The winter solstice is the longest night of the year and invites us to slow all the way down.
In the Northern Hemisphere, we’ll be experiencing the winter solstice thisSunday, December 21st, marking a quiet turning point. Darkness reaches its peak, and without any effort on our part, the light begins its gradual return. Across cultures, this threshold has been honored as a time of rest, reflection, and visioning for what wants to emerge next.
Cacao is a beautiful ally for this moment. Its warmth grounds the body and its heart-opening nature helps us stay present inside the darkness without rushing toward clarity or resolution.
Keep reading to discover a Winter Solstice cacao ritual to support you in resting deeply, honoring the unseen, and welcoming the slow, steady return of the light, both around you and within you.
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Winter Solstice Cacao Ritual
Timing
This ritual is best practiced in the evening near the Winter Solstice, though you can work with the energy of the longest night anytime during this season if your schedule calls for flexibility.
Ritual Tools
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Cacao
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A candle
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Incense or herbs for cleansing
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Journal and pen
Recommended Cacao: Oaxacan Spice, with warming notes of cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and cayenne to gently kindle inner warmth during the darkest time of the year.
Preparing The Space
Begin by preparing a cup of cacao and tidying your space in a way that feels grounded rather than rushed. As your cacao warms, let yourself slow down with it.
Place your phone on Do Not Disturb or turn it off completely. This is a small but powerful signal to your nervous system that nothing is required of you right now.
Take a few breaths and tune into your heart space. Notice what feels present for you at this solstice threshold, especially around themes of rest, trust, light and dark, and the slow tending of new life. There is no need to analyze or fix anything. Simply notice what wants to be felt.
Calling In The Elements
Light a candle and invite the element of fire, welcoming warmth and illumination into the darkness. Let the flame represent the returning light, subtle but steady, growing stronger with each passing day.
From the candle flame, light your incense or herbs and invite the element of air. As the smoke rises, welcome clarity, perspective, and breath. You may also choose to acknowledge the four directions, honoring the lands you are on and the many lineages who have gathered at seasonal thresholds like this long before us.
Bring awareness to the element of earth through your cup of cacao, grown from soil, created by trees, and tended by human hands. Feel the steadiness beneath you, the ground that holds you through cycles of rest and renewal.
Then invite the element of water, present in your cup and within your body. Envision it carrying nourishment, memory, and intention through every layer of your being.
If it feels right, take a moment to call in any ancestors, guides, or sources of wisdom and support you wish to walk this path with you. You might name them silently or simply hold an intention to be accompanied by what is loving, protective, and aligned with your highest good.
Pause here. Let yourself feel held by the elements, the directions, and the unseen support that surrounds you.
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Sip Your Cacao With Intention
As you begin to sip your cacao, let the warmth of the cup meet you slowly. Feel the weight of it in your hands, the scent rising, the first taste landing on the tongue.
Allow yourself to be held by this moment. The Winter Solstice is not asking for answers or action. It’s asking for presence. For willingness to sit in the dark without rushing to name what comes next.
Winter is not empty. It’s a gestation period. A time when roots deepen and visions form quietly, beneath the surface. As you sip, notice what softens in you. Notice where the body relaxes, where the breath settles, where something unspoken begins to move.
Cacao supports this kind of listening. Not by pushing insight, but by creating the conditions for truth, memory, and wisdom to arise in their own time. Let yourself stay here for a few moments longer than feels necessary.
Journal Reflections
When you feel ready, turn to your journal. You may receive responses to the following prompts now, later, or in subtle ways over the coming days.
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What is my relationship with darkness and rest right now?
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How do I nurture and protect the light within me?
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Where am I being asked to slow down this season?
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What is quietly germinating inside me for the next cycle?
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What does my body or heart want me to know at this turning point?
If words don’t come easily, that’s okay. Let sensations, images, or single phrases guide you.
