Winter Nights

The Winternights, or Vetrnætr, is a twelve-day festival that begins on a night in mid-October, and marks the end of summer and the start of the winter. The name Vetrnætr (pronounced Vetter-natter) is Old Norse, vetr - meaning winter, and nætr - meaning nights. Vetrnætr is series of feasts and ceremonies (blóts, pronounced bloots) that celebrate the bounty of the harvest, and also honor the Disir, or female ancestor spirits.

Vetrnætr is celebrated by the Ásatrú; Ásatrú is an Icelandic name, taken by the modern-day Norse and Germanic people who worship the old northern gods (such as Thor, Odin, and Frey) and goddesses (such as Freya and Frigg). Though its practice was interrupted, Ásatrú has been reconstructed as closely as possible to the original religion of the Northern European people, based on the surviving historical records. Ásatrú intrigues me, because it would have been the religion of my ancestors. This month, Winternights festivals are still held across Scandinavia, Germany, and New England and are marked by bonfires, tournaments, feasts, and arts and crafts vendors.

Today is my sabbath - when I step out of the fray and regroup.I had a busy week and today I will go to Meeting and settle in to my community, in my roll as clerk, to listen and hold the Light. This morning I want to take time to prepare myself - body, mind, and spirit. I want to open to awareness, wisdom, and courage.

2022 ofrenda

And tonight is also the First Quarter Moon; we are one-quarter of the way through the moon cycle. The moon is waxing - getting larger - until it's full again. The First Quarter is yang, a time to take decisive and smart action on my intentions; a time to remain flexible, use my obstacles as fuel for growth, and show full effort for priorities. I use this October quarter moon's energy to simplify and hone down my life.

Agenda for today:

1. Read "Your Heart Was Made for This"

2. Letting-go habit

3. Spiritual growth plan

3. Set up my ancestor altar (ofrenda)

4. Disir meditation
5. Make more runes

6. Feast and blót

Navratri Part Three

Navratri continues for the final three nights. The nine nights of Navratri are broken up into sets of three, and during each a different aspect of Shakti is meditated upon. For these final three nights we honor and thank the Divine Mother as Saraswati, who is "the essence of self". Saraswati’s wisdom and knowledge leads to enlightenment, happiness, and peace.

This is the yin time of the waxing crescent moon, a phase of growth, when I am planting my intentions and caring for them. I'll take time to discern and create clarity.

And Saturday is my day for proaction: Proaction is taking initiative to anticipate and shape future events rather than simply reacting to circumstances as they happen. Some people think Covey should've just used the word ACT, but proaction requires a thought: "I could do this or I could do that; I choose to do this."

Agenda Today:

1. Morning meditation and mantra

2. Weekly "First Things First"

3. Proaction and reciprocity plans

5. Add to my altar

Friday Clarity

Friday is my new day for creative thinking and doing; as Grandma Earth Teacher I am led to make things that are a gift to the Earth in some way, sustainable, and with a message. Also, I need to prepare for the next week of after-school time: A calm flow with some repeatable fun learning and ongoing fall projects.

And this is the yin time of the waxing crescent moon, a phase of growth, when I am planting my intentions and caring for them. I'll take time to discern and create clarity.

Agenda:

1. Read "The Achievement Habit":

2. Nurture my intentions

3. Create clarity

4. Projects for the week

5. My Synergy Project - boy teamwork

Garden

I have rededicated Thursdays to my garden, when I will re-envision, and plan next steps for creating a sanctuary here for nature and my family. This is also a day when I have both my grandsons, and I want to be sure to get them into the garden and into nature.

And this is the yin time of the waxing crescent moon, a phase of growth, when I am planting my intentions and caring for them. I'll take time to discern and create clarity.

 

Today:

1. October garden tasks

2. This week's garden plan

3. Nature-culture flow and kid projects

Navratri Part Two

Navratri continues tonight.

The word navratri means nine nights; These nights are broken up into sets of three, and during each set we meditate on a different aspect of Shakti (the universal principle of energy and creativity, Mother Earth, and the feminine power in each of us) - first the Goddesses Durga, then Lakshmi, and then Saraswati.

Each of the three goddesses signifies a stage of the spiritual journey we all go through: Durga’s strength and energy creates an opening, Lakshmi’s success and fortune nurtures growth, and Saraswati’s wisdom and knowledge leads to enlightenment, happiness, and peace. Tonight we honor and thank the Divine Mother as Lakshmi, the Goddess of success.

Wednesday is my day to re-group and re-define my week. First I make a plan for getting over the bump of the mid-week, then I re-envision my emotional tone and perspective.

And this is the yin time of the waxing crescent moon, a phase of growth, when I am planting my intentions and caring for them. I'll take time to discern and create clarity. 

Agenda today:

2021 rangoli

1. Morning meditation and mantra 

2. Re-group plan

3. Read "The Achievement Habit"

4. Define more intentions

5. Create inner synergy for Big Projects

6. Make a new rangoli design
7. Add to my altar

8. Writing themes

Ayathrem

Ayathrem is the fourth Gahambar celebrated by the Zoroastrian community, who honor the six seasons of the year with six Gahambars - the word gahambar means "proper season". Each of these six festivals is celebrated for five days, and each honors one of the six material creations: The heaven, water, earth, flora, fauna and man.

Ayathrem celebrates the creation of plants, the time to sow winter crops, and the season when the herds come home from pasture. It takes place each year from October 12th through the 16th.

Tuesday is my receptivity day of the week, when I look at my social and emotional self and make an effort to shift my perspectives around how I view and treat the people in my life. 

And this is the yin time of the waxing crescent moon, a phase of growth, when I am planting my intentions and caring for them. I'll take time to discern and create clarity. 

Agenda:

1. Journal challenges and needs

2. Recite prayers

3. My synergy project - teamwork
4. Plant garlic