The Modern Witch’s Guide to the Winter Solstice: Finding Ritual & Returning to Yourself
The Winter Solstice is the longest night of the year. This is the point where the world pauses, exhales, and then shift back towards the light.
And yet, culturally, we tend to barrel straight through it with to-do lists and deadlines, and expectations that don’t leave much room for stillness.
But the Solstice offers—and encourages—something different for us: it’s a permission slip. It’s a moment to step out of our productivity culture and back into our own rhythm. Where we can take a breath and embrace what is.
And you don’t need an elaborate altar, rare herbs, or a perfectly curated ritual to honor this turning point. The Solstice isn’t about aesthetics (however much dopamine they might provide), but it responds to our presence. It asks us to consider what we are ready to release, and what we are quietly tending to beneath the surface.
It’s about reconnecting with the quieter, more honest version of yourself that tends to get drowned out the rest of the year… the part if you that holds so much knowledge about when to pause, rest, grieve, dream, and when to wait.
Why the Winter Solstice Matters to the Modern Witch
At its core, the Winter Solstice marks the deepest descent into darkness, and the promise that light will return. From this point forward, the days grow longer, and brighter, even though it doesn’t feel like it yet.
This is important because the Solstice isn’t about forced optimism or immediate brightness.
It’s about trusting cycles and remembering that rest is not stagnation.
Historically, cultures across the world honored this moment as sacred. Fires were lit, stories were told, food was shared, and the community gathered. The Solstice was about surviving the present together. It was about endurance, reflection, and care.
Modern witchcraft carried the same thread, just translated into contemporary life. You many not be tending to a hearth fire, but you are navigating emotional winters, creative winters, and periods of uncertainty where nothing feels fully formed yet.
The Solstice reminds us that it’s okay to pause projects, soften our expectations, and just sit with unanswered questions… embrace that liminal space between what was, and what’s coming.
Because sometimes the most powerful magic is simply choosing to listen to yourself again.
Releasing What No Longer Needs to Come with You
We all know honesty is important. The Winter Solstice is a time to ask, what do you need to get honest with yourself about?
And this doesn’t have to be dramatic, either in concept or practice.
You don’t need to burn a list under a full moon at midnight (I’m grumpy if I go to bed later than 10pm these days) while chanting in Latin… unless you want to, of course.
Releasing can be quiet.
It can be the simple acknowledgment, “This isn’t mine to carry anymore.”
Here are some gentle prompts to sit with:
”What expectation am I ready to loosen?”
“What habits feel more draining than supportive?”
“What version of myself am I allowed to let go?”
Winter invites unburdening, because after that release comes space…
… and that that space is where light find its way in.
Carrying the Solstice With You
The magic and intention of the Winter Solstice doesn’t end when the day does. It’s something you can carry forward in how you choose your mornings, how you speak to yourself, and how you honor your energy when no one is watching.
Ritual doesn’t have to live on an altar.
It can live in the cup you reach for when the day feels heavy.
It can live in how you pause before reacting.
It can live in the permission you give yourself to rest without explanation.
You don’t need to become someone new this season, you just need to come back to yourself.
The light is returning, and you don’t have to chase it… it will meet you where you are.
Happy Solstice!