Achy joints, a runny nose, and a tender grieving heart usually accompany the northern winter portal for those land stewards on the front line. One of the most challenging practices for the modern world is to take rest through the ice capped months of winter. We are all so conditioned into thinking that working within the capitalistic system will promise security and health. When in reality capitalism is fueling the ecocide that creates the most horrific cases of instability, calamities, and diseases known on Earth. It's clear now that the only opposition to capitalism is the Indigenous time honored approach of aligning with the cyclical, seasonal, and natural ways of living. Surely winter cannot demand of us the same energy levels that spring and summer are made for. Summers longer days and shorter nights challenges us and propels us forward, while winter forces us to stop in time, freezing over our ambitious drive.
Over extending and not stopping even if for just a moment is the perfect recipe for disaster during the winter months. The moment the body says, stop, rest, breathe, and recalibrate is truly the first response in the line of defense to keep the body in equilibrium despite the frosted over barren tree tops. When all of nature is hibernating, dormant, resting, decaying, decomposing, and decompressing it seems deeply inconsiderate to waste the naturally given opportunity to slow down and over winter along with the rest of life enduring the cold. Stories are told that the Indigenous Inuit tribal peoples of the Arctic slept up to 14 hours a night during the coldest months of the year compared to only 6 hours during the Arctic summer prior to colonization.
Resting and resisting capitalism is an essential decolonial principle that is widely celebrated during winter. The western war machine uses industrialization propaganda to spread their military expansion. The more we consume, the larger the military industrial war machine grows. The "machine" is a destructive greedy tool used to steal and extract from the land and her Indigenous stewards. During the cooler months it's natural to lean into "comfort". We may feel inclined to fill our environments with nourishment and warmth. This longing for comforting foods, warming adornments, and communal engagement is traditionally what winter time is for. However, the industrial colonial war machine has tricked everyone into believing that mass mindless consumerism is normal during winter, instead of knitting a warm sweater for someone you love. Mindless consumerism contributes to ecocide and climate change, while knitting a sweater is an ancient Indigenous technology practiced to survive through the cold.
There is a void for so many of us during this time of year. Families who have been fractured leave the members with heavy grief and undealt with emotions. The uneducated are unaware of the many sustainable ways to nourish, find comforts, and fill the void. Sadly reports have indicated that americans throw away 25% more trash between thanksgiving and new years annually, which is an extra 25 million tons of garbage every year. Consumerism in america is the leading cause of pollution and ecocide on the planet. This blatant lack of care for the Earth and her resources is why humanity suffers so much. This is what we need to resist during the colder months. The industry and larger corporations spend billions in advertisements to entice the working class to blow all of their meager resources on material garbage, and those ads are quadrupled during winter. The mainstream influencers make people feel average and undesirable if they don't purchase the latest trending item. Meanwhile those items are of course laced with toxic forever chemicals that'll take hundreds of years to biodegrade. This causes further degradation to the Earth and her natural resources, all the while Mama Earth is just trying to rest during these colonial holidays! From thanksgiving to valentines day the war machine uses trendy new items to lure in hard earned consumer resources to further pillage and steal. This lines the greedy pockets of the 1% elite class who are complicit in war crimes across the planet.
The most radical, comforting, warming, and nourishing act of self care during the gradually lethargic season is to slow down with all of nature. Hibernate, take rest, say no to those extraneous outings, refrain from pushing yourself too hard, take into account what you already have, share resources, amass only what is necessary to survive through the winter. Resist the urge to over consume and over exert. Make rest a radical form of self, familial, communal, and Earth care. Make meals from scratch, source ingredients locally, grow what you can in your community garden or in your window seal. Support ethical brands, shop second hand, knit or patch up old garments, wear what you have until those items can no longer be worn, buy what can easily biodegrade once the shelf life is up, purchase items with longer shelf lives by sourcing quality versus quantity. Most importantly support Indigenous brands and better yet just don't buy anything at all. The more we feed into capitalism, the more we degrade the Earth.
Different types of rest:
Mental rest- meditation, creative outlets, quieting the mind
Physical rest- sitting down, grounding, laying down, sleeping
Emotional rest- witnessing emotions without reacting, detachment and compassion
Spiritual rest- surrender to a higher power
Societal rest- retreat inward, focus solely on self and familial needs, say "no" when needed
Lean into all the various ways in which you can take more time to rest from what is normally expected of you when possible. Use your sick days during the winter, take your vacation during the winter and prioritize rest, postpone responsibilities when necessary and give yourself compassion for doing so.
Create:
Due to the slower pace of life, nature's innate hibernation, the longer nights, and cold temperatures draw us inward more. This pull inward is the perfect time to start that art project that has been put off. Or maybe there's a stronger calling to read those books that have been collecting dust on the shelf. If photography is especially important to you, it might be a good time to create new ideas around what inspires your work. Collect inspirational quotes, patch or create new clothing pieces, learn to knit or get creative and try new designs, and spend time in nature when you can. Start a vision board and prepare for the year ahead. Join a local book club, create a clothing swap, craft medicines to share with community. Look in your medicine cabinet and create new medicines that you've not tried before. It's a wonderful time to craft candles, body butters, soaps, syrups, and tea blends. If you've been tending a garden all spring until the end of Autumn then you'll likely be sorting and saving seeds. Winter is the perfect time to work with natural fibers, natural dyes, mushroom spore printing, and also with pottery.
Journal:
With pen in hand we scribe our futures and reflect upon our past momentum. This chilling season is the perfect time to rekindle your regular journaling meditations. It usually starts with the date up at the top on the first line, if recording your life is important you'll want to be as detailed as possible.
It might be helpful to dedicate a week, month, or winter to a specific prompt so that it feels natural and your encouraged to slow down. Maybe this week the journal prompts will be focused on a flowering plant you are working with, a plant for the particular bodily system you are working with, or for an element. The month might be dedicated to an element, ancestor, spirit guide, place, tradition, or deity and for that entire month you'll return to your journal with new insight or an accumulation of reflections about the chosen topic.
However you meet your journal, you are tending to a living record. Upkeeping your life records is beyond necessary as we have so much special wisdom that will be cherished by the following generations to come. Keep track of your favorite recipes because they may soon be an heirloom for the family. Recommit yourself to taking notes, writing freely, expressing yourself as you see fit, and playing with words or language.
Planning and Preparing:
The cold winds require that we wait before starting new projects or planting a new garden. Coming out of our shells to embrace the warmth of spring will take time, intention, and precision. For many who work the land and the Indigenous who rely on the land in the Northern hemisphere or above the equator, there will be but a brief window come spring to plant all the needed crops, food, and medicines to survive through another year and winter. For this reason, farmers who live in colder climates will tend to the crops that can over winter, but they'll also be planning to the exact detail what their next seasons yield will be. Light research is involved when planning for the season ahead, the planting zone, water requirements, and likelihood of a successful grow are all important factors to consider. During winter those who honor Mother Earths resting period will be building their garden beds upwards, utilizing various raised beds designs, sourcing good quality compost, and planning how to handle competition from wild life. Gina Marie, an Apache herbalist and traditionalist shares the importance of allowing the soil and Earth to sleep through winter and regenerate. She advises not to dig into the Earth, not to take minerals and elements from the Earth at this time. In traditions around the world the garden sleeps during winter and humans are meant to focus on warmth, food preparation, story telling, fire tending, and the upkeep of familial relations. Whether in the garden, the home, at work, or in your avenue of expertise it may be beneficial to plan the next steps ahead during winter instead of taking action which may lead to over exertion. It may be a good time to create a vision board, write out all of your goals, plan to the smallest detail, or plan by month. Some folk find it helpful to have "planners" to help them navigate the year ahead.
Source an eco friendly planner or make/ use hand made paper to create your own:
Adapt, Strengthen, Boost, Warm:
To endure through the frosty wintery nights it's advisable to work with adaptogenic, warming, immune boosting, and strengthening foods and herbal remedies.
Garlic Allium Sativum- This extremely warming clove or bulb is pungent, bitter, salty, astringent, and sweet to taste aiding in an overall cleansing yet grounding after effect. Garlic stimulates blood flow in the body while also lowering high blood pressure. Garlic is a cure all and used as a potent medicine around the world. In fact many cultures do not consume garlic on a regular basis recognizing its highly potent qualities, saving garlic for serious conditions so as not to give certain viruses or bacteria the chance to become resistant against its hot therapeutic effects. Instead, certain groups of people for example in Africa and India only use garlic in the case of a serious condition and often make a tea or eat the cloves raw. The cloves can be cut into small pieces and ingested whole like a capsule or tablet at the onset of illness. Garlic can be grated and added to soups, used as a spice to prepare warming foods to prevent or cure a sickness. Garlic is a tonic, alkaline, and acts as a whole body antibiotic.
Cats Claw Uncaria tomentosa- Boasting dozens of rare phytochemicals, Cat’s Claw is one of the strongest immune boosting whole body antibiotics. It is cleansing and purifying to the blood, has strong antiviral, antimicrobial, antiparasitic, analgesic, and antileukemic properties. It is bitter and cold, and should be avoided during pregnancy or breastfeeding due to its contraceptive qualities. Cat's Claw is native to Peru and has been stewarded by the Indigenous people in South as well as Central America. It assists in the healing and reversal of autoimmune diseases, protects against laryngitis, sore throats, and tick bites. Is also helpful at addressing indigestion, heals cancer, and neutralizes heavy metal poisoning. Cat’s Claw contains Ajmalicine which is an antihypertensive compound that has been marketed as a drug by numerous brands. It also contains Quercitrin which has anti inflammatory and antioxidant properties.
Tulsi Ocimum tenuiflorum- Originally Indigenous to Africa, India, and parts of the Middle East. Tulsi is worshiped as a Goddess in India as the lore suggests that Lord Vishnu marries Tulsi and who has proven herself by having perfect love. For this reason, in India, it is common in worship to have various Tulsi plants around the home. An immune boosting adaptogen, Tulsi helps to regulate the metabolic organs of the body and improves digestion. Tulsi is extremely rich in magnesium and potassium, and as an analgesic and antiemetic it helps to prevent migraines and also stops feelings of nausea. Rich in volatile oils, Tulsi is warming, pungent, and also sweet to taste, helping to improve oral health while also dispelling cold from the body. It is antiviral, antifungal, and antibacterial, boosting the immune system and fighting infection. Improving the mood and helps to restore energy as a rejuvenative, Tulsi is tonifying, antianxiety, and antidepressant. From ovulation pain, stress, kidney stones, cough, colds, and fever, to sore thoughts, memory disorders, high blood pressure, and lung diseases, Tulsi has an affinity for all of the bodily systems.
Astragalus Membranaceus- This plant is in the vetch family and is actually a type of pea that grows wild in the open fields of China, Korea, and Mongolia where it is Indigenous to. Astragalus is an adaptogen that increases WBC count and boosts the immune system to truly fortify the body at the onset of illness. This root is deeply nourishing, tonifying to the body, and tastes sweet and feels warming. The perfect decoction for a wintry day! In Traditional Chinese Medicine Astragalus is named Huag Qi which can roughly be translated to as a “yellow life preserver”. The root looks like shredded bone and is white-ish yellow in color, this signifies its affinity for addressing bone pain and healing arthritis. These roots act as an adaptogen, liver tonic, blood tonic, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, detoxicant, immunomodulator, anticancer, antitumor, brain enhancer, digestive, tonic, nervine, antidiabetic, and blood thinner to name a few of their healing abilities. Astragalus is one of the top sources of polysaccharides which are long chain carbohydrates, sugar molecules actually that are known to help store energy. Polysaccharides also help boost the immune system, expel toxins from the body, improves blood circulation, helps prevent tumor growth, and helps to prevent the signs of aging.
It's possible the most fulfilling aspects of winter come from the whispers of our ancestors and through our dreams
To tap into the wisdom of your guides and helpful allies, during winter, it requires that you rest
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