Crone Solstice

Outside the cold darkness gathers early

 Winter solstice brings the longest night

 Then ancient people would huddle

 Close together around the fire

 Partaking in sacred rituals to call back the Sun

 Seeking protection from a superstitious fear

 Warm days would not return

 The cold dark would only deepen

 Bringing death

Staring out the window at the gathering gloom I catch a fragmentary glimpse of an urban fox, a vague shape slipping through grey shadows. Suddenly to be outside breathing clear cold air feels like the only bearable option. The intensity of my desire startles me out of my drifting reverie and my feet are moving towards the door before the next breath comes and I am outside, free.

Teetering on the edge of the wooden deck I inhale sharply. In the sky appears a golden green spiral calling to all of Mother Earth's kindred spirits to unite and dance together.

In my mind's eye my feet are carrying me soaring over white drifts, ducking under low hanging branches, around the quiet sentinel trees, through the gate at the wild end of the garden. Then I know, I ken, that I have entered another level of perception… what is known in shamanic circles as non- ordinary reality…

Inside my heart opens

My inner eye perceives

Portals to rich adventures

Animal instincts react

With keen pleasure

Where shall we go from here?