that lasts twelve days), Yule is a midwinter celebration with roots in Nordic, Celtic and Germanic traditions. It is also included in The Witch’s Wheel of the Year, which encompasses the yearly cycle of the eight festivals, or sabbats: the solar equinoxes and solstices, plus the midway points between them. Though it has roots in many schools of religious and secular thought, the Wheel as we know it today was dictated by neopagans and Wiccans in the 1970s. Like the Gregorian calendar, it’s a man-made amalgamation of various themes and traditions, which we can still work with in our magical practices. If the Wheel speaks to you, Yule is the festival that falls on the winter solstice.

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ICYMI:

💍: Marriage By the Numbers: Planning Your Wedding Using Numerology
📆: DAILY DIGITS: A 2025 Agenda for Magical Makers
🎧: Call Your Coven: December 2024: Hope Is in Community

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NUMEROLOGY + THE WINTER SOLSTICE

To work with the most precise number magic of the winter solstice each year, you’ll need to calculate the numeric energies present on that specific day(s) by adding the month and the day to the current year, and reducing until you get a single digit.

THE WINTER SOLSTICE 2024 — 12/21/2024

December 21 (1+2+2+1) is a palindrome and a 6 day, which rules gentle growth and expansion, nurturing and caretaking, family, resposibility, boundaries, and moving with ease and grace.

December 21, 2024 (1+2+2+1+2+0+2+4) is an overall 14/5 day, which is represented by Temperance in the tarot, and offers us a moment to gather with earthly and otherworldly kin, embrace radical change with empathy and understanding, and find shimmers of joy in even the hardest of times.

The winter solstice is a day to find hope in the darkness every year, but this year’s ruling combination of 5 and 6 energies are plunging us further into the depths of weathering messy storms through love in action. Let these numbers hold you when the going gets tough, and remind you that you are always deserving of tender love and care. When planning rituals or ceremonies, these numbers want you to use your most beloved and cherished magical tools, center your heart when casting spells, and even calling in your coven to help amplify your workings.

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Here are some additional ideas for crafting and observing the winter solstice from both a magical and numerological perspective. Consider how you could incorporate these items into your altar or ritual work, and get as creative and witchy as you want!

MUNDANE WINTER MAGIC

Light a candle on a windowsill • Make a seasonal simmer pot • Take an early morning walk in nature and collect fallen cones and leaves • Embrace change • Make a batch of something sweet and take them to a friend or neighbor • Wear your coziest sweater • Curl up with a cup of tea • Read something on your TBR list • Watch a nostalgic or comforting movie • Put out seasonally scented soaps • Pull out the biggest or warmest blankets or quilts • Tell someone you love them • Hang a wreath on the front door • Clean and bless your home • Expand your window of tolerance • Sing carols or songs that bring joy • Reflect on the year and look towards the new year ahead • Reconnect with a loved one you haven’t spoken to in a while • Hang mistletoe in a doorway and smooch with abandon • Give thanks • Draw a warm bath • Be open to recieve blessings from all directions

PRACTICES TO PILOT

• Burning of the Yule Log — Logs of oak have long been burnt in a ritual of good tidings and wishes for the winter season, as well as the new year ahead. If you have a fireplace, or even a firepit in the backyard, take a piece of old or found wood (don’t take from a living tree, as it’s seen as bad luck!), anoint it with seasonal herbs or oils (see below for ideas), and light it on solstice eve! If you feel so inclined, you can even write wishes or intentions on paper and tie them to the log to burn throughout the night.

• Exchanging of Gifts — Generosity and service are core values of the winter season, and a symbol of goodwill and light in the darkest of times. Old world rituals have evolved into modern traditions of presents under the tree and stockings hung by the fire, but don’t be afraid to get creative, sincere or practical with your gift exchanges. (PS. For the reader in your life, check out my favorite books of the year, or send them one of mine!)

• Hosting a Feast of Fools — Feasts and racous revelry were staples of midwinter in medieval England, in response to the strict rule of the Christian church. A ‘Lord of Misrule’ was named to keep a lid on the festivities, so pick your most responsible friend, or the most hospitable host, and plan a night of mirth and merriment!

Photo by krakenimages on Unsplash

FOOD FOR THE WINTER STORES — Garlic • Onions • Cinammon • Cardamom • Peppermint • Tea • Coffee • Cakes • Cookies • Citrus fruits • Wine • Ale or beer

COLORS TO GET CREATIVE WITH — Red • Forest green • White • Yellow • Black • Brown • Gold

PLANT PALS TO PLAY WITH — Holly • Mistletoe • Pine needles and cones • Oak • Cedar • Juniper • Fir

STONES TO ADORN YOURSELF WITH — Black obsidian • Citrine • Carnelian • Smoky quartz • Clear quartz • Lapis lazuli • Garnet • Amethyst

Mix and match. See what lights you up or gets you excited. Set an intention and ask for items, colors or crystals that wish to be included in your seasonal craft to make themselves known to you. Permission yourself to do what feels right and natural. It doesn’t have to be involved or picture perfect. It just has to be intentional.

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May you find peace and light in this deep, dark time of year. May you be surrounded by love, joy and whatever nourishment you need to fill your cup. May the waning of this year allow for you to bid farewell to all that you are ready to release. And may you enter into the coming year refreshed and renewed.

SENDING YOU ENDLESS BLESSINGS FOR THIS NEW SEASON AND THE NEW YEAR TO COME

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Until next time, just keep swimming!

xx, bee

1. Floyer, Yasmina. “To Everything a Season.” Cunning Folk Magazine. June 18, 2020.