Third Day of Christmas and First Quarter Moon

This is the third day of the twelve-day festal tide - a sacred, festive season. I'm in Sabbath mode, spending these Twelve Days doing as little work as possible, resting, reflecting, and finding peace within.

And today I have a whole day alone!

Agenda:

1. Kwanzaa principle

2. Journal queries

3

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Light a candle for Nature

4. Read "Serviceberry"

5. Soyal retreat practices for Nature

6. Nature brainstorm

7. Days of Passion and Full effort plan

Second Day of Christmas

This is the second day of the twelve-day festal tide - a sacred, festive season. In some old traditions, this whole season was seen as a sort of Sabbath: Prepare ahead of time and then spend the Twelve Days doing as little work as possible. It's a good time to rest, reflect, and find peace within.

And it's also the start of Kwanzaa, a seven-day African-American cultural holiday - an American holiday inspired by African traditions. The word kwanza is Swahili for “first”, as in "first fruits", because in some parts of Africa this is the season for first fruits harvest festivals. Kwanzaa is a time of thanksgiving for the earth, but also a time to honor ancestors, and a time for African-Americans to celebrate their heritage and learn about African traditions and values.

Agenda:

1. Kwanzaa principles

2

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Light a candle for creativity

3. Read "Find Your Unicorn Space"

4. Soyal retreat practices for creativity

5. Creativity brainstorm

6. Projects for the week

7. Tie together loose ends

First Day of Christmas

Today is Christmas, but only the first day of Christmas (what Norwegians call 1. juledag). This is the start of the twelve-day festal tide adopted by the Christian Church: In 567 C.E. church leaders proclaimed the days from December 25 to Epiphany as a sacred, festive season.

Now my preparations are finished, and I can relax with my family, eat, drink, and generally wallow in joyful abandon.

In some old traditions, this whole season is seen as a sort of Sabbath: Prepare ahead of time and then spend the Twelve Days doing as little work as possible. It's a good time to rest, reflect, and find peace within.

Agenda:

1

.

 

Light a candle for sanctuary

2. Read "SoulSpace"

3. Soyal retreat practices for sanctuary

4. Sanctuary brainstorm

5. Open Gifts

6. Put Baby Jesus in the manger

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

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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

Family Creativity!

This week of advent my theme is "family love and joy". My role in the family is still Art Teacher Grandma, and advent is one of my favorite times to share the joy of making things. Yesterday we made a gingerbread house; we made piñata last week and today we will decorate it. And I continue to finish up gifts.

Agenda:

1. Read a novena

2. Read "The Creativity Book"

3. Make a gingerbread house

4. Preschool and Advent plans

5. Do the smallest thing

Family Love and Joy

During this week of Advent my theme is "family love and joy". Of course, the joy of the season is spontaneous and un-planable, but I do these three things to create the right conditions:

My children painted these plaster houses when they were young.

• Take the time to consider what my friends and family will want most this season. In other words, I become less self-focused and more generous in all ways. 
• Be respectful, flexible, patient, and kind (no matter how stressed I feel).
• Take care of myself so I can be calm and present for the spontaneous joy when it arises.

These are obviously year-round aspirations, but I need a daily reminder now, because, somehow, everything seems more important: I have expectations (both of myself and others) about how things should go. (Those expectations are loosening as I age and I find it easier and easier to let them go.) 

Agenda this week:

1. Read a novena

2. Read "Perspective"

3. New narrative for the week

4. Card-writing practice

5. Proaction and reciprocity plans