drive the dark away

The Winter Solstice is the longest night of the year, when the Earth tilts furthest from the Sun, creating a powerful energetic pause. 

The Winter Solstice has been celebrated for centuries across various cultures as a symbol of rebirth and renewal. 

an iconic Yuletide poem 

It represents a time when the darkness reaches its peak, marking winter's turning point. Days slowly begin to lengthen again, signaling the return of light. 

light box therapy for improved moods

Mental health professionals have used light-box therapy for decades to treat seasonal affective disorder (SAD), which leads to a low mood in winter but eases its depressing grip when the days get longer. 

HANNAH WHITAKER

New research indicates that the same therapy may be effective for other types of depression, including treatment-resistant depression and even bipolar depression. (Indeed, one recent study found that among patients hospitalized for depression, those in rooms facing southeast, which received the most light, were discharged an average of 30 days earlier than those in rooms facing northwest.) 

Researchers believe that the therapy, which involves sitting near a light box during morning hours, resets a disordered circadian rhythm, resulting in an improved mood.

winter solstice wisdom

Winter Solstice is the birthday of the Sun and of the year.

It is a time when we experience the greatest darkness, when the hours of darkness are so much greater than the hours of daylight.

It is within this time of greatest darkness that the Light of the World is reborn, for now the hours of daylight will begin to grow and the hours of darkness will lessen.

Danu the Mother Goddess

It is at Winter Solstice that the truth of our Oneness is most evident, for the darkness that we face is our own darkness and aloneness.

The Light becomes most precious as we realize that it is through the Light that we come to love and appreciate each other.

~ Cathy Pagano, Stories of the Earth:  8 Tales of the Wheel of the Year. 'Winter Solstice'.