Solstice Full Info

The Annual

Winter Solstice Ceremony 2023

‘Praising the Divinity in All’

Sunday December 17 from 12:30 – 3:00 pm

At America’s Stonehenge, NH

Facilitated by Katja Esser

Exact solstice moment on Thursday December 21 at 10.27 pm

There is some preparation involved, things to create, and bring that you want to be aware of. Scroll down to ‘what to prepare for, gather, and bring’

Wearily our faithful star reaches its moment of apparent sun-stand-still, its light diminished from the long journey as it reaches the furthest point to the South. Not enough energy to climb up high into the sky, the elongated shadows stretch as they crawl slowly over Mother’s jagged bumps and ridges. Calling in the aid of the water beings to help him expand the light on this darkened Earth. Even our great Father needs a community to expand his light.

On the day of the dead water claimed its form giving the final blow to a relentlessly wet growing season. A trying season that required resilience to get flower to make it to fruit and seed and many did not. Now we look at the giant growth twisted and broken, as the crystal lace, in a beautiful eulogy, breathes over the frays and tatters, taking the last of Mother’s hair down. Winter’s bloom paints its first ice flowers on the windows, followed by the delicate tentative weaving of Mother’s winter dress. All growth returns to our beloved Mother Earth as she begins to sort and sift through the data. Stories, memories of success, failures, strength, and resilience all become part of her skin to feed ultimately the next generation, seeding the New Earth through the constant process of transformation to move life up the spiral of evolution.

Solstice, sun-stand-still, is the time when the sun’s journey to the South comes to a halt and appears to stand still for about 8 day before it starts its journey back to the North again. Christmas day, the celebration of the return of the light, is when the Sun will have made its first move back to the North again. In the moment of deepest darkness, the seed of light is born.

Galactic forces play a role as globally on every front we find ourselves in a very challenging time as things fall apart and unravel. Fear and love do their ancient battle, compassion and judgment stand in opposition. More of us are awakening, while others hold on to the illusion with all their might. Solutions to problems arise while at the same time opposition pulls us deeper into the abyss. As within, so without. We are facing epic decline and chaos as the world as we know it is dismantling to create the needed transformation for us to become truly free people knowing ourselves, each other, and all of creation as the expression of Source, God, Love, and Light. How much of our inner state reflects the outer world? Do we have peace within? Do we relate to every part of ourselves and can we embrace it? Can we be intimate with ourselves and therefor intimate with the world around us, feeling truly connected? Are we operating on conclusions and answers or curiosity and questions? Do we remember what it feels like to court someone or being?

We are entering a mineral year according to the Dagara people of West Africa, mineral is the element of remembering, purpose, knowledge, communication, wisdom, story, record keeping, creative ideas, orating, eloquence, and bone knowing. Also, Pluto is moving out of Capricorn that has been unearthing the dysfunctional patterns of our society and dismantling the top-down control and hierarchy. Pluto is moving January 20, 2024 into Aquarius which is about de-centralization, horizontal governing. It is about sovereignty and freedom. It also is about advances in technology, which can move us further away from nature. Wisdom, heart centeredness, and knowledge are needed to make informed decisions when the speed of innovation and advanced technologies become temptations with dire consequences. Trust your inner guidance, be conscious of every thought, feeling, and action you take. Stay grounded, stand in your truth, and keep tuning into the bigger picture and the crystalline plasma flowing from the Galactic center with its divine consciousness and intelligence. We are at a choice point. Do we choose to be enslaved by the man made gods or do we follow the guidance of Source and become truly free people? Do we follow the principles of nature through which Source communicates by modeling or do we follow a bunch of data and call that intelligence? Be aware of every choice we make and the consequences that follow. What kind of trail do we leave behind and what kind of trail are we blazing? We all are fully responsible for every choice we make. With what do I fill the space between every particle and wave that makes up me? Do I fill it with fear or with love and light? Do I stay in particle and crystalize or do I move into wave and flow?

The intention:

Solstice prepares us for the dream time as we go within, looking at how we may do things differently that would expand the expression of the Divine in all. Where we no longer see race, gender, religious orientations, disabilities, fat, tall, thin, small and all the ways we have been seeing differences by judging and separating and instead experience the God in everyone and everything, continuously communicating to gather information, deepen connection and move up the spiral of evolution. Where we start restoring intimacy within to create intimacy without.

What to prepare for, gather, and bring to our ceremonial time together

– Please, get a natural decomposable string that has some substance to it, you may want to braid a few strands together, and long enough to carry it for a day or so around your waist. Remember it get shorter when you put knots in it. Have you looked at your level of intimacy, how much are you able to be vulnerable, present, and connect from a heart centered place to yourself, the parts that make up you, another person, and even nature? Is your identity hooked up to how another feels, with other words outward focused, preoccupied with another or are you avoiding intimacy and stay aloof or are you going back and forth. How much can you be intimate, present, and loving with yourself? How long can you sustain it before you tune out or find distractions? How well are you tuned into your feelings and sensations? Can we be intimate with our inner critic, saboteur, control freak, procrastinator, binger, and all the parts that make us feel less than whole? How can we embrace these parts in others if we cannot embrace these parts in ourselves? Can we truly experience intimacy and peace within if we cannot accept certain parts of us and therefore not accept others who act out these parts? For peace, intimacy, and connection to exist we have to become it. Observe yourself and make knot for each time you notice you are not connecting or deepening a level of intimacy within or without. Ask a curious question what role this part is performing to protect a part of you from feeling a level of connection and intimacy? Awareness becomes a choice point that could lead to inner freedom and it may require more healing. Take a moment and ask yourself what would happen if you choose differently and be more intimate and connected? Add a feather if you are ready to choose a deeper level of intimacy and engage in a level of curiosity. We are all on different levels and there is always another layer and it is good to see how far we have come and have clarity around that.

– Please, get a white square piece of fabric of about 8 inch square that is natural and decomposable. One way to establish connection and intimacy is through the art of courting, meaning to see the world through the eyes of the other. What makes their heart sing. Opening the doorway to the heart through eloquence and a language of praise, holiness, and love. Choose your subject you want to have more intimacy with, a part of you, a person, an aspect of nature, or an aspect of divinity. Create a few lines or how many you feel inspired by to court this being. Here are some pointers; try to avoid the verb ‘to be’ because it makes things static. Give nouns feelings, use lots of adjectives to make it feel like a song so it has movement. Metaphors are great. See what awakens in you when we engage in a living world that constantly informs and inspires us. We are anchoring a new way of relating and being in this world. Write this on your white cloth and embellish it in any way that it becomes a true praise and anchors a new divine blue print of a love language that begins to feed and restore this world. And please do not use AI as that would miss the point. I am not sure how available this is yet.

– Please, bring a candle in a cup/holder so it does not drip over your hand and can stand up.

– Please, bring cut flowers, not in pots, please.

– Please, bring your crystals if you have them to charge as we will build a grid.

– Please, bring your drums, bells or sound makers.

– Please, bring healthy snack food to share for after the ceremony or a warm beverage with cups and take care of your own water.

– Please, share this information and bring a friend.

Katja Esser guides you through this very participatory ritual. In the spirit of co-creation and our own evolution, the ceremony grows to new heights when you bring your items and participation to it. The ceremonies go deeper each year as they are built on each previous one. The unfolding of the ceremony creates the sacred space, in which we give more meaning to the details of the ceremony. What you bring creates the magnificence of this ceremony as each contribution makes up the whole. Please, make sure to do your best to bring your items and do not let the not fulfilling of these items deter you from coming. Some may bring some extra. Come early if you still need time to work on your items or want to help in the set up.

Location and cost:

America’s Stonehenge is privately owned but is open to the public and is in operation under the dedicated care of the Stone family. The entry fee is $16.00 for adults and tickets can be purchased on site as well as their online store: https://stonehengeusa.square.site/. There is an additional suggested donation of $8 if you can or more at the ritual site to support this ceremonial work. Make sure you leave enough time 10 – 15 min. based on your abilities to walk to the main site so we can start the ceremony in time which is crucial in winter time.

Who to contact:

Please, kindly respond if you plan to come. For further information email katjacreates@ritualexpressions.com or contact Katja on Facebook You find more info about America’s Stonehenge or if there are issues reading the full text on my website go to www.stonehengeusa.com and this info is also posted on Facebook. You can find more info on Katja by exploring this website.