Ancient Advent

If we care to look, pagan traditions bring unexpected and magical meaning into our today's celebrations. Early pagan practices are actually at the root of many Christian and other religious traditions, including this season of Advent. Pagan communities, all over the world, set aside the weeks before the Winter Solstice as a time to honour the coming of the light.

Interesting fact - The date of Christmas was officially designated during the fourth century as Dec. 25th - the date Romans celebrated the Solstice. (so completely made up!)

It is a beautiful time of our annual calendar, and maybe instead of rushing around, and jumping into commercialism of our more and more American Christmas we seem to have bought into our world. We can reclaim our heritage and literally bring more light into the darkness. of December and January (Advent) our darkest and hard to navigate months, as we are after all creatures of The light.

It is like all things really ancient from our Celtic ancestors they show us what we need to bring back into our now human existence (if we care to), not move further and further away from (which most of us are doing). This bringing back is for our awareness of humanity's deep, inner connections with the rhythms of our natural world, all around us in which we are, this great orchestra of the planets and the moons affect on us all, as we move on through our Winter Solstice -- our dance of light and dark, the waiting, even a kind of deep and prophetic yearning by having foresight of things to come, moving from stillness to action once more. and beacuse of all our adictions (previous post worth going back to!) most of us today are unable to rest in stillness, we find it too uncomfortable, too reflective of how far we have misaligned ourselves because of the influence of others around us near and far!  

We have an inner knowing that no matter how dark, no matter how cold it is around us, the light and the warmth is coming back soon to wrap us in its friendly hug.  The winter solstice is like us all being in the void at the end of the exhale that I talk about a lot in our sessions together, waiting for the rebirth, the redrenching of breath on the inhale which brings with it the light, our light, fullness, and life-force. The darkness is as needed as much as the light, and the darkness is holy, just as is the light, holy.

For the word "advent" literally means "the coming," these weeks in December and January are indeed a time of "advent" for all of us — it matters not if we are ‘religious' or not. We are part of mothers earth. More factually we are Mother Earh, Father Sun and Sister Moon and are in the dance. The light is coming again and again, out of the darkness becomes the light. And all of our family, all of her Creation all around us, are eagly awaiting for that coming.

This time is an absolute treasure. our treasure of a time in our annual calendars of light and love. and friendship and sharing, in hugging together, and singing the absolute joys of our lives.  It is where our inner lights can really be seen, to be felt.  The ember, the flicker of the candle flame can only be glimised in the bluish black dusk and the darkness of night where our inner spark, our inner flame can light up the whole space.

So the invitation this week is go about and share your inner light, your inner love, all around, with all you know, and those you do not know (yet!) and allow the ancient voices from within to be heard as you share with others in friendship, light and love, in this wondrous technicolour season of Advent.

Hari Om Tat Sat.