Good morning, y’all. And Happy Saturday! It is a dark and dreamy winter’s day. The sun rises so late, close to 9 am, and sets so early, before 3 pm, so I am enveloped in a cloak of darkness for many hours today, as all the days of December. And, I think it will be so gray + cloudy all day that I won’t see the sun. So, I am super grateful that I’m feeling that dark and dreamy mood (instead of gloom and doom, which is also a very valid feeling this time of year).
I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it, but every morning before I write my Blogmas post, I open a door on my crystal Advent calendar. It’s so freaking magical. A different crystal or stone all through the Advent season. And that means a different type of energy to start each day. Plus, each day I learn about the history, properties, and spiritual meanings of each stone. And, of course, see what my own intuition and inner wisdom feels. It’s such a great way for me to connect with nature + spirit at the same time.
As soon as I unwrapped the tissue paper from around the this morning’s stone, I felt a surge of something. And, I believe that today’s stone is part of the reason that I am feeling all these dark and dreamy vibes.
Today, I opened the door to a deep, black, velvety smooth piece of Black Obsidian. As soon as I was holding it, I felt some sense of power. Not power in the way we usually think about it. Not some magical, woo woo power either. It was a deep, mysterious inner power. Like meeting myself in the stone.
Oooo… this is hard to put into words.
In any case, a sense of calm strength washed over me. I held the dark as night stone between my fingers and in my palm, and felt the gifts of all things dark: winter, the cold north, nighttime, wisdom, rest, mystery, simplicity, possibility, silence. Each time I pick up the stone, even as I write this, I feel as if I am returning home to myself. To some place deep within. I am not sure that I have ever connected with a stone so much before – ever. It’s as if I am pulled into its dark and dreamy energy. And that feels powerful, calming, and grounding.
I want to be clear that I am not feeling “magic”, but rather feeling the energy of nature that is pulsing through the stone. Stones are alive, you know. Created from earth, minerals, dirt, clay, lava. So, there is natural energy pulsing through rocks and stones just as there is energy pulsing through the roots, trunks, branches, and leaves of trees and plants. And many of us hug trees and feel something, right? It’s that earth energy that I felt this morning in my stone.
Black obsidian is a stone that is made from quickly cooled lava. It can be found around the world and has been revered throughout history as an important stone used as a tool in both daily + spiritual life. For example, it has been found in arrowheads and knives, and has been used by medicine men/women and shamans as a mirror of the deep truths to be found in the dark.
It is that dark and dreamy spiritual vibe that I felt immediately when I held the stone. And, I understood it as a symbol or a reminder of some of the very special things about the dark, about the winter, about this seemingly dead time of the year.
Just as I felt pulled into the velvety depths of the stone, I feel that this season of the year is a spiritual calling for all of us to drop down into the dark and dreamy mood of winter. Even though it often seems boring, difficult, long, depressing, and sometimes frightening, there is raw, deep soul-healing energy in this time of the year.
It’s just that these things all seem to be under a blanket of darkness. But, that is the secret of this dark and dreamy time of year, though. There is wisdom, truth, and healing to be found in the dark. If we are willing to let ourselves sink down into these long, cold nights of winter.
The power that I felt in the stone that gave me a sense of coming home to myself, was actually a reminder, a calling of to sink deep into this quiet, restful, mysterious season. This is the place, the time, to explore the unknown and to embrace who I am. This is the time to set down my roots and let them reach even further + deeper into the earth. This is the time to settle into my own little cave of rest and restoration. This is the dark and dreamy time to connect with visions, dreams, and whispers of my soul. And this is the time to draw up the grounding energy of the earth.
The dark and dreamy winter season is the season that anchors us – to nature, to each other as our roots intertwine beneath the surface, to the mysteries + truths + medicine of the earth and spirit, and to our own soul.
Holding the black obsidian stone in my hand reminded me of all of the strength, power, peace, truth, simplicity, healing, and wisdom there is waiting for all of us in the dark + dreamy mood of the winter.
Here’s to finding all that our soul needs during these quiet, dark days of winter. xoxo. liz.
