Preparing for winter
We are nearly half way through May but here in the winterless north of North Island New Zealand we are only just going into a cooler temperature. Winter is the time for the body, mind, and spirit to slow, retract inwards to nourish and renew after the activity of busy autumn harvesting if you live on the land. Our innate inner being still rides to this rhyme, you may have found yourself stocking up on more food, preparing your home for the cooler months ahead or feeling the need to sleep more.
Living with the seasons has a soulful vibration that I find hard to explain, an inner knowing. There are some wonderful ways to prepare and nurture coming into winter.
Dust off the crockpot and prepare your first stew of the season, a slow cooking stew/casserole allows the meat and vegetables to break down releasing minerals that are contained within them. Slow cooking meats and vegetables allow for much easier digestion as the work has already been done for you. As the body is rejuvenating and healing from the active months of autumn having stews and casseroles regularly will aid in increasing nutrient absorption and lessen the pressure on the body to digest.
Make broths from chicken bones, vegetables, beef bones, great cold and flu preventative and the collagen contained within the bones and meat gives your skin, muscles, and ligaments a much-needed boost. Make homemade soups and freeze them up for when you can’t be bothered cooking or take soup to work for a nutrient-dense lunch.
Consuming warm foods in the winter months keep your inner fire going. Think of your digestive system like a log burner, giving it warm good quality fuel will keep the body/house warm.
Eat to the seasons, eat what is in season so for the winter the bitter vegetables are available cauliflower, broccoli, rocket, kale, silverbeet, beetroot. Bitter foods stimulate the liver to detoxify by activating the release of bile which is the carrier of the elements that require to be removed from the liver which is a massive detoxification cleansing organ for the body.
Collect firewood if you have a fire. Dried pinecones, lavender, and tea tree make excellent fire starters, save up the toilet roll and collect the old newspaper. Go foraging for fallen branches or get wood in asap so it can get drying. Sweep your chimney to prevent a chimney fire this needs to be done each year.
Organize your home for warmth, get out the thick blankets and bedding, buy a onesie, warm bed socks, and hot water bottle and invest in a good energy-efficient heater.
Swop over your summer wardrobe for your winter one. Pack your summer clothes away and bring out your winter wardrobe, wash any clothes that require cleaning, and hang them in colour order from dark to light. Check out Marie Kondo Wardrobe Organise Video, declutter any clothing you don’t fit and don’t like anymore. I use the Marie Kondo method; if it doesn’t spark joy then I donate it to the op shop.
Get more sleep, winter is the time for the body to recharge. Go to bed at 9.30 pm and wake up at 7 am, your body will love you for it. Create a nurturing evening routine for example; have a warm Epsom salt bath at night 2 cups of Epsom salts no longer than 20 minutes in the bath. Epsom salts are a great detoxifier only bathe for over 20 minutes as the toxins will re-enter the body. Warm your bed with a hot water bottle, and have a cup of chamomile tea in bed, chamomile calms the nervous system aiding restful sleep. Choose a great book to read over the winter months.
In winter choose gentle exercise or do meditation because vigorous exercise is like running from a lion the body doesn’t know the difference. Vigorous exercise is a major stressor on the body as it moves the body into fight or flight so choosing slow gentle exercises or well-being is recommended Tai Chai, meditation, gentle yoga or walks on the beach.
Get your tea collection out or add to it. Tea is natural herbal medicine, in winter there can be more coughs and colds around so drinking nourishing tea like hibiscus tea which is high in vitamin C. Moringa Tea a natural native New Zealand plant which is very high in nutrients such as potassium so excellent for the kidneys which is another powerful detoxification organ. Ocean Gypsy has a full selection of medicinal herbal teas.
Other lovely things to do in winter is to light candles around the home and dim the lights to create a relaxing atmosphere in the evenings, go for wild beach walks or bush walks to reconnect to nature and come home for soup and fresh bread from the bread maker, reconnect with your partner or children ideas for your partner would be giving them a massage or just sitting and talking over a wine. For children get the board games out or watch a movie together with pop corn, maybe create a Friday Night Movie Night.
The Winter Solitice is on the 22nd June 2022, this is when the earth tilt is the furtherest away from the sun and is the longest night and the shortest day light. From here the daylight hours grow longer. For Pagans this is the time of Yule, this is a time of reflection and setting some lovely intentions for the next 6 months. Winter Solitice is a time to let go of the old and allow the new to come in. In days gone by the people would celebrate the dormant Earth coming back to life & light and seeing the darkness go. A lovely ritual is to gather a group of friends to see the sunrise from the longest night and set your goals, your dreams out into the awakening Earth.
Some other lovely rituals to celebrate the return of the light is making spiced cookies and decorating them with the kids, creating a special meal you only eat at the Winter Solitice like a specific casserole recipe, decorate the house with pine cones, dried flowers and burn cinnamon scented candles. Create this time of year to be your own and enjoy.
De-cluttering your home before Winter Soltice or Yule and then sage cleansing the space holds a powerful frequency at this time of year.
So where ever you are in the Southern Hemisphere enjoy this time and space, relax and let go.
Clare x
