Dongzhi 冬至 (Winter Solstice) Medicine & Practices for Your Deep Replenishment
Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858) titled “Taiko Bridge, Meguro, on a Snowy Evening.”
Hello loves—
Dec 19th New Moon in Sagittarius arrives like a match struck in the dark—quiet at first, then suddenly you can see what’s been calling you all along. And since Sagittarius is my sign (and we’re in Sagittarius season), I can’t help but smile at the timing: this new moon feels like a little personal mirror—especially as we edge toward the beginning of 2026, when the Chinese calendar shifts into the Year of the Fire Horse (starting Feb 17). And since I’m a Horse in the Chinese zodiac too, it’s basically a personal weather report.
I’ve always thought of myself as a sort of double horse—and honestly, putting 200,000 miles on my first car by the time I was 21 pretty much confirms it. I love to run free, roam far, feel the wind of possibility, and follow the trail of “more.” Freedom has always been medicine for me.
And… experience has taught me something else: sometimes the most powerful move is not to move. I’ve lived by this simple compass for years—if you don’t know how to act, it’s often best not to (for a little while). Because as we enter this Sagittarius New Moon, we may feel our desire for action and momentum bubbling up from underneath the surface—yet it’s also the last new moon of the year, a threshold that can invite stillness, integration, and a sacred pause.
Maybe that’s the point: we’re closing out Snake season’s shedding and stepping onto Fire Horse runway—actualization energy for everything we’ve been quietly outgrowing.
So I’ll ask you this: How do you find stillness when the impulse is to run?
There’s a nervous-system parallel here—fight, flight, and that holy skill of choosing regulation over reflex. Sometimes the moment we most want to bolt is the moment we most need the right resources and containers to help us stay held, stay steady, and let clarity arrive on its own.
And with all the holiday celebrating in the week ahead, I’m wishing you a beautiful time of connection, warmth, and peace—may you feel both free and supported, in exactly the ways you need.
On Your Side,
DJV
P.S. Looking for a meaningful last-minute gift? Consider gifting my book to someone you love. I’d be happy to include a personal, downloadable message of support and guidance with it—just email me and I’ll take care of it for you.
Moon Medicine: Dongzhi 冬至 (Winter Solstice)
Winter Solstice is the longest night of the year—aka the cosmic invitation to stop pretending you’re not tired. In classical Chinese medicine, this is the turning point: Yin is at her deepest (quiet, cold, inward), and Yang begins to return… not as a motivational speech, but as a tiny pilot light.
This is storage season. The classics are basically like: stop leaking your life force into nonsense. Yin is deep replenishment—fluids, sleep, repair, fertilizing the soil. Yang is warmth, movement, digestion, drive. And winter says: protect the little fire (Mingmen). Guard your reserves (hello, Kidneys).
Spiritual Fertility 101: you don’t “manifest” by forcing… you fertilize by tending.
A little parable I love:
A student asks a teacher, “How do I get more energy in the cold winter?”
The teacher points to a small candle and says, “You don’t make the flame bigger by forcing it. You make it bigger by shielding it from the wind.”
Translation: less forcing. more shelter.
10-Minute Practical Magic
Pick one:
Two-hand cup: hold something warm + take 3 slow breaths like you actually have a body.
Warm the roots: rub the soles of your feet until you feel “grounded back in your life.”
One sentence spell: “I gather my energy. I keep what is mine.”
New Moon Note
This New Moon can stir that Sagittarius part of us that wants to go, go, go—vision, movement, a wild hair, a plane ticket, a dramatic haircut. If you feel the impulse to run, here’s the medicine: Can stillness be the container that makes your next step true?
Journal Prompts (short + potent):
What wants to move—and what actually wants to be held?
If I conserve my energy for 30 days, what can finally take root in 2026?
What’s one intention that feels warming… not draining?
Kitchen Ally: Cinnamon (because you’re probably in someone else’s house)
If you’re traveling, cooking, or borrowing a kitchen that isn’t yours: cinnamon is your friend. It’s warmth you can actually taste.
In the herbal world, there are two “cinnamon personalities”:
Gui Zhi (桂枝) | Cinnamon twig (warm): gentle warmth that moves—the cozy kind that helps circulation feel less stuck.
Rou Gui (肉桂) | Cinnamon bark (hotter): deeper warming—think warming the root, supporting that pilot light.
And in most American spice racks, you’ll find cassia (stronger, more pungent). Ceylon is usually softer + sweeter if it’s labeled.
How to Use Cinnamon this Holiday
(simple + portable)
Add to coffee, oatmeal, apples, hot chocolate—instant “my nervous system lives here now.”
Travel tea: hot water + cinnamon + honey (ginger if you spot it).
Simmer pot: cinnamon stick + citrus peel + cloves = atmosphere + regulation cue: safe, warm, landed.
(Gentle note as always: kitchen dose is kitchen dose. If you’re pregnant, on blood thinners, or using cinnamon medicinally, keep it truly culinary and check in with your clinician.)
Mini “Survive the Holidays” Kit
3 items, no drama. If you want a tiny, quiet support kit you can carry anywhere:
Rosewater (spritz your face/hands = “I’m back in my body.” Softens the edges.)
Chamomile tea bags (grocery-store calm. Warm hug in a cup.)
Rescue Remedy (emotional first-aid energy for moments when you need support fast.)
That’s it. Small things. Big medicine.
Spiritual Fertility in real life: protect the flame, tend the soil, let the season do what it’s meant to do.
Karmic Circle:
For this Karmic Circle, I want to share the important work of Dr. Patti. I met Dr. Patti because I was doing what I call my Golden Passport work—saying yes to small moments of expansion, following the thread of what lights me up, trusting that the right doors open when we’re actually paying attention.
I was on Craigslist for something totally unrelated when I saw this beautiful antique wooden box. I was so enthralled I messaged immediately. We connected right away, and when I went to pick it up, what I thought would be a quick handoff turned into almost two hours of sitting and talking—about what we share in common, what we believe matters, and what it really takes to support people who’ve survived trauma.
There are few people in this world who serve with such steady, egoless devotion as Dr. Patti.
She’s a psychologist in private practice in Brooklyn and the founder of Girlthrive Inc., and her work has supported girls and young women for decades—helping them find their voices and heal after abuse and assault.
If you’re looking for a cause to support this holiday season, please consider giving a donation to Girlthrive—and honoring the kind of direct-action care that changes lives quietly, every day.
Her book is now in its third edition, which tells you something about both her staying power and the need for this work.
