Posts Tagged ‘holiday’

Connect to the Rhythm of Imbolc and Spring

In every woman there is a Queen. Speak to the Queen and the Queen will answer.’ - Norwegian proverb

In the wisdom teachings of the Divine Feminine, there are certain earth cycles, which open a gateway between the higher planes of existence and the earth plane. These moments of enhanced connection allow us to view the rhythm and timing of the goddess in her form as mother nature. As the traditions of the Goddess and Divine Feminine resurge in the light again, it’s time to celebrate. The powerful life-affirming magic of Spring is around the corner. Should you wish to change something in your life, this is the moment to set that intention and ask for your dream to bloom, grow and rejuvenate.

We are experiencing one of these magical moments this week, marked as the mid-way point of the season of Winter around February 2nd. This celebration is most popularly known by the Celtic reference of Imbolc. Imbolc, a gaelic word, means in-milk, derived from the gaelic pronunciation ‘oimelc’, meaning ewe’s milk.

While Imbolc is the most well known celebration of this holiday, its origins stem from a powerful universal wisdom teaching known as – ‘As Within, So Without’.

During the barren frozen winter days of early February in western Europe, the celebration of Imbolc was a symbol of hope and represented the good things to come. When surveying the landscape (without), everything appeared bleak, and lifeless yet (within) the dairy animals, hints of Spring were returning as the animals began to lactate and milk began to flow again.

There is a Goddess assigned to this quickening and universally she symbolizes the seeds of life planted (within) the earth and within each person and how when nurtured and cared for, they blossom (without) producing the life affirming milk and awakening of life and hope.

In the Celtic celebration, the Goddess is known as Brigid, also spelled as Brighid. Brigid is revered as the Goddess of healing, writing and prosperity. As a solar goddess, she represents the fire and light that burns within each living being and how when cared for, this eternal light creates inner healing, restores vital energy and stirs life within. She is also represented in the phases of the Goddess as the maiden and the bride. Wise women around the world work with this goddess energy, helping others to launch new projects and beginnings, to stimulate powerful healing energies within the body and perform weddings, as this is the most advantageous day of the year to be married.

Brigid is referred to as the bride, which in modern times is recognized in the form of a young woman being joined in matrimony. This is but one derivative of the wisdom teaching and rituals. The Goddess Brigid is recognized as one of the Queens of Heaven who is being transmuted during this time and reborn. The Wise Woman of Winter, who has journeyed deep within herself during the darkest days of winter, is now ready to emerge and be reborn as the Young Maiden. This maiden carries the hope and promise of new life along with the wisdom and discernment of the wise women, giving herself the gift of intuition, healing, abundance and love. She is a bride of the light, participating in her own unification of this energy in a marriage ceremony of the heart and mind.

Would you like to connect with this energy and connect with the loving energy of the light without and stir this energy within your heart and mind?

Here are Seven Sacred Ways to Connect with the Energy of Imbolc and the Goddess:

  1. On February 1st through Feb 2nd, light candles and lamps in the home to welcome the return of the Light. Yellow, white and orange candles are the best colors to use. As you light each candle, focus your energy with the flame and ask that the light burn clear and bright, bringing clarity to the home, burning off any residual gloom or negative energy within the home.
  2. White flowers symbolize the purity within and the promise of blooming to come. Place a beautiful bouquet in the heart area of your home and breathe deeply into the flowers, allowing their essence and fragrance to be experienced by all of your senses.
  3. Reminiscent of the milk flowing, sharing dairy products is abundant, the most popular choice being milk chocolate. Hot chocolate warms the body and when stirring the chocolate, imbibe the mix with loving thoughts and warmth.
  4. Place a silk ribbon or piece of fabric on a window sill, often referred to as Brighid’s Mantle. It is said overnight, it will be blessed with the healing, intuitive and abundant energy flowing at this time. Use this fabric to wrap your deck of tarot cards, to wrap herbs in or create a special pouch to hold treasured items.
  5. Leave an offering outdoors of bread for birds and other small creatures who may be having a difficult time finding sustenance in the barren landscape. While outdoors in the cold, give thanks to the beauty surrounding you. Stand with your feet firmly grounded to the earth and raise your arms in the air, bring the light from above around you and allow it to flow deep within you.
  6. Gather the seeds that you will be planting in your Spring garden. Hold your hands over the seeds and ask for the energy of the Goddess within to bless the seeds and nurture them. Take a small quartz crystal and charge this crystal with the same intention. When planting these seeds in the spring, plant the quartz crystal into the earth next to the seeds.
  7. Reflect on the seeds of thought you planted in the Fall within yourself and the goals you are affirming in this new year. Ask for the quickening of the seeds within you, that they may blossom and grow. Take a quartz crystal and charge this crystal with the same intention. Keep this crystal on your desk or in a spot where it will remind you of your goals and intentions.

The Goddess in her many forms, teaches by example through nature. Use this time wisely, as it creates a sacred opportunity to plant new seeds of thought in the mind and heart. In the circle of life, there are adversities (within and without), representing a time of darkness and Winter, which are always overcome through the journey. The return to the light in the Spring, offers the opportunity to be reborn and move forward on the path, having learned from the time of adversity. Offerings of gratitude are given at this time to one’s adversaries, as they represent lessons and growth opportunities in disguise.



Happy Yule! Ringing in the Winter Solstice

Enjoy a chocolate Yule Log this holiday season

Yule, a festival of light with twelve days of feasting and public celebrations, begins at the Winter Solstice. Symbolic rituals are observed including the lighting of candles and a Yule log is kept burning throughout the twelve days to symbolize the returning of the light and the Sun after the darkest day of the year on Winter Solstice. A tasty addition to the festivities has been added in the form of a Chocolate Yule log cake.

The origin of this holiday comes from over 2000 years ago, originating in Northern Europe. The holiday began as a pagan tradition known as Yule, which was celebrated for 12 days.  During this time, Scandinavian people celebrated the Norse God Odin, a bearded god who flew through the air on a horse and handed out gifts. The Pagan Romans held a seven-day festival of Saturnalia beginning on December 17th, which included the celebration of the God Mithras, who was born on December 25th. They exchanged gifts, enjoyed feasts and once this festival culminated, the New Year festivities began. Modern day examples of how we celebrate these pagan traditions today include candles in the windows of our home and what we now call Christmas lights, which we hang on a Christmas tree (our modern adaptation of the yule log and evergreen branches that the ancient Europeans brought into their homes).

In the 4th century, Rome changed from a pagan society to a Christian society and the church began to replace and absorb pagan traditions. Since there was already a holiday in place to celebrate the birth of the God Mithras, the decision was made to switch this birthday and dedicate the day as a symbolic birth date for Jesus. The Roman Catholic Church holds a ritualistic midnight mass for this event, which became Christ’s Mass, i.e. Christmas.

Like many pagan traditions under siege in the attempt to be absorbed and overwritten by the church, the campaign was met with mixed success. The European people continued their own traditional pagan celebrations and simply added the new religious connotations into the mix.  Over the centuries, the festivals, feasts, gift giving and celebrations continued including the adoption of medieval carolers who went door to door singing while enjoying a cup of alcoholic punch at each stop.  Over the decades, Yule became the celebration of Christmas.

The festivals continued in this manner until around the 17th century when Protestant reformers decided that Christmas should be banned. Their reasoning was based on the premise that the holidays was built upon pagan traditions, which were then further embellished by the Catholic church with the adopted birthday celebration on December 25th. Both traditions, the pagan revelry and the Catholic traditions, were customs that they wanted no part of and they were able to ban Christmas in England. This only lasted for a few years, but many people who held this protestant belief moved during the 17th century to America, the New World and brought their religious beliefs with them. They were the Puritan settlers who formed the colony of Massachusetts. In 1659, they banned Christmas as a holiday in Massachusetts.  As new settlers including Catholics, Pagans, the Irish, Scottish, Dutch and others with moderate religious beliefs migrated to America establishing colonies in New York, Virginia and other Atlantic states, they brought their Christmas traditions and festivities with them and the celebration of Christmas was restored in the U.S.

How do we celebrate Christmas today? According to the History Channel’s documentary, The Real Story of Christmas, the preservation and evolution is credited to two influential Americans. The first is Clement Moore, who in 1822 wrote Twas the Night Before Christmas, which gave inspiration to new customs for the holiday, based on old world traditions. Moore combined the white bearded Norse God Odin who flew through the air handing out gifts with St. Nicholas, a 4th century Catholic Bishop who was known for gift giving in stockings and the two were then melded with Sinter Klaas, the Dutch version of St. Nicholas. Odin was known as the God of Thunder and was said to have flown on a horse with eight legs. Moore substituted Odin’s eight-legged horse into eight reindeer, which he gave individual names including Donner, which means thunder, and Blitzen, which means lightning.  He also combined old European stories of elves, making Santa Claus a wizard like magical elf.

The second influential figure was Thomas Nast, a famous illustrator who created the images of the donkey and the elephant for the Republican and Democratic parties and created the image of Uncle Sam.  In 1862, Nast took Moore’s poetic descriptions of Santa and drew the illustration of Santa Claus. He changed the image of Santa Claus from a smaller elf into a full size elf man with a white beard. He also created the concept of St. Nick’s naughty or nice list. (A lesser-known fact about St. Nicholas was that the original story of St. Nicholas said that when he visited houses, he was followed by a demon named Krampus who punished bad children). Nast glossed over this story by creating a gentler naughty or nice list. Nast also captivated his audience by capturing the growing sentiment of this time where children were becoming the focus of the family and thus Santa Claus was very attentive to children, bringing them gifts.

From the light filled traditions and festivals of the ancient Europeans, to the migration of Odin into Santa Claus and the bringing in of the evergreens from Northern Europe morphing into the Christmas tree, Christmas as a holiday has continued to evolve. The Industrial Revolution provided the opportunity for a variety of good and products to become mass produced and accessible to consumers and soon after, gift giving for the holiday began in earnest and became the American staple of the holiday that is widely celebrated today.

The holiday season continues to mix old and new, with a rise of neo-paganism bringing a resurgence of old traditions and returning back to the ancient customs and celebrations of Yule. This along with a growing distaste of Black Friday shopping complete with people fighting and trampling others over bargain gifts and thousands of Americans going into debt each year with over the top gift giving, may stimulate an entire new series of traditions and festivities in the 21st century.

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Enjoyed this article? Kala welcomes your comments and reads them all. Don’t miss a thing! Subscribe by clicking the button at the top right corner of this article. By doing so, you’ll receive e-mail updates every time a new article by Kala Ambrose is posted – and it’s free! To read archived articles by Kala Ambrose, visit her main page at the National Haunted History Examiner and the National Metaphysical Spirituality Examiner.

More about Kala Ambrose: Kala Ambrose is an award winning author, intuitive and talk show host of the Explore Your Spirit with Kala Show. Her thought-provoking interviews entice listeners to tune in around the globe! Described by her guests and listeners as discerning, empowering and inspiring, she speaks with world renowned authors, artists, teachers and researchers delving into metaphysical, holistic and paranormal topics. Kala’s book, 9 Life Altering Lessons: Secrets of the Mystery Schools Unveiled delves into the mysteries of ancient Egyptian mystery schools and explains their wisdom teachings. Kala Ambrose is a highly interactive teacher on a mission to educate, entertain and inspire. She lectures on the Ancient Wisdom Teachings of Egypt and the Mystery Schools, Working with Auras, Chakras and Energy Fields, and Wise Woman Wisdom.



Celebrate Imbolc with the Goddess in Seven Sacred Ways

In the wisdom teachings of the Divine Feminine, there are certain earth cycles, which open a gateway between the higher planes of existence and the earth plane. These moments of enhanced connection allow us to view the rhythm and timing of the goddess in her form as mother nature.

We are experiencing one of these magical moments this week, marked as the mid-way point of the season of Winter around February 2nd. This celebration is most popularly known by the Celtic reference of Imbolc. Imbolc, a gaelic word, means in-milk, derived from the gaelic pronunciation ‘oimelc’, meaning ewe’s milk.

While Imbolc is the most well known celebration of this holiday, its origins stem from a powerful universal wisdom teaching known as – ‘As Within, So Without’.

During the barren frozen winter days of early February in western Europe, the celebration of Imbolc was a symbol of hope and represented the good things to come. When surveying the landscape (without), everything appeared bleak, and lifeless yet (within) the dairy animals, hints of Spring were returning as the animals began to lactate and milk began to flow again.

There is a Goddess assigned to this quickening and universally she symbolizes the seeds of life planted (within) the earth and within each person and how when nurtured and cared for, they blossom (without) producing the life affirming milk and awakening of life and hope.

In the Celtic celebration, the Goddess is known as Brigid, also spelled as Brighid. Brigid is revered as the Goddess of healing, writing and prosperity. As a solar goddess, she represents the fire and light that burns within each living being and how when cared for, this eternal light creates inner healing, restores vital energy and stirs life within. She is also represented in the phases of the Goddess as the maiden and the bride. Wise women around the world work with this goddess energy, helping others to launch new projects and beginnings, to stimulate powerful healing energies within the body and perform weddings, as this is the most advantageous day of the year to be married.

Brigid is referred to as the bride, which in modern times is recognized in the form of a young woman being joined in matrimony. This is but one derivative of the wisdom teaching and rituals. The Goddess Brigid is recognized as one of the Queens of Heaven who is being transmuted during this time and reborn. The Wise Woman of Winter, who has journeyed deep within herself during the darkest days of winter, is now ready to emerge and be reborn as the Young Maiden. This maiden carries the hope and promise of new life along with the wisdom and discernment of the wise women, giving herself the gift of intuition, healing, abundance and love. She is a bride of the light, participating in her own unification of this energy in a marriage ceremony of the heart and mind.

Would you like to connect with this energy and connect with the loving energy of the light without and stir this energy within your heart and mind?

There are Seven Sacred Ways to Connect with the Energy of Imbolc and the Goddess:

1. On February 2nd, light candles and lamps in the home to welcome the return of the Light. Yellow, white and orange candles are the best colors to use. As you light each candle, focus your energy with the flame and ask that the light burn clear and bright, bringing clarity to the home, burning off any residual gloom or negative energy within the home.

2. White flowers symbolize the purity within and the promise of blooming to come. Place a beautiful bouquet in the heart area of your home and breathe deeply into the flowers, allowing their essence and fragrance to be experienced by all of your senses.

3. Reminiscent of the milk flowing, sharing dairy products is abundant, the most popular choice being milk chocolate. Hot chocolate warms the body and when stirring the chocolate, imbibe the mix with loving thoughts and warmth.

4. Place a silk ribbon or piece of fabric on a window sill, often referred to as Brighid’s Mantle. It is said overnight, it will be blessed with the healing, intuitive and abundant energy flowing at this time. Use this fabric to wrap your deck of tarot cards, to wrap herbs in or create a special pouch to hold treasured items.

5. Leave an offering outdoors of bread for birds and other small creatures who may be having a difficult time finding sustenance in the barren landscape. While outdoors in the cold, give thanks to the beauty surrounding you. Stand with your feet firmly grounded to the earth and raise your arms in the air, bring the light from above around you and allow it to flow deep within you.

6. Gather the seeds that you will be planting in your Spring garden. Hold your hands over the seeds and ask for the energy of the Goddess within to bless the seeds and nurture them. Take a small quartz crystal and charge this crystal with the same intention. When planting these seeds in the spring, plant the quartz crystal into the earth next to the seeds.

7. Reflect on the seeds of thought you planted in the Fall within yourself and the goals you are affirming in this new year. Ask for the quickening of the seeds within you, that they may blossom and grow. Take a quartz crystal and charge this crystal with the same intention. Keep this crystal on your desk or in a spot where it will remind you of your goals and intentions.

The Goddess in her many forms, teaches by example through nature. Use this time wisely, as it creates a sacred opportunity to plant new seeds of thought in the mind and heart. In the circle of life, there are adversities (within and without), representing a time of darkness and Winter, which are always overcome through the journey. The return to the light in the Spring, offers the opportunity to be reborn and move forward on the path, having learned from the time of adversity. Offerings of gratitude are given at this time to one’s adversaries, as they represent lessons and growth opportunities in disguise.

There is a powerful Norwegian proverb which states: ‘In every woman there is a Queen. Speak to the Queen and the Queen will answer’. As the traditions of the Goddess and Divine Feminine resurge in the light again, celebrate with the seven sacred ways listed above. The powerful life-affirming magic of Spring is around the corner. Should you wish to change something in your life, this is the moment to set that intention and ask for your dream to bloom, grow and rejuvenate!

More about Kala Ambrose:
Kala is an award winning author, intuitive and talk show host of the Explore Your Spirit with Kala Show. Her thought-provoking interviews entice listeners to tune in around the globe! Described by her guests and listeners as discerning, empowering and inspiring, she speaks with world renowned authors, artists, teachers and researchers delving into metaphysical, holistic and paranormal topics. Kala’s  book, 9 Life Altering Lessons: Secrets of the Mystery Schools Unveiled delves into the mysteries of ancient mystery schools and explains their wisdom teachings. Kala lectures on Esoteric Teachings,  Developing Business Intuition, Working with Auras, Chakras and Energy Fields, and Wise Woman Wisdom (also known as the Divine Feminine). Kala’s Guided Meditations CD’s include Spirit of Hawaii and Egyptian Mystery Temple and Tibetan Mountain Journey.  More info: www.ExploreYourSpirit.com

Enjoyed this article? Kala welcomes your comments and reads them all. For more articles by Kala Ambrose, visit her main page at National Metaphysical Spirituality Examiner.


Magical Moments abound during 2009′s New Year’s Eve Full Moon in Blue

Looking for a star studded evening to make a wish and heal something from the past? You’re in luck, for this New Year’s Eve delivers a magical blend of a Full Blue Moon, complete with a partial lunar eclipse, in the midst of a Mercury Retrograde. This rare combination won’t be experienced again for another 29 years, so take note and prepare for a New Year’s Eve celebration full of surprises.

La Luna will be in full regalia this evening, showing her many moods, as she shimmers in her glory, confronts her shadow side with the eclipse and emerges reborn during a retrograde. As her children on earth, we should take note that this moon phase is in the astrological sign of Cancer, which will create a significant impact with water (liquids) and soul mates (relationships). Pay particular attention to what you drink on New Year’s Eve, for with each glass you raise to a toast, the energy will be heightened. This creates a rare opportunity to truly manifest your desires by imbuing into the liquid what you are thinking and saying as you make each toast. You truly can activate your libations with your energy, turning them into magical potions which you then drink, thereby absorbing them into your being.

New Year’s Eve through mid January 2010 is in the midst of a Mercury Retrograde. During this period, past events will return to be reflected upon and dealt with. Use this powerful time wisely to heal old wounds and forgive, starting out the New Year with a clean slate. Retrogrades can bring about the power to reconnect, to reveal, to release, relinquish, relive, revive, recognize, renew and restore. Think carefully and choose your actions wisely as this would be an excellent time to acknowledge and let go of something from your past or to recognize something wonderful that you’ve overlooked in the past, which is being presented to you again.

Remember that with the full moon in Cancer, emotions will be running high, so expect it to also provide a roller coaster ride throughout the evening. If you’re in Vegas, don’t be surprised to discover that you got married overnight and if you’re looking to get pregnant, focus passionate loving thoughts into your liquid libation and stir these thoughts throughout your body, activating this energy for the New Year.

To further enhance the energy of this spectacular evening, wear something that shimmers to celebrate the moon. Particularly powerful would be the color silver in clothing, jewelry made from the sea or if you have moonstone, this is the perfect night to let it shine.

Gentle readers, if you have been looking for a sign, a moment in time where you can connect mind, body and spirit to a particular event, in order to create transformation in your life, this New Year’s Eve is for you. Surround yourself in white light, wear a cowrie shell for protection and luck, write down the wish that you truly want to have activated in your life and raise your glass in a toast and proclaim it to be. Drink the full contents of your glass in three swallows and let the magic begin. Now go ‘trip the light fantastic’ and celebrate La Luna in her glory and new beginnings.


Wishing you a lifetime of love, light and laughter,
*~Kala~* – starlight dancing on a silvery moon…

More about Kala Ambrose: Kala is an award winning author, intuitive and talk show host of the Explore Your Spirit with Kala Show. Her thought-provoking interviews entice listeners to tune in around the globe! Described by her guests and listeners as discerning, empowering and inspiring, she speaks with world renowned authors, artists, teachers and researchers delving into metaphysical, holistic and paranormal topics. Kala’s  book, 9 Life Altering Lessons: Secrets of the Mystery Schools Unveiled delves into the mysteries of ancient Egyptian mystery schools and explains their wisdom teachings. Kala lectures on Esoteric Teachings,  Developing Business Intuition, Working with Auras, Chakras and Energy Fields, and Wise Woman Wisdom (also known as the Divine Feminine). Kala’s Guided Meditations CD’s include Spirit of Hawaii and Egyptian Mystery Temple and Tibetan Mountain Journey.  More info: www.ExploreYourSpirit.com



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Books by Kala Ambrose

The Awakened Aura: Experiencing the Evolution of Your Energy Body

Humanity is entering a new era...we are evolving into super-powered beings of light. Our auric and etheric bodies are experiencing a transformational shift as new crystalline structures form within and around our auras.

Kala Ambrose, a powerful wisdom teacher, intuitive, and oracle, teaches how to connect with your rapidly changing energy body to expand your awareness and capabilities on the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual levels.

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The Awakened Aura: Experiencing the Evolution of Your Energy Body contains a wealth of practical exercises, diagrams, and instructions. Learn how to interpret and work with the auras of others, sense energy in animals, and sense and balance the energy in buildings and natural locations.Discover how energy cords attach in relationships, how to access the akashic records through the auric layers, how to use elemental energy to enhance your auric field, and much more. More info at TheAwakenedAura.com

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Ghosthunting North Carolina
Explore haunted lighthouses, forts, and shipwrecked areas of East Carolina where Blackbeard and his pirates still roam as you join author and paranormal researcher Kala Ambrose in Ghost Hunting North Carolina.

Journey across the state and visit the most actively haunted capitol in the US, and continue west into the Blue Ridge Mountains where the pink lady and her friends await your presence. Maps and travel information are provided to every haunted location for those brave enough to make the journey in person and for paranormal researchers who are interested in exploring haunted North Carolina.

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Ghosthunting North Carolina takes you behind the scenes with detailed information about each destination. More info about Ghosthunting North Carolina.

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9 Life Altering Lessons: Secrets of the Mystery Schools Unveiled
Kala's book, 9 Life Altering Lessons: Secrets of the Mystery Schools Unveiled, delves into the teachings of ancient Egypt and Greece and explains the Mystery Schools and their ventures into the other realms.

9 Life Altering Lessons Book Trailer

The nine lessons are designed to stir the soul, awaken the mind and reveal long forgotten memories of past lives in these schools, as well as inspire you to explore the magnificence of who you really are. More info at TempleofStellaMaris.com

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