My Solstice Story
A little while back I shared a thought on Substack about changing the word ‘Crone’ – in the Maiden/Mother archetype – to ‘Matriarch’. The reaction I got was interesting!
Some people were enthusiastically on board. 👍🏼
Some, were downright offended that I would have such gumption!😤(As if my measly declaration would forever ban the word Crone from the dictionary. As if I don’t live by the motto, ’To each his own!’)
And some gave such compelling arguments pro ‘Crone’- that I gained a new perspective.🙃
I gained yet another new perspective still, on the Winter’s Solstice from a most unexpected of sources.
🌈
One of my personal highlights of 2025, was starting a nonprofit.💪🏼I am proud to say, I am the Spiritual Director of an Interfaith, Earth-based ministry.🌎
I was preparing for my December service, and I had intended my message to bridge Hanukkah, Christmas, & the winter Solstice – interweaving the common threads: fragile hope of growing light in an ever increasingly dark world.
My Virgo-rising brain had a field day researching for the service!! It led down several deep rabbit holes, and I can only imagine the countless hours I could easily spend learning more, if only I had unlimited time!
But it doesn’t take much research to see that the ancestors understood the importance of working with the cycles of life all around them. They honored this season of rest and release, and respected the natural balance between life and decay. Winter was the season to withdraw, and what had completed its purpose was allowed to fall away. It was a Sacred time of slumber for the Earth; a respected time of dormancy before renewal.
In some old Gaelic traditions, the winter’s power was often personified as ‘The Cailleach’. She was ancient, and stone-boned; the shaper of mountains, and the weather. During the winter, she was said to contain the sun, out of necessity. The Cailleach ruled from fall through the spring.
But…
on the Solstice…
when the world paused and held space for the cosmic rebirth of the sun, the Crone didn’t disappear so the light could return.
She transformed, transmuted, & transcended.
And light was reborn within her own darkness.
At the Solstice, the Cailleach embodies both Crone and Mother. The ancient one who presides over death, is also the midwife to rebirth.
Our ancestors understood that endings and beginnings are a single turning of the sacred wheel.
It was a concept I understood on paper, but not one that lived in my understanding.
That is, until the Orcas explained it to me, as only they would be capable of. 😉
***Before we go any further, if you’re new here: Hi, I’m so glad you’re here! 🤗 You should know, I connect with animals, especially Orcas and Dolphins and I love to write about my experiences with them. If you’re interested in reading more, you can start here: https://energyalchemyarts.com/🌈sing-your-souls-song🌈/ ***
The night before the Solstice, (December 20th), I found myself unable to sleep. As I often do at times like this, I try to connect & send healing to my marine friends in captivity.🐬 It was the Dolphins – my attention landed on. The message I received – wasn’t an alarming energy, but it was succinct and sure. They wanted me to know there was ‘movement.’ Someone, had been moved. That was the only message I received that night.
🤷🏻♀️
That’s just the way it works, sometimes. Not really a conversation, maybe only a word or two. Or just the energy ‘highlights’. That’s ok- my primary goal is always to send healing first and foremost anyways. Any connecting we do, or messages I receive, is just the cherry on top! I drifted off to sleep sometime later, content to know that I may never understand their message. Happy to know I had fulfilled my purpose in the connection. ❤️🩹
The following afternoon, I held a Substack live for the 🌀Inner Alchemy Circle🌀: a Despacho ceremony to honor the Solstice.
A Despacho is a sacred Andean ritual of gratitude, prayer, harmony and reciprocity. Items like flowers, herbs, and sweets are each arranged with careful intention to create a beautiful prayer bundle. 🌸 It is then returned to the Earth, fire, or water as a living gift to the Universe – honoring reciprocity and restoring balance between our hearts and the natural world. ☯️
I love every moment creating a Despacho, but it’s always a bit emotional and extra special for me – when I add items honoring the animal kingdom and my marine friends! 🐋(**It really is a beautiful experience! I hope you get a chance to participate in one yourself one day!!)
After the Live ended, I still had a few hours to prepare for the sacred fire – and my Solstice service, later that evening. I closed ceremony with gratitude, and went inside to reclaim my energy for a bit.
No sooner had I taken a moment to ground, when I learned that Katina – the Matriarch of the pod of Orcas that I connect with at Sea World – had transitioned. 😢
I was heartbroken.💔
I share(d) a special bond with her.
When I commune with them, it’s hard to explain, but it’s like a single voice that echos of the plural-ness it contains. One, but many. I understood that voice to be Katina’s.
We also shared the bond of motherhood. She was my age, and her youngest son, Makaio, is the same age as my own son. When I first heard the news, it was Makaio (& the Pod) my thoughts went immediately to.
I sought the solace and seclusion of my room, and set off straight away – meditating to send the pod as much healing as I possibly could. The connection was almost instantaneous!
But I was not met with grief. Oh no!
Right away, I was lifted up, effortlessly. Like tissue paper being summoned off the ground by a delicate hand.
It was joy, and happiness, and something even better than hope:
Pure Potential!
I found myself surprisingly…
temporarily…
connected to The Oneness.
In those precious moments, I understood that, for Katina, the heaviness of this dense reality had – at long last – fallen away. Her consciousness soared, bursting at the seams with – what felt like, luminous possibility.🤍She is not gone, she has simply returned to Source.
To the Root.
The Fabric of what holds this all together.
♥️
So it was with Katina’s assistance that the Solstice message gave me a true perspective of the archetype energy, and it now lives on in the cells of my being.
The Matriarch’s Wisdom – is the Mother’s Power – is the Maiden’s Potential. 🌈
Yeah, I’m sticking with the word, ‘Matriarch’.
🖤🤍
And I’ll think of Katina when I do. 😉
💗Big Love & Many Blessings🌸
~Amanda
©01/26
Thank you Katina, for sharing this thread of consciousness with me.
I am forever changed because of your existence.
You have completed your purpose with grace, my friend.
Rest and recover.
Be held.
Be healed.
Here’s to your next becoming. 🥂
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