This Winter Solstice is a special one, folks … it will not come again any time soon, and it is a magical window to fly through. It is a time of both letting go and ushering in- a time when the combination of the full moon, total eclipse and solstice is so powerful, that the energy of the three can literally catalyze instantaneous transformation in our beings- if we are willing to offer up what is old and say goodbye to it to make space for what is new, for what we wish for in our deepest hearts – what we ARE manifesting.
Michael Winn, a friend and colleague of my esteemed Master Teacher, Mantak Chia explains this extraordinary movement of the cosmos and how it can effect us if we find the courage to take the leap into the void …
<<The cosmic threesome is played here by Father Sun, Mother Earth, and daughter Moon. Their exact alignment during the eclipse creates an especially intense show for us by infusing their this triple force into the deep Yin Womb of Earth that opens up during Winter Solstice. The challenge is not to just witness the show, but capture its essence in our body, and thus speed our soul’s journey.
An eclipse is what I call a “post-natal void”. It is “emptiness manifested physically before our eyes”. Void spaces want to fill themselves, so they naturally and suddenly suck on any psychic forces in their path, a kind of subtle-body tornado. That’s why traditionally there was a lot of fear around eclipses. For those brave enough to whole-heartedly leap into this void space, it makes eclipses a fantastic opportunity to break out of old stuck patterns.
The psychic patterns literally get sucked into the post-natal void. IF we are aligned and willing, Nature pulls us into its temporary void at the same time that we push our stuff out. That moves stuff like nothing else you’ve tried by yourself, at other less auspicious times of the year.
Think of it as a Triple Whammy on your Most Vulnerable Day of the Year. Your inner self is dreamily sinking into the deep dark silent womb space of Solstice. Suddenly the Full Moon, Sun and Earth fuse their core beings to form a single powerful laser beam, a Dark Ecliptic Vortex that zaps you in the heart of your defenseless, surrendered stillness.
All you have to do is HAVE THE INTENTION to offer up your old psychic baggage, and the cosmic vacuum created by that Dark Beam will literally suck it right out of your hands and heart and disappear it – forever! The result is a fast re-birth, an opportunity to RAPIDLY CHANGE YOURSELF. But that is the most difficult thing in the world for humans in a physical body.
The secret is to align properly with these double dark forces and plant a seed intention at the right moment. So a more skilled adept is not just clearing out the old, but creating something new in this double void space.
Most of us have fears about entering into Darkness. But Winter Solstice exudes a special darkness. How is this night different from other nights of the year? Winter Solstice darkness is pregnant. It’s about to give birth to a shift in the planetary cycle, manifested as increased light. For six months the energy field of the northern hemisphere has been contracting. Now it will begin to expand, one photon at a time.
Some folks focus on the rebirth of light aspect. To me, it feels more true to focus on the dark cosmic womb that generates the light. It’s a play between the dark watery pre-natal underworld hidden inside Mother Earth/matter, and the fiery post-natal world lit by Father Sun/spirit. The Full Moon is their daughter. The Solstice Full Moon Eclipse sucks the two dimensions of matter and spirit together, as sun-moon embraces Earth. This alignment hasn’t happened for 382 years – since 1687!>>
In honor of this deep mother earth time, of primordial yin, I want to offer up the idea of practicing Yin Yoga in tribute to our beautiful, bounteous mother of all …
And I would also like to highlight the second section of the excerpt written by Michael Winn; Here is his Winter Solstice Ritual below.
I did it tonight, and it was very powerful. I gave myself over, body, mind and spirit to the all-pervasive, all-nourishing Mother- to the deepest, darkest, most rich blackness of the cosmos-I became star energy, the stuff that stars are made of– wisps of neutrons and protons and electrons spinning and drifting in an endless sea of oneness … and then, standing beside my love, we honored each of the four directions and sent out our intentions with qigong movements that carried our manifestations deep into the heart of the Life Force- into the vastness of the universe and its limitless possibilities.
Wishing everyone a beautiful, peaceful, inspiring and joyful Winter Solstice! Seize this auspicious moment- send your wishes out into the ethers! The energy of alignment is so powerful now … Full Moon, Total Eclipse and Solstice- see the illumination radiating through your heart and connecting all souls in the spirit of love and kindness~!
Blessings on this most potent and fecund of Winter Solstice moments- this moment will not come again in our lifetimes- surrender to the timeless, infinite flowing yin that surrounds us and keeps us alive …
In gratitude and wonder~
Michael Winn:
<<I suggest doing a Winter Solstice ceremony at the darkest moment – midnight – on Dec. 20, 21, or 22. The timing is so we can plant our seed-intention deep into the womb of darkness, at a moment when Mother Earth is most fertile and fecund. Farmers know well that if you plant by the new moon, the earth chi is stronger and your crops grow much bigger. (It’s not a superstition, but a fact supported by numerous studies).
Similarly, if like the farmer we plant a seed using ceremonial movement, a focused thought, a strong feeling, a color seen within and our breath released without – the Life Force will more
powerfully respond to our request. The Life Force will hear us more clearly,
because our intention has penetrated so deeply into the womb of Nature.
The Power of Physical Movement in Ritual. I feel the most powerful ceremony includes a ritual qigong (chi kung) form. The movement of the physical body invokes your deepest soul essence (jing) if you are deeply centered while moving. When you combine a movement ritual with specific intention, it becomes nei kung (neigong), or “internal skill in cultivating the life force”. You don’t have to know a qigong form. You can just face each direction, and make up your own movement. But I’ve found that doing the same qigong form every solstice/equinox is more powerful. Using the same form ”programs” and empowers your energy body to contact the yuan chi at those times. It helps to capture/embody the elusive yuan chi, which our polarized egos don’t want to notice because it threatens our illusory belief that our “self” is a separate island. Original Chi is boundary-less, so it challenges our belief that the energy we feel is uniquely ’mine,” under “my” control.
The key is to have a clear intention of what seed you want to plant deep within the Energy Body of Mother Earth for the upcoming year. Your request must be FOR YOURSELF ONLY, or your role within some larger or collective/group process. You cannot ask for someone else – that violates their free will. So ask for whatever it is YOU sincerely NEED (no superficial “wants”). You can ask for something very material and very specific (new car, house, job, partner, medical healing). You can also ask to birth some energetic healing process or a spiritual quality that will then grow throughout the entire year, supported by additional ceremonies at the other equinoxes and summer solstice.
Get clear on your intention BEFORE you practice your qigong ceremony, which is most powerful just before midnight on the night BEFORE the actual Solstice time. It’s a big event, so the ceremony will still be powerful the a day before or after, don’t sweat it. State your intention either out loud or mentally, send it to the four horizontal directions and to Heaven above and Earth below, and to the heart of Humanity within. I use toning of the Seven Sacred Vowels to intensify this transmission.
Phrase your intent in the “present tense”: say “My heart opens wide to love my partner more deeply”. If you say “My heart will open wide…,” you are postponing your intent into the indefinite future. Change always happens in the present moment. Important: Be Prepared to Accept the Consequences of Your Request! It may entail unexpected and unwelcome changes in your old psycic structure….which is often in the way of what you are asking for!
Then perform your qigong ceremony, holding the intention that the Life Force will help you birth that seed intention over the next year. For winter ceremony using improvised movements, I suggest you start facing East and rotate clockwise until you get the North, where you finish. If you are doing Primordial Tai Chi, start facing North as it will then end facing North. North is where you want to finally release your intention – the Dark Goddess of Birthing.
At the end of the movement ceremony, you can step into the center of your ceremonial space, still facing North, and call forth the Golden Dragon of the Center Direction of Earth (its dark core). Again release your intention, ask the Life Force or its agent, the Golden Dragon, to ascend from Earth to Heaven with your request.
If you want to make the ceremony even more powerful, prick your finger with a sewing needle to get a drop of blood at the end of your qigong ceremony. Blood carries the vibration of your deepest essence and that of all your ancestors. Dissolve the blood into a small bowl of spring water, re-state your intention while holding the bowl in front of your heart, and then (go outside if you ar e inside) pour the water onto the earth or into the sea or a stream, again mentally repeating your intention and releasing it to the larger chi field.
It’s very important that you RELEASE your intention to the larger field. You are surrendering to its power to make the change you’ve requested. You still have to do anything and everything possible “on the ground” to also make it happen; but now you will be supported by the Life Force in overcoming your resistance to it happening. Pouring your blood infused water signals to the Life Force that you are very serious about birthing your intent.
The truth is no one owns the chi field, and it is not controlled by
any one deity or external agent/God. It just IS. It is self-generating
and self-regulating. Everyone can use its abundance if we have the
skill to do it. We use it unconsciously all the time. But if we ask our genuine needs to be met, and
consciously use it to promote harmony and balance in our life, the Tao
will give us more chi to play with and show us the way.>>
