 So the shortest day came and the year ended and everywhere down the centuries of the snow white world came people Dancing singing to welcome back the light They lighted candles in the winter trees They hung their homes with evergreen They burned beseeching fires all night long to keep the year alive When the new day's sunshine blazed awake they shouted reveling Through all at cross the centuries you can hear them echoing behind us listen All the long echoes sing the same delight This shortest day and longest night has promised awakens in the sleeping land They carol feast give thanks and hope for peace And so do we here now this year and every year welcome you all and What a joy to welcome you to our celebration of winter solstice We gather on this night in the early darkness and refreshing cold of winter to be together in the dark to appreciate the restfulness and the peace that comes in these dark times and Also to recognize that this is the point when the light is reborn Gathered here in darkness. We draw a circle of community and Recognize that the darkness is where we hold seeds of hopes and dreams to come Round and round the earth is turning turning always round till morning and from morning round tonight in the northern hemisphere the Sun is peaking lower in the sky and Setting sooner each night grows longer as we await the longest night of the year the winter solstice we celebrate the return of hope to our land and Our planet experiences the first slow turn toward greater daylight Soon we will welcome the return of the Sun and the coming of springtime Many religions have a Sun child born this time of year a child who lights the way back to spring back to life But it's not just children newly born who carry the light and give renewed hope for the world each and every one of us carries the light as We gather this evening. May you hold in your heart these questions How do you carry the light? How will you carry the flame of hope love and justice with you into this new year? How will you carry the light if you will rise now and join us in calling in The spirits please turn to the brightening east Spirit of the east home of the rising Sun. We welcome you into our circle this night We feel the embrace of spring spring winds stirring our minds We hear the soft rustle of air through leaves. We feel life renewing itself again and again Here knowledge is born on light swift wings We kindle this fire today in the east and invoke the spirit of air Flow within us wind of life Let there be truth and knowledge Spirit of the air be with us tonight Please turn to the blazing south Spirit of the south spirit of the noonday sun we welcome you into our circle this night We feel the blast of summer wind igniting passion We hear the sharp crackle of dancing flames Here transformation rains here cleansing fires temper and renew The Sun at the noon of his majesty illuminates the world and ignites the spark of life within us all We kindle this fire today in the south and invoke the spirit of fire Flow within us. Oh flame of life. Let there be passion and inspiration Spirit of fire be with us tonight. Please turn to the watery west spirit of the west Spirit of failing light of the setting sun We feel the cares of autumn wind awakening dreams. We hear the ebbing and flowing of the sea Here intuition rains Here emotion flickers in the depths of the dark springs The well fills with the waters of the bosom of the earth the cup overflows with deep wisdom We kindle this fire today in the west and invoke the spirit of water Flow within us. Oh well of life Let there be wisdom and intuition spirits of the water Be with us tonight Please turn to the frozen north Spirit of the north spirit of the star strewn midnight sky We feel the bite of winter wind chilling heart and bone We hear the crunch of snow beneath our feet Here winter grasps the land here darkness rains Dreams are born and nurtured the seeds of peace are sown the visions of a new world are nourished We kindle this fire today in the north and invoke the spirit of earth Grow within us. Oh tree of life. Let there be strength and courage spirits of the earth be with us tonight and now we face again the front of the sanctuary As we light our chalice Symbolizing our center Please join together in the words printed on the screen Welcome the night the longest night has come once more The sun has set and darkness fallen The trees are there the earth asleep and the sky are cold and black Yet tonight we rejoice in this longest night Embracing the darkness that involves us We welcome the night and all that it holds as the light of the stars shines down Please be seated night is the solstice badger in the very beginning when the world was young It was always summer The sun walked unhurriedly across the sky in joy each day But there came a time when his head grew heavy His light was weaker and all the first creatures wondered and worried One evening as he was descending beneath the earth and the moon was rising She called to him across the gulfs of the sky My brother you seem sad. What is wrong? Oh? Sister I am so lonely Everything on earth down to the little fieldmouth has a companion Even you have the stars But I am alone he sighed. Oh I see she said I will spread the word dear brother and we will find you a friend The moon whispers to the sea each night and the sea listens on this night She told it what the sun had said The sea told the fishes and the fishes told the birds the sun is lonely Soon all the creatures of the air had heard the news and they gathered to discuss the matter What could be simpler called the first crow ruffling her pure white feathers? I Myself will fly to the sun and keep him company So it was that in the morning as the sun began his journey He saw a tiny white speck flying toward him It grew bigger as it approached and the Sun thought joyfully someone is coming to see me It took crow a long time to reach him But she was as strong as she was stubborn and Finally a lighted breathless on the Sun's strong arm. I Am here to accompany you. She gasped bowing respectfully But the Sun was dismayed for her feathers were blackening as he watched I Thank you for your courage and your compassion little grandmother But I fear that if you stay with me you will soon burn up all together Please go back home Crow her last white feathers frizzling away was hurting too much to speak She nodded and left The next day the hummingbird declared that he would try Things that move quickly don't burn he said and the Sun must have a companion So he shot up into the sky like a comet up and up, but it was much farther than he had thought He wasn't quite halfway there when his tiny breast went crimson with effort, and he fell exhausted back to earth after him Eagle made the attempt and then Osprey and Albatross and even little sparrow All the birds tried and failed The Sun grew more and more dismal Far down under the surface of the earth. There is a river that flows from west to east Carrying anyone bold enough to lie in its swift current It runs from horizon to horizon and both the Sun and the moon rest in its waters Whenever they aren't in the sky Near this east flowing river through a cave and to the left lived the very first badger His tunnels went everywhere and he loved the bright jewels he found in the darkness He ate well on root vegetables mushrooms and subterranean berries His home was a giant geode whose walls glittered and sparkled in his solitude He was content One night he heard someone crying and quickly followed the sound down one of his tunnels to the banks of the River East flowing There he found the Sun who had climbed out of the water for a while so he could weep where no one would see him What is wrong badger asked gently The Sun startled jumped to his feet a new creature. He said I've never seen anything like you before But you should run away before I burn you and he sobbed I Have collected gems in the white hot center of the world. He said You will not burn me come to my home and have some tea and Smiling through his tears the Sun did They spoke of many things together as Kindred spirits do At length the Sun took his leave for it was nearly time for morning That day he rose so clear and bright all things living on the earth knew That he must have found a friend and they were happy That night he went straight to Badger's house where his own light was refracted and beautified by the crystal wall And they continued their talks and their stories Badger loved to hear of the doings of those things he called The surface peoples whom he had never seen So the Sun obligingly told him tales of turtle and otter of horse and tree and bird and vine So vividly that Badger could close his eyes and see them The Sun was so engrossed in storytelling Badger had to remind him when it was past time for him to leave The next night it was Badger's turn to speak He told of the heartbeat of the mother that you can only hear with your bones and of the fire Sprites that dance in the glowing molten places His adventures among mountains roots in underground geysers and down echoing pitch black natural stone wells Had to be recounted He told of the shallow tunnels from which he could listen to the surface if not see it and they both Forgot the time and the Sun left even later than before Things went on this way for six full moons The Sun would rise a little later every day and walk a little faster across the sky He was so preoccupied with thinking over things his friend had said Or laughing over a joke they had shared that he didn't notice that the world below was changing The leaves were falling the winds were bitter and the very first snow began to fall The trees took it patiently because trees always do But all the creatures were miserable Came a day when the Sun fairly sprinted through the sky for he remembered a story He hadn't told Badger yet and he couldn't wait to tell it But when he reached the geode house his friend was standing in the doorway looking sad Come with me said Badger and walked away The Sun Hesitated before running to catch up after all in all this time. He had never gone into the dark places far from the river Badger led him through many twisting branching tunnels until he was quite lost Now my friend Listen he whispered and the Sun realized they were in a shallow tunnel He listened and heard the sigh of the wind and creaking branches He heard sounds of shivering and sneezing But no bird song and no scampering feet You have spent too much time with me Badger said gently The world misses you The Sun was filled with remorse over his thoughtlessness He would have rushed to the sky and stayed there for weeks But again his prudent friend stopped him Hasty repairs make weak burrows. He said We must act wisely now. So we must consult The wisest of all things You know the world and I do not Who should we ask for guidance? The Sun pondered deeply for a moment his brow furrowed and then said The trees are the oldest things on earth And pine is the eldest of the trees I think she will know what I must do But she may be angry with me I will go to her Badger said and I will take gifts to soothe her anger Together they returned to Badger's home where they filled a sack with all the most glorious gems he had collected And enough food for a mighty feast Wait here for me he told the Sun Then for the first time torch in paw he tunneled to the surface Pine stood in a glade in the forest She was blanketed with snow, but her dignity and foliage were unchanged by the changing weather Her spreading boughs sheltered a great many first creatures She had hatched from her cone long before the first sunrise and had seen all things born of nothing So she was not easily surprised Thus it was that when Badger scrabbled to the surface before her she greeted him calmly Hello small animal who befriends the Sun she said And her deep voice caused the ground to quiver Welcome He bowed low before her and said my friend wishes to undo the harm he unwittingly caused If he went back to his old ways would the world be healed? If he brought the warm back tomorrow Pine said the world would drown in snowmelt And all would be chaos There was a short silence while the wind howled Eventually Badger spoke again Wise one I have brought gifts for you. Will you accept them with our apologies and tell me what advice to give my only friend He opened his sack to reveal foods beyond count and jewels without price Pine looked at them thoughtfully A generous gift she told him and one I have no use for Give them to the creatures who have all suffered more than I as for the solution. It is simple The Sun must regain his old habits as gradually as he lost them All good things in this world happen slowly seeds and eggs and seasons alike Badger bowed deeply in thanks and turned to go You will miss him Her voice deep as a drumbeat forestalled any lie Badger nodded and tears filled his eyes You need not The voice of the pine became so resonant. It seemed to come from everywhere at once My roots are on great mother's pulse and she speaks now through me When seven cycles of the moon have passed the days will be as long as ever But then your visits together may grow again After 13 moons the pattern will begin anew For the sun must have a companion And the badger must be rewarded for his selflessness and the mother has decided to welcome the dark times and call them winter All things alive held their breath in a moment of awe Badger joyfully cried so moat it be And on this night of every year I promise to come to the surface and give gifts to all the small beasts Gifts of thanks and blessing and love and a token of the sun's return He held his torch up high and sang here take it call them Pine bent forward and grasped the light when she straightened it could be seen held firmly in her top most twigs Far and near the creatures of the forest saw it flickering in the dark and began to draw closer As they arrived one by one they saw that badger had been busy Pine was covered in jewels that shimmered and sent rainbows dancing all over the glade On the ground was spread a banquet enough for everyone and more Badger watched the glorious feast begin Well satisfied then tunneled back home as fast as he could to tell the sun the good news And the next morning began a little earlier As it was then when the world was young So it is today The seasons turn on the linchpin of friendship Each day the sun watches the world and everything in it For he is collecting stories to tell badger Their visits together grow longer every night for half a year At the darkest times we still honor the wise old pine by hanging jewels and lights in her branches And on the longest night of all Badger still comes to the surface bearing gifts He gives them to all the small creatures who bear patiently the cold and the darkness Knowing that even the winter will forever be joyful As long as the solstice badger keeps his promise And he always will The story is told that in the beginning there were two gods who were brothers And like many brothers they struggled with each other for ascendance and power One brother was a king of the forces of life light and warmth He were a crown made of green oak branches And brought with him all growth and vitality fertility and abundance He was called the oak king His brother were the king of the forces of death cold and darkness He were a crown made of the prickly holly branches and brought with him all withering And decay stillness and hibernation He was called the holly king The brothers were identical in strength and so year after year the same pattern was repeated Each year the oak king would grow strong and mighty and during his time of dominance the light would gradually increase Bringing with it warmth and abundance But each year at the height of his power he would be thrown down by the holly king And in the wake of holly king's victory the light would gradually wane And as it did cold would come and the land would go dormant For at the height of the holly king's power he would be challenged again by the oak king and would fall And that cycle would repeat again and again and again Alone the brothers were equals But soon there came a race of beings known as people The people watched this cycle and pretty soon they began to take sides The people loved the light and warmth And they feared the darkness and cold And so each year they would celebrate the victory of the oak king But they would mourn the victory of the holly king When the two struggled with each other the people would lend the strength of their voices and their bodies Their minds and their spirits to the oak king But the holly king was without their support And so time went by Over time the people's adoration of warmth and light only grew And so they began to invent ever newer ways to find light in the darkness And warmth in the cold And finally if they wished They could spend all of their time in the light that they had created And they could be warm all year round But their efforts to stay always in the light and the warmth were not without consequences Generations passed and generations again And the people did not at first notice the shifts in that balance But finally they could ignore it no longer The people began to notice that darkness was disappearing from the land Driven out by millions of lights that people had created Animals birds plants even people began to suffer the effects of light unbalanced by darkness But it was not just the darkness that was disappearing cold began to flee too The whole world began to get warmer Summer became summer and it sooner and lasted longer Ice had been frozen far longer than the longest memory of the oldest person in the land began to melt Migrating birds and animals began to be confused about when to begin the migration Plants found themselves rooted in climates that no longer supplied their needs The air was changing And the winds that had brought rain and taken it away and began to flow in unexpected directions Causing drought here and flood there The people began to see that their support of warmth and light Over cold and darkness had altered the balance of the whole world They began slowly One at a time to realize that the holly king was dying And for the first time this thought filled them with fear What would happen if the balance continued to be destroyed? Could they even survive in a world without the holly king? And in the world of the gods the oak king realized it too Though they had been competitors all these many centuries He also realized that he loved his brother deeply and could not live without him The longest night came and the oak king and the holly king met again But this time the oak king had no heart for the fight He laid down his sword and spear He came open-handed to his brother who was struggling just to stay on his feet The oak king wrapped the holly king in a tight embrace And he promised to set aside their enmity and to help his brother heal On the night when he usually acclaimed Ascendants the oak king realized that the world was already too warm and too light And so he laid the great oak crown on the head of his brother Took his brother's hand and each supporting the other They went out into the world To see what they could do To restore balance I'm over to your right I'm going to sing a song about the cycles That we've been hearing about And I wanted to explain that I'm using a special device That may be confusing if I don't explain it And this is a circle song device called a loop pedal Which I'll operate with my hand not my foot tonight And what it does is it records me And then plays it back immediately and over and over again That allows me then to layer on New sounds onto that original sound infinitely The reading is from black elk A holy man of the oglala Lakota nation We are a circle Within a circle With no beginning And never end Within a circle With no beginning And never end We are a circle Within a circle With no beginning Are a circle In a circle With no beginning The circle We are a circle Between the heartless sacred space Where we come face to face We are a circle Within a circle With no beginning We are a circle Within a circle With no beginning And never end Take our pain Take the dawn Into the earth again We are a circle Within a circle With no beginning We are a circle With no beginning And never ending You hear us say You hear us cry Now hear us call It's a birth and sky We are a circle Begin We are a circle Everything the Lakota does is in a circle And that is because the power of the world always works in circles And everything tries to be round In the old days when we were strong and happy people All our power came to us from the sacred hoop of the nation And so long as the hoop was unbroken The people flourished The flowering tree was the living center of the hoop And the circle of the four quarters nourished it The east gave us peace and light The south gave warmth The west gave rain and the north with its cold And the mighty wind gave strength and endurance Everything the power of the world does is in a circle The sky is round And I have heard that the earth is round like a ball And so are all the stars The wind and its greatest power whirls Birds make their nests in circles The sun comes forth and goes down again in a circle The moon does the same and both are round Even the seasons are a great cycle and they're changing And always come back to where they began We are a circle Within a circle With no beginning And never ending Inside our hearts there glows a spark Love and desire A burning fire We are a circle Within a circle With no beginning And never ending Within our blood Within our tears There lies the altar Of living water We are a circle Within a circle With no beginning And never ending We are a circle Within a circle With no beginning And never... I would like to tell you a story now It comes from the Shinto tradition of Japan In the Shinto cosmology the greatest god is named Amaterasu She is the goddess of the sun And in this story We got to remember that in addition to being the goddess of the sun she has a little brother Named Susanoo who is the god of thunder I don't know if any of you have had a little sibling before Or been a little sibling But sometimes you know you really want The older sibling's attention, right? And that was the case with Susanoo He just wanted his sister's attention But sometimes we let that desire Caused us to do some things we shouldn't do So in trying to get his older sister Amaterasu's attention He ruined her garden just just made a complete mess of it But she did not She did not rebuke him. She did not tell him he did something wrong. She just stayed calm Kept it to herself And then he just just made a real mess of her house, you know, just like ruined everything It was going to take hours to fix But she just stayed calm Didn't say anything about it And one day she was in her house and she was at her loom, you know weaving something I think those are motions that sort of go with a loom And Susanoo saw her through the window So he picked up a horse. Now, please don't try this at home because I do not want to be held responsible For your horse throwing problems. All right, so he picked up a horse and he threw it through the window And it smashed her loom She was like fine So she went to a cave in the mountains And she rolled a boulder in front of the mouth of the cave so heavy that no one else could move it And she hid herself away from the world The problem is of course, she's not just Susano owes little big big sister. She's also the sun. So the sun Was hidden away from the world and it got very dark and it was night all the time and we need nights to live But if it goes on too long, it's not good for plants and animals and other living things So all of the gods got together they realized this was a big problem And they went to where the cave was but like I said, no one else was strong enough to move that boulder So first they got all the roosters in all the world And they put them all right outside of her cave And they all said But she didn't come out of the cave So They went and got an evergreen tree They uprooted it. They put it right in front of the cave mouth They decorated the branches with colored beads And long lines of paper And they put a great big mirror up in the top branches so it could collect all the light You know, there's still some light in the night sky even when it's dark and it would shine out From the tree and they called in the cave and said they had something really beautiful and interesting to show Amaterasu She didn't come out Now maybe like me you're like, why is there a christmas tree in the middle of this japanese story? But here's what I found out. I went and looked it up and this story is at least three times as old as the earliest ancestors of the christmas tree So no matter what if you think there's a christmas tree in the middle of the japanese story Then you've also got a shinto shrine at home So finally the other gods are basically about ready to give up, but there was one goddess left Ame no uzume who hadn't figured out how she could contribute to the effort yet And she was just thinking about What could she do to get Amaterasu to come out of the cave and she just She just started dancing You know just like really not not like the nervous kind of dancing like like the kind of dancing where you have absolutely no sense of Propriety or expectation that anyone's going to take you just like not caring You're just really getting down right and she was she was dancing like this and Everybody started to laugh They were just really just couldn't help laughing at what she was doing And they laughed so hard that Amaterasu had to peek out from behind the boulder and see what was going on out there And she saw all these chickens first of all And she saw this decorated tree the light from her face was shining back into her eyes from the mirror She saw her little brother with that look on your face you get When you you really ready to apologize And she saw Ame no uzume just getting down And she laughed And the sun came out Because she did i'm glad he told that story and not me I just want to make it clear to everybody that is never going to happen And I appreciate him more now than I ever have I invite you now into a time of giving and receiving where we give freely and generously to this offering Which sustains our community here And this week as in all of our holiday services Provides funding for just danes eviction prevention program Sometimes the difference between a family being out on the street or staying in their home Can be just a little bit of help And so with your help just dain and joining forces for families Are helping people prevent eviction and homelessness So you'll see on the screen that you can donate directly from our website f us madison dot org You will see our text to give information there as well And we thank you for your generosity and your faith in this life we create together Come together to join in this celebration of darkness and light We have come together out of the cold to fill this place with song and stories Let us now join together in filling this sacred space with light and wishes Using our own energy our power our hope and goodwill To encourage the sun to return to us once again We invite you to think about a wish that you would have for our world For your own life For those you love In this season of wishes What do you wish If you had but one wish what would it be? Take your time thinking about it So much is at stake And end to all suffering And end to all violence A solution to poverty and all its ills Would you wish for love For forgiveness and healing Would you wish the world joy Or the wisdom to change Would you wish to understand everything or to know less than you do Take your time thinking about it so much is at stake for a wish is a thought And a thought is an idea An idea leads to commitment And a commitment cries out for action A wish can be a dangerous thing Something daring And it need not be witnessed by the stars to come true Let us be glad that we are not given just one wish in our lives, but many Let us be grateful not for wishful thinking but for The discipline of thoughtful wishing That can lead to change What would your wish be Here in the darkness of our sacred space let us feel the warmth of our community Knowing we are not alone For in the quiet shadow is the glow of life within all Let us know in the darkness the dreams within all and the gifts each one of us bears We are each a small flame A diminutive light and it is a wondrous gift To see another's glow Let us be in awe at this moment as we bring our wishes together And our light envelops this room as our hopes for peace and goodwill Fill this night So as we sing our winter solstice chant we invite you to come forward Bringing your wishes lighting your solstice candles And helping us fill this room with light and love and hope once again Spirit of winter rest Help us to enjoy your peace Remind us to pause during this season Remind us to wish to hope to dream Grant us awareness Keep our gratitude fresh each day May the songs in our hearts be blessings and insights To us and to others And may compassion always shine forth From the depths of our hearts spirits who joined us in our circle May we release them now spirit of the north Power we thank you for your gifts of growth and nurturing We ask for your blessing on this solstice night spirit of the north Hail and farewell spirit of the west Power of water We thank you for your gifts of cleansing and healing We ask for your blessing on this solstice night spirit of the west Hail and farewell spirit of the south power of fire We thank you for your gifts of passion and transformation We ask for your blessing on this solstice night spirit of the south Hail and farewell spirit of the east power of air We thank you for your gifts of clarity and inspiration We ask for your blessing on this solstice night spirit of the east Hail and farewell The circle is open but never broken Mary meet and Mary part and Mary meet again On this winter's night We wish you a season of love and light May you hear the dreams the hopes the shout within you Waiting to be reborn Blessed be