At a time when expectations generally rise to outrageous proportions, it may be time to consider some simple ways to connect to the precious gifts of our lives. Starting with the beauty and awesomeness of the Universe in which we live...here on our tiny blue bubble. We can look up each night, reminded of the grandeur of all that is.
December’s night sky finds Venus and Jupiter the brightest stars, visible just after sunset as the skies begin to darken. In the middle of the night, Mars rises, and you will be able to see it through the night until dawn. Mercury makes her appearance in the morning sky each night from early December until January.
Just above the southewest horizon in the constellation of Sagittarius, is Venus. Venus will appear to be moving eastwardly across the sky until December 6, when Venus then lines up with the Moon, just above Nunki, the so-called, shoulder star of Sagittarius. From mid-December on until January, Venus moves into the Constellation of Capricornus. Venus will appear visible around 6:30 PM (PST) as she sets in early December. As the new year opens, Venus will be setting around 8:45 PM (PST).
Jupiter is visible on December 1, as you look to the horizon at an ESE angle. By Dec. 6, the Moon will appear between Jupiter and two other stars in the Aries constellation. Jupiter will be the star below the moon, the other two stars (Sharatan and Hamal) will appear above and beside the moon. You might imagine on another night long ago, thathave these four heavenly bodies lining up could have appeared to be one bright star. Makes me wonder. Jupiter travels through the night sky setting about 4:00 AM. By January, Jupiter will be setting by 2:00 AM, so for you night owls, we should have a view of her through the winter night skies, provided you’re not experiencing a storm. Jupiter has been visible in the night sky all Autumn, and will continue on through the early winter.
Saturn, in the constellation of Virgo, will be rising in the early morning, around 4:00 AM, visible to you early birds. Another planet visible until sunset at this time of the year, Saturn will move about 4 degrees during December, and then she’ll enter a retrograde cycle in January, slowing down and moving just one degree in January. You will find Saturn in the southern sky, toward the southeast. By the end of January, Saturn can be spotted due south.
Next week, December 6-19, the Geminids meteor showers will be visible. We’ll talk more about this next week. December can have some crystal clear nights, so we’ll talk more about stargazing as we move through the month ahead.
The Sun in Sagittarius, sparks expanded vision, visions of sugar plums dancing in our heads, and bountiful ideas. Later, we’ll be asked to put our ideas into a more Capricornian pragmatic framework, but for the first three weeks of December, we’ll be dreaming and envisioning. This year in the Northern Hemisphere and the western time zones, the Winter Solstice will fall in the late evening of December 21 (further east, on December 22).
According to Astoria’s Ship Report guru, Joanne Rideout, we’ll start noticing the day’s growing longer several days before the actual Solstice event. The days actually begin lengthening a few days before the Solstice, here on the West Coast. At the equinoxes, day is slightly longer than night. Sunrise and sunset are based on when the top of the sun touches the horizon as it sets or rises. The Earth’s atmosphere bends light rays, letting us see the top of the sun when it is still below the horizon.
On December 10th we will have a total eclipse of the Moon in Gemini, and wherever we may be wandering beyond the boundaries of realistic collective tides, we may feel the need to pause and reflect before charging forward into unknown territory. This time of the year, the collective tides may be characterized by advertising campaigns like "Extended Black Friday and Cyber-Monday" frenzy. We're being urged to go out and spend money we don’t have for things we don’t need. Even when we feel we really need something, it may be best to slow down, face the facts of our current situations and conditions, and adjust our expectations accordingly.
Instead of bemoaning your lack of resources, focus on eliminating distractions, waste, and clutter (including outmoded beliefs, habits, patterns, and practices) as you prepare for the holidays and the new year. Practice appreciation and gratitude for what you have, and get out of the crazy-making cycle that has nothing to do with the sacred season.
Holidays (holy days) provide us time to pause at the threshold of the sacred. Slowing our activities and lives down to turn toward a deeper and greater appreciation of our divine nature and our connection with what really matters in our experiences as humans. Using the model of the four pathways of spirituality (found in all major religious traditions), find a way to honor and deepen the path that you are on.
For those of us on the Path of Works/Service, this may be a time when you feel the urge to serve and help others. There are many opportunities to reach out to others and provide service to people in your community or your own family. What can you do for someone you love? How can you serve someone with your gifts? Washing up the dishes for your busy mom, or running some chores for a friend who is overwhelmed with responsibilities. Giving your daughther and her husband a break, tickets to the theater and a night of babysitting. Preparing a meal, donating your time, taking food to the local food bank, adopting a family for Christmas, and sharing whatever you have with those who have less or need more.
For those of you on the Path of Knowledge, maybe you can feed your soul with a good book, a trip to a museum or exhibit, or going to a lecture on a topic you love. Or perhaps, you could write a poem to share at a holiday dinner, or share your favorite book with friends as a special gift. Enrich your holy day experiences by learning more about what traditions and meaning are to be found. You may find the inspiration and energy now to delve more deeply into a piece of research or writing that is forming in your mind. Allow yourself the luxury of immersing yourself in the ideas, study or expression that comes on the wings of inspiration.
For those of you who are on the Path of Harmony, find ways to balance out your life, honoring all aspects of your being. Take time for physical exercise, pay closer attention to good nutrition and give yourself the gift of greater balance by signing yourself and your friend or family member up for a yoga workshop, a swim pass at the local pool, or a New Year’s Day hike or nature walk. Spend some quiet time reflecting on how to honor the people in your life with one special gift that recognizes how special they are to you. For many of us on the path of harmony, we think we have to do it all, when all we need to do is one, simple, meaningful act, done with intention. One simple, meaningful act, done with intention, can set the waves in motion for greater sharing. Slow down in the motion of your life right now, and become more mindful of what matters, one moment to the next.
For those on the Path of Unity (the path that unites all), walk in mindfulness, balance, and harmony as you serve others and take care of yourself. Be mindful of the differences that exist in the way we each understand, view, and experience the world. Be the best of who you are, and try to keep your expectations of others within
reason and within the bounds of what another is capable or willing to do and be.
When we face ourselves as we are, and are willing to accept others as they are (not for who we hope they’ll be or what we’d like them to be), then we help create harmony. As parents and grandparents, we learn that we can guide, we can instruct, and we can pray for our children and grandchildren; we cannot live their lives for them or keep them from making choices we would rather they didn’t. As Khalil Gibran, the Lebanese poet reminds us,
Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They come through you but not from you, And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts, For they have their own thoughts. You may house their bodies but not their souls, For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams. You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you. For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth. The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far. Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness; For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.
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