Sync Up with the Winter Solstice!
*Our Southern Hemisphere friends are celebrating the Summer Solstice and longest day of the year.
In the Northern Hemisphere, the Winter Solstice — December 21st this year — marked the official beginning of Winter*.
On the Winter Solstice we experienced our shortest day of the year. In Washington, DC, for example, we had 9.5 hours of sunlight. (In March we’ll have about12 hours of sunlight a day, and June it will go up to almost 15 hours.)
This dark day can be a downer for sure. At the same time, it’s a great moment to consider —
What if we sync-up our bodies with the seasonal shifts?
Sync-up for Seasonal Success
Why pay attention to this moment of maximum darkness?
It’s a pretty cool paradox —
Connecting with the shortest days of the year can actually help us cope. The more we actively engage with this seasonal shift as our planet tilts away from the sun, the more our minds and bodies can adjust and sync up with nature’s rhythm and cycle.
The more we pay attention to the natural rhythms of our planet and environment, the easier it is for our bodies to sync up with the Winter season and recalibrate.
Me and My Shadow
Check out your noontime shadow. It’s a quick way to experience the shifting light.
Notice how long and stretched it is. This week, your shadow is the longest it will be all year!
Snap a pic and use it as your phone wallpaper for the next month.
Listen to “Me and My Shadow.” Here are YouTube links for –
A popular version sung by Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Junior
With a rooftop pinhole camera, photographer Jose Palma created a long-long-long exposure photograph (6 months/ 183 days / 4,392 hours) capturing the changing path of the sun between the summer and winter solstices in 2022.
Learn more at EarthSky.org.
The Dark Truth about the Winter Solstice
The Winter Solstice is Thursday, December 21, 2023, a few days before Christmas (which is no accident).
Its precise time — 10:27pm on the U.S. East Coast — is when the earth’s North Pole is farthest from the sun, and therefore provides us with the least amount of daylight hours.
Get your astronomy geek on! Check out —
2023 December solstice: All you need to know EarthSky.org
“Winter Solstice 2023: When Is It, And What Is It?” Farmers Almanac 2023
Ancient Indicators
Ancient cultures relied on the sun to survive and thrive. So needless to say they were directly engaged with, and reliant upon, the shifting sun and weather.
The Winter Solstice not only marked the actual turning point towards more sunlight, it represented hope and the promise of spring and more food. Rituals, decorations, and feasts celebrated this annual renewal and rebirth. (See my blog post, “Our Wondrous Rejuvenating Evergreens.”)
The Stonehenge Winter Solstice Experience
This legendary English circle of ancient stones holds many, many mysteries.
What’s the connection to the Winter and Summer Solstice? The Stonehenge creators placed the mammoth stones in an exact arrangement whereby the sun rises and sets in a dramatic fashion between specific stones marking these special days of sunlight extremes.
You can watch the dramatic rise of the sun between the stones on YouTube.
Your body will experience this early Winter sunrise even though you’re watching it on video!
Watch That Sky!
Not only that, there’s now a Stonehenge Skyscape with a LIVE feed. From a virtual compass in the smack dab middle of the great rocks, your cursor can navigate around the stones, including any inclement weather. Click on the “Skyscape” view to see the path of the sun, moon, and many planets. Click on the “Tour” view to learn more about the stones in context.
Thank you English Heritage historic sites!
Wishing you all the best as we transition out of 2023 and into 2024!
Creatively yours,
Suzanne Wright, MA
Artist
Certified Life Coach ADHD and Creativity Coach
Educator for Visual Arts and Wellbeing
Founder, Art Well 4 Life, LLC