The winter solstice has always held a special place in my heart. It's more than just the longest night of the year. It's mynight. My birthday falls on this celestial turning point, when the sun reaches its southernmost position and the world holds its breath before tipping back toward the light.
There's something poetic about being born at the exact moment when darkness peaks and light begins its slow return. My mom understood this from the start. Straight out of the womb, she gifted me my birth chart, as if to say: here's your cosmic blueprint, your personal map of the stars at the exact moment you entered this world.
I was around nine when I first started reading through it with genuine curiosity. The symbols, the houses, the planetary placements. It all felt like a secret language waiting to be decoded. But my exploration was interrupted. My grandma, bless her heart, believed astrology was part of the devil's work. So I tucked that curiosity away, keeping it quiet, keeping it small.
It wasn't until after she died that I allowed myself to really dive in. To explore without guilt. To embrace what had always felt true to me: that there's wisdom in the stars, in the cycles, in the cosmic dance that's been unfolding since long before any of us arrived.
This year marks an extra special birthday. The kind that feels like a threshold, a portal, a moment of significant shift. So the way I celebrate the winter solstice is going to look a little different this time. I'm still in the thick of planning it, letting intuition guide me toward what wants to emerge. I'll tell you all about it after the solstice passes.
Your First Cosmic Artifex Build
But here's where you come in. This is your first cosmic artifex build, and I want you to be part of creating it. Not just following a template or checking boxes on someone else's ritual list. I need you to think about how YOU want this to happen.
What does the winter solstice mean to you? What are you releasing as the light returns? What are you calling in? How do you want to mark this turning point in your own life?
Maybe you're drawn to candlelight and silence. Maybe you need music and movement. Maybe your ritual involves pulling tarot cards at midnight or writing letters to your future self. Maybe it's as simple as standing outside in the cold and acknowledging that you made it through another year.
There's no wrong way to build your cosmic artifex. The only requirement is that it feels true to you.
The solstice is coming. The longest night is almost here. And then, just when it seems the darkness might last forever, the light begins its return.
What will you build in that sacred turning?
If you need ideas refer back to the last 2 posts for more details.
Next Post: The Winter Solstice Report & check-in.