In our world, seasons are caused by the axial tilt of the Earth and the Earth\u2019s revolution around the Sun. They can be measured and predicted with great precision. The weather in any given place varies from year to year \u2013 and the climate is changing \u2013 but we know that while winter will arrive on December 21 at 3:20 AM CST (this year \u2013 dates and times change slightly from year to year), spring will be here three months later, on March 20 at 4:01 AM CDT. Our astronomical winter begins this Saturday and we know exactly how long it will last.<\/p>\n
But a metaphorical winter begins on January 20, and we have no idea how cold it will get or how long it will last.<\/p>\n
The Winter Solstice is humanity\u2019s oldest holy day. We mark the longest night and celebrate the rebirth of the Sun, knowing that the longer days will eventually bring warmer weather and a renewal of life, even though the worst of winter is yet to come.<\/p>\n At its core, the Winter Solstice is a celebration of hope.<\/p>\n How do we celebrate hope at the solstice of this coming long winter?<\/p>\n The words of House Stark are \u201cwinter is coming.\u201d They serve as a reminder that no matter how long, pleasant, and secure a summer may be, sooner or later it will end. So prepare for winter now.<\/p>\n Hopefully you\u2019ve been doing that. We all knew this or something like it could happen. And let\u2019s face it: while the past four years have been substantially better than the four years before them, they haven\u2019t exactly been high summer \u2013 especially for those of us who live in red states.<\/p>\n If you haven\u2019t prepared \u2013 physically, financially, emotionally, spiritually \u2013 you still have a little time. For good or for ill, political change doesn\u2019t happen all at once. Except when it does<\/a>.<\/p>\n Doing something \u2013 anything \u2013 is better than doing nothing. Doing something exercises your agency and reminds you that you\u2019re not powerless, no matter the circumstances.<\/p>\n Forget about what you can\u2019t do. None of us can make Donald Trump not be President, and few of us can move out of the country. But all of us can do something to minimize his impact on our lives.<\/p>\n And doing what we can do is worth celebrating.<\/p>\n The stories of how our ancestors marked and celebrated the Winter Solstice always begin with \u201cthey gathered.\u201d They gathered to light candles and fires, to share food and drink, to tell stories, to honor their Gods and ancestors, to do divination.<\/p>\n They gathered.<\/p>\n Despite being about seven years behind on the Marvel Universe movies and shows, I really enjoyed Agatha All Along<\/em>. My favorite episode was the one where Lilia met with her mentor, who asked \u201care you rooted in nature? Are you nimble in your craft? Do you have a coven? What do you see?\u201d<\/p>\n Who\u2019s your coven?<\/p>\n You don\u2019t have to have an oathbound coven with your own book of shadows. You do need a small handful of people who can help with your magic and with your mundane life, who will be there for you \u2013 and who you\u2019ll be there for in return.<\/p>\n Other people are complicated and messy. Too many of us are afraid someone will tell us we\u2019re \u201cdoing it wrong.\u201d We\u2019ve been hurt in other groups.<\/p>\n And none of that changes the fact that we\u2019re not going to get through this coming long winter alone. Or at least, getting through it alone is going to be a lot more difficult and much less likely to succeed.<\/p>\n This Solstice, celebrate with others \u2013 even if you have to organize and host the celebration yourself.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t know how anyone who lived in the United States from 2017 through 2021 and saw how chaotically and destructively Donald Trump governed could vote for him again. No, I do know \u2013 they like chaos and destruction and they want more. And now they\u2019ve got it.<\/p>\n That said, who the President is doesn\u2019t completely control our lives. 2017 and 2018 were very good years for me, because I and those closest to me made them so. 2019 was not so good, and 2020 was awful for everyone. The worst of Trump\u2019s doings (his three Supreme Court nominations helping to overturn Roe v. Wade<\/em>) didn\u2019t become reality until he had been out of office for almost a year and a half.<\/p>\n This time his team is better organized. For all that Trump disavowed Project 2025, he\u2019s talking a lot about stuff that\u2019s in it, and nominating people who worked on it for powerful offices. \u201cIgnore him and live your life\u201d is still a good plan, but it\u2019s going to be harder this time than it was last time.<\/p>\n And some people who made it through last time won\u2019t make it through this time, particularly the most vulnerable among us.<\/p>\n Still, we have seen this particular flavor of winter before. And we saw it end (if barely<\/a>).<\/p>\n This coming long winter will end too.<\/p>\n Even in Westeros, spring eventually follows winter. It may take years \u2013 according to the lore George R.R. Martin wove into his novels, one winter lasted an entire generation. But eventually, spring came.<\/p>\n One day the winter we\u2019re about to begin will come to an end. Perhaps things will start to thaw after the 2026 midterm elections. Perhaps spring will come in 2028. Or perhaps the winter will continue, either because people continue to vote for the empty promises of MAGA under a different leader, or because Trump manages to carry through with his threat to \u201cterminate<\/a>\u201d the Constitution (to be clear \u2013 I think the odds on that happening are incredibly small. But I\u2019ve been wrong about so much about Trump I\u2019m not exactly confident in my projection).<\/p>\n Regardless of how long this winter turns out to be, someday spring will come.<\/p>\n And when it does, we will have to remember that the arrival of spring doesn\u2019t mean all is well. The land in spring may be warm and green but the harvest won\u2019t come until later in the year \u2013 until after the hard work of planting and tending is done.<\/p>\n But the celebration of the Winter Solstice is an act of hope, and we can be confident in our hope that whatever happens, it won\u2019t last forever.<\/p>\n May your Solstice be merry and bright.<\/p>\n Winter Solstice: Mourning the Dark, Celebrating the Light<\/a> (2023)<\/p>\n The First Solstice: A Story That Never Was But Is Again<\/a> (2021)<\/p>\n 8 Things to do for Winter Solstice as a Solitary Pagan<\/a> (2018)<\/p>\n Solstice Morning at Newgrange<\/a> (2015)<\/p>\n Stonehenge: Imagining the Winter Solstice<\/a> (2015)<\/p>\n![\"photo](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/243\/2024\/12\/coming-long-winter-02.03.22-scaled.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nWinter is coming \u2013 do something<\/h2>\n
Celebrations are best with others<\/h2>\n
We\u2019ve seen this winter before<\/h2>\n
Spring always follows winter<\/h2>\n
For Further Reading<\/h2>\n