Whether they thought so or not, it was a rather brilliant paring of events and Advent with its darkening days is good for the inner journeys we can take at this time of year. There are many things about the year 2016 that make for darkness though it is also the nature of the human condition at all times and we ought to embrace this marrying of pagan ritual and Christian tradition. Author Meg Casey expresses it beautifully by writing, “December is a holy month. Maybe it is the dark, silky silence that descends so early that speaks to me of reverence. Maybe it is the promise that December holds — that no matter how dark, how cold, how empty it can get, the light is coming back. Something always shifts in me when December arrives — I embrace the darkness, and am eager for the coming solstice when the whole world is still and holds its breath, waiting to be reborn again.”
It gives me hope to think that by the Solstice we are already turning the corner on dark days and despite some winter months ahead, the seeds of light buried in the dark soil are already aware that light is coming.