If you’ve ever felt that tug in your chest at this time of year — the craving for warmth, quiet, softness, or a return to yourself — you’re already responding to the power of Winter Solstice.

Most people rush through June (or December if you’re in the Northern Hemisphere) thinking it’s ‘just cold’, but it’s not.

Winter Solstice is one of the most ancient and meaningful turning points on Earth’s calendar, and if you’ve ever wondered why humans from every culture, in every era, stopped everything to celebrate one single night… Well… today you’ll find out.

Because Winter Solstice isn’t only the darkest and most Yin day of the year — it’s a powerful reset. A moment where the sun literally stops moving in the sky.  A pause so profound that ancient people believed time stood still. And that stillness?

It matters for us just as much today as it did thousands of years ago. So if you’ve been feeling tired, stretched thin, or like you could use a good soul-level exhale… This episode on I Love Me The Podcast,  is your permission slip to step into the magic of Yule.

 

Simple, inspiring lessons in self-love. Hello Snow Queen, it’s Tamra here.

Let’s go back for a moment…

Long before Christmas existed, people across Northern Europe celebrated Yule — their word for the Winter Solstice.

This was the deep, cold still-point of the year.

The Earth was bare, the nights seemed endless, and everyone was waiting for the tiniest sign that the light would return.

So when the solstice arrived, they celebrated.

They lit fires, burned Yule logs, decorated evergreens, feasted, sang, and honoured the rebirth of light.

But Yule isn’t just a historical celebration.

It’s a mirror for our own inner cycles of descent, stillness and return.

And this is why Winter Solstice still matters today.

Even if we have electricity, central heating, and Uber Eats… our bodies still live by ancient rhythms.

We feel Yin rising, even if we don’t have the language for it.

Winter Solstice is the day where Yin — that sinking, condensing, cooling energy — reaches its peak.

It’s the darkest day of the year not to punish us, but to invite us inward.

Nature shuts down, not because it’s dying, but because it’s conserving energy.

Roots grow deeper.
Seeds lie buried.
Animals rest.
The Earth is storing power for what’s next.

And that’s the invitation for us too.

In this way…

Winter Solstice is our annual permission to:

Stop pushing, stop producing, stop performing, and finally… retreat inwards so we can really listen.

It’s a moment to explore our own darkness…

To be honest about how we’re truely feeling.

How tired we are.

How unsure we are about our next step forward.

How maybe we’re pursuing something that isn’t really aligned.

The solstice says:

You don’t have to be bright right now.

You just have to be here.

With yourself.

Resting in the silence of your own being.

But if we’re completely honest, most people don’t know what to do with stillness.

We’re conditioned to always be on the go, always doing something, always achieving something.

Being anywhere but here.

That’s why Winter Solstice is so powerful.

Because it asks us to pause long enough to actually meet ourselves.

If we look at the Solstice, for three days, the sun appears to pause in the sky.

We don’t need to pause for three days, but we are invited to take time to pause during this season, to really sit with the parts of ourselves that we tend to avoid.

The doubts.

The fatigue.

The grief.

Our unmet needs.

Our desires that might feel scary or inconvenient.

Winter says:

Sit. Listen. Don’t run. Be here. It’s safe to be here. Now.

What you’ll find, is once you’ve sat with your own darkness — even briefly — something shifts.

You realise the dark isn’t empty.

It’s fertile.

Like the soil holding seeds.

Like the womb.

Like the night sky holding stars.

And then, when you’re ready, Yule offers a gentle ritual:

Light a single candle.

Not to erase the darkness… but to welcome the return of the sun.

To honour your own capacity to rise again.

So… now you understand the energy and purpose of Winter Solstice, let’s look at some grounding and nourishing ways you too, can celebrate Yule.

And don’t worry…

You don’t need a full altar or a cauldron or a forest ceremony.

Yule celebrations are meant to be simple and earthy and symbolic of you.

So one little ritual I enjoy doing is:

Journalling in the dark.

Sit in a dim room or by candlelight and reflect on the past year.

Ask yourself questions like:

What am I ready to release?

What outgrew me?

What drained me?

What truth am I finally ready to admit?

Darkness can help us hear ourselves more clearly, as it symbolises that stillness.

And if you’ve never journaled before, have a listen to Episode 20: Journalling. The Cheapest Therapy Around.

One of my favourite ways to tune into the energy of Winter Solstice, is:

Watch the sun rise and set.

This is a symbolic reset.

After the longest night, the light returns — slowly but certainly.

It’s a reminder that no darkness lasts forever, and no winter stays winter.

I like to get up before the sun, and spend some time meditating in the dark.

Connecting in with my own stillness.

Then..

As the sun rises, I watch the way the day begins.

I like to do this again in the evening, watching the sun set — observing how the day ends.

It’s a gentle way to honour the longest night of the year and feel the turning of the season in real time.

A more traditional way to celebrate Yule is to:

Make a Yule wreath.

This can be especially fun to do with children.

Go outside and collect pieces of nature that are around at this time of year.

Use evergreens — pine, eucalyptus, bay, rosemary.

Whatever you can find.

These plants represent resilience and life through the cold, and offer a beautiful fragrance when weaved into a wreath.

Once it’s finished…

Hang your wreath as a reminder that even in stillness, there is strength.

I also recommend practising…

Open-Handed Generosity.

Yule is a season of giving, but not in the commercial sense.

It’s about generosity of the heart — warmth, kindness, checking on neighbours, feeding the homeless, offering what you can.

If you want to give a physical gift, let it be something you crafted from nature, or bake something delicious for your loved ones.

These small acts keep the inner fire burning.

And what has become a yearly ritual in our house, is to…

Sing happy birthday to the Sun!

At dinner time, we cook up a delicious meal, light our Yule candle, and then sing Happy Birthday to the Sun.

It’s fun and playful, and children tend to love it.

As you can see…

Winter Solstice isn’t just a date on the calendar.

It’s an invitation.

It asks us to do things the rest of the year rarely allows:

To slow down.

Not because you’re ‘failing’, but because you’re in a natural descent, and that’s what nature is asking of you.

For your physical health

For your mental health.

For your family.

For anything you put your time and energy into.

It all benefits when you take time to pause.

To let go.

Like the trees, drop what you cannot carry into the next cycle.

Rest.

Your body needs it.

Your nervous system needs it.

Your future self needs it.

Listen, inward.

Often times, it’s easier to hear our inner voice in the quiet months.

And if you want to learn a beautiful practice for connecting with your inner voice — or True Self, as I like to call it — listen into Episode 3 and Episode 4.

Or if you want some beautiful practices in self-love, to gently invite you into that stillness, sign up for my FREE Self-Love Starter’s Kit.

Please know that just as in nature, after the deepest dark, the light always returns.

Always.

And so it is with life.

So take this time now…

Let it be a reminder that rest is sacred, darkness is fertile, and every pause contains the quiet beginnings of what’s next.

So honour your stillness.

Tend your inner fire.

And step gently into the returning light, knowing you carry the wisdom of this season within you.

Happy Yule, my love.

May the rebirth of the sun reflect the rebirth happening in you.