The Alchemical Year
THE ALCHEMICAL YEAR
The nature of your life is a series of ever occurring micro-cycles that mirror the many macro-cycles of nature, such as the phases of the moon, the seasons of the earth, and the movements of the sun, and planets. Your body, and your nature also mirror the elemental nature of this world, and you can move through life in awareness, and alignment with all of this, which brings in such grace and ease. Nature is the macrocosm, or the whole, and you are the microcosm, or the miniature version of the whole...and these two things cannot—and are not ever separate. One cannot exist without the other. They are symbiotic, synergetic, intertwined and related.When you study the wheel of the year, the wheel of the zodiac, or the wheel of the moon's phases, you find that each of the events within them, are all connected to the place of the center. The seasons cycle around us, the heavens spin above us, and the moon shines down upon us...we are at the center of all of this, reflecting back with each breath just how the universe works. The world is within you, and it is you. You are all that is, and all that is, is you. You are the embodied expression of all that is.
Look up at the full moon, and know that opposite her light is the darkness of another moon, and opposite each of the phases is a phase that mirrors its duality, the same is true for the astrological signs, and the seasons, and the moments of your life, from good to bad, and back to good again. All of life moves in a circular fashion, there is no linearity in nature. Flow, and move with this roundness, and you will begin to experience life as if it were a mystical experience, a journey, and a blessing.
A NEW YEAR'S BLESSING
May you live in the comfort of the great, sacred spiral. May you feel safe, supported, and know that you are loved. May you be filled with strength to endure all that is put before you. May you know nature as a part of you, be filled with awe by its power and be blessed to overflowing with its wisdom.
THE NATURE OF NATURE
The study of one's nature is the study of Nature, and her workings are the workings of your life. I have found that I am predominately very lunar, and wax, and wane constantly, as does my life, and I find my life moves as do the lunar phases, and when I notice this, it helps me to flow more gracefully in all that I do. About two years ago, I found myself in a dark moon/winter/earth phase of my life, a time when I was very inward, contemplative, and private. During this time, it was very difficult to socialize, as all I wanted to do was to be alone with my thoughts, meditate, and be with my own energy. Within the darkness of this personal, private, and creatively fertile space, I visioned the life, and the work that I am now living, and offering. And, while I may still go in to the darkness often to re-vision, replenish, and renew, I have now transitioned into a full moon/spring/fire phase of my life, which is a time of great production, creation, and beginnings.
It is easy to misunderstand these phases, and before I recognized them in my life, I was often deeply frustrated whenever a dark moon phase came along, thinking it to be a 'death', or an ending of some kind, I would grieve the loss of my energy, inspiration...and my social life, and a kind of sadness would come over me. But...just as the moon goes into darkness, and comes forth again with light - so did I, and by flowing with this, I was able to feel into the wisdom of my life, embrace the way it naturally flows with the moon and the seasons, and I soon learned to enjoy being in alignment with it all, and appreciate the alchemical transformations that I went through.
Alchemy is the study and process of transformation, both on a personal and a natural level; everything in this world is always changing, growing, ending and beginning. When we study the celestial cycles with this in mind, we begin to see a potent wisdom that reveals to you the truth of who you are, and how the universe works. It also deepens your relationship to everything...and most especially deepens the relationship that you have with yourself. It is good to note that just as the moon, sun, stars and seasons flow cyclically, and change alchemically on a daily, monthly, and yearly basis, so do we, and by studying the natural cycles of earth and sky, we can learn more and more about ourselves.
It is also good to note, that often the element, season, and phase of the moon that your life is in, is not necessarily an exact match to the season, or phase of the moon that the world is in. And, as I have come to understand, this is because these cycles are like concentric wheels that move just as the planets do; at different rates of speed, or progression, and the larger the cycle—such as the seasons of the year, which take 12 months to complete, the slower it occurs, and the smaller the cycle—such as our day, which takes 24 hours, the faster it occurs. All of the macro-cycles, such as the seasons, the lunar phases, occur within us, as us, and so while the season of winter may last three months, your personal time of winter, or stillness, and retreat may last several months, or only a few weeks, or a few days.
There is another another microcosm, or miniature version of the larger world that is revealed within esoteric astrology; for just as during each month we experience the aspects of one of the twelve signs through the solar zodiac, and over the course of a year we will have experienced all twelve, this twelve-month cycle mirrors the larger cycle of the soul, which experiences one sign per lifetime, and would take twelve—or more lifetimes to complete the journey through them all, as often a soul will repeat a sign more than once; just as we experience this twelve-month cycle again and again, so too does the soul. Lifetime after lifetime, the soul is learning—just as we do month after month, more and more about ourselves.
* The above has been excerpted from my 'The Alchemical Year’ Wisdom Guide
Want More? Sign up for The Witchery | Monthly Newsletter