broomcloset ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PaganSpeak December 2000: Introspection Nothing like leaving things to the last minute... ~~~ The time between Samhain and Yule has always been a time of darkness for me. The length of the day is ever shortening, and my body and spirit feel the lack of light. While this darkening time used to deeply bother me, I have been learning over the past few years to embrace this time and to "go with the flow," to learn from the turning of the Wheel. I've known for awhile that I am strongly effected by the changing of the seasons, specifically in the changes in the amount of light. I don't actually know if I technically have S.A.D. (Seasonal Affective Disorder), but I've been aware of the mood/light connection for quite some time. Some years are better than others: it seems to matter how I feel going into the darkening season. If I'm happy and energetic then the darkness only mildly bothers me. If I am tired and run down, then the winter is a long one. I used to understand this difficulty with the dark as a personal weakness. I thought I was just getting behind in all of my work and to-do's and I was lazy and tired. "What was wrong with me?" I thought. "Why am I such a lazy ass?" Learning about the fact that many others have this problem with the increase in darkness made me realize that it wasn't "just me," and this helped. But another significant factor has actually been my discovery of Paganism and it's view of the Wheel of the Year. In the Pagan Wheel of the Year, the time between Samhain (Oct. 31) and Yule (approx. Dec. 21) is the time of death and re-birth, of being between lifetimes. It is a time not of growth but of decay and hibernation. To some this may sound morbid and unnecessarily freaky, but it is not a morbid time. It is a time to realize that the Earth and all Her animals are going to sleep. New projects are not started and thoughts turn inward. New ideas may come like light breezes into the mind, but the concrete planning and work do not begin until the Earth moves out of the darkness and back into the light. This is Yule - the longest night of the year leads into the return of the light to the sky. This is when those months of introspection and hibernation begin to show their value and relevance. While the mind has slept, it has continued to think, dream and imagine. When it begins to awake those dreams filter into the conscious mind and can start to become reality - if we let them, of course. Light eventually leads into Spring and growth, and the Wheel continues to turn. So this is what Yule means to me: the return of the light and the beginning of dreams coming true. Happy Yule everyone!! ~ Wyrdsister -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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