This ritual is to uncover the light that burns in your own darkness. The opportunity here is to go into the deepest, darkest aspect of your past, present, and future and allow the light within these dark places will be revealed to you. You are asked to have faith that the energy of the solstice time will assist you in your release of these energies to spirit through ritual.

This ritual is also a renewal of faith, or a creation of faith where it did not exist before.

This ritual is simple. It will be effective done alone or with others. It will be best to fast from noon until the ritual. The ritual can be closed with a feast to break your fast. To the best of your ability the ritual is to be done at (or just after) sunset on (or a few days before) the winter solstice (12/21/02).

Preparation:

1. Explore the darkness. Focus on the three darkest places within you, one of your past, one of the present, and one fear of the future.

2. Create for yourself the richest tapestry to describe each of the three darknesses. Use whatever medium allows you to express yourself most fully. It can be mixed medium, art, words, song, finding music…anything that allows you to describe the great darkness of your past, present, and future.

3. Describe them fully, all of the richness, complexity, detail, texture, feelings, etc.… Create it as if you are the world's greatest, most terrifying, heart-breaking, hope destroying author of horror stories. Revel in the darkness.

4. When complete, wrap each darkness up in some way so that it is like an "egg."

5. Sleep with each egg, one at a time, under your pillow or near you. Ask for a dream that will illuminate the light that is at the center of this great darkness. These answers will be simple.

6. Trust that whatever comes to you will be the beginning of the answer. If you are uncertain, ask for the dream more than one night. However, it will not take more than seven nights with an egg. If you trust your dreams and ask clearly for the dream before going into sleep, you will receive a simple answer of the true nature of the light within the darkness.

7. Find something that signifies that light (even a word will do), attach it to a white, (gold or silver), ribbon, and wrap it around its egg.

8. Plan for the actual ritual.

The Ritual: The element of transformation in this ritual is actually your dreams. The dreams that come after the ritual will be very important to pay attention to. In some ways the ritual is a dream incubation process using the deepest, dark time of the winter. As the days grow longer your awareness of the light will emerge from your dreams.

Unlike other rituals we have done, you will need to track your dreams after it. Your dreams the night of the ritual are the most important. To pay attention just this one night would be a success. To pay attention for seven nights would be great. To pay attention for a whole moon cycle (30 days) would be fabulous. However, even just one night will be of value.

1. Create your sacred space in a circle with 5 candles, four white candles, one in each of the four directions and a red candle in the center to hold the solstice energy. You may want the red candle on a tray or in a large bowl depending how many people are gathering.

2. Cleanse yourself and enter the sacred space. Call in the spirits of the directions (lighting the candles), the elements, the winter solstice (light red candle), and those spirits you personally call in to support and inspire you.

3. Present your eggs to each of the directions and place them in the center around the red candle.

4. Tell the story of your darkness. "My greatest darkness of the past is…" Name it. Describe it. Really tell the story.

5. The transformation of the story will come as you tell it in the ritual context. Somehow in this telling the end of the story of the darkness magically begins to connect itself to the little piece of light from your dream.

6. As you find that bridge to the light in the telling, you take the light/ribbon off the darkness egg and release the egg into the fire. (If you don't have a fire, use earth, burying the eggs at the end of the ritual.) Keep the light/ribbon.

7. You can do all the past stories, then the present, then the future, or do all of one person's stories before moving to the next. You can decide the flow of the energies once you are all gathered around the red candle.

8. When the stories are all transformed through the telling, connect the light ribbons together as you are moved to in the moment.

9. Call all the spirit energies attention to the light ribbons. Ask that the totality of this light be revealed to you in the darkness of your sleep. Ask the energy of the solstice to help you to work with the night to fully reveal the light in these three darknesses you have surrendered.

10. When you have called the energies in, take the light/ribbon outside and hang it somewhere in nature. Speak a prayer of faith that through your relationship with spirit, nature, the solstice, and the night that the light will be revealed to you.

11. Trust that through your ritual act (and the simple truth of the universe that each thing contains its opposite at its heart) you will discover the light that was hidden in each of your darkest places.

12. Surrender the process to the Universe through nature, to the spirits, and to the night.

13. Return to the circle of candles. Give thanks to the solstice energy with offerings of spices, spirits (alcohol), and bread (anything you have baked). You can give it to the candle and when you are done feasting, take the offerings outside. Thank the fire/earth with the same three offerings.

14. Thank all the spirits you called in, close with a song (important), and blow out candles.

15. Open your circle to the celebration and sharing of the feast.

16. Remember when you go to sleep to ask for the dreams of revelation from this ritual. Allow the light to be revealed to you. Have faith in your relationships with spirit, nature, and the Universe.

Let the darkness reveal to you
	the Divine light in all things.
Let the gift of this light create
	a longing for the darkness.
For therein lie
	all the treasures of that which is
		yet to be realized.