Dark Resurrection

Here we are. Once again within a day of the Full Moon. Beside us stands Inanna, Goddess of Going Into Dark Places.

The card reads: If you descend into darkness, you can emerge unscathed. What it fails to mention is that you will not emerge unchanged. So much time and energy is spent on being unscathed that it is easy to miss the changes.

The greatest power of Inanna is that She could descend into the Darkness ~ the Deepest Darkness, the realm of her sister Ereshkigal. Every step of the way, through seven gates, the Queen Moon had to remove every visible aspect of Her Queenhood.

Think this was easy? Maybe that it didn't change Her? I doubt anyone, including the Queen Moon, could walk into that Darkness and strip Herself of every vestige of identity and not be changed.

As I move forward into the New Year ~ through this first Full Moon ~ I recognize and acknowledge my own fears when I face Darkness in any of its myriad forms. I may be unscathed. Outwardly the same. Inwardly, I find a new and more complete strength, born from facing the fear and the darkness. Resurrecting into the Light of the new Full Moon. Rebirthing into the Light of the Sun.

What Darkness have you faced, or descended into? What change has it brought into your life? How do you embrace the change? Which Light will you emerge into? What will carry you forward?

Strength for the Day

My focus when drawing this card was strength... uncovering a particular attribute. Balance fits impressively well... I am grateful it showed up.

Message: Things are happening so suddenly and quickly that we must stay on guard and grounded at all times in order to handle the coming changes. If we do not remain as such, then all chaos will break loose within ourselves which will then manifest to the physical surrounding us. Be calm, stay balanced, remain grounded.

My plan: begin the year with strength ~ with love, grace and joy too. For Balance to arise as the focus this early gives me hope and makes me grin. Remain grounded. Yes. What a powerful New Year message.



What attribute do you seek as 2015 begins? How do you stay grounded? Is that important to you? Which of your values point you to that focus attribute?

Gift of a New Year 2015

Happy New Year 2015!

Approaching the New Year, I spent much time with family. The holidays overflow with busyness, preparations and plans for gifting and gathering. It's rarely clear what is the true focus of this madhouse time.

Now that 2015 has arrived, things are slowing down. The roar of arriving planes has lessened. The pre-holiday sales have given way to post-holiday sales to get rid of holiday items. Homes are settling back into routines free of visitors and parties.

This is the time to take a breath and consider what gift you want from 2015. What is possible? What is needed? What is wanted? What can expand, contract, allow in your life? What corners need clearing? What dark spots need lighting? What calls to be released? to be accepted? to be healed?

2015 holds much in store. Set the intention to look for the gift. Breathe. Open to the beauty, health, love that is being carried in on the New Year. Search your heart for what is most important and ask for the gift. The New Year waits to hear your request. Open to the Gift.

What do you want from the coming year? Do you have a wish list? What is your intention? How can 2015 provide you with support? Can you open and accept the gifting?

Christmas Night

Christmas night was dark and beautiful. There was a crystal glow around the moon. As I focused my camera and zoomed on it, I held my breath ~ exhaling slowly as I snapped the shot.

Involuntarily, a smile grew across my lips. I spoke quietly to the silvery glow. "You are beautiful tonight, Lady. Thank You for Your beautiful show."

I stood outside in the dark. Inside, family and friends ate, talked and laughed. My sense of contentment overwhelmed any other thought. I walked farther into the darkness, watching the show as clouds scudded across the moon then released Her. Stars winked through the wisps of cloud.

Gratitude washed over me ~ and continues to wash over me as I remember the moment. "Thank You, Lady, for family, friends and love. Thank You for memory and choice. Thank You for all who have passed through my life. Bring blessings to each."

For what are you grateful during this holiday season? Do you take moments to look at the night sky? What feeling does the night bring you?

December's Capricorn New Moon

Accompanying the Winter Solstice this year is the Capricorn New Moon. As ever, Capricorn is about deep reflection and introspection fitting perfectly into the winter cycle of hibernation and allowing time to ponder what newness and shape may be coming into one's future.

In this reflective stage ~ and the 'letting go' phase of the New Moon ~ I consider the brand new year approaching as a time to take action, to deepen my connection with my higher self and with the Ineffable One. I choose an empowered and authentic life.

Moving forward from this New Moon, stepping into the New Year, is perfect timing for releasing the past ~ all of the past, whether I deemed it good, bad or indifferent. I choose to spend this time grounding and centering myself to establish my deep, heartfelt next step with honor, integrity, boldness and courage. I disengage from any false beliefs and self-limitations as I ride the wave of transformation into my next twelve month cycle via the current cultural calendar, awake, aware, conscious, grounded.

This New Moon lights my way to embracing my Shadow, loving both my Light and my Dark. I continue on the path to wholeness and balance, redefining my beliefs along the way. I do not get what I want; I get what I believe. I get what I call forth from the Darkness of the New Moon into the Light of the coming year and next Full Moon.

What do you believe? What does this New Moon say to you? How do you empower yourself? What do you call forth into the New Year?

Waking from The Darkest Night

Let This Darkness Be a Belltower
Sonnets to Orpheus II, 29 by Rainer Maria Rilke

Quiet friend who has come so far, 
feel how your breathing makes more space around you.
Let this darkness be a bell tower
and you the bell. As you ring,

what batters you becomes your strength.
Move back and forth into the change.
What is it like, such intensity of pain?
If the drink is bitter, turn yourself to wine.

In this uncontainable night,
be the mystery at the crossroads of your senses,
the meaning discovered there.

And if the world has ceased to hear you,
say to the silent earth: I flow.
To the rushing water, speak: I am.

The Winter Solstice showers us with the shortest day, the return of the Light, and one more vital event: the longest, darkest night.

Through much of my life I've been instructed, either explicitly or implicitly, to dodge or deny the dark. I, ever the contrarian, chose instead to embrace it. Reflecting on it now, I know that wasn't always the case. That change happened one long, dark night when I was six. 

Akin to this year, the Winter Solstice was accompanied by a New Moon. I'd always been a light sleeper; many noises roused me from sleep. Generally, I rolled over and returned to the Land of Nod. This particular night was different. Something brought me to the stage of full wakefulness. The room was completely dark, with that palpable darkness that brings with it a fear of the unknown. The door to my closet was open and I sensed movement within it. I heard a rustling coming from it.

My younger self knew enough to call for protection ~ I sent a prayer for my guardian angel. Almost immediately, a tall shadowy being sat on the foot of my bed and began rocking it gently back and forth, softly telling me a lyric tale. Soon, I fell asleep again.

The shadowy figure returned whenever the need arose. Because of that, and the tales I heard, Darkness became my ally rather than something to fear. I learned an ally works with you and was content to have Darkness in that role.  When I was older, in college and beyond, friends commented  on my familiarity and comfortability with Darkness.

How do you feel about Darkness? Do you turn on lights every time you enter a room in the evening or night? Why or why not? How does the darkest and longest night affect you?

Winter Solstice 2014

Winter Solstice ~ the shortest day and longest night of the year. Many ancient civilizations created monuments aligned with the sun rising on the Winter Solstice morn. One of the most famous is Stonehenge in the England. Also, Newgrange in Ireland and Chichen Itza in Mexico. The oldest known is the Goseck Circle in Germany, circa 4900 BCE.

The one in the picture is the temple of Karnak in Luxor, Egypt. The massive stone walls rise to look like hands holding the sun in the sky. Quite an incredible feat to create!

Winter Solstice is one of the markers of the rhythm of the seasons. Although in our modern culture, we label it the beginning of winter, its alternate name is Midwinter. Celebrations filled with rejoicing in the return of the sun marked it as a central seasonal feast.

I love Winter Solstice, Midwinter. My very being recognizes the rhythm it marks. Despite all the modern ways to mark time, I feel the shift within as readily as I see the days afterward begin to lengthen. For many years, I marked this time with a week-long retreat, my personal time of hibernation, to reset my internal clock and prepare for the coming new year.

Do you feel the shift from darkening days to the beginnings of more light? What do you do to mark the Winter Solstice? How do you honor the shifting season?