Slack Tide

The stillness of the river

Perhaps the only true essence of winter many folks might experience (outside of weather events) is the slack tide between Christmas and New year.

The point where the slow flow of the old year is paused as we await in the inflow of the new.

This one week is perhaps the only time many feel an essence of winter that our ancestors had. If you’re off work you might have no discernible schedule, not knowing what the day might bring, and not knowing what day it actually is.

You might be binging on Netflix, the modern version or sharing stories together while outside the day is varying shades of grey which dissolve into black, and then into grey. Sunshine is a rare event.

I’m surprised that I’ve never known the term slack tide. It was a few days ago and we were walking the dogs by the river. The river is tidal and obviously there are low and high tides. On this day the river was unusually quiet, which is rare as it is the second-fastest river in Scotland. It was so still I was surprised to see an almost perfect mirror image of Carman Hill reflected on the rivers surface.

Slack tide, also known as slack water, is a brief phenomenon within the tidal cycle. It's the period during which the water is momentarily still - there is no movement either toward or away from the shore. It occurs when the tidal stream pauses just before it reverses direction, transitioning from the incoming flow (flood) to the outgoing flow (ebb) or vice versa

-Surfertoday.com.

Perhaps the hills reflection in the water is much like our own reflections at this slack tide of the year. What has stayed with you from the 2024 and what might we dream of that 2025 might bring?

We are at this still point without structure, without expectations. What might we plant in the rich fertile soil of the darkness?

Mugwort dreaming

Tomorrow I’ll share the third story for Winter Solstice - The tale of She Who Runs With the Herd