Can you believe the year is almost over? I, for one, am extremely happy to put 2024 into the archives and pray that 2025 is better. I am coming out of 2024 feeling (and probably looking) like the walking wounded.
Whether we are ready or not the deepest, darkest part of the year is only a fortnight or so away! It is hard to imagine that the tipping point of darkness back to light is already right around the corner.
As the cold weather and shorter days encourage us inside/inward, it is natural to do a mental and spiritual postmortem on the past year to consider what went right and what needed improvement. This helps us to prepare for those all-important New Year’s resolutions and considerations of what to plant in our lives in the coming year to harvest in the fall. That makes the Dark of the Year a dreamy and thoughtful time when anything seems possible. The longer nights give us plenty of time with the darkness, allowing it to wrap itself around us and tell us its secrets.
Even in the rushing and capitalistic focus on production of today’s world, we can all find time to sit in stillness, and preferably darkness, to breathe, calm ourselves, center in our bodies, and imagine what we want to achieve in the coming year. Even 10-15 minutes of quiet contemplation will prove valuable beyond measure.
Equally as precious are the times when we can sit and be thankful for what we do have rather than what is currently denied to us or that we do not have the strength or motivation to go get. If we are warm and not cold, there is room for gratitude. If we have a roof and walls that protect us from the elements, we can be grateful. If there is anything to eat and drink… gratitude.
Far from an idea of “this could be worse,” gratitude teaches us to be in the moment and to know what we should strive to change. If you feel nothing at all lacking in your life, then you are blessed amongst all of us. Ideally, that is the place where our ambitions aim to place us. Although wanting and longing is often difficult and even painful, it is through lack that we know what areas of our life need attention.
Unfortunately, this gives us the narrowed perspective of noticing what we lack more than what we have. What we have does not seem to need as much attention as what is missing and yet, appreciation for the things we do have is a vital part of balancing our spirit and our energy flows.
There is not a time in human history where, “I have nothing at all to eat” did not take priority over “I have a pretty rock in my cave!” Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (above) tells us the ranking of importance of certain factors to the human condition. What I find fascinating about this ranking is that the bottom and most vital two are things we can and should do, whether through our own motivation or by automatic response (breathing, pooping, etc.).
The next two up involve relating to other people. We may want to be islands, but we are not islands. If not a conjoined continent, we should at least be a group of islands participating in parallel play to one another. Respecting others and being respected by others is not a fringe benefit to living; it is a necessity for life. Feeling confident about who we are in the world and how we engage others is vital to quality human development.
At the top, all by itself, is the highest we can achieve: self-actualization. It governs how we internally process what goes on around us and inside us.
Many people never make it past that wide bottom of basic needs, both of which simply involve staying alive. They live in a state of crisis as they scramble for the basic necessities of life.
Some make it into the next level where they refine how they interact with other people and learn to practice active compassion, good listening, kindness, and balanced humility.
A smaller percentage will move all the way to the top and actively work to find out what is involved in being a “good person” who is connected, aware, and balanced between Heaven and Earth. You will notice that you cannot jump ahead to that tiny triangle at the top of the pyramid. You first must go through the process of physiological self-care, which is all about you.
Next, you have to master your interactions with others, strip away the old trauma wound triggers that cause you to make others responsible for past abuses you suffered, and learn to engage others by showing up as fully present and open to their energy while still identifying healthy boundaries when needed.
Only after you have refined those bottom four elements can you fully step into the highest needs. That isn’t to say you can’t glimpse it or get a sense of it, but we must master the fundamentals of this human life before we can completely immerse in the final step.
Dark of the Year is a great time for a life audit to objectively consider where you are in that process and how many boxes you’re checking off on your way to the top.
Nelta, Gladys, and I are live tonight on the Crossroads Facebook page doing free quick readings using Tarot, Lenormand, and Oracle cards. You can join the live stream by going to this page: www.facebook.com/crossroadsoccult at 7:00 pm Pacific Time. Our live stream will pop up and you can then ask your question in the comments and we will get to it as we can. We have free reading sessions the first Thursday of each month.
The new issue of Green Egg Magazine (www.greeneggmagazine.com) publishes on December 21st and is only $3.50 per issue. Green Egg Magazine is one of the longest running Pagan periodicals with its first issue released as a single page in 1968. It contains articles on history, lore, Pagan commentary, stories, poetry, reviews, and tons of other interesting nooks and crannies to explore. You can get your copy, as well as back issues, on the above link.
At that same link, www.greeneggmagazine.com, you can navigate to the Green Egg Blog where I contribute three articles each week: Herbalism For Your Day, Tarot Talk, and Stone Magic. These publish on Monday of each week. Lady Saoirse and Tatiara join me as contributing authors with posts every 2-4 weeks.
If you are looking for classes and more readings, you can go to my Patreon page. For $22 a month, you get a monthly class, plus two readings (Weekly Focus & Divine Feminine) each week. https://www.patreon.com/c/KatrinaRasbold
Eric and I still offer our handmade magical products at www.crossroadsoccult.com, plus personal services such as spellwork, several different kinds of individual readings, cleansings, and astrology charts. If you order products to be sent to you, we upgrade the shipping to USPS Priority Mail for orders over $20.
No matter how or if you celebrate, Eric and I send you the warmest and most abundant good wishes for the season from Crossroads Occult.
