Christmas Eve

Tonight is Christmas Eve. Advent is nearly over, and Christmas is upon us. Today I will tie together some loose ends (finish one gift, final wrapping, deliver cookies, bake sweet bread), and settle into the grace and mystery of Christmas.

What is the grace of Christmas? It's an experiential thing. We don't need faith that the sun will rise because we have experienced it. Even in the darkest of times, this season of Light and Love will deliver its grace.

Agenda Today:

1. Read a novena

2

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Light a candle for love

3. Read "Present Moment Awareness"

4. Soyal retreat practices for love

5. Love Brainstorm

6. Make Danish Prune Bread

7. Hang our stockings

Christmas Adam

This is the day before Christmas Eve, known by some people as Christmas Adam. I am continuing my Soyal retreat for reflection and brainstorming.

Agenda:

1. Read a novena

2

.

 

Light a candle for discernment

3. Read "Sound Tracks"

4. Soyal retreat practices for discernment

5. Learning brainstorm

6. New narrative for the week

7. Piñata party

Alban Arthan

Alban Arthan is the Celtic and Druidic name for the Winter Solstice; it's Welsh for Light of Winter.

The Winter Solstice was never a one day festival - three days seems to be the minimum. The sun appears to stand still for three days, then days begin to noticeably increase in length (and we all sigh in relief). 

Alban Arthan is a celebration of the strengthening sun, and the central theme is renewal; we leave the past behind and greet the new. The world is undergoing constant change and we must change and adjust, too, in order to be able to survive.

From A Druid Way: "One link between the objective and the subjective is awen, inspiration, the flow of spirit, which lets us evoke in others an echo of our original experience. Let the echo be strong enough, let our understanding of this thing called being human, and our skill in working with it, run equal to the task, and music, image, voice, story, object of craft can all serve to unite us in the experience of mystery. An echo from outside awakens a resonance within us." 

Agenda today:

1. Read a novena

2. Druid peace prayer 

3. Light a candle for Order

4. Read "Spirit Walker"

5. Soyal retreat practices for order and self-care

6. Self-care practices brainstorm

7. Pre-school plans

8. Home order practices

Winter Solstice and Fourth Sunday of Advent

Photo by Alan Gillespie

The winter solstice occurs this morning at 7:02 a.m. Pacific Standard Time. In the Northern Hemisphere, the December solstice happens during the coldest season of the year, when the sun is at its lowest angle and is seen for its shortest period. This is the turning point, the moment of new beginnings - the darkest time, with the brightest hope.

The Winter Solstice was never a one day festival - three days seems to be the minimum. The sun appears to stand still for three days, then days begin to noticeably increase in length (and we all sigh in relief). 

We need to believe in these little myths - that the sun is returning and hope is reborn - so that we can continue to believe in the Big Myths, like justice, mercy, democracy, freedom - "That sort of thing".

“Humans need fantasy to be human. To be the place where the falling angel meets the rising ape.” ~Terry Pratchett, Hogfather

 

Also, the fourth and final part of advent begins today, and I have already begun an intentional period of introspection: A Winter Retreat Brainstorm for the Next Year, and today I am looking at my Spiritual self. In one of my favorite books, "It's a Meaningful Life; It Just Takes Practice," by Bo Lozoff (2000), Bo describes why to create a personal spiritual practice - because "We must be willing to do the spiritual work that gradually brings us into communion with what is eternal and divine within us". 

Bo says that daily spiritual practice is how we clear the slate so that bad habits can't as easily flourish, and also to become more aware of the depths of our being. We practice so that our default mode becomes generally more spiritual than worldly, and we develop an equanimity that helps us breeze through life.

Agenda:

1. Read a novena

2

. Plan ways to give attention to God

3. 

Light a candle for integrity

4. Read "The Earth Keeper's Handbook"

5. Soyal retreat practices for spirit

6. Spiritual practices brainstorm

7. Make candles for solstice

8. Advent wreath ceremony

9. Solstice dinner

Mothers Night

Tonight is known as Modraniht, or Mothers Night, by Saxon Pagans - the start of Yule. My ancestors were predominantly Anglo-Saxon, that is, of English and Germanic descent, and I've done some research into modern Saxon Paganism in an attempt to reclaim some of my heritage and better connect me to my ancestral roots.

When Anglo-Saxons first began to settle in England they brought Yule with them. We don’t know too many details about what this festival entailed: They cut a Yule Log to provide fuel and gradually pushed it into the fire as it burned. They decorated homes and halls with evergreen leaves and branches. They feasted. Some records say it lasted 12 nights.

Modern Pagans celebrate the start of Yule on either December 20th or 21st. On the first night of Yule they pay tribute to the ancestral mothers who protected and watched over the family, helped with childbirth, and healed illnesses.

Agenda today:

1. Read a Novena

2. Light a candle for Purpose

3. Read "The Book of Doing and Being"

4. Soyal retreat practices for Self

5. Purpose brainstorm

6. Bake Melting Moments cookies

7. Mothers Night Fire and Prayer

8. Hang our stockings with care

New White Moon and Start of Soyal

Tonight is the new moon. The Chinese call the eleventh new moon the White Moon, perhaps because it brings the snow, or perhaps because it's a yin time of year.

And today is the start of Soyal, a Hopi ceremonial period that begins at the new moon closest to the Winter Solstice and lasts for 16 days. Soyal is short for Soyalangwul, which means Establishing Life Anew for All the World. It's a sacred time of peace and preparation for the new growing season.

Agenda Today:

1

. Read a novena

2. Settle into the Soyal Way of Being

3. Choose a month theme

4. Set intentions

5. Retreat to review the Divine Laws

6. Prayer candle ceremony