Part Three: Winter Solstice Prayer Meditation

WEST GUARDIAN:

I am the West, place of dusk, ruled by the Element of Water. I am the guardian of life's water - from the oceans' depths to the waters of the womb that rocked you before your birth. I am the sweet rain satisfying the thirsty Earth, and keeper of all that swims and lives in water. I am the place of all that lies below the surface, of intuition and dreams. I am the season of Fall and I rule the time of Harvest.

Can you remember the time of Fall? Do you remember the backbreaking labor of harvesting the grains and fruits and vegetables? The vines and trees heavy with their bounty? Now the young animals take their places beside the elders and begin the great migrations to the realms of the South and the pastures of the lowlands.

The trees transform from deep green into glorious gold, orange, and red, - their true colors shine forth before they drop their finery, leaf by leaf, to the ground. Your own children must be dressed against the evening chill and you labor to make ready for the coming darkness. The Earth stands apart from the Sun who grows cooler, and the light begins to die. Did you think it would last forever? The Wheel turns!
(Mary Marsh, 1994 Link contains solstice ritual.)