It is mid January, and the world is grey today, with a magical cold softness, held in the now-damp air. Fallen leaves lie still, hiding mysteries that wait for spring, to be revealed in warmth and rain. I have reveled for a month in the pause that starts just before winter solstice, when Earth creates a container for the energy of darkness and cold here. It is a time of reflection, deep roots, and transforming in silence. I depend on it for health in the rest of the year like I depend on sleep for health each day. It is a time to indulge with abandon in the pleasures of warm throws, quiet dark, hot teas, and soft fireside conversations that reach deep. This rhythm of darkness and cold is one of earth’s rhythms on the prairie, and in these latitudes around the world. It is known by our cells, and held in our ancestral memories as a time of regeneration and community. It is a critical rhythm in the wheel of the year, when we can feed our inner wellsprings; yet it is unknown, or unengaged with, by many, many people.
We cannot wholly be disconnected from all of earth’s rhythms, or we would wither away, bereft of the unseen information streams between people, plant, and earth. But we collectively live out of harmony with some of them, and without conscious awareness of others, as if walking with someone who was a friend once, that we no longer acknowledge is there. Our cells, nervous systems and spirits miss those flows. It is clear from the awakening calling people to herbalism, shamanism and other pathways that connect us to earth, that we long to come again into harmony with the planet that is our home, and the other beings who live here. Doing that can affect our ability to heal in profound ways. This post begins a series of explorations about the rhythms of life that coordinate many of our biological and inner responses to our world, and without which we simply cannot get well. In these I will share a profile of the rhythms, herbs and practices that I find helpful in the journey.
The Rhythm of Winter
Even in this suburban spot on the prairie whose seasons have warmed through at least forty years of climate change, the energy of deep winter holds sway for a little longer. Without snow, without ice, but slow and cold for a little while yet, nourishing resilience in body and spirit that will feed vitality through the activity of the year. Now, in this last two weeks before the half-way place between Sunreturn and Equinox, there is still time to nurture the seeds of of the year’s work, before the time of quiet dark fades behind.
Deep Roots
One way to connect with the rhythm of winter is to — stop! Do nothing. Turn off the phone and feel the warmth of air on your skin and sense your heart beat. The heart is the organ of the 6th sense, long suppressed now; the seat of our clarity and intuition. Accessing this space in yourself often can help you override messages from the outer world, and clarify what you truly need and want — the realm of your heart’s longings. This simple exercise brings heart, nervous system and spirit together:
Heart Connection
Let go of your thoughts, and breathe in and out through your heart while cultivating a feeling of love for someone in your life. It can be a person, a pet, or the beings around you.
♦ See your inner Divine as a spark within.
♦ Imagine a bridge of light from that spark to your heart .
♦ Radiate love to yourself and the world for a minute, then sit in stillness.
Your own greatest wisdom emerges from silence.
Nourish Deeply
As the cold days roll on, melancholy can set in, especially if the days remain grey for long. That’s the time for nourishment with winter roots and broths. The energy of roots flows downward and is oh, so grounding. As they anchor the living plant, so they help to anchor us. Root energy supports inner work and the pensive inner reflections that are often part of winter. They are filled with micronutrients, antioxidants and minerals.
Vegetable broths that include a wide variety of vegetables along with mushrooms and seaweed, or bone broths made from clean, organic bones along with local greens and herbs are both nutrient dense foods that can form a base for soups in winter. Don’t you love the rich, taste of a soup on a cold day?
Here is a simple recipe that uses both
broth and roots for a warming, semi-sweet soup:
1 each small: golden beet, parsnip, burdock root.
1/2 cup onion, diced
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
3 cups vegetable stock
— or —
1 cup bone broth plus 2 cups chicken stock
A sprinkling of thyme, rosemary, sage, coriander and marjoram.
Sea salt and pepper to taste.
1-2 Tbs chia seed
dash of nutmeg
Chop and lightly saute all the roots in 1-2 Tbs olive oil. Add the broth / stock, salt and pepper. Simmer until roots are softer but not yet tender. Add the chia seed and herbs.
Cook until roots are tender and the soup has some body. Whole cream makes a nice addition to this in the bowl, if dairy is an option.
May you enjoy, and may the lingering days of winter offer you
time for wonder, and for regeneration.
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