Ep 2
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[00:00:00] Hey, what is up? Happy, winter solstice, happy [00:01:00] podcasts. Official launch day. Lots of things to celebrate also the day before my birthday. I'll be 33 on December 22nd. And yes, it's very, very exciting. So thank you so much for tuning in. It's always lovely to share this time and space. Um, and yeah, I am just basking in the silence and the stillness of my home before
Cynthia: My partner and my daughter come back home. They've been out on vacation, visiting family on his side of the family. I was too ill to go with them, but yeah, now that I'm healed up. My voice is pretty much back to normal. Almost. I was doing a like a frame drum class there. I sing songs while I play the frame drum.
And there are some of the high notes where my, my voice still cracks and I'm like, oh, okay. It's not like fully healed, but it's getting there, man. The flu that came through this season. Wow. That was [00:02:00] strong. So I hope if you have been recovering from that, I hope you have a graceful recovery.
And have a beautiful time with the family. If you are all gathering together for whatever reason, for whatever celebration. And, um, yeah, so. Just in case. You have, not signed up yet for the winter solstice embodied ceremony podcast, launch party. That's happening today at 12:00 PM. Pacific standard time. You may still have time to sign up for it. Okay.
The link is in the show notes. So if you want, you can pause this real quick click on the link in the show notes and get yourself registered so that you get the link proper and you will also get the replay now, if you did miss it and you still want to celebrate, maybe you're listening to this episode later in the winter solstice day, or even if it's next day, you know, sometimes like,
I just, I just continue to celebrate things as I feel called. So [00:03:00] anyway, if it's the day after solstice or whatever, Then you can also pop onto my YouTube channel and watch the replay there. Okay. I just these high holidays. Have honestly changed my life and I'll be sharing more, a little bit more in this episode and definitely more in the next episode, episode three with how winter solstice came into my life and how it changed it. And ever since I started, practicing, celebrating these high holidays, like the solstices and the equinoxes and all of that, and just. Being mindful of living cyclically. I feel like I'm just so much more in touch with myself and with nature and yeah, just the vibe of the season. That is, that is amongst us.
So, yeah, if you want to celebrate, we're going to be doing, um, an embodied ceremony as I like to call it. To give thanks for 2022 and to clear the slate. Yeah. So important to reset, refresh the energetic [00:04:00] slate so that when we start planting seeds intentionally for the year ahead in the new cycle ahead it's like this open fertile garden bed. That is just ripe and ready to plant the seeds so that they can begin sprouting and growing and coming up to the light that will soon come in the spring time. So yes, this episode is dedicated to the winter solstice and I just wanted to shine a whole lot more light. On it. Um, and yeah, because this is such a beautiful way to get back in touch with our ancestral wisdom.
And practices. So that we can be more connected with nature, right. With ourselves and also with these beautiful. Indigenous knowings that we all have within ourselves. It's in our bones. Right? To honor the earth and the seasons and the cycles because. Our ancestors in the past, they all [00:05:00] lived very much closely in sync with the wheel of time, as I say it with the seasons, right. Because a lot of them grew their own food.
And so every season has its own energetic, signature. There's different things that happen. Um, plants grow certain ways at certain times of the year. So in order for them to survive, right. And, be able to sustain themselves as a civilization, they paid very close attention to. Um, the wheel of time.
And so there are some lessons and medicines of the rhythms of life that we can attune to because there is a cycle and everything. Okay. Everything. This is also a universal law and the Kabbalah, one of the hermetic principles, right? It's one of the seven hermetic printed principles called the law of rhythm.
And so I feel like the more that we become aware of and better understand the cycles and the rhythms of life, you start to see. [00:06:00] How it relates to different areas of your life, whether it's a creative project, whether it's in your relationships, whether it's with your own self. Um, or the environment around you, it's like, we can start to better grasp. Oh, okay. This is where this is at. Right. And there's that beautiful moment of acceptance and how can we best enjoy it? How can we tend to it?
How can we reap the benefits. So, this is also something that's helped me be able to let go of the societal conditioning. That has programmed us to constantly be doing things right. It's like the way that society has. Well, our modern day society is I'll say. Um, and the patriarchy and all of this has been set up is to constantly be doing, doing, doing, doing, doing regardless of the season, regardless of what phase you are in, on your family or relationships, or even for a woman of a female that's on their menstrual cycle.
[00:07:00] Like. This This patriarchal society, um, is very much built up on a 24 hour cycle. Right. You just do the same thing in and out and yeah, there are some holidays, right. That are weaved into. Our calendar, as we know it today. Yet there's something about. Nature. That has a lot of beauty and medicine and wisdom to share with us that we can take into our everyday lives. And so this can be a really beautiful way to start to decondition yourself and break down the barriers or the constraints or the restrictions of like,
Oh, my God. I have to constantly be doing something. And if I'm not, or if I'm in the phase of rest, then it's seen as less than then I'm not enough, then I'm doing something wrong. Right. And that's not it at all. Um, and so I just really want to start diving into that so that we can start to take [00:08:00] off those shackles from ourselves and release the judgment and, you know, putting ourselves down for taking a natural step of the cycle that is so crucial and so necessary.
So, yes. Um, In this episode, I really want to explain the concept of a cycle and where it shows up in our lives and shine, light, all the differences between the lunar cycle and the solar cycle and how they affect us as well as going into the energetics of. The winter season so that you can better sync up with it and its energy. So you can really enjoy the benefits, right. That it has to provide.
And also, you know, it's a beautiful way to get to know yourself better. It helped me better understand myself. When I realized, oh, I'm kind of always toggling between the spring and the summer. Seasons of like initiating, starting and trying to go, go, go. And then once I [00:09:00] feel like I have to slow down or, um, I can't continue on, then it's like, oh my God, um, there's, you know,
It's doomsday. And it's like, no, it's actually just a natural part of the process. And, and I was able to take a better look at like, well, why am I, you know, having such a hard time, why am I putting myself down? Why am I judging myself and other people leave? And I started noticing the way that if my partner.
Is, um, relaxing on the couch for like, you know, like a day let's say, and cause he's been going, going, going, and he's like, and he just naturally allows himself to rest on the couch for a day. And just take it easy. Um also keeping in mind other things like the human design and this and that astrology. Right. Um, and various things. Um, he is.
I'm still trying to remember. Sometimes I forget if either a projector or a reflector. Um, and I'm a generator, right? And apparently the world is built around generators. [00:10:00] So it's no surprise that, you know,
The way that our society and the world around. Uh, some of the world around us is built is constantly in that, like we're always on that hamster wheel. Right. Um, and for some of us that can fuel us. So we have this like energy. Energetic field or this battery pack as some call it according to human design, that's just like always regenerating itself now.
It doesn't always do that because we are human beings and that's the thing. Because we are human beings and we are earthlings. We are closely in contact and sync with the earthly cycles, the lunar cycles, the solar cycles. So we're going to be diving into that today.
And even if you don't know human design or your astrological, you know, Um, natal chart and blah, blah, blah. Like even just the simplicity of knowing these, this cyclical phase and the four phases that make up this particular phase that I'm talking about. You can already [00:11:00] just learn more about yourself and the people around you and the environment and how to go about your life with more intention and more compassion and better understanding, right. So, yeah. We can totally begin by looking at nature. And the seasons of the earth that have a particular cycle, right?
Let's say it starts from the spring, right? Since 2023. I mean, it's still winter season, but it's like, it starts to pick up towards the spring. Right. Um, and especially that. Gateway between. Winter solstice and fall. Or excuse me, spring Equinox. So there's the spring and then there's the summer, there's the fall and then the winter. And that makes up the entire cycle. Right? It's a four phased cycle.
Now, keep in mind. Other cycles exist too. That are not, uh, four parts, right? There's this like a three part cycle. That's like the maiden mother crone, right? Um, or there's even like the hero's journey that has [00:12:00] many phases.
Um, so not every cycle is made up of four parts, but the one that I want to talk to you about today is the one that is related to the earth and us as human beings in that way. So. These phases also show up in the lunar cycle.
Now with this four-part cycle, it is also equivalent to, um, other things like the lunar cycle, the solar cycle, the menstrual cycle, hormonal cycle, a life cycle, and what I would call creation cycle. And so in relation to the lunar cycle, there's the moon phases, right? There's the new moon. Or I guess related to spring would be first quarter summer's full moon.
Um, fall is last quarter. And then the winter is the new moon. And in relation to the solar cycle. Now, even though the sun [00:13:00] runs on a 24 hour cycle, there's also the spring time in relation to the rising sun. There's the summer of high, uh, high noon. Right. And then there's the fall. Uh, related to the setting sun.
And then there's the nighttime, which is the new moon. Which is winter also, I'm I'm probably going to be interchangeably going. Talking about all these different, um, cycles that it relates to. But anyway, Yeah. So we have those four phases of the day as well, even though it's a solar cycle runs on a 24 hour basis, we can still, um, sync up this four parts, four phase cycle there.
Um, and then there was also the menstrual cycle. Okay. So, um, a female body goes through the cycle of what is that, the Follicular phase. Right. And then there's the ovulation phase or she's most fertile and highly, um, Able to get pregnant. Which, so the, the follicular phase is [00:14:00] the spring. Then the ovulation phase is the summer. And then the luteal phase.
Um, when the lining of the uterus starts to release itself and shed, right. That is the fall phase. And then there's the bleed, right? The, the active menstrual cycle that is the winter phase. Okay. And in keeping in mind, the solar cycle, the 24 hour cycle and the menstrual cycle, that's also related to the lunar cycle. It they're all in sync, right?
Um, there's also the hormonal cycle, so um, a man. Runs through these hormones, 24 hours a day. Okay. They went through all the same hormones every single day. Like the phases of the, this, the hormonal cycle. Now. The female body is. run through a hormonal cycle. That's on a, about a 28 day cycle that's in relation to the moon. Right? So that's [00:15:00] why the menstrual cycle is, you know, equivalent to the moon cycle. And then the men's hormonal cycle is equivalent to the solar cycle because it runs on 24 hours. And the women runs on a 28 day cycle, like the moon does, um, and that's give or take, right. Some, some people have 28 days or 26 or some goal longer and, you know, and for various reasons, but anyway, that's the gist of it.
And then we have the life cycle. Right. We got, um, childhood and then we have like early adulthood. You know, like childhood adolescents, and then there's like early adulthood, adulthood, and then there's elderhood right. And then there's death. Which also death. This winter face is beautiful because it's the end of something and also the beginning of something else. So there's that liminal shift of like,
What it was, and now it's not quite, it's not what it was, but it's not fully what it's going to be. Um, quite [00:16:00] yet. So this death and rebirth process within that winter phase. And then we have this, the creation cycle, or even just a simple cycle. Let's say like I'm lighting a candle, there's lighting the lighter, right? Like putting the fire to the WIC. That's lighting the candle.
And then you're done lighting it and it's lit. There's the lit candle. So that's the second phase. And then there's the blowing out of the candle. Right. And that little Ember that goes out and then it's not lit, right? It's an unlit candle. So there's four phases right there, like, or turning on a light switch. There's turning it on.
It being on turning off and then it's off. Right. And so there's, you can apply this also to creative cycles. When let's say you're making a piece of art or for me was, you know, choreographing a dance. There's the idea like, oh, like, I have this idea and, you know, creation is starting to stir and then you start making the dance piece, you're [00:17:00] creating it and then there's the performance it's done. And then it's and it's finished. Yeah. And then there's, there's no more piece in, it's already complete. And that's that right? With every art piece or creative cycle. And so within each of these phases, there are specific occurrences that happen. Yeah. So they all have like this certain things that happen within each phase.
And so when we look at the wheel of the year, as I like to call it, um, these ancient practices that honored the wheel of the year and the different seasons, and what happens during those seasons were respected by major civilizations. Um, and that even like built monumental architecture to celebrate these specific, you know, solstices and equinoxes, right?
Like the one that comes to mind every time is the, the. The Mayan pyramid, where. I'm trying to remember if it's a solstice or Equinox.
It might've [00:18:00] been. Summer solstice.
Uh, I'd have to look it up. Usually, I like know that stuff, but off the top of my head, but anyway, Um, there's a particular time of the year. Where the sun rises at a very specific spot. Right. And when it's rising, because of the way that the main pyramid was built, there is a snake that they had carved into the stone, right. Or however they made it.
And when the sun rises, the shadow of the snake looks like it's a very precise in the way that it is. Um, cast it onto the pyramid. It looks like the snake is starting to slither its way down the pyramid. And it only happens on that very specific day. And so it's, and there's so many others that are like this too. And so it just shows.
The importance and the energetic vortex that these equinoxes and solstices have for us to tap into. And so [00:19:00] each phase holds an energetic signature. And as far as the winter solstice goes, The winter solstice and the energetic signature that the winter solstice has for us. To relish and to cherish. Yeah. Um, We can see the energetic signature out in nature. In the way that it rests, right? There's no fruit. There's no leaves. The, the nature, um, can be very bare, right. And, uh, animals also hibernate.
And in some parts of the world it's snows. Right. And I always think back to like English literature and learning about the symbols of things. And that snow always resembled death. It's symbolizes death. Um, and so I also associate elderhood here as well. And so I always think that it's the time where.
Um, It's so cold and dark. That it's a time for us to come together and go inward right into like he, the wisdom of our [00:20:00] elders. And I always, it, what comes to mind are like those slow moving animals. Right? Like the elk and the Buffalo. Um, and tying this back to, you know, all the other cycles that I had mentioned, this is equivalent to the nighttime, right? When we're sleeping and there's no sun because we were sleeping and recovering our body, right. Heals the most heals the fastest when it sleeps.
And it's also the time we dream. And in, um, tying it back to the menstrual cycle. This is the bleed. This is the time for the female body to rest as much as she wishes as much as she's called to, which is probably the most that she is called to throughout her entire cycle. It's a time for restoration. And it's also a time when she's.
Um, they're highly intuitive. Yeah. And. It just, it makes so much sense because this is also tied in with the new moon phase, right. That dark moon. So like, let's say we were going out hiking. In a dark moon. We can't see [00:21:00] anything at night. There, there is no lunar light to show the way. And so it's, it's like a time where we pull over and we stop and we go inward. Right. And reflect on how has the journey been and how do we wish to continue on for the remaining of the journey. Right or the new journey or whatever it is. Um, and so this is a really beautiful time in terms of the new moon. It's a blank slate. That is right for new intentions. Yeah. I always think of that. Blink, fertile, fertile soil bed.
That is ready to have seeds be planted into it for the next cycle ahead. And so, yeah, this is the, the equivalent to the, uh, simpler process of not doing yeah. To be off. Right. When we were talking about the light switch. It's the time when the light isn't even on it's off when the candle is, it's just a WIC.
[00:22:00] Um, and also a time to be alone. Right. And I always think about Shavasana too. If you've practiced yoga before you do the whole sequence, right. The warm up, and then the. The like, um, Kind of the meat and potatoes of the sequence. And then there's the cool down. And then there's the Shavasana. There's the rest. There's the letting go.
Which is also a time to integrate. What had just happened. It's a time for your body to digest and allow it to settle within yourself. And so this is for us in the Northern hemisphere. This is the longest night of the year. Winter solstice is the longest night of the year, shortest day of the year.
And so being able to be with the darkness. And trusting that the light. will return, right? Having that trust, having that face, that the light is going to return beginning tomorrow, the nights are going to start to get shorter and shorter and shorter. Yeah. So even though the nights have been getting [00:23:00] longer, and this is now the longest night of the year for us in the north, in the Northern hemisphere, it is a time to also go inward and access the light within ourselves.
Yeah. And there was this beautiful quote from, uh, my former teacher. Athena Paracas of Sage goddess. I always love reading her blog and just, you know, I just, I love her wisdom and the way that she writes, and I read this from her blog, that if someone is always there to save you. Then you never learned to save yourself.
And this is a really beautiful time in the winter. Season. To really come back home to yourself. And to let go of. You know, all the people and the places and the things and everything that we've been so externally involved with. And we can let go slow down, go inward and ask yourself, like, what does, what does it do I want, what do I need?
You know, where is that light within myself? Where's my passion. Where's my creativity where. [00:24:00] Like. Coming inward is so important. To remembering who you really are. Right? And so when we have those transitional periods of ending and letting go and releasing and going inward, being with yourself, It's also a time to be able to prepare yourself to begin a new.
Yeah. And that's why this is so important. And even my, my Shaman Makosi of the Royal Shaman. If you don't follow her, especially if you're an entrepreneur. Um, follow her. She is amazing. Um, and she's helped me realize how, even though our society. Puts the summertime, right. The constant doing and like being out there and like peak energy. Right. Even though that's been put on a pedestal as an illusion,
The rest in the restoration and going inward and being still in silent in the nothingness [00:25:00] is just as important. And so vital. Right. Like, if you think about it, when, if you find yourself going, going, going, going, and starting to burn out, maybe you're getting headaches. Maybe you're like starting to like make mistakes or slipping up in some way. Or are you just like, I can't, I I'm starting to slow down. Like I need to stop.
And if you. Don't really allow yourself to rest, right? Like sometimes I have to really be mindful of the times where I'm going to lay down and I'm still scrolling social media, or like looking at my email or something. It's like, no, put the phone down, put it in the other room. If I have to ,right?
And I even go as to, like, if I'm in my room, I close all the doors. I close, like the sliding door. Like I just try to barricade my energy so much so that it's just, it's like, Putting myself back into the womb of just resting and healing essentially. And so if you don't allow yourself to do that, when you get back up, [00:26:00] it's like, oh my God, it wasn't enough. Oh my God, how am I going to keep going? Right. And even though not every time that you rest may.
You know, fulfill your cup all the way. It's such an important practice to begin to.
Value it. You know,
Value that time and say, Hey, this is just as important. This is the integrative process that is so needed in crucial. Um, because maybe you've experienced the opposite where you did a lot yourself to rest. Maybe you went on. Out to a spa or something just to like, you know what? I am just here to heal myself, to restore myself. And that's the intention. Right?
Um, and when you take that time, when you come back out, you're like, oh, I'm so much more refreshed and now you have the resources you're resourced to be able to continue on and give back after giving yourself what it is that you needed. Now the magic of this time that I really like to work with. Is this [00:27:00] the energetic vortex that it has to help initiate your vision? Yeah. Because this winter solstice, this winter season. is the perfect time to reflect back on the cycle that is now ending. 2022, right. It's really important to take the time. Not only just to rest and be like, okay, I'm slowing down.
But also if you're going to be resting and you have the means and the capacity to reflect back on how things have been, what worked, what didn't work. Right. And these are like, okay, so these things, I really want to share this with you as like journal prompts. If you want to, you know, Um, maybe you're just not really called to the embodied ceremony. Um, or you haven't really taken the time and energy to kind of tend to the completion of 2022. And you want to like have a better start for the new year, the new cycle ahead. Then these are some journal prompts that you can [00:28:00] work with. So a handful of questions that you can journal on is reflecting on what worked. Yeah. And why did it work? What was it that.
Just felt good. Right. And you're like, yeah, like, I'm happy with that. I'm content with that. Like, what was it that worked.
And then on the flip side, Why didn't it work? Yeah, what didn't work out in the year. And why is that? What happened? What contributed to that? Like what fell through, what, what was it. Or maybe something did happen, but it wasn't in the way that you wanted it to. And it's just like, ah, like that's not kind of this.
That wasn't really what I was going for, but, you know, that's just what happened. Um, jot that down. And then also, what lessons did you learn from it? From both what worked, what did you learn from that? And then what didn't work. What did you learn from that? It's so important to really start to gather, to harvest these [00:29:00] lessons that we get to experience.
Because. I mean, I'm sure you probably can relate to particular patterns that show up in our lives, whether it's in relationships or like showing up into a certain project or patterns that I see in my parenthood. Right. And the ways that I relate with my daughter, um, and various things like.
What did, what am I learning from this? Because if it's a pattern and especially if we don't like the pattern and we want the pattern to change, if we don't. Start to highlight and take stock. Notice what it is about the patterns that keep showing up. That we can look at it differently or take the lesson that it's actually teaching us.
And then be able to apply it later in life. Then the pattern is going to keep repeating itself. Right. It's like doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. And being surprised and shocked or upset like, oh, there it goes again, it happened again. It's like, [00:30:00] okay, but did you learn the lesson? Cause obviously.
It's a Very very common thing for the universe to be like, oh, you didn't quite get it. You're not really gettin it. So here it is again. Maybe you'll get it this time. Yeah. And so if you want a different. Year a a new experience in 2023, then this is the time to take a moment to slow down, stop reflect on what worked, what didn't work. What did you learn?
And how can you apply the lessons? In the year ahead. Yeah. And honestly, even like, if we don't know how right. Cause we don't, we only know what's going to happen, but at least you have those tangible, those specific written out lessons. That's like, oh, okay. I have a better idea now why this is showing up in my life. And so when the time comes, because.
As patterns. They, it will come up again. You then. Have that [00:31:00] ability to apply the lesson and do things differently than you were doing them before. Yeah. Now to shift your attention to kind of the future vision. You can really start to journal about how you wish for the new cycle to be. What are you calling in? What do you wish to experience? Yeah. How How do you wish to be. In the new cycle ahead. And what can support you in embodying that vision? What is it that you need or just stuff for yourself, right? To you from you. What do you need to help yourself embody that vision?
And then of course, what is your higher self wants you to know? Whether it had to do in your reflection process or in this preparation process. All the above or anything. Right. I kind of leave always like to leave an open-ended question for the, for my higher self [00:32:00] to be like, what do you want me to know in this moment about all of this?
Like, what do you wish for me to know? And I just take a moment to allow my. Hand to just go.
And so those are some journal prompts that you can do to really allow yourself to reflect and prepare yourself for the new cycle ahead. And also get clear as to what it is that you want. Yeah, this is like equivalent to a new moon, but just, you know, on a grander scale, as I like to see it.
Um, and so when you get clear as to like what it is that you want and what you're calling into your life this is a power for portal for ceremonial work and ritual work. Yeah, because it's just only going to magnetize your intentions. So clear the energetic slate of 2022.
And then set the frequency and activate your manifestations for the cycle ahead. Yeah. And there's so many ways that you can do this, right? Like [00:33:00] you probably have your own practices or if you don't and you want some help with this, this is why I'm hosting the embodied ceremony. If you miss the live session, then go on YouTube, check it out, celebrate, you know, it's, it's such a beautiful time to magnetize your intentions and really start to.
Help be the catalyst to your manifestations and your vision. So, yeah. It's these holidays that have helped really changed my life for the best. And I think, I just feel like it's a really. Effective way to be able to take kind of like timestamps of things that are happening in your life. Right. And allowing like creative processes and there's the cyclical phases and all of this to run its course in the way that it is meant to. Um, and I just feel like it really was.
This catalyst to something that just changed my life for the best. It really was. Um, At the time [00:34:00] in December 21st, 2012, that winter solstice of 2012, I actually went on a trip to Egypt. remember when the Mayan calendar was ending. And like, it was like all this talk of the apocalypse and all this stuff. Right. It was actually the ending of an era and the beginning of a new era.
And at the time, I didn't know that. Cause it was like, oh, December 22nd is my birthday. And they're doing a festival on the 21st like birthday trip. Right. I'm going to dive into the whole story cause it's really epic. Um, in the next episode, but when I went to Egypt to celebrate this, this whole thing.
I didn't know about winter solstice. And so when I was immersed into that ceremony, in that celebration in the festival, Ever since then I started paying attention to. These cyclical phases. And it's like, it's helping me really be able to reflect back on and see like, oh, wow.
The my progress. Um, the lessons [00:35:00] like my evolutionary phase, everything. And I just feel like the winter solstice. Was a catalyst to my spiritual awakening and it's just changed my life. So, yeah. I have a, such a deep love for it. And of course my birthday is the next day. So it's always such an interesting time of the year. So much to celebrate.
And even though it's a time of rest for me, like it just, wow. I get so lit up at this time of year. So anyway, Yes. If you'd love to celebrate and join me in the embodied ceremony podcast launch party, then please join me. It's free. And it's going to be a grand old time. We're going to be doing some embodied practices to really start to reflect and hone in the lessons and get clear as to what it is that we want for the new year.
And to celebrate. Yeah. Um, there's also a giveaway opportunity now, depending on when this is released and when you, you. Listen in and all of this. That [00:36:00] chance may have already passed, but I'm just letting you know because you'll get the details. Right. As soon as you register for the embodied ceremony. So if you have any questions that you'd love to ask me or have me cover in the podcast, please send me a DM so that we can connect. Um, I'm always open to questions and suggestions of topics that I can cover in the podcast. So thank you so much for tuning in. I really appreciate it. And happy winter solstice.
I mean, you have a beautiful day. Okay, ciao. [00:37:00]
