Winter is a wonderful time to hear and tell stories or poems. During our last Winter Solstice celebration we each brought stories and poems to share as we nestled in blankets and pillows. Follow the links below to discover the perfect poem or story for your next celebration.
It used to be that you could click on the titles in this Table of Contents and it would jump down to the article on the page. But it's not working, so, you'll have to scroll down to find them.
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Poetry: Table of Contents
1. Winter Solstice Group Poem 2014
2. Poem by Chief Dan George 3. Yule Author Unknown 4. Winter Solstice Author Unknown 5. Lucina Author Unknown 6. Pulsing Indigo Now by Cathy Caspar 7. The Shortest Day by Susan Cooper |
Short Stories Table of Contents
1. "She Unnames Them", by Ursula Le Guin 2. Miracles, Author Unknown-A child tries to buy a miracle. |
Links to other Web Sites
1. Yule Faeries Author Unknown |
Click on the title to go to the full text.
1. Winter Solstice Group Poem- 2014
(Created during our Winter Solstice ceremony; each woman wrote her response to the question, then we dropped our papers in a basket and the poem was created and read.)
What nourishes my spirit in the womb of the winter…?
The dancing light of the fire stirs my passions
The love and warmth of family and friends
The comfort of knowing I am loved and love myself...
(Created during our Winter Solstice ceremony; each woman wrote her response to the question, then we dropped our papers in a basket and the poem was created and read.)
What nourishes my spirit in the womb of the winter…?
The dancing light of the fire stirs my passions
The love and warmth of family and friends
The comfort of knowing I am loved and love myself...
2. Poem
by Chief Dan George
The beauty of the trees,
the softness of the air,
the fragrance of the grass
speaks to me...
The beauty of the trees,
the softness of the air,
the fragrance of the grass
speaks to me...
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5. LUCINA
Lucina, goddess of light, Come to your daughters. Mother above, heaven shining All faces turn toward the sun. Remember us In the turning of the wheel. We call to you, Return! Mother below, quiet and deep, This is your time to sleep. Remember us In your winter’s dreaming. We call to you, Return |
This is the time for...(an uncited poem from 2002): A lovely poem that invites us to consider what "this is the time for..." It would be a nice way to open a ceremony. "In this time of the White Goddess it is time for entering the wilderness and seeking its magical strengths..."
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6. Pulsing Indigo Now by Cathy Caspar:
Now pulses forward, velvet black gives way to indigo, to lavender, to creamy blue. The events of the day nestled against themselves, so many petals tight in the bud. It's the nature of stars to release heat and light in streaming bursts. It's in the nature of planets to circle and spin, to give and take in their turning journey. It's in the nature of plants to open and blossom, to close in seed, to release fragrance and beauty. It's in our nature to set up and take down, to act out and go deep within; to go deeper within to find the precious state of awareness to celebrate the pulsing now.
Now pulses forward, velvet black gives way to indigo, to lavender, to creamy blue. The events of the day nestled against themselves, so many petals tight in the bud. It's the nature of stars to release heat and light in streaming bursts. It's in the nature of planets to circle and spin, to give and take in their turning journey. It's in the nature of plants to open and blossom, to close in seed, to release fragrance and beauty. It's in our nature to set up and take down, to act out and go deep within; to go deeper within to find the precious state of awareness to celebrate the pulsing now.
7. The Shortest Day by Susan Cooper:
And so the shortest day came and the year died / And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white world / Came people singing and dancing, / To drive the dark away. / They lighted candles in the winter trees...
And so the shortest day came and the year died / And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white world / Came people singing and dancing, / To drive the dark away. / They lighted candles in the winter trees...
Links to other websites with Winter Solstice stories or poems
1. Excerpt from "The Yule Faeries" - A Winter Solstice Story (author unknown)
"That is the great secret of the Winter Solstice." The Old Wise One touched the baby's cheek with her wrinkled hand. "Every year the Sun King must come to the sacred grove during the darkest days of winter where he dies. I take his spirit to the Mother who gives him new life again. This is the way for all creatures, not just the Sun King." For the full story go to: http://www.jamesclairlewis.com/pages/gremlin/solstice.html
"That is the great secret of the Winter Solstice." The Old Wise One touched the baby's cheek with her wrinkled hand. "Every year the Sun King must come to the sacred grove during the darkest days of winter where he dies. I take his spirit to the Mother who gives him new life again. This is the way for all creatures, not just the Sun King." For the full story go to: http://www.jamesclairlewis.com/pages/gremlin/solstice.html
2. She Unnames Them by Ursula K. Le Guin-The New Yorker, 21 January 1985
MOST of them accepted namelessness with the perfect indifference with which they had so long accepted and ignored their names. Whales and dolphins, seals and sea otters consented with particular alacrity, sliding into anonymity as into their element...
MOST of them accepted namelessness with the perfect indifference with which they had so long accepted and ignored their names. Whales and dolphins, seals and sea otters consented with particular alacrity, sliding into anonymity as into their element...
This story was introduced at our Yule Celebration 2002 by Julia. These are the words she used to introduce it. "...I'd like to share with you a modern day parable written by Ursula Le Guin. When I first read this story a few years ago, I was struck by how much this story represents the feeling of this time of year. To me, this time of year represents the time between death and life. Samhain, the time of death and Candlemas, the time when we set our intentions for the year to come. Followed by Spring Equinox and birth. In a sense this celebration is about the time in between incarnations, when one is pure spirit."
After she read the story, she ended this way:
"Unname. Unname yourself. Drop the name which is not yours. Drop the name which was given to you but which is not yours. Drop labels which have been put on you which are not yours. Drop images which have been put on you which are not yours. Let yourself be the pure spirit which is within."