'Tis The Season

Christmas music playing everywhere you go; colorful festive decorations on houses, buildings and street lights. Wherever you are in this country, whatever your beliefs, the lovely spirit of Christmas is in the air. One week after Christmas we begin a brand new year, believe it or not here it comes. It reminds me of a cartoon I saw once of a daily desk calendar with the day pages being torn rapidly from their holder, illustrating what it looks like when time flies.

Today, we are not the same as we were just a year ago but we may not have a clue how to express the inner changes we can no longer deny. It can be challenging to know whether it is the road we walk that has changed or if our shift in perspective over recent months has allowed us to see the road a new light.

Until December 21st, the Sun continues its journey through Sagittarius, the expansive sign of philosophy, Truth, intuition and publishing. Jupiter, the ruler of Sag, traveling through Scorpio, until late 2006, the passionate and mysterious sign of sex, death and rebirth—in charge of psychology and transformation, power and control. This transit of Jupiter through Scorpio may be calling out long-buried memories and the emotions we’ve kept under wraps, with them. This holiday season we may feel more inclined toward solitary retrospective and introspective pursuits and intimate gatherings than toward attending the big, glamorous parties of previous Decembers.

Those of us who are not doing time with the ghost of Christmas past this year (probably because we’ve already been there and done that; everybody does, sooner or later) may find ourselves offering our listening heart to family and friends who are feeling the backlash of the secrets they’ve kept and lies they’ve told themselves and held onto, thinking it was better that way. Scorpio, sign of the phoenix, rising from the ashes, is in charge of purifying that which is toxic and rebuilding, restoring, remodeling us to a whole new lease on life.

The Winter Solstice, in pagan cultures, has long been celebrated with lights, evergreens, and festivities. Today, regardless of your beliefs, whether pagan, Jewish, Christian, Muslim, etc., or none of the above, we all have the same focus at this time of year. We are celebrating the light, the lights, The Light.

Christmas, in particular, is a symbolic reminder to celebrate the Divine Child who lives within each of us, the spark of heart light that gives life to our bodies and purpose to our lives. It is a celebration of the love we so often take for granted. The Divine Child in us is not afraid or weak so it never grows cynical or defended, it’s the part of us that knows love is the truth of who we are, and the best thing we each can do in our life is to shine our personal light of love. As we do, everything in our world becomes a little brighter and it becomes easier to discern between which activities and experiences simply drain our life force and which are truly life-enhancing.

May the Light and Love of the season guide you safely and joyfully to the New Year.