A Threshold Ritual for
Winter
Each season asks something different of the body.
Winter is the season of deep turning, of an inner migration toward warmth and silence. It’s the time when everything essential moves below the surface, conserving energy, gathering strength, tending its hidden roots. As the days shorten and the world slips itself into stillness, a different kind of attention is invited.
We are built for these thresholds. The body is not separate from the wintering world… it moves with the same instinct to slow, to listen, to retreat. Often the season arrives inside us before we consciously notice.
This ritual is an invitation to hear that arrival. A way of attuning to the part of you that is already drawing inward, and preparing to dream in the dark..
Sit With the Changing Light
Begin 15 minutes before sunset, wherever you are.
This ritual lives in the hinge, not quite day, not yet night.
You’ll need
One candle
A place to sit where natural light can fade around you
A blanket
Perhaps a cup of something warm to hold, if you like
Enter the room without turning on any lights
Let the dimness greet you.
Winter begins in the place where you stop fixing the room and start feeling it..
Sit down and just arrive.
Let the shadows organize themselves.
Notice what in the room catches the last of the day.
Place the candle but don’t light it yet..
Keep it near you.
Feel the presence of the unlit flame… the possibility of warmth.
Perhaps you wrap the blanket around your shoulders.
Let your body know
we are entering a season where warmth can always be found inside ourselves
Sit with the shifting light
Close your eyes for three breaths.
When you open them, take in the room…
Watch the light change, however subtly.
Let it wash over your face, your chest, your hands.
Just allowing yourself to witness the passing of day, of dusk
This is winter’s first teaching:
let things dim without interfering.
Light the candle at the exact moment you feel the day fall away
Not the clock time.
The felt time… the small click in your awareness when the world shifts.
As the flame rises, place your hands over it (not too close! ), letting the warmth brush your palms.
Breathe in gently through the nose, out through the mouth.
On the next exhale, bring your warmed hands to your chest. One over the heart, one over the solar plexus.
This is your interior hearth.
Ask the question
Without forcing an answer…
“Where in my life am I being called to winter?”
Let the question drop and feel where it lands in your body, not your mind.
Does your chest feel heavier?
Your throat soften?
Your belly hollow or warm?
Your back lean for support?
The body will point toward the place that wants slowness, darkness, rest, incubation, growth..
No need to interpret, just begin to notice.
Sit in candlelight for a few minutes
Let the presence of the flame be enough.
No goals.
No visions.
Just the exchange between your body and the light.
Winter is the season of inward drift…let yourself soak in that in-between state.
Stay until you feel the internal shift:
the moment your body says I’m here now.
Closing
Blow out the candle with intention.
And as the smoke clears you may say to yourself..
“I enter the dark season with my inner light intact.”
Let It Guide You
Whatever arises, however subtle, is your winter instruction.
Carry it with you over the next few days.
Move a little slower.
Allow for more rest.
Let the body show you what it’s drawing in, what it wants to tend in the dark months ahead.
Winter isn’t about striving.
It’s about deepening.
It’s about conserving what matters and sinking into the warmth beneath the noise, so you can attune to whats stirring, and growing within you.
A winter inspired playlist to listen to while you journal.
A few notes for this season… for the ones feeling winter’s atmosphere settle in, and wanting to understand its energetics and how to care for ones self through it a little more.
Journaling Prompts for the Season
Where in my body do I feel the instinct to retreat, to rest, or move toward comfort?
What colors, textures, and sensations feel like “winter” in my inner world?
What am I being asked to tend with care and consistency through the dark months?
What am I being invited to trust more deeply this season?
If you want to explore more small practices for winter and beyond..
