Reminder to let go and strip naked

What truly counts and a gift from me to make the end of 2023 your most magical ending and intentional new beginning. I mean naked metaphorically, unless you are about to hop into the shower or sauna

Winter is here. The Crone Goddess arrived.

She calls her children into a transformative process.

She sheds her leafy clothes and with a long enduring breath, she blows out the light and sings her frosty lullaby.

Her soil becomes alchemical ground for decay.

Her heart beats the rhythm of an entranced slumber.

Her womb is the cauldron of death from which rebirth takes root.

When everything on the surface falls away, what is left of us?

Who are we when we allow our inner creature to appear?

WE ARE INVITED TO STRIP NAKED TO OUR CORE. To reveal our innocent light. To let the cold breath of the great goddess purify us.

The call to rest and inner reflection is loudly proclaimed as an important time to pause and nurture our inner worlds to discern which seeds that have been sown over the last year are taking root to prepare for blossoming in spring.

However, this is often easier said than done.

In a world that prioritises doing over being and preaches endless productivity without breaks, it can be challenging to retreat into winter's hibernation. I often notice a fear of falling behind or not meeting our own (tainted by society) standards. Yet, this starkly contrasts with the peaceful winter scenes on Christmas postcards.

The winter season offers a wonderful opportunity to return to love and trust when fear creeps in. Patience goes a long way.

Be emotionally brave.

Words written by my dear friend and artist and mother (she´s obv awesome) Antje with white colour on her kitchen window. Over which we had a conversation about the difference between brave and courageous.

It requires enduring doubt, discovering emotional bravery, and willingness to step out of the hamster wheel. A process that doesn't happen automatically but is guided by self-love and the acceptance of mistakes.

Be present instead of being a producer. Curiously explore the triggers that whisper you must do more instead of making yourself comfortable. Use the Winter Solstice as a time for introspection and allow yourself to dream and reflect in the sacred nights.

What if what you are truly asked to let go off is not your hindering beliefsystem or sluggish work ethic but the expectations put on yourself to keep functioning like a well maintained clock throughout all seasons.

Since electricity, technology and capitalism happened, we are not living seasonal anymore but are under pressure to function the same way all year round.

Especially as women it is against our nature to work all day, all month and all year in a way that doesn’t support our natural cycle and hormonal fluctuation. Even when the body is literally bleeding, we are forced (or, worse, we participate willingly) to take pain killers in order to keep going.

Imagine you would be able to rest and go deep within your inner winter cave. 

What magic would you be able to touch and nurture?

Which parts of your life can you pause, which ones can you care for more?

Where and how can you make space for stillness, silence and solitude?

Allow the goddess of winter, the wise crone whose eyes pierce through your surface effort to do, to strip you naked, so that you may catch a glimpse of your true self in the mirror image of barreness.

12 sacred nights for 12 sacred opportunities

I will tell you more about the significance of the oldest known festival - the Winter solstice - in my next email and will guide you through a time of divination and dreaming which is a traditional practice rooted in my german heritage.

This is a gift from me to you, as a thank you for your support, your community and to give you an insight about my end of your practice that I have been involved in throughout my life. In various ways over the years - as a child I certainly wasn´t swaying around the house smudging with incense but my son Fynn might soon xD.

May this time of introspection bring you insights, dreams and visions.

The 12 nights between Winter Solstice or Christmas (depending which date you want to start them) until the beginning of January are known as a TIME BETWEEN THE YEARS.

As a child I always thought that is because everyone is on holiday, shops usually closed and life seems to stop for Christmas movie days and New Years celebration (and lots of sleep to recover from it all). Now I know that between the years actually refers to the gap between the solar and lunar year.

This gap is a liminal time. A threshold to access otherworldy wisdom, connect to ancestors and spirits of past, present and future.

A time to reveal what has slumbered in your psyche, to surface what is lurking in your subconscious waters deep down below and to access dreams that want to shape your reality and bring visions forth to exist as co-creation with the divine.

I am so excited to guide you through the sacred nights of dreaming, explain the magical wish ritual and start intentional dreamwork.

If you are already subscribed, you will get daily short and sweet rituals and potent questions for further meditation, songs and suggestions for herbs to smudge with (or smell if you are an essential oil devotee) directly to your inbox, starting December 24th because I bet you are super busy before with prepping and traveling.

Disclaimer: there is no pressure, no right or wrong and no obligation!

You can start the sacred nights whenever it works for you or simply read a couple of emails for some inspiration. I urge you though to take at least 5 minutes each day to connect in with yourself - ESPECIALLY during family holidays. It will not only benefit your stress regulation and make space for magic to happen but also benefit those around you when you remain a calm centre and lead by example to embody this season of love, togetherness and celebration of the light returning

Exclusive invite to my Winter Solstice online cacao ceremony (and replay) on Dec 22nd at 4pm UK time

Everyone who purchases ceremonial cacao through my affiliate link here will get an exclusive invite to our Winter Solstice online cacao ceremony (and replay) on Dec 22nd.

You can also use the 12 sacred nights (and days) to indulge in your very own cacao dieta or immersion. Add my ritual guidance to your spiritual practice and to connect deeper with the sacred plant Theobroma Cacao, its spirit and yourself. Cacao is a wonderful facilitator for lucid dreaming, awake imagination and is a great ally to go within, practice focused introspection, deepened spiritual practice and enchanted presence.

Worldwide shipping from various warehouses (Europe, UK, US, Australia). When you purchase 5 blocks or more you get a cheaper price per block on top of my first time discount - great opportunity to gift the ultimate gift of love: Heart opening, healthy and focus enhancing chocolate!

https://www.keithscacao.com/discount/KAKAOZAUBER19DE21