How to Celebrate the Winter Solstice with your Shamanic Drum
The Winter Solstice marks the shortest day and the longest night of the year, a time for journeying into our inner darkness, connecting with our soul dream, and our vision for the year to come.
The Winter Solstice often falls on or around the 21st December, and is determined by the point at which the Earth’s poles reach their maximum tilt away from the Sun. This year, 2021, that point will be at 15:58 on the 21st December, though many will celebrate the sunrise on this day, as is tradition.
The Winter Solstice is a time of year that has been celebrated by peoples in these lands since prehistory; many of our ancient stone monuments are aligned with the Winter Solstice, including Newgrange and Stonehenge. It is believed that our ancestors celebrated the “rebirth of the Sun” at this time of year as a promise of renewal, that the days will get longer, the winter will pass and the crops and food will return.
Although a traditional time of celebration, within the land, much is still dormant. Many seeds from the year past continue to dream quietly in the earth, holding all their potential and energy for the year to come. The trees, too, hold their energy in their roots, after dropping their leaves and bringing their focus deep within.
Similarly, we move to our more introspective selves at this time of year. This invites moments of reflection, on the year past, and a consideration of what we would like to do, and how we would like to be, in the year to come. This introspective, reflective time is not something that is made easy by our busy modern lifestyles, and so it is helpful during this time to give it some focus and attention within your practice.
We have been sharing ways that we can work with our Shamanic Drums to connect with the magic and wisdom of the seasons and festivals, and this month, we continue with three ways that we can connect with the Winter Solstice.
In our regular drumming circles, we drum to connect and attune ourselves to the seasonal changes in the land, to remain connected and in tune with the wisdom and medicine each season brings. You can join us for our regular drum circles which we hold both online and in person. Click here for more information.
How to use our Shamanic Drums to connect with the season:
1. Drum up the sunrise
Just as our ancestors gathered at sites like Stonehenge, or other sacred places near them to see the sunrise on Winter Solstice morning, one way that you can work with your drum at Winter Solstice is to drum up the sunrise, and celebrate the Sun’s return, as a symbol of renewal and rebirth, by dedicating the energy raised by your round of drumming to the Solstice sunrise.
You may be able to travel to somewhere which has a great view of the sunrise, or you may want to stay closer to home this year, perhaps even picking a room in your home with a window facing in that direction.
Sit watching the approaching sunrise, and create a sacred space for yourself. Holding your prayers and intentions in mind, you may wish to start with a very steady drum rhythm, building up as the sun rises, or just let the energy and spirit of the moment guide the rhythm of your drum, to welcome and celebrate this time that has been so important to people of this land for thousands of years.
2. Journey to connect with your Winter's Dream
The Shamanic Journey is a practice where the rhythm of the Drum guides you into an inner visionary landscape, for guidance and healing. We often journey with an intention or a question, with the hope of meeting a spiritual being in this landscape to give us the answer or guidance that we need.
As this is a time of going within, and connecting with the soul dream, the shamanic journey can be a powerful practice to meet this dream and receive guidance and direction on ways forward. Call on the spirit of the season, and journey within, supported by your guides and allies.
If you are familiar with the practice of journeying, you can use the sound recording below to help you with your journey. If you would like to learn more about journeying, and how you can develop this practice for guidance and healing, take a look at our Shamanic Journeying online course, with recorded lessons that you can work through in your own time.
3. Drum for the year past and year to come
As Winter Solstice marks the point of death and rebirth in the wheel of the year - endings and new beginnings, this is a chance to drum with gratitude and reflection on the year past, and drum to welcome the gifts and opportunities of the year to come.
There are a number of ways that you can make these two rounds of drumming very personal. You could create a sacred space and sit, first, in silent reflection and meditation on the year past, or looking at photos and memories, before picking up your drum and dedicating a round of drumming to it. And then sitting in meditation on the dreams for the year, or sitting with something like a vision board, before starting a round of drumming to raise those energies and prayers.
Amid, what is otherwise a busy time with family and dinners, these all give an opportunity to ground into the spirit and wisdom of the season.
We hope you find this guide useful! Please share your experiences celebrating the Equinox with us either in the comment section below or on our social media @HeronDrumsUK.
Want to deepen your understanding of the Drum and learn more ways of working with it? Join one of our online courses.