As the Winter Solstice arrives tomorrow, we cross a potent threshold — the longest night of the year. In the turning of this seasonal wheel, nature teaches us something profound: that to reach the light, we must first meet the dark.

There is something elemental in this rhythm. The quiet descent into winter mirrors our inner life — the places within us that long to slow down, turn inward and be with what is unresolved or unseen. And yet, the darkness within us often feels full of unknowns. It can be tempting to move away from it — to distract ourselves with busyness, with the needs of others, or with the comfort of routine.

This week, I sat with two clients who each spontaneously drew a sphere of darkness. Black, dense, and mysterious. Though different in context, their images carried the same invitation: to stay with what feels heavy. To let it speak. To let it unfold. One of these clients called their darkness, 'the Void' and he spoke about his temptation to 'avoid the Void.'

Yet the darkness is not just a void. It's actually a place of creative gestation. Like the baby growing in the womb or the butterfly in its chrysalis.

As Joseph Campbell reminds us: “The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.”

Supporting Clients Through the Darkness

As Transpersonal therapists, we are invited to honour not only what is spoken and seen, but also what stirs in the liminal — the archetypal, the intuitive, the unseen. We must wait with patience and attunement until a client is ready. Often, their darkness reveals itself subtly — through words, images, sensations, or silence. When this happens organically, and only if they feel willing and safe, may we begin to explore it through gentle pathways such as imagery, poetry and creativity. The Winter Solstice offers us a guiding metaphor — a seasonal threshold that calls us to turn inward, to honour the dark and to discover the light it holds.

This is a sensitive, vulnerable place to accompany our clients and so it is important to be guided by the readiness of ourselves as practitioners, as well as our depth and quality of relationship with our clients. And rather than interpreting too quickly or seeking resolution, we can instead invite them to amplify their image or the sensation they bring. To trust there is meaning waiting within.

A Solstice Invitation

This Winter Solstice, let us honour the quiet mystery of the dark. For ourselves and our clients. Let us remember that what feels heavy may, in time, become both sacred and transformational. 

Nature shows us the light will return.
First, we are invited to step into the cave.

With warmth at this sacred solstice time ❄️
Kellie Miles
The Transpersonal Soul Space