This is the time of the Quickening Moon. It still feels a lot like winter. Many parts of the world are still covered in ice and snow. Even here in Central Florida we are having stormy winter weather. But winter will soon be over, and the promise of spring is starting to stir. Animals that will be born in the spring are growing inside their mothers right now. Underground, the seeds and bulbs lying dormant are starting to come to life. This "quickening" is like the first small stirrings of an unborn baby in its mother's womb. Not yet visible to the outside world, but there just the same.
This moon is also called the Storm Moon, as this is typically the stormiest time of the year. But even though winter rages around us, spring is just around the corner. The winter months are a time of looking inward, of rest and rejuvenation. As spring gets closer, we get tired of being cooped up inside and long to be outside in the warmth and the sun. This is a good time for "internal spring cleaning". Let go of past disappointments and failures, of unrealized dreams and plans that never made it past the planning stage. Let them melt away like the snow and sink back into the earth to be absorbed and neutralized.
Now that the past has melted away, look ahead to the upcoming spring. Think about the seeds you want to plant. What do you want to accomplish in the upcoming months? Set your goals and make your plans. These don't need to be full-blown plans - just the spark of an idea is a good place to start. Whatever you can dream, you can accomplish - the only one holding you back is you.
Keep that spark alive; let it take root and grow. This year's harvest will be bountiful!
Correspondences for the Quickening Moon include:
Colors: Purple and blue
Gemstones: Rose quartz, amethyst, jasper
Trees: Rowan, Myrtle
Gods: Brighid, Aphrodite, Juno, Mars
Herbs: Hyssop, sage, myrrh
Element: Fire
Magical workings this month should focus on personal achievements and advancement, new beginnings, and new relationships.
It's one of those rare times of the year when we are able to witness and participate in the unicity of life. No matter our religious or cultural heritage, all our season festivals celebrate the solstice, the darkest day of the year (in the Northern Hemisphere) and the day the Sun's light starts to return. It's one of several cosmic moments human beings have commemorated since we first noticed solar cycles. You could say — and it would not be a stretch — that the solstice, winter and summer, as well as the equinox, vernal and autumnal, are the first astrological holidays. For they delineate significant cycles within our enduring relationship with the Sun. Great monuments thousands of years old — Newgrange, Stonehenge, Maes Howe, Carnac, Gao Cheng Zhen, Chichen Itza, Chaco Canyon — all celebrate this turning point, when the Sun "stands still," which is what "solstice" means, and the solar cycle begins anew.
Other than from an astrological perspective, we seldom think of the Sun as a powerful symbol. And even from an astrological perspective, we tend to relegate the Sun to a Sign and think of it as an indicator of personality traits. But what the ancients knew and the knowledge that still resonates through modern holidays — Christmas, Yule, or Yalda, no matter how commercial these festivals have become, is that the Sun, in its regular, reliable, consistent, and constant presence, is the source of life. The Sun is eternal and when we celebrate its eternality, we celebrate our own, and not just our individual, particular life, but all of life — life it its entirety. Which may be way the notion of good cheer and fellowship with all sentient beings is integral to the festivities. We invite the light in with trees, logs, candles, and fire of all sorts, and that warmth is shared with family, friends, and in the best of times, with foes.
The Sun shines equally on all of life — something I try to remind myself of when I find myself in an unhealthy polarized stance, and by that I mean a position that's based on egocentricity and self-righteousness. Or in Buddhist terms, ignorant about the true nature of reality, which is that we are all one and what seemingly divides us is born of our failure to recognize the truth of our interconnectedness. The Sun is the primary symbol of our unity. It creates a unified field and holds within its vast and infinite reach all of us from the quark to the elephant, from a grain of sand to Mount Everest. All of us. Everything.
On December 21, celebrate the Sun and allow its eternal celestial fire to light your personal fire. Cultures come and go, traditions change, symbols lose or gain meaning, but the Sun endures. And, through its eternal light, so do we.
Image above: This map shows the start times for viewing the eclipse for the time zones of the United States. Image credit: NASA