Post by robincragin on Nov 5, 2015 11:08:41 GMT -5
Imagine the cosmic event of Yule. Go ahead. Close your eyes and see it all happening. From out of the deepest, darkest night of the year comes a “newborn” sun, full of promise for days of greater light and warmth. It is this event that symbolically reminds us that light comes out of our darkness, the chaos of our lives, the heartbreak and the pain we sometimes endure. Yule is about promise. It teaches us the lesson of the mythic Phoenix that rises out of the ashes of what appears to be complete destruction. The continual rebirth of the sun illustrates for us that destruction is a fantasy. Life and energy go on eternally.
Because the new solar light emerges from darkness, we also see that life may be full of seemingly opposite and complementary components. For example, there may be a hint of sadness in a moment of joy. Or there may be a glimmer of hope in despair. Life is a mix of these things, and nothing can remove itself from the mix entirely. We live in a sphere of duality. There is up and down, light and dark, life and death, etc. The Winter Solstice reminds us that even in our darkest hour, we can find a spark of light. Our task as Witches is to always search for that spark (not only for ourselves, but for other people too) and to help it grow into a blazing sun.
Many of the magical workings you will encounter in the course of the next several days have their roots in the essence of Yule, facing darkness and transforming it into light.
Practice: Darkness Exercise
Go outside at night and fix your gaze upon the vast night sky. Now bring to mind a negative or destructive situation in your life. Feel all of the emotions that this situation stirs up. Take your time with this so that you feel everything intensely. Once you are at the peak of your emotions, begin to exhale deeply. Imagine that with each exhalation, the negativity of the situation you imagined leaves you and dissipates in the vastness of space. Continue with this practice until you are completely drained of negative feelings.
*** A Word to the Wise: If you cannot go outside, gaze at the night sky through a window. Or you might simply close all of your windows and doors and sit in a room in which you are completely surrounded by darkness. ***
Once you are drained of the negativity, stop the exhalations. Close your eyes and sense the vast emptiness, the spaciousness you have created inside of you. Now imagine that a glow of light emerges from this empty space within you. The glow becomes brighter and larger until it fills you completely. From this glow comes a word or a phrase that will tell you the bright spot in your negative situation. Listen closely. How might the word you receive change your perspective on this difficult situation in your life?
Use this technique whenever you face darkness or difficulties in your life.
Because the new solar light emerges from darkness, we also see that life may be full of seemingly opposite and complementary components. For example, there may be a hint of sadness in a moment of joy. Or there may be a glimmer of hope in despair. Life is a mix of these things, and nothing can remove itself from the mix entirely. We live in a sphere of duality. There is up and down, light and dark, life and death, etc. The Winter Solstice reminds us that even in our darkest hour, we can find a spark of light. Our task as Witches is to always search for that spark (not only for ourselves, but for other people too) and to help it grow into a blazing sun.
Many of the magical workings you will encounter in the course of the next several days have their roots in the essence of Yule, facing darkness and transforming it into light.
Practice: Darkness Exercise
Go outside at night and fix your gaze upon the vast night sky. Now bring to mind a negative or destructive situation in your life. Feel all of the emotions that this situation stirs up. Take your time with this so that you feel everything intensely. Once you are at the peak of your emotions, begin to exhale deeply. Imagine that with each exhalation, the negativity of the situation you imagined leaves you and dissipates in the vastness of space. Continue with this practice until you are completely drained of negative feelings.
*** A Word to the Wise: If you cannot go outside, gaze at the night sky through a window. Or you might simply close all of your windows and doors and sit in a room in which you are completely surrounded by darkness. ***
Once you are drained of the negativity, stop the exhalations. Close your eyes and sense the vast emptiness, the spaciousness you have created inside of you. Now imagine that a glow of light emerges from this empty space within you. The glow becomes brighter and larger until it fills you completely. From this glow comes a word or a phrase that will tell you the bright spot in your negative situation. Listen closely. How might the word you receive change your perspective on this difficult situation in your life?
Use this technique whenever you face darkness or difficulties in your life.