Winter Solstice is the end of the Solar Year.  In the Northern Hemisphere it is marked by being the longest, darkest night of the year.  The days have been steadily growing shorter until they culminate in this time of darkness.

So it may appear in our lives that we are in the darkest time. 

We look outside of ourselves and see the chaos of a global economy readjusting and being shaken out of its stagnation.  And we are told this is a dark time.

We look inside of ourselves and see the frustration of our desires not manifesting as quickly as we’d like or in the way we thought they should.  And we feel this is a dark time.

In the dark is when the seeds of light are germinated.  It is in the dark of the earth that a seed, which is only the potential of life, transforms into something new and begins to grow.  It sends roots deep into the darkness even as it reaches shoots up to the light.  This act of nature of growing from the seed of potential to the fullness of maturity, is reflected in us and in our lives.  The dark, contrary to popular belief, is not necessarily evil or a place to be avoided.  The dark is a place where we can rest and regenerate.  It is where we plant our seeds of potential and it is where we are grounded to the physical world.  It is the balance and harmony of light.  Both the light of day and the dark of night is needed for us to be healthy.  We need the balance between activity and rest; of doing and Being; of acting and reflecting.  The dark gives us this balance of rest, of reflection, of Being, of creating. 

Even in this time of the longest night and the shortest day there is balance.  In the Southern Hemisphere, it is Summer Solstice, the longest day and the shortest night.  And a new cycle begins.  In the Northern Hemisphere, the days will begin to grow longer, while in the Southern hemisphere, the days will begin to grow shorter.

The physical world is one of cycles and so too is our life.  We can be in a cycle and spiral of expansion and growth, or one of contraction and stagnation.  Even in the contraction, of going within, we can find growth, for all of our life experiences we create are for our spiritual growth and evolvement. 

We create all of our life experiences, consciously and unconsciously.  Our conscious minds may be part of creating our reality.  Our subconscious minds, and more importantly, our Inner Beings or Souls, are always part of creating our life experiences and reality.  And our Souls always have that which is in our highest good as the prime directive, the prime motivation, for all that is created.  This includes those we deem or see as dark, not just the joyful ones. 

But we have the promise and assurance reflected in the world around us that life is a series of cycles, a spiral of growth.  We will not stay in the darkness we have created any longer than we need to learn the lessons or gain the life experience we desired when we created the dark situation.  Many times we do not realize this or recognize the lessons or gifts of our life experiences until later.  But there is always growth, learning, and gifts in every situation and life experience.  There are times when it is us giving a gift of learning to someone else.

Our lives follow a cycle from light to dark; happy to sad; good times to bad, just as the natural world around us does.  This is reflected in the solar year of the light and days growing longer and shorter; grower warmer then colder, then warmer again.  It is seen each month as the moon goes dark, grows to fullness, then wanes again into dark.  And in a broader sense, it is seen in the cycle of birth, life, death, and rebirth in the season and in ourselves. The gift we have from seeing these cycles of nature is knowing that whatever cycle we are in, it is just that – a cycle.  If we are down and in the dark, there is hope for light to return, for joy to fill our lives once again.  The darkness will pass.  The glowing dawn of a new day will appear on the horizon. 

Use this time of the ending of the Solar Year and the darkness to reflect on what you have accomplished, where you started and where you are now, and what you have learned and the gifts you have received from the life experience of the year.  Then in this darkness, plant the seeds of what you desire to be, do, and have in the coming Solar Year.  And with the dawn, the light returns, the earth is warmed and the seeds you have planted begin to germinate and sprout.  And new life experiences of growth are born.

May your new Year be filled with joyous life experiences and may you create in love, ease, joy and glory all that you desire!

Tora Moon

Reverend-Priestess and LightBearer

Founder of The Goddess Living

www.TheGoddessLiving.com

© Tora Moon, 2010;  All rights reserved.  This message may be shared with others in its entirety, provided the following is included:  “This message was channeled by Tora Moon and posted on her blogsite: www.TheGoddessLiving.info.  Tora Moon is the founder of The Goddess Living, a School, Store, and More… you can find out more at www.TheGoddessLiving.com”