Stoking the light of our inner hearth
A candle gazing ritual upon approaching the Winter Solstice.
We come upon the Winter Solstice on December 21st, in the northern hemisphere when we experience the longest night of the year. This has been historically celebrated across many cultures throughout time: Soyal, by the Hopi tribe in North America which includes rituals, prayers, and dances to usher in the Kachinas, spiritual beings believed to bring life and fertility. Lohri, a winter festival celebrated in the Punjab region of South Asia. Inti Raymi, or the Festival of the Sun, was a religious ceremony of the Inca Empire in Peru. And many more.
It is an astronomical marker by the earth’s axis and tilt furthest from the sun before the light returns and grows brighter again in the coming months. The solstice is symbolically and metaphorically an opportunity to turn and reflect on all that we may look to incubate and cultivate as we move into the stillness of Winter.
This past Saturday, I co-facilitated a day long retreat for twelve women in honor of this very notion in Woodstock, New York. The retreat was themed Tending To Our Inner Hearth. We reflected upon resources, writing prompts and dialogue in a safe and shared space of support for one another. Renee Rotkopf, my co-facilitator presented on the mythological Roman Goddess, Vesta and her prominence in the current astrological sky as the the keeper of the spiritual flame. She was considered one of the most important deities in ancient Roman religion, she protected the home and family and the temple dedicated in her honor was kept by the vestal virgins who kept the fire light. In each of our astrological birth chart, which is a map of our soul’s blueprint during this lifetime, we may locate our own Vesta in sign and elemental placement. Similar to how we may know the Sun sign we are born in, it is the same with Vesta. (Mine is in the air sign of Gemini and it quite fitting since I enjoy writing, communicating and engaging with others in many different conversations.)
In our group experience, we invoked our Vesta by meeting her on a visualization journey burning incense smoke of frankincense and copal and guided by the beat of a buffalo drum. This journey shaped each person’s intention for the season along with an aligned aromatic scent of essential oils and absolutes. The end result was a beautiful array of 12 gorgeous blends, each so unique and different. These blends were then finished into a body oil and candle. This was followed by an array of mind and body exercises both Renee and I co-taught to anchor into the nervous system through scent and sound.
It was such an honor to hold and create a sacred space and container to hold everyone’s hearth and intentions, during a time when it may be challenging to shine our inner light brightly. Sometimes it is necessary to let go into the dark for a period of time before emerging into light once again.
During the Solstice on Thursday, December 21st at 10:27PM EST, tune into the practice of candle gazing to stoke your own inner hearth:
Items you will need:
Your favorite essential oil.
A candle. (Vesta Ritual Candle by Root and Resin)
A Journal and pen. To record insights, inspiration and messages that may come to you during your ritual.
Begin by lighting your candle, set at eye level to your seat.
Place 1 - 2 drops of your favorite essential oil into your palms, cup over the face and breathe in deeply.
Shift your attention to the flame of your candle and focus on the flicker of the flame without blinking.
Allow the flame to fill your mind, heart, and body. Breathe in each flicker and take note of the sensations, thoughts, feelings, images that come up.
Once you have finished, record any insights that may have come up in your journal.
Offer gratitude to yourself for the moment and experience. (Always remember to blow the candle out to close).
A Candle Gazing Ritual also supports the calming of our nervous system and has the ability to reset the heart and mind from scatteredness, anxiety, and fear. The combination of scent and candle gazing as a meditation practice will also influence the limbic system, the part of the brain that is wired for stress response to quiet and calm down.
As we approach the year’s end, I want to take this opportunity to wish you and your beloved ones a very happy, healthy, and nourishing holiday season and into the new year. I will also be celebrating my birthday at the year’s end on December 31st.
Hi Cam,
This is really beautiful and I follow the concept of putting scents together for a specific intention! I love the image of the dropper bottles with different colors oils. Looks so fun, and something I'm doing but with carrier oils too. Wishing you a beautiful season of light and love!