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Winter Solstice is a magical season that marks the journey from this year to the next, journeys of the spirit from one world to the next, and the magic of birth, death, and rebirth.
Throughout the world gods and goddesses of light were being born during the Winter Solstice. The Egyptian goddess Isis delivered Horus whose symbol was the winged Sun. As the personification of the “complete female”, Isis was called “The One Who Is All”, Isis Panthea (”Isis the All Goddess”), and the “Lady of Ten Thousand Names”. The goddess Isis, a moon goddess, gave birth to Horus, the god of the sun. Together, Isis and Horus created and sustained all life and were the saviors of their people. More than any other of the ancient Egyptian goddesses, Isis embodied the characteristics of all the lesser goddesses that preceded her. Isis became the model on which future generations of female deities in other cultures were to be based.
Mithras, the Unconquered Sun of Persia, was born during the solstice. The origin of the cult of Mithra dates from the time that the Hindus and Persians still formed one people, for the god Mithra occurs in the religion and the books of both races i.e. in the Vedas and in the Avesta. He was identified on the one hand with the sun, or Helios, on the other, with Apollo and Hermes. Mithra was originally conceived of as a kind of angel, a power of light who fights on the side of Ahura-Mazda (the Zoroastrian Lord of Wisdom).
Amaterasu, Goddess of the Sun in Japanese mythology, was a beautiful and compassionate goddess who ruled both the sun and the heavenly fields of rice that fed the Japanese people. She was also born during the Solstice. Uzume was a lesser goddess, responsible for laughter and revelry. The goddesses Amaterasu and Uzume teach us about the healing power of laughter and dance, and remind us that we can often find healing and wisdom in humor.
Rhea gave birth to Saturn (son of the Father of Time), Hera (Queen of the Olympian deities, goddess of marriage and birth) conceives Hephaestus, and Quetzalcoatl ( Aztec god of human sustenance, penitent, self-sacrifice, re-birth and butterflies) and Lucina (”Little Light”) also celebrate birthdays at this time. Lucia, saint or Goddess of Light, is honored from Italy to Sweden, crowned with candles to carry us through the darkness. The birth of Sarasvati, the Hindu goddess of knowledge and the Queen of Heaven, is also celebrated during Yule-tide.
In Greek mythology, Rhea is the mother of the gods. She is identified with mother goddess Cybele from Asia Minor and is also known as Rhea Cybele and Magna Mater (”Great Mother“). She was worshipped with orgiastic rites. Rhea is depicted between two lions or on a chariot pulled by lions.
In Northern Europe, the year’s longest night is called “Mother Night” for it was in darkness the goddess Frigga the goddess of love, marriage, and destiny labored to bring the Light to birth once more. A sky goddess, responsible for weaving the clouds (and therefore for sunshine and rain and the fertility of the crops), she was also responsible for weaving the fates. She was known as a ’seer’, one who knew the future though she could never change it. Her offspring was the Young Sun, Baldur, who controlled the sun and rain and brings fruitfulness to the fields, was born. Frigga’s blessing is invoked for all birthing women, and a white candle that last burned on the solstice is kept as a charm to provide a safe delivery. Frigga is credited with the development of runes as a tool for divination. Runes are stones marked with signs which, when selected, tell what “issues” you are currently confronting in your life and where you need to head to find the answers you seek.
Winter Solstice is also a time of plenty. The Hopi Kachinas return to the Earth during the solstice, and the Deer Mothers dance for the fertility of the earth. The hearth fires of Hestia (known as the Roman goddess Vesta) are quenched and then rekindled. The “first fruits” festival, Kwanzaa, is held to honor the seven major deities of Yoruba.
Dreams and Visions
And Winter Solstice is a time for visions. Rhiannon, a Welsh incarnation of Epona, the Celtic Mare Goddess, rides through the dreams of her people by night, transporting them to the place between the worlds where they can create their own visions, giving them a gift of what they need most, helping them to realize their dreams.
Winter Solstice is a magical season that marks the journey from this year to the next, journeys of the spirit from one world to the next, and the magic of birth, death, and rebirth.
This is the longest night of the year and this night we use our circle to travel back in time. We remember what the lengthening nights meant to an agrarian people in times before easy food storage, the very young, old and pregnant were at great risk in the winter. There were many who would die in the darkness. The light would come again to warm the land. The people developed calendars. They were able to determine the nights of the Solstices and Equinoxes. When the night of the change came it was cause for a great celebration.
We, too, celebrate the rebirth, of the Sun, the Winter Goddess/God within ourselves. Rosemary, fir and pine have been placed on the altar to remind us that our souls are “evergreen”. We take the time to write descriptions of our inner selves, and try to see ourselves as we are in the so-called “real world”. We look objectively at our attachments and aversions and write down the things of both worlds that hold us back from achieving our purpose. Then we examine the ways we can “break through” them. As we warm ourselves by the yule fire, we contemplate:
This is the Darkness of the womb. This is the time before time itself begins. We cast our circle, we call on the Winter Goddess to bring back the Light, to warm the earth again to fruitfulness; to enlighten us.
All Hail the Winter Goddess!
