To Know The Dark by Wendell Berry
To go in the dark with a light is to know the light.
To know the dark, go dark. Go without sight,
and find that the dark, too, blooms and sings,
and is travelled by dark feet and dark wings.
As we approach the winter solstice, the darkest time of the year, we often find ourselves at odds with the natural flow of slowed down energy that can only be found during these few weeks, as the days shrink, enveloped by the nights expansiveness, leaving us with only a few hours of diluted daylight. When our bodies want nothing more than to rest, our modern culture has created ways for us to speed up, rushing around in a whirlwind of consuming, ticking off lists, socialising, trying desperately to get everything completed at work before Christmas, running ourselves into the ground as we hurtle full throttle at what is supposed to be a rich and nourishing time.
You may enjoy the busyness of this time of year, and if so good luck to you, but for many, this can be a challenging time, until we reach a point around or just after Christmas when we hit the wall and our bodies give us no choice but to rest. Is it all worth it and is there another way?
As we follow the solar cycle, where the old year died 6 weeks ago at Samhain, the new cycle is now being reborn, as we welcome the return of the sun, or as Christianity has adopted, the son in the form of Jesus. The switch from the feminine to the masculine. For the solstice represents both the darkest period of the year and the place to welcome the return of the light, as we momentarily pause before setting off on a 6 month journey towards the summer solstice. So, the winter solstice is about both the dark and the light.
But if we’re rushing around do we ever really get to appreciate the darkness and the richness that it brings? The stillness amongst the madness? A place of being rather than doing? Time and space to go inwards? If we take time out now as approach the solstice then we don’t need to be pushing our energy levels towards burnout. Just a few minutes a day, stopping and really appreciating the qualities and nourishment of the darkness can make all the difference in giving us some respite from the busyness around us.
This time of year is when nature descends. The trees, having shed their leaves, go down into their roots, some mammals, fattened by their autumn feeding, descend into hibernation, embracing the stillness that comes with it. Nature doesn’t resist this descent like we do. And yet we are nature and so often it’s this resistance to slowing down that makes this time of year difficult, not the slower pace itself.
So, give yourself the gift of simply being, of silence, of feasting off the richness of the dark and then when the solstice comes, light a candle and celebrate the return of the light, of longer days, and eventually, the warmth. It may not come straight away but know that we have set off on this journey, as we do every year. And from this place it may feel easier to meet with loved ones, exchange gifts and celebrate the ever changing cycle that we all live within.
This is how we can align with the energies of the season and embrace the gifts it has to offer.
Yew, a guide to seek out at the Winter Solstice
There is a lot we can learn from the Yew tree, an evergreen whose berries traditionally represented colour during these barren months, displayed with decorations as a way of welcoming back the sun. The Yew lives for a very long time, with some trees older than Christianity itself. The Yew represents death and rebirth, letting go and releasing from the past, offering us renewal, resurrection and regeneration to our tired mind, body and spirit. The Yews ancient wisdom and knowing can offer us guidance in dark places.
The wood from Yews has been used by humans for thousands of years as wands, spears, bows and boats but remember that both the leaves and berries are poisonous to us.
Is there a Yew Tree near you that you can go and spend some time with, slowing down to the pace of a being that may have been here for hundreds, and sometimes thousands of years? If you research them you may be surprised at how near one is to where you are. Yews can often be found in churchyards, with the church and graveyards built around them, offering protection for both the dead and the living.
Beautiful!