As this year ends I have been learning about the time referred to as "time out of time" that exists between the winter solstice or yule and the day we celebrate as New Year's Eve. These days that have felt like a state of limbo for me in the past, are in actuality rooted in ancient belief's as being magical, powerful, spiritually potent days of floating between this realm and the higher realms.
This knowledge enlightened my sense of curious surrender that occurs at the end of the calendar year. As a Priestess I was not surprised to find that the time of year that tugged at my consciousness had such a mystical history, the role of a Priestess is to be the conduit between worlds, this time out of time period that is concluding right now is a heightened moment of travelling between these two worlds. In fact it used to be frowned upon to work during these days as they were seen as a supernatural sabbath type of time and it was believed that dying during the time out of time ensured you skipped purgatory and went straight to Heaven.
Upon learning this history I began to ponder what this time of year meant to me beyond the ethereal and dreamy quality that I tapped into. What purpose is there during this dusk moment of the year? The answer that became apparent to me was that these days were the perfect time to prepare to plant conscious seeds into the depths of my soul to germinate during the long hibernation of the winter month's.
As a Maiden I was dedicated to being a non-conformist, this part of me still exists and nudges at me whenever there is a large held belief or practice that occurs within society. Hearing about "New Year's resolutions" my inner Maiden balks and seeks out a deeper, or more individual way of entering the new calendar year. (In fact tonight will be the third 'New Year' I ring in as I also ring in a new year on Samhain and the Winter Solstice). This is the New Year's that I have fluffed off as being the patriarchal commercialized version of a New Year for a very long time.
However, there is another part of me that values community and recognizes the power in collective consciousness, this part of me has been creating ways to honour tonight ever since entering my spiral path of spirituality. There has been a push pull of the Maiden that haughtily resits tonight and the communal woman that wants to participate with her community.
Learning about the time out of time days, also known as the 12 days of Christmas or the 12 days of Yule, or Christmastide, offered me another piece of understanding. Like most of our accepted holidays that are celebrated in the Western world, the original expression of this time has a deeper 'pagan' beginning that has been rewritten by the patriarchal system that we currently live in.
There is a reason that we feel called to make resolutions on this night, it is because, in our souls we have clarity, the more conscious I am of the energy around me and the wheel of the year and the power that her cycles hold, the clearer it becomes to me what I want to intend as I enter my cave and prepare to rest and to rejuvenate before my rebirth in the spring.
As I floated through these last days of the holiday season I rested a lot, the house was cleaned less, our rhythm was a bit less structured and the time that I spent in our mediation room was a little easier to be inspired in. I have been reflecting, as I enter my cave at the beginning of this year I will be wrapping myself in the cloak of surrender. Many people that I admire work diligently on manifestation, that has never been my path, the way of surrender and grace has always been the only road to true freedom, happiness and inspiration for myself.
Surrender doesn't come easily to me though, especially since becoming a Mother, much too often I forget that there is a Divine Mother that will Mother my family through me, all the while Mothering me too in the process! The Christmas Cancer Mother Moon reminded me about the love and nurturance awaiting me when I lean into the Divine Mother, this is a presence that I want to follow and commune with daily, hourly, minute by minute if I can remember to leave my mortal brain often enough.
Surrender has been the most feminine of the spiritual tools that I have utilized in my life, it is complete trust in the cycles and rhythms of the Creator and Her expressions through nature, my body and my outer and inner world, it is waiting until I am moved, it is flowing in directions that are a mystery, it is letting go of what I think and trusting what my inner Goddess knows. The less I run the show the more powerful I am in my life, these are the seeds that are ready to take root and to germinate within me as I settle down for my long winter rest. This is what has been revealed to me during the time out of time that I have been in.
Time out of time, has been just that, a time out from this world and the demands that it places on myself and my family. It has been rest, connecting with loved ones, placing being together ahead of tasks, it has been space and downtime. I see now how potent and fragile these days are and the gifts that they have offered me and I understand why it is that despite the different plans that we all may have for the evening, partying, meditating, working, nursing a baby, playing games, whatever the activity may be, the moment of the count down will come and most of us will gather together to say goodbye to 2015 and to welcome in 2016. This welcoming will be a conscious welcome with a purpose and a direction that has been set because of the phase that we have just taken. Our pause from the world has become the foundation to re-enter the world, may it be a light filled and empowered entrance for us all.
What has become apparent to you over the course of the holiday season? How has the culmination of the calendar year inspired you? Do you feel the energy of this time out of time moment that we are finishing up?
I would love to hear from as many of you as feel called to share, lastly I would love to know what will be enveloping you during your winter's hibernation, what seeds will be taking root as you enter 2016?
Grace Be With You,
Priestess of Grace,
Candise Soaring Butterfly
artist: unknown (please message me if you know)