'Tis the Season. Or Not.

[qos]

I'm 43 years old.

You would think that after all this time I would realize just how quickly December follows Thanksgiving. But no. . .

I think that a big part of it is not being part of a Christian community and thus not celebrating Advent, and because of that not having spent the last couple of weeks preparing for the preparation that the season is about.

Some of my Christian friends have been posting about Advent, and it's reminded me that I have no spiritual stake in the season anymore. "Yule" has never been meaningful to me in the way that Christmas was. My current theology and mythology don't include the coming of an avatar, and I have become so accustomed to walking in darkness that even the symbolism of the return of the light/Light doesn't feel particularly meaningful to me.

And yet, I want to observe. I want this to be a holy season again.

Maybe that's what my next journey should be about: finding my own "reason for the season" and/or discovering how the old celebrations can take on new meaning for me.

Comments

[purplevenus.livejournal.com]

Yes, winter is long and dreary, filled with one big dinner and gifts.
I was never a big fan of the Celtic Wheel myself.

Is Inanna Underworld in the Winter?
She re-emerges into the light.
I read the Wolkstein and Kramer, but don't remember if its a seasonal thing.

[shadowandstar.livejournal.com]

Inanna does not do a yearly descent the way Persephone does. In her story, she consigns Dumuzi to the Underworld to take her place, and his sister, Geshtinanna, pleads to be allowed to take his place for half the year, so those two are the ones who cycle.

Your comment gets me thinking about celebrating the center of Hades and Persephone's time together. . .

Stealing theology.

[shades-of-nyx.livejournal.com]

I steal the "Longest Night" from the Kushiel series.

Re: Stealing theology.

[shadowandstar.livejournal.com]

Interesting idea. . . although when I went back to review I got a bit of a twinge about the "transforming the crone to a beautiful young woman" bit. Somehow I'm not sure that would fit with my primary path.

Still. . . good food for thought.