Happy Reclamation Season!
“Reclaiming my time!” — a phrase popularized by Rep. Maxine Waters in 2017 — has been around for far longer than the meme. But this year, I’ve noticed the profound influence “reclaiming” has had across the nation. It signals a deep, positive shift: people taking back ownership of their time, their space, their traditions, and their celebrations.
December carries the same theme. The Big Dark leading up to the Winter Solstice symbolically invites reflection, reassessment, and reclaiming what is ours. This impulse is becoming visible in many arenas of life: voters reclaiming the nation’s narrative at the polls, independent media reclaiming the role of journalism over mainstream partisan spectacle, and social discourse reclaiming space from extreme voices by quietly moving past the noise.
This season, reclaiming extends beyond politics or media. It manifests in how we reclaim holidays, traditions, and personal celebrations — away from consumer pressures, religious expectations, or manufactured experiences. Pagan and solstice observances, once fringe, now share the stage with conventional festivities. “Happy Solstice!” is heard as frequently as “Merry Christmas,” alongside greetings for Beltane or Samhain. There’s a quiet but powerful groundswell: people are reclaiming the sacred, the personal, and the celebratory.
One example of this reclamation is our annual winter solstice bonfire ritual, which began as a modest gathering in 2007. It answered a call for a spiritual, communal ritual without religious framing — a space to mark the turning of the year, acknowledge the darkness, and invite light and intention back into our lives. What started with a handful of friends has grown steadily; in 2024, over 125 firewalkers gathered, sharing the warmth of fire, ritual, and community.
The bonfire ritual is simple but potent. A circle is drawn, infused with intentions, inviting all to enter. Participants write down negativity to release, along with hopes and dreams to ignite, on slips of paper, folded or rolled as vessels for intention. Other offerings — herbs, wood, personal tokens — can also carry intentions, marked with ink. These are tossed into the fire, negative first, positive after, walking the circle three times in meditation for the release of the negative and three times around for blessings in the coming year.
Fire, malleable and transformative, carries intention. Each offering, each walk, becoming a conduit for change, healing, and manifestation. The ritual is brief but its impact resonates far longer. Afterward, participants celebrate with a communal meal, honoring the season and the work done.
Through rituals like this, we reclaim what is ours: a holiday that is personal, intentional, and magical. We reclaim tradition, infusing it with meaning, agency, and connection rather than obligation. We reclaim community, gathering without judgment or expectation. We reclaim the narrative of our celebrations, letting them be shaped by intention rather than prescription.
Our Holiday Magick is upon us.
Some may see a tradition, some see enchantment…
Our working wards life brightly through the darkest days toward Solstice.
With every bauble, bulb, and bow,
we invoke tranquility in the land,
a bettering of the general welfare.
With silver and gold, we work prosperity forward into the new year.
With wreath, garland, and tree, we infuse welcome:
Hail Guest! We ask not what thou art.
If friend, I greet thee hand and heart.
If stranger, such no longer be.
If foe, my love shall conquer thee.
Securing the seasonal blessings for all who may call.
This December, in a world that has long demanded our attention and compliance, take a moment to reclaim your time, your traditions, and your joy. Gather around the fire, write your intentions, release what no longer serves, and invite what you wish to cultivate. There is power in reclaiming, and in the simplest of rituals, magic quietly unfolds.
