22/12/2025
Solstice Mistletoe Musings
Did you know that each white Mistletoe berry carries a special message for us? If you look at the end opposite the stalk, you’ll see a little black dot surrounded by four little semi circles. This is very unusual in the plant world. But then Mistletoe is a very special plant. It grows between the earth and the air, drawing water and nutrients from its host tree as well as capturing sunlight to create its own sugars through photosynthesis.
When all the deciduous trees have shed what no longer serves them, leaving bare leafless branches, the Mistletoe shows itself in beautiful perfect bright green globes, speckled with white berries, a plant that is at its peak of vibrancy and life in mid winter.
Here, in the northern hemisphere, we’re at the point in the wheel of the year when the sun is furthest away from us and is ‘standing still’. The balance between the darkness and the light is most skewed towards the darkness.
This is a precious opportunity. It’s a time for stillness and reflection as well as being a time to let go of the things and ways of being that no longer serve us. So, at this solstice tide, I invite you to contemplate the sign in a Mistletoe berry. The four semi circles are said to represent the four directions (the four fairy kingdoms of Sidhe) and the central dot represents space, the all encompassing whole.
The message from the berry is worthy of much thought. For me, I think about ‘holding infinity in the palm of my hand’. It speaks about interconnectedness of life, the interplay of the elements and our interwoven destinies. But, whatever the message that it has for you, it’s a very good time of the year to contemplate it.
