Winter Solstice is a moment in the seasonal arc when the seed of light enters the womb of winter's darkness. Every year, on or around December 21st when the Sun shifts from Sagittarius to Capricorn, we experience the longest night of the year. This occurs when either of earth's poles reaches its maximum tilt away from the Sun. It happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere (northern & southern). For that hemisphere, the Winter Solstice is the day with the shortest period of daylight and longest night of the year, and when the Sun is at its lowest daily maximum elevation in the sky. 

Many European cultures observed the moon cycle leading up to the Winter Solstice as a time of preparation, anticipation, and drawing near to loved ones. It involved the twin themes of celebration and faith: celebration over the harvested fruits of the land and slaughtered animals, and…