christmas

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Elsa’s Song, Dec 2nd 2021

“ In a gentle way you can shake the world”

– Mahatma Gandhi

The darkness of the winter morning holds a cocoon. Nejla embraces the coolness of the bedroom air mixed with the warm welcoming of her worn out snowboard-socks.

Minutes later, cup of warm team with milk and honey in hand, her mother’s knitted scarf wrapped around her waist and another one around her shoulders, she is in the garden. Inhaling the new day. It is ceremony time.

The morning star is not alone in the sky this time of the year. You could say there’s a family, even a tribe of a truly interconnected web of morning stars. One shining brighter than the next, yet noone stealing the light from the other. Every single light source enhancing each other. Every breath a pulsation of light against the soft darkness of the multiverse.

“There are stars which are no stars, and there are skies which are no skies. There are no terms and conditions on creation. Just because we have named something from our perspective, looking in one direction, does not mean that is the way it is.”, Nejla spoke, pondering, to the winter air.

“What would it take to be a sadhu?” Nejla thought to herself. “What would it take to be a choice. A choice to just experience the here and now? To stop, to stay, to watch through the veils. Noticing that sometimes they are sturdy blinds and other times the velis dissipate in front of your eyes as you observe them? To be someone not going anywhere physically and ambitionally all the time, but expanding from within?”

“It would only take that. A choice. The choice. You see, magic is a choice too.” 

The voice seemed to come from the winter breeze. In the shifting light of the morning sun approaching from the east and the dense snow clouds moving in from the north a little sparkle started to manifest right in front of her eyes.

December 2nd 2021, Cecilia Götherström

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Kringlans Kalender 2020. Sacred. Part 7. Dec 7th.

Samantha remembered the many times she had spoken to her sister Disa about stuff which just felt “weird”. Like you felt something in your gut, your mind made an interpretation of it which made you feel queasy and awkward. 

Well, right now she could not shake that very feeling.

Her thoughts took her back to a day about a year ago when she’d met up with Marcus for a coffee at the local church café – the only café in the village. 

Over two chai lattes Marcus shared with her how his beloved Star had been acting the past few days – not wanting to come all the way indoors, rather sleeping on the carpet in the hallway than on her specially built own “wolf-couch” which he had constructed for her now that she had entered her “olden” days. It was like she was halfway out of the house which had been her home for the past 12 years. Their home.

Samantha had gotten that feeling,  the uneasy stomach, the rambling legs, the itchy sitting bones, the queasiness. She knew something was not right, something was about to dawn. Change.

She’d told Marcus they’d better drive up to his house immediately.

When they arrived the front door was wide open. Star was nowhere to be seen. They followed her paw prints in the snow. Down past the barn where the three Icelandic ponies stayed during the winter nights. Then up, towards the birch forest which led to the glen at the beginning of the fir tree forest. At the start of what Marcus always called “his path”.

In the now full moon lit opening Star lay on her belly, holding her head up, looking their way, as if she had expecting them for quite some time. Her dark eyes gleaming, the first stars on the sky reflecting back.

Dusk was setting in and it was clear that Star was not well. At least that was Samantha’s interpretation.

She and Marcus kneeled down next to Star. Star looked them deep in the eyes and spoke to them ; 

“It is time for me to leave this dimension now. Merge with all the others. Do not try to follow me. I will be back one day. Maybe in a different shape or form, maybe in the same. Don’t look for me. For if you do you will not see me. Just listen. Listen inside and remember to be wild, to stay wild. Thank you dear Marcus. My soul is calling me home. Even though we have our home together there is a Home much larger than we can fathom. I will go over there and find it. Bring it back.”

The majestic white wolf stood up, licked Samantha’s hands, looked her in the eyes. Then she went over to Marcus. Put her nose on his forehead. Rolled her head to rest on his neck. He grabbed on with both arms. Embraced her. She breathed in to his ears, in to his eyes, she nudged his forehead again and said;

“Be strong my brave warrior. Be fierce. Be Love. Live your life Sacred.”

She turned around, walked with her head down in to the woods in her full wolfness, on to the moonlit Path.

  • Cecilia Götherström, December 7th 2020.
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Kringlans Kalender 2019 / Meru’s Wisdom, Dec 13th

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“Tell me, dear human, tell me the story about the trees and the sparkles. About the blindness to the inner light.”

Way curled up next to Dawn this morning after the 13th full moon. The morning the Queen Of Light paced in.

“My dear Red, my dear Way”, Dawn put one hand on the red wolf’s back, feeling the warmth of Way’s breathing spine through the palm of her hand. One. All Dawn could sense was one-ness. Way turned her head towards Dawn, nodding with her eyes to the one-ness-sense.

“ I could tell you the official story of the tree being put indoors, the one we are taught in school, but that’s not right. I felt it already back then in my bones, in every cell of my being,  that it’s just boring, flat, facts.”

“So tell me, dear Dawn, what your heart speaks. Your heart connected to Meru’s Wisdom, connected to all of us.”

Dawn took a moment, gazed through the landscape, soaking it all up with her eyes. Then she began.

“We always revered the tree, the trees. The wisdom unceasingly came to us through them. Then somewhere, gradually, along the line we lost it. We lost the wisdom. We lost the connection. We lost the joy, the spark, the light. Not literally, but we misplaced it. Or maybe it went in to hiding. I don’t know.”

Meru, Star, Elo, Wizard, Craft and Blue the pup joined in. Dawn continued.

“It felt like a long arm reaching out in the dark, grasping, fingers searching, palm sensing. Nothing.

Then somebody remembered the tree. That the tree was the doorway, the gate back to magic, to connection, to light.

She started decorating the trees with sparkles, with stars made of twigs, with shining rocks, with fallen leaves, with adorned pinecones. Gently she felt the light returning inside her heart, her ears, her eyes and soon she even started speaking light. All her words were woven with starlight, connection, silver threads. Alves, the Nisse, giants, trolls, fairies, dwarves, dragons, every being of nature’s realm came out of the perceived darkness, decorating the woods with her. The people of the valley woke up one morning mesmerized with the beauty of the trees, of the serene sense of peace in the woods. They decided they wanted to hold on to this, to bring it indoors.

Little by little they started moving the trees in. Everyone to their own home. Doors closed. One tree in each household. Eyes admiring the beauty. Magic getting sprinkled in their own house. Nisse moved in. He wanted to be the connection between in there and the light of nature out here. It worked for some time. Especially around the 13th full moon. That was a long time ago though.”

“Oh my”, Way replied. “Where and how do we begin with writing the new story?”

“By choosing wisely”, Meru spoke.

 

Cecilia Götherström, Dec 13th 2019

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MidWinter

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Candlelight, chestnuts and pinecones

Christmastree,
it is just you and me

Comfort, life, breath
Pineneedles, light, sacredness

I stop,
I forget
in a way which makes me re-member

you came from a slope,
which was once me,
specks of atoms, of dust
you grew out of snow
I was

yesterday,
today,
tomorrow,
now

It all just is.
We all just are.

Christmastree,
you and me
are just dreams of traditions,
of what is and what is to come
Nothing more.
Nothing less.

You in my livingroom,
I in your forest.

It all blends,
in this moment
tomorrow
now
then
there
when
who cares?

Let us sing,
let us be the charol.

Have you not always dreamed,
like me,
to be carried out on a chord,
to slide down a tune
echoing in to the wilderness
with nothing to stop you
sounding

Who cares?
What cares?

Let us sing with the stars,
soak the light in to our hearts
Like the candles on your branches,
let us shine through the night

Midvinterblot,
I hail thee

My roots are deeper than the mountain
My home is stronger than my heart
My soul echoes through eons

Take my hand,
carry me away

While remaining here,
watching,
re-membering
taking in your light
Oh Christmastree, oh Christmastree
of Odins heart so strong

Hel.
Whole.
Hel.
Helig.
Holy

Oh , holy night.

Åh, helga natt.

Home.

– Cecilia Götherström, Dec 10th 2018