Bear Witness

“At Winter Solstice, You Must Birth Your Own Sun,” Jerome Stueart, (11 x 15) watercolor and mixed media on paper.

Before Christmas, I had the pleasure of joining my partner, Joey, and members of his family and longtime friends out at Wortroot, a forested acreage near the border of TN and VA made up of a collection of barns and houses that were collectively owned since the 70s and housed creative people, including Joey for a while, on a piece of land that is part commune and part nature preserve. The people who gathered at the celebration were all fun, creative people of multiple generations. Families who have known each other because the original set of friends bought the place and raised kids there and came back again and again for celebrations.

Shortest day of the year. Longest night. Winter Solstice BEGINS the Sun’s gradual increase over the rest of the year, making days longer and longer and giving us more sunshine. It’s the birth of a new year. You don’t have to be Pagan to celebrate it. In fact, since it is celebrated about 4 or 5 days before Christmas, you probably already celebrate a version of it. During the Winter Solstice, you “birth the sun” and Christ1ans celebrate the “birth of the Son.” You celebrate around a big evergreen tree, light candles, sing songs, eat food with friends and family.

This was my first time there (though some had met me at Summer Solstice). It was SO nice to be introduced as Joey’s partner. I helped lead a parade of singing, dancing, children with jingle bells on through the house! I got a fantastic chocolate cake recipe (I seem to collect those now!!). I ate delicious food, talked to many fascinating people, and then we spent some good time out at the bonfire.

I looked at this bonfire, where the flying cinders and ash resembled snow, and watched how the warmth of the families and their love for each other were, in many ways, creating this sun. Our LOVE creates (the sun for) our new year. What year are we creating? It doesn’t matter what year someone else in p0wer tries to create–we can fuel Our Sun by standing together and pushing back.

Winter Solstice is not the only time we have bonfires, though, and not the only time we can infuse the Sun with the warmth of our love for each other. Imbolc (FEB 1) just passed, and bonfires are popular then! My former experiences with bonfires were mostly college game night ones! Or campfires. Or Whitehorse’s Burning Away the Winter Blues (in late Feb/early March). Those work too!

I tried to capture in this painting, the love, the playfulness, the way a bonfire can bring us together to watch in fascination, to reflect and meditate on the year, to burn away, perhaps, the dross of the old year— things that disappointed us, ways of believing that no longer seem true, circumstances, bad relationships–all get sacrificed into the fire, in a belief that better things are being built and created through the love we share right now.

That’s the promise of the Longest Night: the light will always come back, the light will always come back. And we can build it back. You and me and a bunch of kids and families and friends on a cold dark night.

_____________________________

I held this painting back from posting it for a month or two because of the LA Fires. But others reminded me that we needed to see the warmth of this moment too–that fire isn’t all destruction.

May the warmth of your love,
the love of your chosen families, friends,
(who also choose you)
keep you warm and safe
and hopeful that the Sun
we are creating will benefit us ALL.

In our struggles, pr0tests, and resilience, we create a powerful Sun of the People. I believe if we don’t give up, it will push out the darkness, slowly but surely.

The light always comes back; it just doesn’t happen all at once.

If you would like a print or sticker or card with this image, please see the sidebar on this website for REDBUBBLE and ORDER PRINTS, respectively. NOTE: Shipping on prints can’t begin till Feb 17th.

(Later this week, I have a much more provocative image! For now, get cozy and warm. )

If you would just like to keep a bear warm, consider buying a coffee for me. Thank you!