December
The soul is silent. If it speaks at all it speaks in dreams.
― Louise Gluck, It Is Daylight
The Alchemy of Endings & Transformation
December is the month of closure and renewal. The year exhales, the air cools, and the world slows. It is a time to honor what has ended, to release what no longer serves, and to transform the residue of the past into energy for the future.
Endings are sacred. They are not failures, but invitations to evolve. Every experience, every relationship, every chapter that concludes carries wisdom. When we pay attention, endings can be fertile ground—compost that nourishes the next stage of life.
The Wild Woman as Alchemist
She knows that transformation is not about forcing change or rushing forward—it is about gentle, intentional release. She honors her emotions, feels deeply, and allows what no longer fits to naturally fall away.
December is her month to practice inner alchemy: turning loss into clarity, endings into insight, and what has passed into something luminous and new.
Practices for Release & Transformation
1. Release Ritual
Write down what you are ready to let go—fears, habits, relationships, regrets. Burn or bury the paper safely, feeling the energy of release flow through you.
2. Shadow Mapping
Journal about the year’s challenges and heaviness. Name what has been difficult and reflect on what each experience taught you. Transformation begins with acknowledgment.
3. Alchemy Bath
Soak in water infused with herbs like rosemary, juniper, and chamomile. Imagine the water dissolving what no longer serves you, leaving space for renewal.
4. Fire & Transformation
Light a candle or small fire. Speak aloud the qualities, patterns, or stories you wish to transform. Feel the heat dissolve stagnation and ignite your next chapter.
5. Harvest Your Wisdom
Reflect on the lessons learned this year. Write, draw, or create a small altar with symbols of growth and insight. This is your harvest—the treasure of endings.
6. Move with Intention
Walk in nature, stretch, dance, or move in ways that feel freeing. Let your body help release the old and make room for the new.
7. Nature as Teacher
Observe winter’s slowing rhythm. Trees shed leaves, rivers quiet, the earth rests. Let nature remind you that endings are natural, necessary, and fertile.
Foods to Nourish
Rooted & Warming Foods
These support grounding, digestion, and circulation during the colder months:
Root vegetables: Carrots, sweet potatoes, beets, parsnips – rich in fiber, minerals, and grounding energy.
Winter squash: Butternut, acorn, pumpkin – warming, nourishing, and full of beta-carotene.
Garlic & onions: Detoxifying, immune-boosting, and warming.
Ginger & turmeric: Anti-inflammatory, helps circulation, adds warmth to teas, soups, and stews.
Comforting Proteins & Fats
Support energy levels as the days shorten:
Legumes: Lentils, chickpeas, black beans – protein, fiber, and grounding.
Fatty fish: Salmon, mackerel – omega-3s for mood support and heart health.
Nuts & seeds: Walnuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds – healthy fats for brain and heart, grounding energy.
Coconut: Coconut oil, milk, shredded – warming, nourishing, and helps digestion.
Seasonal Fruits
Rich in vitamins, antioxidants, and sweetness to balance the heavier foods:
Citrus: Oranges, grapefruits, tangerines – immune support, vitamin C, bright energy.
Pears & apples: Fiber, sweetness, grounding, perfect for baking or stews.
Pomegranates: Antioxidants, a sense of ritual in the seeds, symbolism of renewal.
Herbal Allies & Beverages
Support detox, warmth, and reflection:
Herbal teas: Ginger, cinnamon, hibiscus, chamomile, peppermint – warming, calming, and grounding.
Bone broth: Warming, restorative, nourishing to the body and spirit.
Hot cocoa with spices: Cocoa, cinnamon, and nutmeg – comforting, mood-lifting, and ritualistic.
Fermented & Cleansing Foods
Help with gentle detoxification and emotional grounding:
Sauerkraut or kimchi: Gut-supportive and immune-boosting.
Pickled root vegetables: Adds brightness, probiotics, and digestive support.
Miso & fermented beans: Rich in enzymes and grounding energy.
Energetic Allies for Transformation
Crystals: Smoky quartz for release, obsidian for shadow work, citrine for manifestation, labradorite for insight.
Herbs & Plants: Sage or cedar for clearing, rosemary for clarity, juniper for purification, frankincense for reflection.
Animal Guides: Crow and raven for transformation and wisdom, owl for inner knowing, snake for shedding the old.
Reflection Prompts for December
What am I ready to release before the new year?
Which endings am I resisting, and how can I honor them?
How can I transform disappointment or loss into insight and power?
What old patterns, beliefs, or stories no longer serve my growth?
How can I carry forward the lessons of this year into the next?
December is the month to practice the art of letting go. To allow endings to illuminate, to cleanse, and to prepare the soil for what comes next. The wild woman does not fear endings; she transforms them. She does not cling to what is past; she becomes what is ready to emerge.
The Wild Woman Who Endured December
She is Louise Glück, the poet who unflinchingly charted the landscapes of grief, loss, and transformation. December lives in her work—the frozen earth, the bare trees, the still moments that hold the weight of everything past. She teaches us that endings are not empty, that reflection can be fierce and luminous at the same time.
She walked through her own winters, the silent months of sorrow and doubt, and turned them into art that sings. Her wildness was in her attention: in naming the truths most avoid, in speaking the quiet ache of mortality, in showing that transformation comes not through grand gestures, but through deep, persistent witness.
The Wild Woman of December is not loud. She is stillness incarnate. She knows that the end of a year is not merely a calendar date—it is a call to harvest wisdom, release what no longer serves, and honor what has been. She teaches that endings are sacred, and that to bear witness to them is to live fully, fiercely, and wholly.
Her gifts for us:
Truth in Solitude: She models the power of facing your own mind and heart without distraction.
Beauty in Letting Go: She shows that release is not weakness—it is artistry.
Depth in Reflection: She teaches that December’s dark is fertile, full of seeds for what comes next.
Wildness in Wisdom: She embodies the quiet courage it takes to live authentically to the very end of a cycle.