The Center of your Magic
The days leading up to the solstice are a kind of peak— a peak of darkness, a peak in the calendar year, and a peak of activity.
And yet, as a sensitive and an empath, I’ve always loved this time of the year for its interiority—the call to sit at the heart of the mountain (rather than climb up a slope) and reconnect with the center of my own magic.
So how do you maintain a connection to your own self during the overwhelming heights of the holiday season?
Keep reading for the four things I turn to again and again to come back to center.
1. Spend time among the evergreens
I love walking in the winter, when the contours of the land have been unveiled. Spending time outside in winter is profoundly clarifying, both mentally and spiritually. Studies show that being in the cold boosts our focus, helping us think more clearly and make decisions with calm. Whenever I feel especially under-resourced, I don my coat and sit with the evergreens (which means visiting the white pines and hemlocks here). Rich in antimicrobial essential oils and vitamin C, evergreens are wintertime medicine in every way. When I feel uncentered, they remind me of the fortitude of my own spirit.
2. Imagine myself in a snow globe
Our imaginations are incredible tools for healing. Imagining builds new circuitry in our brain, soothing our nervous system and making space for new possibilities. Lately, when I feel overwhelmed, I imagine myself inside a snow globe. On the outside is the hubbub of the world, but on the inside is a blanketing swirl of rejuvenating, shimmering, fortifying light—a light that helps replenish the magic of my own personal energy. What would your magical respite look like, dear one?
3. Flower essences on repeat
Flower essences never fail to bring me back to center, helping me reattune to the vibrational magic of reality and feel the subtle contours of my own energy again. I like to keep a bottle next to my sink and take a few drops every time I visit the bathroom. When I’m headed out, I stash a bottle in my purse next to my lip balm and reapply as needed. So, what’s on repeat for me these days? I turn to Yarrow when I start feeling responsible for everyone’s feelings around me and know I need to tune up my boundaries. Hawthorn is my go-to ally for maintaining my connection to magic when I feel overwhelmed with family dynamics or ancestral karma. And cherry blossom helps me tap back into the childlike wonder of the season when I start to feel weighed down by life.
4. Make something with my hands
For our ancestors this would have been the time of the year in which they were processing the herbs they dried from the garden, darning socks by the fire or mending an old coat. Whenever I get overwhelmed by the technical buzz and sensory overwhelm of the season I take a step away and just…make something. Pine needle tea, sassafras syrup, adaptogenic snickerdoodles, mushroom hot chocolate (all these recipes are in my class Holiday Magic and Medicine Making. It never fails to ground me again in the present, in my body, in the winter moment, and remember the earthen-spirit of the season.
What helps you come back to the center of your magic amidst the whirlwind of the holidays, dear one? I’d love to know.
I’m about to settle into my yearly solstice break, but I’ll be back in your inbox the first days of the new year with a Reading for 2024 (I love doing these and can’t wait to share the vision I received with you).
Until then, I hope the rest of this season brings you deep tidings of magic and care. Time to spend with the people and practices that ignite wonder in your life. Evergreen tea and your favorite treats and a twinkle of possibility, whenever you need it.
