In still of night
awaiting light,
may you rest 
as hope is kindled within.

Peace this Winter Solstice
and blessed be your celebration
of the season.

Winter Solstice, Mixed Media, Lex Leonard, 2023

The time of Winter Solstice comes at the darkest time of the year. Light is at a premium. It is cold in many places. Crops are finished, as are we with the hubbub of life. It is time to rest. We have moved from being in community to solitary activity. But when we think it can get no darker, the seed of light that is always present, but hidden, begins to glow brighter. Hope is kindled.

Winter Solstice is a painting that expresses my ritual of this season. It is dark. But there is color. Tree branches, veins, connections, plants are present but muted, slowed down, resting. There is some fear that maybe the light will never come, that plants won’t grow again, that my blood will not flow. The fear is unfounded as the wheel continues to turn. That which is outside of me teaches me that the seeds of hope, of light, of renewal are always present. I just need to rest and be patient and know we are all one. It is a time to reflect and see.

‘Around us, life bursts forth with miracles - a glass of water, a ray of sunshine, a leaf, a caterpillar, a flower, laugh raindrops…When we are tired and feel discouraged by life’s daily struggles, we may not notice these miracles, but they are always there.” Thich Nhat Hanh, The Sun My Heart

. . . .

I created this painting beginning the way I always begin. I bless the paper with the elements of fire (a match touched to the paper in all directions - East, South, West, North, Above, Below and Within). Air is incorporated as I blow out the match. Water from Magdalene’s cave in France is poured onto the canvas. Then earth from my garden is rubbed into the paper.

My intention for this painting was to express the darkness of the season. Browns, dark blues, some reds, and green all represent our oneness with nature. And there is light coming through, muted, but there. It is the hope that lives, always. The spiral and dots are our light within us that we are kindling now. It is our purpose to send these seeds out light to the world in union with Sun as the days grow longer.

I then cut the painting into thirty pieces and each piece was attached to a card. There are thirty people who now are connected even though no one will know everyone except for me. You are each very special to me and give me joy. We are now all connected, a community that can send even more light out into the world knowing we are loved and can love, even if it is just a little seed to plant.

Water that seed this season and there will be more light and love for all. I promise.

. . . .

Each card is numbered. It is on the back of the card. In the photo below you can see where your card fits into the painting. Top left is number 1 across to 5. The second row starts with 6 and ends with 10. And so on down the line to 30

The cards were put into envelopes, sealed, and placed into a basket before I addressed them. It is only then that I pulled each sealed card from the basket to add your address. I don’t know which card you received. Each one is unique and different, just like you.