Greetings, witchy siblings! My name is Lydia, I am an experienced, green, eclectic witch based in the Netherlands. My practice is very crafty, my path is a decidedly meandering one. Rituals and ceremonies are born from a bit of chaos magick, but I am not averse to designing and writing them out. My familiars are the Eurasian Jaybirds, hedgehogs, and frogs who guard my gardens. To put tea on the table, I write and illustrate.
I’m looking to connect to other pagans who embrace the diversity of love, identity, and cognition. The details of path and pantheon aren’t as important to me as a devotion to benevolence.
Today, I’m setting up for some rituals to embrace the return of the light. It’s a delightfully sunny day for it here, as if the world is inhaling a breath for the occasion.
How are you all celebrating? What sensations do you connect to the Winter solstice?
May the return of longer days bring serenity and renewal to you all.
Nice to meet you. I like how you said, “path and pantheon aren’t as important to me as devotion to benevolence”. Thank-you for voicing that!! I am not “celebrating”. I live with 4 grown men (all family) who are all non-believers in the craft. So, I’m on my own. I spend extra time in my devotions/oblations. Connecting with the Solstice? My birthday too, so a little preoccupied. Welcome to this site, I am sure we will learn from your experience.
A belated happy birthday! May that marking on your path bring perspective. And thank you for the warm welcome.
I have made a pact with some of my friends and family that I will join their Christmas if they join my Solstice. Which, for most, is an excuse to drop by and eat some fresh baked goods by candlelight.
Perhaps ‘celebrating’ isn’t the most accurate word for why and how we acknowledge the winter solstice? It does have a certain relief for me. Halfway out of the dark.
Thank-you for the wishes. I like your tit-for-tat on the celebrations. I do not care for cold weather, so I have always loved the “coziness” of winter. Even here in Vegas, I made sure to get an old house that still had a real fireplace. I used it for about 5 years, but having to leave the flue open overnight as to let the “smoldering smoke” out, proved to let too much cold air in. So, just yesterday, I thought about buying the fake burning wood, so it would at least look cozy.
I’m with you. I loved our fireplace, but it wasn’t very sustainable. We’ve now got infrared panels everywhere, but I so dearly miss the cosy. Though, I’ll aim to scratch that itch with some more candles, as I’ve shopped around for those imitation things, and they were profoundly underwhelming.
That’s a lovely frozen candle. With a bit of luck it will freeze here this week and I might create one myself in the garden. I adore your funky tree decorations!
Hi everyone! Jumping in to ask - what is a frozen candle?!
I’m also a solo eclectic green witch/folk herbalist as well as a spiritual practitioner with Centers for Spiritual Living and a yogi! I started practicing Paganism in 2015 and I find that each year my practice evolves. I love my practice but I do miss the community aspect so I am hoping that this virtual community will fill a need. I’d love to find a community that also uses Zoom in order to meet and share…right now, I live on a mountaintop in Tehachapi CA. with my 2 elder dogs and my indoor/outdoor cat Mica. I had a wonderful retreat for Solstice with lots of meditation, ritual and card pulling to set intentions for the coming calendar year. What has emerged is that 2026 will be about Courage, Commitment and Confidence! I have relaunched my business, Closer To The Source and that is the main way that I can offer my services and share my voice. Glad to be here!
Frozen candles are a symbolic representation of the dance of light, warmth, and cold. Associated with the winter solstice. Though I usually make them depending on if we get a bit of frost here in the Netherlands.
While I do video calls with my online coven, we mostly keep in contact through the fediverse/mastodon and old-fashioned letters writing. I joined here to expand the horizon a bit, as not many find their way to the niche corners of the interwebs I roam. What sort of community are you looking for? A general pagan one, or something more specific?
Sending you illumination bright enough to see the Courage, Commitment, and Confidence housed in your spirit.
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I am not “celebrating”. I live with 4 grown men (all family) who are all non-believers in the craft. So, I’m on my own. I spend extra time in my devotions/oblations. Connecting with the Solstice? My birthday too, so a little preoccupied. Welcome to this site, I am sure we will learn from your experience.
