We will stoke up the fire, heat up a big cauldron of veggie soup, toast our ‘Stockbrot’ over the flames and sip spice-laden drinks as we commune in keeping with the traditions of old…
Sign-up: via leonie@cityplot.org
We will provide: A crackling fire. A bubbling cauldron of hearty, winter soup. Supplies for ‘Stockbrot’. Mulled wine and punch. Hot chocolate. Community!
If you wish to partake in Winter Solstice Purification:
We will have a small area for people to reflect, connect with the Earth and to ask Her to purify what they feel is holding them back from being their true, authentic self.
Write on a piece of paper one word, or a short sentence, which best encapsulates what needs to be released for you. On a second piece of paper write a well-reflected intention for the year to follow. Consider carefully!
Roll them up and tie each with a (natural fibre) string. Bring this along with you on the day!
An idea for clearly marked ‘release’ from the year past and ‘intentions’ for the coming year. Here I have cut an A4 piece of paper into four pieces - so these are both A6 in size. No one will see these other than you, and they will be burned to activate the words.
Arrive: On the 13:07 train, or drive (more detailed instructions with sign-up via email).
Bring: Wear warm, winter clothing from top to toe. Blankets will not go amiss (we may not have one for everybody).
Costs: This celebration is on us!
For current information regarding more celebrations and workshops with Cityplot Berlin: Sign up for our Newsletter at the bottom of the page on www.cityplot.org
Ever since I can remember, I have always been fascinated by the solstices and equinoxes. The seasons, the cycles of the Earth, Cosmos and the celebration of these is a continual practice for me, as it is for many others - and has been since time immemorial.
The magic of the Brandenburg night sky…
Many moons ago in my own lifetime, when I left the Southern Cross for the Northern Skies, I realised how differently climate affects our bodies, minds, and emotions. Coming from a place where I could run barefoot for most months of the year and having seen something called snow but once in my life up until that point (a revelation, despite being barely visible) I met the Northern European Winter. Beginning officially on December 21 in these parts of the world, this date also strangely connected me to my birthday on the ‘Winter Solstice’ of the South (June 21). This day of birth also gave rise to the coming of a New Year in times past. The Germanic / Nordic peoples celebrated coming out of the dark and into the light, starting on the shortest day of the year. The ‘day’ therefore also commenced at sunset, and daybreak, at sunrise.
As the Northern European forebears gradually moved from the Lunar (approx. 354 day) to the Solar (365 day) calendar, these ‘days out of time’ gained specific significance. The forces of the sun and moon, which each affect us fundamentally differently, were therefore ‘balanced out’ between the years. With this in mind, it is easy to see why this period of time is both a phase of increased tension, as well as one for deep reflection.
This year - as an end to one year and beginning of another, we celebrate around the lake and fire at Wald&Wild. Water, the element of Winter, has a unique beauty at this time in the open landscape. Water’s traits are fluidity, and purification. It’s symbolic colour is blue, direction is West, and it represents the heart at its core. It connects us to our emotions, intuition, spirituality and the subconscious.
The Winter is a time for sharing, storytelling, gathering and community. In times past, the Winter Solstice marked the beginning of increasing daylight, yet also immense hardship - of keeping the spirits of darkness and untoward weather at bay - and although today less of us have the same concerns directly related to seasonal survival, we face them in a different manner. Thus, we light our outer and inner fires, and enjoy time together celebrating new cycles of life!
