Halcyon days, now wars are ending.
You shall find where-e’er you sail
Tritons all the while attending
With a kind and gentle gale.
Halcyon Days by Thomas Shadwell (1642 – 1692)
Blessings of the eloquent quiet to one and all.
As I do each year around this time, I invite you to join me as we step into a magical Time Out of Time called the Halcyon Days. I first learned of this practice many years ago, from my friend and favorite holiday curator, the late Waverly Fitzgerald.
And each year, similarly to our growing tradition of the Advent Solstice Wreath ceremony, more and more of you report you are making this a conscious part of your holiday observances, too.
This is a very old tradition that begins a week to ten days before the Winter Solstice and ends about a week to ten days after. Some prefer to begin on Christmas Eve and continue through 12th Night, or they might observe these time-out-of-time days between St. Lucy’s Day (Dec. 13) and New Year’s Day.
In these hectic, too-bright-and-shiny, consumer-frenzied times, and maybe because of that dramatic disconnect, I think we need this more than ever. Not to mention the many, many of us who are struggling with profound anguish over the coming regime change in the United States. This is an ideal way to refill the well of our spirit, and find our footing as we prepare for the roiling hardships that may lie ahead.
So I observe them at this time, depending on how well I can clear my work schedule. Usually, I prefer to take the ten days each way, because this timing concludes on New Year’s Eve. I plan to start today, but then deep dive in after I conclude my workshop on Saturday (which still has seats available and would be a lovely way for you to observe this magical time).
In the Halcyon Days, we step away from our ordinary cares and the workaday world. This ancient practice calls us to pause, honor the rites of Yule, and celebrate with peace and kindness.
So for the next several weeks, that is what exactly I propose we do.
The Story of Halcyon
Once upon a time, Aeolus, King of the Winds, had a lovely daughter named Alcyone (also called Halcyon). She became the wife of Ceyx, King of Thessaly. Alcyone and Ceyx loved each other devotedly and were never willingly apart.
Nevertheless, a time came when Ceyx decided he must make the long journey across the sea to consult the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi. When Alcyone learned what he was planning, she was overwhelmed with grief and terror, for she knew the power of the sea winds and feared his death.
Ceyx was deeply moved, but his purpose held fast. Alcyone yielded at last, and let him go alone.
Alas! As everyone knows, men should listen to their wise and loving wives, for Ceyx was shipwrecked and died the tragic death that Alcyone had feared. The Gods appeared to Alcyone in a dream in the image of the drowned Ceyx, and told her of his death. Alcyone ran to the seashore and found Ceyx’s body drifting slowly towards her.
Stricken with grief, Alcyone jumped into the sea to join him in death, but the Gods took pity on her and before she could be overcome by the waves, she was transformed into a kingfisher.
Ceyx was reborn also into a sea swallow and together, their love lives forever. To this day, they are always seen together, flying or riding the waves.
To honor their love and to prevent any others from meeting such a tragic fate at this time of year, Zeus forbade the winds to blow for seven days prior to and seven days after the Winter Solstice.
The Tritons, attendants to Triton, the son of Poseidon, were called upon to ensure that this was made so. And henceforth, every year at this time, the Mediterranean Sea is supposed to lie still and calm; no breath of wind stirring the waters.
For this is when the kingfishers brood over their nests near the waters. After the young birds are hatched, the charm is broken.
So every year, at Winter’s threshold, these days of perfect peace are meant to come, and they are named after Alcyone, or, more commonly, “Halcyon Days.”
So starting now, my friends, let us bid welcome to the Halcyon Days.
At our next lighting of our candles during this threshold time, be aware of the heightened power that now comes upon us, for in only a week, the standing still of the Sun arrives, offering much-needed cosmic quiet to our anxious, agitated culture.
Let Us Be the Peace We Wish to See
Every year, I invite my readers to do all that is in our ability, to ensure that our restless inner and outer waters become quiet, so that the new birth may come. How perfect that this past Sun Day, we lit the candle many of us have dedicated to the Element of Water.
This year, in view of the ever deepening divisions among our people, the brutal wars being waged, the ceaseless hostility that seems to have settled over everything like ash, and the ongoing assault on democracy throughout the world, we surely need this time more than ever.
Because it’s all souls on deck in these especially stormy waters.
Please join me in weaving a very special magical spell for peace and kindness in this liminal time.
Perhaps to align with this time, you may decide to take a media break. Or turn off the news and keep up only through the written word (which is so much easier to pause and reflect over). Or perhaps you are ready to step away from the clamor of social media — just for now.
Reducing our time in the artificiality of the digital world, except for what is necessary in order to be with our friends and family, may be helpful for you. The time we spend in Nature is a healthier, more grounded choice than the endless loop of angst, fear, and seduction we are pushed to consume.
Maybe you’d like to join me in doing one thing — large or tiny — every day, as a random act of kindness, or to embody the peace we wish to see. On every day of this Halcyon time, let us each bestow with clear intention a special blessing to our troubled planet.
Yes, there is suffering beyond most of our comprehension, with war, destruction of human rights, and the climate catastrophe now upon us.
It’s daunting to anticipate the potential for violence and strife that is likely to accompany the installation of the new fascist government. But this is an ideal time to finalize the lessons we have been learning in our Strength Year, and prepare for the mental and spiritual courage we are going to need in the time ahead.
And meantime, even small acts of compassion and care can make a huge difference. Every act of generosity matters to someone and ripples out into the wider world. How might you offer your hand?
So breathe and be still.
Replenish yourself by embracing the beautiful wisdom of Nature at this time of endarkenment. For instance, you might wish to observe one peaceful hour each night with the lights and screens off.
What quiets and calms you? I invite you to post and share your own ideas and activities in the Luminous Sparks comments.
In all cases, let us pray with all our hearts, and then follow through. In the name of the Goddess, and by our own hands, may real peace come to our troubled world.
And may Love abide forever.
