Well, well! :) I am happy! From autumn on till the end of the year, I always feel Nature and the Cosmos so close, even with ups and downs, and it makes me remember more easily that I am a blessed child of the Creator. Autumn, Mabon is my favorite time on the Wheel of the Year, but my second one is Yule, the Winter Solstice with the Birth of Light.
At this time of the year, I cannot even relate from my Hungarian 'seed', as in Old Hungarian tradition, the Solstice feast was more than special - but I will tell you about it soon.
I am so glad I can participate in the last Tarot Blog Hop event in 2016 - Yule, the Winter Solstice, with Joanne Sprott being our Wrangler, and the topic is 'going back to the Dark Side, the Hidden Realm beneath the autumn leaves and the winter snow', and see what messages we get with the help of our beloved Tarot cards.
Winter Solstice, usually the 21 of December is the day of the year when the night hours are the longest - darkness is the greatest -, but it also means that from this time on, daylight hours will gradually be longer and longer for the next half year.
Christmas is also knocking on the door - 'karacsony' as we call it in Hungarian. But we have another event right before 'karacsony', Solstice, Yule, 'kerecseny' as it is called in Old Hungarian tradition. And as you can see, 'karacsony' and 'kerecseny' are very similar, only the vowels change, but they are actually the same words. In the word 'karacsony', 'kara' means 'darkness' - relating to darkness fading. And as for 'kerecseny', this is the name of a special kind of falcon - a sacred bird in Old Hungarian tradition, the Messenger of Light.
On the night of 21 December, people gathered and celebrated the Solstice, and when darkness was at its peak, a kerecseny falcon was sent up in the dark night sky, creating a bridge for souls so that they can connect on Light more easily. As it was flying through the night sky, screaming, it also meant Light won over Darkness.
At sunset, people made a Western Fire - throwing in it everything they wanted to release and get rid of. Right at sunrise, when Light was born, they made an Eastern Fire - that was already to call blessings, health and abundance in their life.
Now I am already celebrating a bit - just on my own in my attic room. It is snowing outside, and a candle is burning on my small table - my tiny Western Fire. With the help of the Deviant Moon Tarot, I will pull a three-card spread to see what it is that I should throw in the Western Fire, taking it as a message from the Dark and Hidden Realm of life, something I should let go so that Light should be born in me, too - and not just in me, but as we are interconnected, it will surely be a useful message for everyone who reads it, as well (after my little ceremony, I will go and print these three cards, and I will burn them at candle light at night when darkness is on its peak).
So, dear Guides, please show me with the help of three Tarot cards what messages Dark and Hidden Realms have for us at Yule 2016!
Oh, 8 of Wands is still chasing me! And how interesting this spread is! The Hidden Realm says we should let go things marked by these three cards, King of Cups in the middle, 8 of Wands and Ace of Cups, this is intriguing for me!
Even more interesting how these three cards are positioned: 8 of Wands on the left, looking at the other two, King of Cups and Ace of Cups, who are facing each other, looking at each other. And it is even more curious that the description of 8 of Wands in the Deviant Moon Tarot speaks of a peasant woman who is preparing 'to rid her land of the wands growing in the field. An eighth wand serves as a scythe as she readies to cut them all down with a single stroke. Above her, a black crow flies into the scene with important news.' It could even be replaced by a Messenger falcon!
I personally do not think anyone would like to cut down King of Cups and Ace of Cups, but I have pulled a fourth card to stand with 8 of Wands, as for me, this spread says on condition we cut down what we have to, then really comes joy, happiness and abundance. 10 of Wands is the additional fourth card to 8 of Wands, which indeed means stress, burden, oppression, overwhelming pressure - so yes, even if it sounds a bit cliché-like, the best thing is to cut down everything we feel pressurized about. It is never easy to 'check' our thoughts, as a great part of them will rest even unnoticed because we have so-so many thoughts all the time, but it is always easy to 'check' how we feel, because we simply sense how we feel. Everybody is able to sense if they feel good or bad, relaxed, stressed, scared, freaked out, pressurized - or balanced, joyful, in harmony, delighted, happy, satisfied, excited, the list is long. And we always have the chance to say no to what pressurizes us or makes us stressed, nervous or scared.
I wish that in 2017 and always, this could be a leading motif for all of us: saying no and letting go of everything that puts stress on us and choosing instead what makes us happy, enthusiastic and well-balanced - even if it is a challenge to face. And I wish all of you a wonderful Christmas, and a happy, healthy and abundant New Year, stay blessed!
Aw, thank you for this post Bogi! It put me in the mood for making magic! Now... which way is West? Ah, excellent, just the way my altar faces! <3
ReplyDeleteThank you for mentioning the karacsony-kerecsen rituals! It always makes me happy to see that the old ways aren't lost completely!
I love the reminder that we always have the chance to say NO. :D
ReplyDeleteI'm always happy to hear about the Hungarian traditions. Thank you for sharing this especially appropriate story of the Falcon, messenger of light, and the western and eastern fires. The falcon reminds me of the hooded bird of prey on the RWS 9 of Pentacles. Since that is a Virgo card--around harvest time--and the falcon is hooded, you could almost say that the darkness of the hood captures the light of the harvest and abundance of the card, and then the hood is removed and the falcon released at the winter solstice to reveal the stored harvest. I know Hungarian traditions were not likely an influence on that deck, but it's fun to make stretches with the symbolism. :-)
ReplyDeleteThis western fire/eastern fire sotry is such a great gift! The solstice is such a turn around and what a beautiful way to acknowledge both of those energies with flame and light <3
ReplyDeleteLove the concept of the Western/Eastern fire - I think I will have to adopt that tradition :D
ReplyDelete:) Thank you so much for your comments, all of you!
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