Witchvox Article

Author: Divine Creative Inspirations
Posted: December 24th. 2010
Times Viewed: 1,882

I started writing this last winter, and with so very much happening in my life since then, I am only now remembering that this was here, needing to be finished. For many, this is such a very busy season, all gearing up for the "big days". Pondering what it all means, how much all of the hustle and bustle, leading to one big "whoop!� really manages to place its "spirit" in our hearts. Last year I spent the holiday with my parents, going into the stores with my Dad, who is very outgoing, made me think about how much of our time is spent so worked up about the gifts and feasts, that we miss the importance of the season. Dad made sure to say a "Merry Christmas" to everyone in the store, but very few returned in kind, and many responded with a look of dismay, even annoyance.

Even though I have not personally celebrated Christmas in many years (except for with the children) , and have made Yule the center of my family's celebrations, I have always loved the Holiday Season, as a time that we can be reminded to be kind to each other, to fill our hearts with Love and Joy. As I get older, and the children get older, that type of magic seems to be more difficult to bring to that day, or week. I find that as I grow and become more of my Self, every day is filled with Joy. Every day is magical, and filled with wonder. Every moment I get to spend with loved ones, and in communion with Spirit, is a JOY. I found that this made the "holiday season" difficult to make any more special than Every Day. The big parties and dinners, the gifts and cards, all wonderful things, but take far too much time and stress, that it takes away from the JOY in the Every Day.

I have noticed how very much people tend to get caught up in this �Season�, how it can become a very overwhelming, and even depressing time of the year. There is a tendency to become so involved in the �gift giving� aspect, and the desire (or need?) to �one up� the last gift. So many people put themselves in a place of debit in order to make it a �perfect� holiday, that they spend at least the next year paying it off. I spent many years in this space, trying to make sure that the children got everything that they could have possibly wanted, decorating the house, making the special foods, having gatherings, etc. Yet, I never really felt that it was enough.

Often at this time of year, we find ourselves reassessing our lives, our relationships, our goals. That is a natural phase, at this point in the Cycle, in the Wheel of the Year. As the trees have dropped their leaves, and retreat to a sort of �hibernation�, so should we. We need to release old patterns and thought forms, allow ourselves to look INward, and find the strengths and beauty within.

So often the depression that is felt at this time of year, is based on the �need� for the �perfect Christmas Card� relationships. We should be concentrating on the relationship that we have with the Self, long before we worry about the ones we have with others. We should not be looking to another�s loving words, promises of love (through gifts?) , or even actions, as affirmation of who we are. We ARE! When you can find your �gifts� within yourself, whatever they are, and accept, and reJOYce, in them, you are whole. You do not need to be �validated�, because you are already �valid�. There is such a tendency to compare ourselves with others, which is unnecessary, because you are a unique being of your own. All Souls are Equal. Your �gifts� may be that you are a great cook, nourishing the people in your life. You may be a healer, because you are able to listen and offer a gentle touch.

Over the past few years, I have come to realize that there is so much more. I have found, that in the past two years, I have had little interest in going all out in decorating. Not only have I found it to be more financially sound, I have had felt it to be more spiritually rewarding to trim down on the gift-giving. I would much rather be able to spend the TIME with the people I love, than to bring them things that I bought, that they will possibly put away and never use. The friends and family I am surrounded by ARE the gifts! Being able to exchange the energy of Love is the most amazing present I have ever been given!

We are surrounded by incredible energies at this time of year. These energies can add to the more mundane frantic �Holiday Season�. This year, the Solstice will fall on a Full Moon, with a total lunar eclipse. We can witness the rebirth of both the Sun, and the Moon. We have just come through the Geminid meteor showers. (Interesting facts about the Geminid- the meteors are identified with an asteroid, not a comet, as others are. The 3200 Phaethon Asteriod has on orbit that takes it closer to the Sun than any other numbered asteroid.) These are, in general, recurring events (Solstice, Geminids, Full Moon, lunar eclipse) , but the fact that they are happening at the same time, is unusual.

The last time there was a lunar eclipse of a full moon, on the Solstice, was 1638. At that time, the transit of Venus was first noted, as occurring in pairs, eight years apart. We were in the middle of those two transits then, as we are right now. In the early 1600s Shakespeare was writing some of his greatest plays; �Don Quixote� was written; the Palace of Versailles was built, as was the Taj Mahal; people migrated from Europe to the Americas, bringing new ideas and hope with those settlers for a new life (regardless of the terrible impact on the indigenous peoples, it was a new hope for those people who settled) ; Galileo publicly supported the ideas of Copernicus, that the Earth revolves around the Sun, and not the other way around, as was generally accepted at the time (ok, so it didn�t turn out well for him, as he was eventually tried by the Inquisition for this) ; the Suffragist Movement was started in the US, beginning the movement for women�s rights; the abacus was invented, as was the first calculator; what we now call the baroque style of music began being expressed in composition (a lively style that �expresses the fundamental order of the Universe�) . This was the beginning of the �Age of Enlightenment� (although some historians refer to the 1600s as the �Age of Reason�, a prelude to �Enlightenment�) . Even though many of these strides forward may have had �negative repercussions� for some, this was a time when Humankind was moving and expanding, with invention, expression, and property.

Is it possible that this similar energy, as was present in the early 1600s, is the beginning of what we will come to call a new age of Spiritual Enlightenment? All of these great steps forward for humanity seem to come with a level of discomfort (to say the least, at times) . When we step outside of the material world, and allow ourselves to be more in tune with Nature, we can feel these energies more intensely, and can find a way to use those energies for our own growth. When we are caught up in the material, and do not pay attention to the cycles of Nature, those energies can create a response that we are unable to explain a reason for. Our personal lives can become confused, and relationships may suffer.

This Holiday Season, I ask you to consider the �Gifts�. We are all in charge of being our own �Santa�, bringing the things that we need most in our lives, into our lives. Take a break from the hustle and bustle, sit back and relax, and picture your Self (your Higher Self, maybe?) handing you a beautifully wrapped gift. Explore what that gift looks and feels like. Open it, with great JOY, to discover all that awaits you for the coming year! Remember, you are in charge of what you receive. Make the best use of the energies of the Season, and make this YOUR time of Enlightenment.

Have a JOYful Holiday Season! EnJOY every moment of every day!

~ Woman Who Walks Through Spirit (Andrea Brenton)

Copyright: Andrea Brenton (Divine Creative Inspirations) 2010

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