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The transition of the New Year, marked by the
illumination of fireworks and candles, is a brief moment in the depths of
winter in which we may acknowledge the passing of the old year and welcome in
new life and future possibilities for the year ahead. Once the vision passes we
return to introspective hibernation, for in the midst of wintry cold dank days
and long dark nights this a time to rest, focus within and stay close to home
in heart and hearth. It is not until the first green shoots of the early
snowdrops emerge from the snow covered and hard frosted ground in the first
week of February that there is any sense of life beginning to stir. Now we can
properly turn our thoughts to the year ahead as our energy rises and we begin
to unfold from the dark snug and slough off the heavy mantle of the previous
year to emerge fresh and renewed. This is the time of the Celtic festival of
Imbolc, sacred to the Maiden aspect of the Goddess, which honours the earth in
her renewal and welcomes her re-emergence in early spring. As the pale sunshine
strengthens and the thaw continues the flow of the waters in rivers and streams
increases expressing a physical corollary of this new cleansing tide. This is
the time of spring cleaning when one cleans the dust and dirt of the past year
out of one's house, which traditionally literally meant clearing out the old
strewn herbs and straw. But this is also a time of washing away the old,
outworn and empty elements of our inner life which are part of the past and
thereby release space for new experiences, projects and plans that you would
like to bring to life in the new year ahead. |
Cycles of the Heavens |
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With an incremental increase in winter light
and the newly emerging shafts of green life from hard frosted earth, the Sun
leaves behind the deep hibernation of midwinter and the grounded pragmatism of
Capricorn. From 20th January it ascends now into the celestial realms of
Aquarius and the temenos of fixed air, from whose clear and rarefied heights
the Water Bearer pours forth his divine inspiration to humanity. Here we are
refreshed in the sparkling stream of consciousness which flows from heaven to
earth, opening our minds to new concepts, loosening old mental constructs as
new ideas arise before us and bringing future possibilities into our awareness.
Here we enter the conceptual and abstract realms where we are liberated to
create and explore new mental forms and expand our horizons to new conceptual
limits. Ruled by Saturn, this sign unites mind with form and serves to bring
through the new collective impulses and ideas whose time has come to be
embodied and enlivened in matter. This, indeed, is the sign of the intellectual
pioneer who brings new ideas into being on behalf of all humanity and, as form
follows thought, enables a new world to arise. Individually at this time, we
too can explore fresh ideas and thoughts of how we would like to refashion our
own world, and we may be inspired with creative possibilities which can, in due
course, manifest in our lives.
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Zodiac images © Koninklijke
Bibliotheek National Library of the Netherlands www.kb.nl Shelfmark
= The Hague, KB, KA 16, Iconclass = 23021, 23022, 23023, 23031, 23032, 23033,
23041, 23042, 23043, 23011, 23012, 23013 |
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