Wednesday 21 December 2022

A Winter Solstice simmer pot

 Hi all, hope you are all managing to find some calm amidst the rush, slow down, take a moment to enjoy the rhythm of nature & the gentle passing of the year ... 


We have reached our shortest day today - the Winter Solstice falls on the 21st December this year & we will have reached the tipping point of Winter.  It is a time I like to connect with nature & to just ground myself amidst the busyness of the festive season. 

This is how I have marked the solstice in previous years at home:  

2011 

2012 

2013 

2014 

2017 

it in 2018 

I am always reminded of the traditional things associated with midwinter - the Carol - In the Bleak midwinter .... 

Charles Dicken's story of A Christmas Carol with Ebenezer Scrooge etc

Of the Holly & the Ivy carol - traditional greenery brought in to the home at this time, a pagan tradition that is very apt as most people hang a fresh wreath on their front door & drape holly over picture frames etc. 

Crowds will once again gather at Stonehenge to witness the Winter Solstice as is traditional amongst the pagans here. It is a time honoured tradition ... 

This time I am minded to do a simmer pot to freshen the house with festive scents for Solstice - a sort of cleaning of the air. We do not use any artificial air fresheners so natural fragrances (pomanders, potpourri etc) 

I gathered sliced oranges, cloves, cinnamon sticks, sprigs of fresh rosemary & sage,  a few star anise, a whole nutmeg and a splash of vanilla & added them to a pot, covered the contents with water, brought it to a gentle simmer, then let the scent waft through the house. This is a traditional method. 

What spices or items would you add that remind you of mid Winter?  Tomorrow I will pick fresh hedgerow Holly & Ivy & bring it in to the house, probably humming a familiar carol as I do that ... 

Thank you for stopping by at this busy time, we have passed the darkest of our winter,  the light returns as every day it will become lighter again. 

Dee ~💕~

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