Hi Reader!

Tomorrow is the solstice -- the precise time is Saturday December 21 at 4:21AM Eastern Time.

I love this earth-honoring holiday but I have to admit one of my pet peeves is the way the solstices are often approached.

In the summer solstice, we celebrate the longest day and all the various sun gods and goddesses. It's the light in its fullness! Huzzah!

And then for the winter solstice, we celebrate... wait for it .... the return of the light! Huzzah!

Really?

As Carl Jung wrote, “One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.”

My earnest request: Can we just maybe not invite the light back so quickly? Can we linger a little longer in the fruitful darkness of winter?

Can we make friends with the voices of the night?

I guess such remarks are not so surprising from a dream researcher.

It's a practical approach really. With the approaching winter solstice, the dreaming is stronger, if for no other reason than the nights are long.

In pre-electric times, and traditional societies today, this is nature’s ways of saying go ahead and sleep in.

The solstice is at is the root of many ancient winter festivals, from Brumalia and Saturnalia in premodern Europe, to the Dongzhi Festival in China, and, of course, Christmas and Yuletide.

Perhaps the best description of why we celebrate the longest night comes from a more modern voice:

“They say the darkest hour is before the dawn.”
– Bob Dylan

A dark-affirming perspective shows us that Solstice is a time of facing the shadows of life. It's a harsh midwinter appraisal of how many potatoes are in still in the cellar. It's the time to listen to what our nightmares have been telling us, those voices we usually push away.

The long nights of winter may feel merciless, but remember those dark forces are only trying to get our attention so we can remember what's most important, and what's at stake. (hint: it's not always how many potatoes are in the cellar).

As the daylight turns its back on us, we have the blessed opportunity to turn toward the shadows and be attentive to their whispers. Bringing these voices out of the root cellar of consciousness is the real reason for the season.

So let us not invite back the light so quickly.

Let us linger a little longer in the fruitful darkness of winter.

Let us make friends with the voices of the night.

and

May I recommend a dream incubation?

A dream incubation is a time to check in with our intuitive self and invite a dream to bring clarity, resolution, power or even healing.

What you ask is up to you, but as the winter solstice is the tradition end-of-year, you can easily lean it into blessings and lessons for the new year.

It's easy. You go to bed with a question in your mind, and you sit with the question as you drift off to sleep. If you wake up in the middle of the night, this is a great chance to reinforce the question.

And when you wake up, make sure to spend some minutes reflecting immediately on what you experienced. And then write it down, either in your journal or your favorite dream app.

Some examples of effective dream incubation questions are:

What is it I need to know right now?

What truth can help me live into my own purpose?

or even something like:

How can I best be of service to my community in the days ahead?

This year, the actual solstice is Saturday December 21 at 4:21AM Eastern Time.

So you can really make your dreaming incubation on Friday or Saturday night… or the whole weekend honestly.

The darkest night/ longest day is a phenomena that we experience more like a period of time of a week or longer. It’s not so important to be precise as much as it is to just be attentive to what comes up.

For more information about the art and science of dream incubation, here's my primer on the blog.

Two on-demand dream courses on sale through the Solstice Weekend

Invest in your dreamlife -- or give the dreamer in your life the permission to invest in theirs.

My on-demand courses are 30% OFF tonight December 20 - through Monday December 23.

Use this coupon code in the cart to get the discount: SOLSTICE

This sale includes two of my core offerings:

​Lucid Dreamwork: An alchemical immersion into greater lucidity (which comes with the PDF version of my book Lucid Talisman: Forgotten Lore as our guide)

and Bad Dreams: A healing course on nightmares and terrors of the night

Have you considered joining the Dream Portal?

All members of the Dream Portal get access to the courses above, and a lot more.

Are you ready to take your dream practice to the next level?

Are you looking for folks to support you on your lucid dreaming goals?

Are you interested in joining community experiments like a winter solstice dream incubation, where we share intentions, dreams and inspire each other to follow through?

That’s exactly what we are doing in the Dream Portal this weekend.

In the Dream Portal, we have created a safe place for dreamers to inspire each other to new heights with their dream practices.

If you are committed to transforming your dreamlife, and are tired of hacking it alone, I'd love for you to learn more!

And don't forget: if you use the following coupon code, you can get 15% off (recurring!): NEWSLETTER

The Dream Portal is a welcoming, interfaith community that practices radical inclusivity and provides safe, moderated forums. All are welcome.

Sleep well and dream strong,

Ryan Hurd, he who will be sleeping in this weekend and getting as much of this sweet darkness as the kids will allow before demanding to be fed