New Moon Ritual: December 2024
It was night. The forest was blanketed in snow. The trees were bare. The air was still and sharp with the cold. There was a pervasive silence, the type of muffled hush you only get after heavy snowfall. The only light came from the stars in the sky, reflecting back from the frost. This was an empty world, devoid of life and motion.
I turned to face a large tree with gnarled roots that curled back on themselves. Nestled within the roots was a hidden pit, at the bottom of which I could see the faint flickering of firelight. I descended into the pit, lowering myself down beneath the snow and earth where I came upon a tunnel lined with torches. As I walked down the tunnel I began to hear the growing hum of voices and movement, and caught the scent of baking and wood-burning fires.
I exited the tunnel and found myself at the edge of an immense cavern. The tunnel I had traveled was just one of many openings that dotted the walls. Paths had been carved, curving down and up, bridges crossing to the other side and neighboring plateaus. Cottages and storehouses filled every available space. Large hanging braziers provided light and warmth. Feast halls were scattered throughout, the smell of bread, wine, ale, and roasting meat and vegetables wafting out their open doors along with music, singing, and laughter.
While a harsh winter reigned overhead, communities had gone underground to wait it out.
I feel this is applicable both to the season we are heading into, as well as the overall cultural moment. Sometimes survival means going underground. And even if you do, that doesn’t mean survival can’t be a place with community, abundance, and joy.
In this dream, staying above ground out of sense of pride or spite would have meant certain death. There was no shelter or food or community. Going underground was necessary while we wait for winter to pass, and the tunnels still provide us access to return to the surface on our terms when necessary.
This is not a call for retreat and defeat, but instead a plea to practice discernment. How will you make it through winter?
