It’s hibernation time.
I’ve always been blessed with good sleep. Even as an adult: head hits the pillow, sleep takes over. My problem was sleeping through alarms or hitting snooze so often even my alarm clock gave up trying to rouse me! I would have missed my entire high school education if Mom hadn’t been there to wake me.
After I became a parent, my sleep became more permeable. Waking to her every wiggle or coo cured me of sleeping through my alarms, and now, like many of us in the cell phone age, I set alarms for EVERYTHING. I’m surprised I haven’t set an alarm saying “Eat.” Anyhoo.
Little buddies, cuddling
Hormones change everything. Hormones RULE everything. These past number of years, my experience of life has shifted, and suddenly it wasn’t just having a coffee too late in the day or reading past that sweet spot (you know what I’m talking about!) that caused me to not be able to fall asleep. And it wasn’t drinking a pot of tea after dinner that caused me to struggle in vain to talk my bladder out of needing to get up in the middle of the night. The middle of the night is a horrible time to have to try and lull ourselves back to sleep. But hormones don’t care about the clock.
So, for a not-very-long period of time, I experienced poor sleep. And then, yes, I slapped on an estrogen patch and took a progesterone pill, and what do you know. Sleep was restored to its former glory. I’m sorry to all of you for whom the fix isn’t so easy. Truly.
Sleep can be elusive and very challenging to deal with so instead, here, I thought I'd focus on relaxation. This being the hibernation time of year, despite also seeming to be the busiest time of year socially, I’ve been contemplating the idea of hibernation and relaxation. I’ve been wanting to not time-travel, cool as that would be, as much as time-stretch. Yes, if I could stretch time the way my dad used to pull molasses, I feel I’d be the best version of myself. Never hurried. Never late. Always calmly ready for whatever was happening next in my day.
If I could stretch time, I could spend hours staring at the river. Hours under the moonlight, in a bath. I could go dancing every day, and read an entire novel in one sitting. But, as I found out the one time I tried making it without my dad, molasses is really hard to pull, and in this sped-up century, time refuses to slow down.
What are some of the ways we can go into the cave of ourselves?
It is up to us. It is up to us to slow down. We may not be able to force sleep to come, but we can choose to prioritize moving through the seasons more closely with nature, and moving through our days with more awareness of each moment.
Winter Solstice is Saturday, December 21st. We are in the heart of the dark cave right now. Can you stretch some time this season and hibernate? Maybe you set aside some time to soak in a lovely bath. Or you have a cup of tea where you simply sit and sip that tea without distraction.
Maybe, as I did when I was in 6th grade, you climb into a closet with a flashlight and a good book, wearing big, foam-lined headphones from your 1970s stereo system. The headphones aren’t to listen to music. No, they are to muffle the rest of the household so it’s just you and the words on the page, weaving such a powerful story you are worlds away from anything but what happens next. The luxury of time spent reading a book is a wonderful way to hibernate. I suppose you could do it from the comfort of your couch if you’d like. But I do recommend trying to make a little fort sometime so you can really dive in where no one can find you.
Herbs to support hibernation.
Herbs can have an effect on all systems of our bodies. And all of our bodies’ systems can have an effect on how well we do or do not relax. Anti-spasmodics, anxiolytics, sedatives, nervines. These remedies, taken properly, either through your own research or with support of an herbalist, can truly improve our experience of life by encouraging more comfort and rest in our bodies and minds.
A short list of some of my favorite herbs for chilling out:
Passiflora incarnata passionflower
Lavandula spp. lavender
Valeriana officinalis valerian
Eschscholzia californica California poppy
Matricaria chamomilla chamomile
Piper methysticum kava
These herbs can be enjoyed as tea, tablet, or tincture, but please remember, they are potent and some may have contraindications.
My friend Abbey painted these California poppies.
If you want to try and stretch time by pulling molasses candy over this hibernation season, this recipe is similar to what my dad made. I don’t think it could ever taste as good as his, but I might give it another go.
Remember last year’s candle-dipping, calendar-dreaming workshop? My sweet friend Janette and I are offering it again!
Two days to choose from:
Sunday, January 26
Saturday February 1
1:00-3:30
$85
We’ll meet at Dragonfly Floral
425 Westside Road; Healdsburg, CA
Join us for an afternoon together, dreaming and planning for the coming year. Read more about Imbolc and start your year with intention. We’ll dip candles, blend herbs for a magickal bath, and create a hydrosol & essential oil spritz to take home reminders of our goals for 2025. Sign up here!
Happy holidays to you and yours.
May you be blessed with the gift of time. Time to dream. Time to enjoy. Time to relax with yourself and with those you love.
As we begin to welcome back the light, let’s remember the many gifts the longer hours of darkness has to offer.
