Celebrating Advent

Happy December! I can hardly believe it's already the last month of the 2007. What a year! More to post on 2007 reflections later ~ for now, it's the first day of the season of Advent. Most of you know I no longer practice the Catholic rituals that I was raised with (going to church, that is), but have really gotten "back to my roots," so to speak, celebrating the divine Nature and the spirit of the Universe. So this year, my Advent is a pagan celebration of the birth of the sun, culminating with the Winter Solstice on December 22nd. Here's a really nice article about celebrating Advent the pagan way, waiting for the rebirth of the Sun.

For my celebration, I picked up an Advent calendar, just like I had when I was a kid. And every day, I get to open a new door to find a new treat inside - a new image that I can use as the meditation for the day for the next few weeks. Celebrating Advent in this way brings a whole new deeper and more personal meaning to the season for me this year.

Today's image very appropriately was a candle! Thinking of the light of the sun and darkness of the year that we're in - the short days and long nights, as we wait for the return of the longer days ruled by the sun - we bring the light inside our own homes by lighting candles. For me, the candle also represents the light within, the steady flame representing the eternal light that always exists within us. Our connection to the Infinite, unwavering and always giving warmth and light. Remember you are made up of light. That was the message from my spirit guides. The candle is a wonderful reminder of this truth! I am made up of light, all of my cells and atoms and the parts of me that exist on a level too small to see or comprehend - these are all light. Focusing on the image of the candle, I can let the light within me grow and radiate outward, spreading warmth and light throughout my life. Thank you for such a beautiful image today!