Return to the Light: The Fourth Step in Becoming

Taylor & Lauren
2 days ago
3 min read

“There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.”

-Leonard Cohen

December arrives in hushed tones - long nights, bare trees, skies scattered with stars. The year exhales, and in the quiet of these longest nights, something stirs...a faint glimmer at the edge of the horizon. The light begins its return. This month, we honor both the darkness that teaches us to rest and the light that reminds us to hope. We stand at the threshold between the two, holding both in our hands.

Why We Turn Toward the Light

We need the dark - its stillness, its depth - but we are not meant to live there forever. There comes a moment to lift our gaze and welcome the first thin rays returning, even if our eyes are still adjusting.

The return of the light reminds us that we are part of something larger - a rhythm that continues whether we notice it or not. It is a quiet reassurance that no matter how long the night, dawn always comes. The light asks nothing of us but to notice it. To let it in, even if only a little at a time.

Stars seem to appear brightest on the longest nights. There’s something comforting about looking up into that vast darkness and seeing those small points of light, steady and patient, as if reminding us that even when everything feels quiet and still, the light is still there, waiting for us to notice it. Sometimes when we're creating new scents, we like to stand outside for a few minutes until the sky fills with stars that just moments before were invisible to us...you just have to stand still long enough to see it.

This month is an invitation to dream again. Notice the quiet ways you’ve kept your own light alive. Believe that something new is coming, even if you can’t yet see its shape. You don’t have to blaze all at once - you only have to turn, little by little, toward what warms you.

Welcoming the Light

This simple solstice ritual helps you reflect and plant a quiet hope for the year to come.

What You’ll Need:

Three candles (or one candle, lit three times in turn)
A slip of paper
A quiet space

Steps:

1️⃣ On the longest night (or any night this month), sit in a darkened room with your candles unlit.

2️⃣ Take a few slow breaths and reflect: What have I learned in the dark? What have I carried through the year?

3️⃣ Light the first candle, and whisper: I honor what was.

4️⃣ Light the second candle, and whisper: I welcome what is.

5️⃣ On the slip of paper, write a word or wish for the year ahead. Light the third candle and whisper: I invite what will be.

6️⃣ Place your paper somewhere safe - an altar, journal, or tucked into your wallet - as a seed for what’s to come.

Journal Prompts

For deeper reflection:

What did this year teach me about my own strength?
What darkness have I learned to carry with grace?
What light do I want to invite into my life this coming year?

This month calls for scents that feel both grounding and luminous, like walking under stars.

🌙 Frankincense & Myrrh - sacred, resinous, full of quiet light

✨ Cedar & Bergamot - grounding with a hint of brightness

🖤 Use a candle, spray, or bath ritual to mark the turning of the season and welcome the light back in.

You have carried yourself through the dark. You have kept your ember alive. Here at the turning of the year, you are reminded that the light always returns. May you welcome it gently. May you honor what came before. May you step into what comes next - whole, luminous, and unafraid.