into the bones of winter we go…

I’m sitting here by the fire watching the flames flicker and dance, listening to the Cailleach’s wind roar outside my window and screech down the chimney. When I close my eyes I’m transported to the dark winter nights of my childhood, the same sounds and smells are held at this hearth, the soft reassurance of a familiar dog breathes by my side, I can almost reach out and touch that little one that somehow still sits there even after all these years. The wind brings a quickening to my heart and sends a shudder of unease through my body, I’m unsure as to what is held in this wind tonight, uncertain of what lies in the darkness of this time for me, I’m not sure I’m brave enough to look.

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As the darkness builds to the long night of the solstice we are invited down into the shadows where the untamed parts of us live. The Cailleach’s stories are perhaps part of what is carried on this wind, a map to help us find our way, the fire whether it be a hearth fire or a candle forms a steady guide light of reassurance and connection to help us to stay on course, to hold with gentleness our own stories, to bear witness to our experience, to bring ourselves back home.

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I send out the light and warmth from my hearth to yours this wild and dark night. Hold steady in the dark, it’s often where we find our true, wild and beautiful self 🖤