The Hedge School presents

Winter Solstice: Grianstad an Gheimhridh

A FREE online gathering to honour the darkness and welcome the light

Saturday, Dec 21 | 9am Irish Time

in alignment with the moment when the Sun is lowest in the sky before reversing direction.

The nadir of the solar year awaits.

The procession of dwindling daylight reaches its nadir as the sun descends on the longest night of the year. The Winter Solstice is known in the Irish language as ‘Grianstad an Gheimhridh,’ or ‘sun stands still’. As we approach this darkest point on the great Wheel of the Year we tentatively await the returning of the light.

You are warmly invited to join this FREE gathering on the morning of the Winter Solstice to honour the precise moment the sun stands still. Weaving breathwork, visualisation, somatic writing and sounding in communal ritual, this special session is guided by Kathy Scott (Cultural Activist, Founder of The Trailblazery; Hedge School; Moon Medicine) with live music by Jenny Ní Ruiséil (Yoga Teacher, Musician, Mentor, Coach). Together, we will remember our ancestors, honour our descendants and claim our collective place in the world as ancestors-in-training.

Indigenous cultures understand the Solstices as turning points that provide potential for great change and transformation. In Ireland, the ancients were rooted in the seasons of the Earth and aligned with the cycles of the Cosmos. They marked these gateways with ritual and ceremony and bequeathed us with a calendar map - the Wheel of the Year.

For the ancients of these lands the Winter Solstice marked the still point of the sun, a collective pause before welcoming the new light and life born out of the womb of winter. As we embrace the darkness we also celebrate the beginning of the new cycle and the return to light as the days slowly start to become longer. This season serves as a great teacher, imparting lessons on the cyclical nature of life, death, and rebirth.