No judgement here, OK?
Just some sacred noticing.
There’s something I do more than I should, and you might be doing it, too.
It’s pretty common.
And telling.
Before I tell you what it is, I’ll tell you why it’s telling.
You know that phrase how you do anything is how you do everything?
I use this phrasing to help the mystics and me understand our relationships with the sacred seasons and archetypes.
We take the 8 seasons of the year and tighten that rhythm up so that each season shows up monthly.
For example, today is the Samhain of the month. Look at the moon and you’ll see what I mean.
It’s a waning crescent, the last light before the Dreaming Moon (or new moon). Just like this season is the last light before Winter Solstice season, the dark of the year.
We tighten that rhythm up even more and look at the day.
The last light of your day, the couple of hours before you go to sleep for the night, is the Samhain of the day, the time to commune with the Wisdom Keeper archetype.
However you spend this part of the day is how you are likely spending this entire archetypal season.
What is your relationship with the Wisdom Keeper? With celestial wisdom, divine confidence, ancestors, and sacred Knowing?
Look at your very own bedtime to know.
Me? Well here’s my little confession.
I watch too much goddamn TV. I zone out instead of tapping in with the Wisdom Keeper.
By the end of the day I’m tired. I’ve generally been writing, listening deeply, or in ritual all day so I’m ready to zone out during the last few hours before bed.
Not unlike the year.
By this time of year I’m tired. Most of us are. We’re rolling toward the big sleep of the year, the holy hibernation as my friend calls it.
It’s easy to just “phone it in” during this season, say fuck it and clock out early to spend the whole season shopping and eating instead of embracing the magic and the medicine of the Wisdom Keeper archetype.
So, how do we honor this season and get the most out of it? How do we use it to prepare us for the holy hibernation of Winter Solstice.
Well, let’s look at the day.
What’s reasonable?
For me, instead of zoning out on TV, I might spend an hour or two before bed doing restorative yoga while listening to music, I might draw and listen to a book on tape, I might crawl in bed early and read a book.
I might go outside and stand under the starry sky, or sit in candle light and let my mind simply drift. I might tidy my kitchen.
These things will prepare me for a good night’s sleep.
Under the Wisdom Keeper moon, I could devote a whole day to doing things like this ( I am, by the way) to prepare me for the magic of the Dreaming Moon.
And during Wisdom Keeper season (Nov-mid Dec) I could devote a whole season to doing these things to prepare me for holy hibernation.
Now, I’m not so lucky that I get to just drift off in a mystical haze for 6 weeks of reading and stretching (I mean, a girl’s gotta work and go to the grocery store.)
But I can prioritize stuff like that, I can put my focus there, I can deem those hours as sacred.
(and I do)
(and so could you)
Here are my personal Wisdom Keeper-friendly themes based on that bit of brainstorming about the time of day: restore, express, learn, be with nature, quiet my nervous system.
I will use these descriptors to choose how I spend this entire season.
What are yours? What can you reasonably do before bed?
Snuggle and giggle with your kids? Take a walk with your pups through the quiet neighborhood? Sing, make love, knit? Does your list look like mine?
Use these as measures and guidelines for how to spend this sacred season.
This will allow the Wisdom Keeper archetype to communicate with you.
And it will prepare you for the dark of the year.
Start by practicing a sacred evening, then extend it to include the sacred lunar days.
Before you know it you will have harnessed the momentum of the year and be living a sacred life in accordance with the seasons and nature.
love & mystery school,
kv
