Winter has arrived in the northern hemisphere: the Winter Solstice, December 21st. Cold, wind, a bit of rain... and hopefully a blanket of snow.

It is now time to retreat into a cave made of blankets, warm clothes and drinks that warm the body. It is a time to protect yourself from the cold and what else is being brought in by the winter within ourselves.

Nature is now deep into a death movement and transports us to our Inner selves. It is a time for internalisation and not externalisation.

If, like me, you come from a warmer place in the world, it is understandable that you feel this hardness of winter even more strongly.

Joy is perhaps available in the lighted candles of the advent, in the songs and end-of-year celebrations for the closures of so many cycles, in the gifts exchanged and in the lights that adorn the cities.

However, this pandemic moment asks us for introspection, absence. Asks to each of us to retract and retreat.
In the cave, we go to our deep center, the core of the soul.

And it is now that we find the archetype of the Crone.

She asks us, as an old wild woman, that we live the energy of the feminine with introspection, internalisation of contents, solitude, silence, recollection. She puts an end to a cycle at this moment, with the arrival of the New Moon and all that it means: closure, weight, gathering, loading...

So that new life will come next Spring.

It's a moment of self-questioning:
What did I learn in the last cycle?
What am I cultivating for my physical, emotional, spiritual health?
How do I nourish all parts of myself?
Can I keep warm with my inner fire in this period of retreating?

In addition to the physical snow that covers the Northern Hemisphere, there is a psychic snow covering all of us internally at this time of solstice.

Can I sit in the middle of this inner blizzard and not only survive but be sure to thrive as soon as it starts to melt?
Is my Earth alive under the frostbite?
Within me, is there a spring and a summer blooming and burning enough to take me to the other side?
Did I plant what is necessary so that the snow is not an illusion that leads me to believe that the winter of the soul will be endless?

We gain so many things during the period of heat and freedom that it is now time to shelter, store, conserve, preserve. Time to reflect on what nurtures us, look at the inner fire and ask silent questions about how our Inner Life is doing. It is now a moment of silent and profound reflection and this can obviously make us less lively and even a little depressed, unconcerned about the connection with the world and with others.

Just as during the menstrual cycle, this is the time for the blood to run out so that a new cycle begins, a moment of true experience of each woman's uterus-cave, whether or not having the physical womb (and for the feminine energies in men also).

It is the moment of separation from what no longer serves us and what will be useful at the beginning of the next cycle: ideas, thoughts, beliefs, relationships, situations, patterns. What is obsolete can now be left behind.

These are powerful questions to ponder during this time.

The Archetype of the Crone, even when experienced with awareness, can be quite heavy. But we have to look at this facet of the female psyche, which does not pretend, does not hide, does not wear masks, only brings truth about ourselves.

As in a mirror, we have the opportunity to see our own image truly, all our longings, desires and dreams reflected, our own naked soul.

How beautiful is that!

Enter your cave, meet your old woman, your inner fire and nestle close to her to find the answers ... or at least find the key questions that will lead you to a path that has a heart. Dig and feel deeply into each response you may find in the images that appear through the Crone.

We welcome the Wisdom of Winter.

We now receive the Inner Old Wise Woman.

We receive the Wise Women who cross our path, whether they are younger or older, but who are those who carry the wisdom of the winter world in their minds, hearts, and wombs.

We receive it all now. We are ready for the life-death-life cycle while we await the Spring.