Perhaps our first thought is that there isn’t a lot of magic + wonder this holiday season. I’m pretty sure that most of us are not celebrating the holidays in the ways we usually do. I, for one, have been dreaming every night this week about Christmases past, surely it’s my subconscious trying to process and deal with the fact that I am celebrating at home in Sweden – just me + Lina. We’ve already been at home more than usual, so staying home for the holidays feels boring + necessary all at once.. It’s unseasonably warm + gray for December in Sweden, making it super dark + quite depressing. And, there is still this frickin’ pandemic affecting all of us, even if there are rays of hope with a coming vaccine.
And, while 2020 has changed so much of what we consider to be normal life, including our traditional holiday celebrations, I also deeply believe, as I’ve said many times throughout the year, that there is much to learn from all of this change. To be honest, my intuition leads me to trust that this is exactly right for right now – even though it is tough. I’m beginning to suspect that this year has been one big reset button, forcing us to reevaluate what’s really important + what we really want out of life. So, even in the chaos + change, I am still able to feel a bit of warmth + coziness this season, only confirming to me one of my biggest lessons of 2020: everything exists all at once. The pain, the joy, the disappointment, the hope.
So, even though this week feels weird + somewhat sad, there is a ton of cosmic magic also in the air giving me a sense of purpose + meaning to it all.
The magic of Advent darkness
Today we are in the darkest of the darks. For weeks, since the Autumn Equinox to be exact, we’ve had more dark than light every day. The darkness has grown with each passing day. And, after Halloween, we entered the deepest, darkest period of the year. It has been a time of surrender, release, and death.
Recently, throughout Advent, all we’ve been able to do is wait. For me, Advent is a sacred, silent time to countdown until the light returns. It is the toughest part of the year. And, yet, it is often one of the coziest as well. I spend my time surrounded by as many candles + blankets as possible. I allow myself to rest + settle in at home. I try to celebrate each day with rituals + practices that help me to be silent, listen, and meditate on whatever the darkness has to teach me. I seek to find the magic that is in the solitude + mystery of this season.
This year, one that I feel has been one of the darkest (collectively + personally) I have known, I have learned of the magic of the cracks of light that break into each + every day. There is no pure dark or pure light. There is always a beautiful harmony + balance of both/and. And, the darkness is not to be feared or avoided. It is a necessary part of the cycle of life. It is conception, rooting, anchoring, and pure potential.
The magic of the Solstice
And it is here, in this deepest, darkest, most mysterious time of the year that magic comes rushing in. Perhaps it’s the darkness that helps to enhance the magic of the return of the light. Because, without the quiet, silent, dark times, we are not as aware of the beauty of the light.
Right now, more than I ever have before, I crave the return of the light to the northern half of the earth. Honestly, I am usually quite sad to see the darkest weeks of the year come to a close. It’s almost as if I have felt as if I haven’t “completed” the rituals + silent moments in the ways I had hoped. I have often entered the celebration of the solstice not really ready to turn toward the light half of the year.
But, this year, unlike any other in my memory, I am ready for the shift. I am not desperate for the change of seasons, but I feel slowly, surely, confidently prepared + excited about welcoming the slow return of the sun to the skies above.
Tomorrow, it happens. The magic of the winter solstice is upon us. A day celebrated by people throughout the ages. A chance to practice a few ancient rituals of the return of light + hope. I, for one, will simply begin my day with tons of candles + meditation. But, that’s not all of the magic of the day… this solstice is extra special.
The magic of Saturn + Jupiter
If you visit here often, you know that I love the night sky, the moon + stars. There is just something about the cosmos that gives me that same sense of balance + harmony as the darkness. It is the knowledge that, when I look up at the night sky, I feel so very tiny + so great all at once. I understand myself (and all humans) as worthy, divine individuals and as holy, sacred part of oneness all at the same time. Unique people with unique gifts to be used on earth and also part of the same sacred breath of the cosmos.
image from here
Tomorrow night, as if the magic of the solstice was not enough, the planets of Saturn + Jupiter will align in our night sky, closer than they have been in 800 years to the naked eye. This is pure, scientific, and spiritual magic. Scientifically + historically, this means that these two planets will conjoin and appear to be one super bright star in Monday’s solstice night sky. An event that hasn’t occurred + been visible since the 1200s. Legend also has it that the Saturn-Jupiter conjunction is also the Christmas star… the bright star that led the wise men to the manger where Jesus was born. True enough, in 7 b.c., there were actually 3 of these Saturn-Jupiter conjunctions throughout the year that just could have been the bright star in the east that the famed wise men followed. Fucking mind-blowing, right?
But, spiritually, the rarity of this event, falling on the solstice, is also packed with meaning. This year has mostly been a fuck up, right? It’s at least turned things upside-down across the entire globe + right within our own homes. I am certain that I need a significant amount of time during my holiday break to really process it all. But, because it’s been so chaotic, that means that it’s also provided us with the unwelcome opportunity to reevaluate our lives.
From chaos comes order. From a universal, global pandemic comes a chance to refocus + recommit. From a big, magical, cosmic event comes a chance to reset + restore. This is the shifting of everything. The welcoming of a new age + a new era (something I wrote about last year as we entered 2020). I just didn’t realized that to usher in the new era, we needed to be knocked down + thrust into upheaval. But, again, out of chaos comes order.
So, this is a reset for us, loves. The energy is powerful + inspiring. More than ever before, it is time to leave it all behind – all that is old, that does not serve us, that we have outgrown. Now, it is time to step forward. To step up. To be bold. To believe + hope + live the life that we know that we are meant to live.
We are entering a time + a season of living from the grounded depths of our soul on earth. And while we are anchored to our roots + the ancient ways of our ancestors + Mother Nature, we are rising. Rising to a cosmic, spiritual, higher way of living + being + moving within the world. We’re evolving, becoming enlightened, expanding.
Just think… there is no way in hell that you are the same person you were one year ago on the solstice. All of this 2020 shit has changed us. And, finally, should we dare to believe + hope + trust, we are aligning with the rhythms of the earth the cosmos. And the future?! Well, it’s pure fucking magic.
Blessed solstice + a fucking amazing cosmic shift to you all! xoxo. liz.
