The month of December always feels quieter to me, so I start this month with a moodboard that holds the tone of the season. The Winter Solstice sits in an in-between space: not the end, not the beginning. A pause…a moment to look backward, look forward and ask what needs to shift so I can live with more honesty and intention.
The themes in this board (stillness, reflection, self-growth and authenticity) are simple on the surface but have depth once you sit with them. I chose images that echo these feelings without drifting into the holiday aesthetic: bare trees, soft winter light, subtle texture, slow geometry, quiet color. Nothing loud. Nothing busy. Just a sense of open space both internally and externally, a time to pause, be still, reflect and decide what comes “next.”
The color palette came straight from the images: muted lilacs, slate blues, pale neutrals, deep charcoal. Cool tones with a few warm notes, enough to keep the mix grounded but not heavy. It’s a palette that sits comfortably with the Solstice energy and the early winter landscape.
I built a Spotify playlist to match the mood. A mix of still, sparse instrumentals and a few singer-songwriter tracks that carry the same reflective tone. You can find it here.
There’s also a poem that I thought anchors the whole thing. An excerpt from the poem “The Journey” by Mary Oliver speaks to quiet renewal, which feels right for a month built on stillness and honest self-assessment. I credit all the images in the moodboard below.
This is the first of twelve monthly boards I plan to create in 2026, each hopefully capturing the energies of the month. These moodboards may or may not be turned into a pattern collection. I’ll let the process lead me and go where it takes me.
and finally...
For anyone interested, I also created an essential oil blend to diffuse while working with these energies. A combination of frankincense (reflection), sandalwood (grounding), cypress (transition), lavender (healing) and bergamot (emotional balance).
