Category: Traditional knowledge

Celebration of Holy Nights

.Reading time 4 minutes.
The celebration of Holy Nights, or the Twelve Nights of Christmas, is observed in many cultures. It can be celebrated as an Inner Journey that we take to give birth to the sun in our being in order to illuminate the darkness. Holy Nights begin in the winter season in the Northern Hemisphere when the forces of Nature have withdrawn into the earth. Outside, there is usually snow and cold, a calm that is not available at other more active times of the year. It reflects a desire for inner peace that is not easily accessible in an outwardly material Western culture.

During the celebration of Holy Nights, the windows of heaven are opened so that you can see your potential in a new way. The veils are raised between Heaven and Earth. Archangels are free to create a choir of revelation and full knowledge is possible.
During each night, in our sacred space, we can reflect and welcome in our heart the different virtues. It is interesting to take notes of your insights. 

Ways to celebrate
There are many ways to celebrate the 12 holy nights. The best is to explore  yourself on basis of meditation and cleaning ritual. But here you can find a structure that can help you to start. 

Each night: highlight at sunset a coloured candle. There is also a zodiac sign corresponding. If desired, the previous 12 months can be explored for lessons learned and accomplishments made. We will literally give birth to a new world through our love and honor for the earth and the stars.
The Twelve Nights ritual uses candles in 12 different colors placed in a circle with a gold candle, honoring the golden light of the sun, in the center. If you can find them, here are the suggested colors: Dark Red, Pink, Peach, Red-Violet, Blue-Violet, Purple, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, Red, Gold.
DaysignVirtuelessons
to remember
from		color candle
24 DecPiscesGenerosityDecemberdark red
25 DecAquariusDiscretionNovemberpink
26 DecCapricornCourageOctoberpeach
27 DecSagittariusSelf-disciplineSeptemberred-violet
28 DecScorpionPatienceAugustblue-violet
29 DecLibraEquanimityJulypurple
30 DecVirgoCourtesyJuneindigo
31 DecLionCompassionMayblue
1 JanCancerAltruismAprilgreen
2 JanGeminiPerseveranceMarchyellow
3 JanTaurusBalanceFebruaryorange
4 JanAriesDevotionJanuaryred
5 JanTranscendenceAllgold
Twelve Nights symbols, monthly lessons to remember, color of the candle to light that night

On the 5th Januari, this night of Holy Epiphany, we light the gold candle, representing transcendence, the Highest Light. We have created the entire circle, by remembering all lesson learned each month of the past year. All the virtues are now integrated. We now see the year as a whole and we are prepared in a mindful way to start the year to come.

Dreams are important Holy Nights. By turning inward during the twelve nights, we create a space to listen to our dreams*. It is said that dreams during this period predict the future. Each night represents a month of the following year. The first night represents January, the second night February, the third night March etc. Each night dream predicts the future of its related month.

*By having a dream notebook, and the intention to remember the dream before sleeping helps to have a mindful dream life. In your dream book, note every detail of your dream in order to interpret all symbols offering you a message. Also you can put herbal sachet under your pillow, this will help you to dream and remember your dreams.

Wishing to all a mindful holiday and more…

Hélène Courrier

Elder moon

.Reading time 5 minutes.

In the Druid tree calendar, the Elder is the 13th and last tree of the year. It closes the year ( 25 November and ends the 23 December) and stands for death and rebirth. It was considered as a sacred tree by the Celts. Elder is the “tree of death and life“. He embodied the infinity of life: in winter the tree was “dead” – in spring it awoke to new life.

History

  • Germanic tribes like the Frisians buried their dead under the Ellhorn (elder) near the house.
  • The Teutons revered the elder and offered it bread, milk and even beer.
  • The similarity of the name of Holunder (elder in German) and Holda, the mother goddess from Germanic mythology, is not accidental. The name Holda (also Holla or Hohe, in Grimm’s fairy tales: Frau Holle) means the “radiant one”. Holda was worshiped as a house goddess, like Hestia. Her offerings were brought to the elder bush. Holda was also the patron saint for people & plants. She was able to heal people from illness. In her the goodness of mother earth and the radiance of heavenly light were equally embodied.
  • Freya, the Germanic goddess of love and fertility, is also said to have a special relationship with the elderberry bush and live in the Holler.
  • As long as people believed in Frau Holle, it was forbidden to fell or damage a elder bush. Illness and death, it was said, were the consequences.
  • In the course of Christianisation, St. Nicholas replaced Frau Holle. The elder branch he held in his hand – a symbol of fertility – turned into a rod.
  • It is said from the 17th and 18th centuries that people asked forgiveness for the elder when they had to cut it down. Only widows & children were allowed to cut them down.
  • An old belief says that it is a sign that a deceased has found his peace when an elderberry branch planted on his grave begins to grow.
  • References to the elderberry is also found in the Bible: the cradle of the baby Jesus is said to have been made of elder wood, the Holy Family is said to have rested under an elder tree on their flight to Egypt. Hence the belief that the elder is one of the trees that are not struck by lightning. The cross of Christ is said to have been made of elder wood Judas is said to have hanged himself from an elder tree.

Moonwork

Because a damaged Elder tree can regrow and a replanted branch can root from itself, the Elder tree represent the power of energy renewal and regeneration. This lunar month offers the energy to end the year mindfully and get ready for a new start

In the dark days of the end of the year, our energy goes inwards to feed our inner journey, to feed our heart’s desire. To start the new year, with this past year wisdom, we need to gather the lessons and release that does not serve us anymore. Indeed, it’s time to make an annual evaluation, by acknowledging old patterns restricting our growth and happiness and heal the eventual wounds. Taking time to evaluate what we have learned this last year and how we want to move one next year. Therefore time is needed to listen to our dreams, concentrate, go back to our roots in order to create new dreams for the New year which are blessed to become true during this moon .

Botanical

The latin name of Elder is Sambucus nigra is composed of "Sambucus" which in ancient Greek comes from  "sambúkē", a string music instrument, made from the wood of the elder tree.  "nigra" means "black", and refers to the dark berries.

Since Hippocrates, the Elder has a very great fame. We use the flowers, leaves, the second bark, berries for multiple domestic or medical uses. 

Berries and flowers have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and immune enhancing properties. Berries work on the airways and are  prepared as cough syrup.
Gender: Female
Planet: Venus
Element: Water
Divinities: Holda, Hestia, Freya
Powers: Protection; Counter-spell; Healing; Prosperity.
Elder makes the strict and rigid person softer and gives to the too soft person structure and clear boundaries.

H.C