Cycles, Calendars, & Cauldrons

In the last years and months I have been going deeper into the study of the ancestral calenders, as well as the natural cycles of the body and individual. The body, as a microcosm and reflection of the relations between the Earth, Sun, Moon, stars, and climate, has a lot to teach us about being in sync and harmony with the natural order…if we listen.

The elders tell us that the climate and weather is like the "mind of the Earth"...that there is a calendar for the sun, for the moon, for the stars, and for the earth, which correspond in same order to our thought, emotions, word, and action. Processes of thought take on a different quality, for example, at the midday sun than they do at midnight or early hours of the morning. Our emotional body and quality of dreaming is different with the full moon than with a new moon, or waxing or waning moon. And the cycles of the Earth indicate when it is time for us to plant, to prune, to harvest, to take action in a way that corresponds and works with the flow of time.

This ordering of the different dimensions and movements of space and time is also deeply related to the processes of ordering and navigating our internal realms. We ask ourselves, how we are inhabiting this cosmic order in a manner which gives definition and rhythm to the seeds, lessons, roles, gifts and challenges of our individual person? Much of this occurs naturally and unconsciously. For example, we are more likely to gravitate towards social engagement, exploration and adventure, and extroversion in the summer months than we are in the fall and winter. But there are deeper layers of opportunity and growing available to us as well when we consciously take into account, synchronize ourselves, and use our time in a way that honors these natural cycles.

Ayamarka

Let's look a bit more directly at how the ancient peoples organized time. I will focus here on the Andean and Celtic calendars as these are the ones I am most familiar with. According to the Andean calendar, we are currently transversing a period called "Ayamarka" in the yearly cycle. "Aya" in quechua means spirit, soul, or Death. "Marka" refers to a house or political/territorial unity. This period starts at the beginning of November, as marked in the Andean and other traditions as the day of the dead. Its effects on our internal environments are most marked in the months of November and December but it ends officially at the beginning of February.

While it is planting season now in the Southern hemisphere, Ayamarka is the time of "internal harvesting", reflection and contemplation, going inwards. We are fermenting and filtering all of the lessons and experiences that have occured for the whole past year, separating the wheat from the chaff. We are also being confronted more intensively than other parts of the year with buried/unconscious patterns and aspects of self. It is a time rich in both challenge and growth, which calls for sufficient time alone in order to incorporate and re-organize all of these pieces of ourself which are returning home.

Interestingly, the Celtic Calendar (Wheel of the Year) also marks the beginning and end of Ayamarka with specific celebrations. February 2nd is the celebration of Imbolc: the conception of the new light or new birth. In the North, this is the time when Spring first begins to stir, so subtly that it is perhaps not even yet perceivable, but the change in the Earth is already beginning. The patron saint for this day (or goddess in older mythologies) is Brigid. She is the holy woman who cares for the hearth fire in the home–that central fire that brings the family in close together and nourishes with warm food and stories. She also watches over the forge, the fire that smolts and transforms raw material into tools and livelihoods. And finally, she is connected to the springs of life and water sources, the inspiration and poetry that flows from the well of our sorrows and pains, from our own creative source.

At the beginning of Ayamarka in the Celtic tradition we see Samhain. "Samhain" (pronounced Sau-win) is the word of November in Gaelic. It marks the end of the harvest season in the North; Winter begins to take precedence and the days are now becoming markedly shorter. It may be generally gathered from different folktales and traditions around Samhain that the spirits and ancestors become more communicative and perceivable as they do their work on the subtle planes between the worlds...

Greeting the Departed

Work? What kind of work do our dead have to do? Don't we ever get to rest finally?!

The Lakota tradition says when we keep the departed souls of our family and loved ones close to us, they are able to do their work in the form of interfacing and mediating between the Great Spirit, angels, etc. and the realm of the living. Without being bound to physical and emotional bodies as we are, or to the densities and distractions of material life, they have a perspective and wisdom beyond our own.

This is why it is said that in the time or "portal" of Ayamarka, it is important to be attentive and receptive to the messages, clues, and gifts they may be delivering via daily life, synchronicities and signs, and dreams. It is also why so many cultures all over the world (Mexico, all over North & South America, Scotland, Austria, China, India, etc...) have holidays and practices which symbolize the connection, remembering, and care to and from departed loved ones and ancestors. They leave food and a seat free at the table, they clean their graves, think on them and tell their stories. Perhaps it is a way to show those loved ones that they are welcome in our hearts and homes, or perhaps we are simply reminding ourselves to remember.

You can also ask directly for assistance with certain things–especially topics that you feel are related to ancestral memories and karmic patterns. For example, "Granny, please help me to bring balance between strictness, firmness, and self-discipline with compassion, patience, and flexibility in my Life." My Granny was very strict, but also incredibly loving and caring and served as a great leader and confidant for her family and beyond, so I know she is the right person to ask about this topic. And remember, don't get too fixated or rigid with the distinction between self and other in these matters; it's important to recognize that our loved ones and ancestors exist within us just as much as they are their own individual being. Our heart is the doorway to the eternal, and that is Love. 

Whether or not you believe in souls, spirits, and divining gardens, there is a lot of richness and learning to be had from our relationship to our lineage and those who made the way before us. There is a lot of value in remembering. We humans are incredibly forgetful and it has gotten us into a lot of trouble–trapped in cycles we don't want to be in. It might sound superstitious and even ridiculous at times to hear about the old traditions of our ancestors or Indigenous peoples...wearing wild masks, leaving out milk and honey for faeries, offering shells, gifts & prayers to sacred springs or mountain tops...but in the end, these people knew & know how to sustain their memory, how to encode that memory into stories, tools, and practices for life, and how to harmonize themselves completely with their natural environment and even the cosmos.

So, how can we maintain a certain quality of awareness to be in correspondence and receptivity to the opportunities of this time? What is the nature of the work we have to do in accordance with this point in the cycle?

When I speak of Death and transformation, I am referring that point in the cycles where the leaves change color, fall to the Earth, decaying and becoming compost for the vast numbers of organisms to transform into the foundation for a new cycle of Life. Death is thus a life-renewing force--without it, we would not be here and neither would we be able to continue living. All of the food that we eat, every fruit and vegetable is a product of this natural order; the material they are made of has been rearranged again and again with the help of sun, water, bacteria, and attention, care, cultivation. The old or rotten fruits don't stay on the tree stinking; they fall to the ground and become absorbed once more through the roots, returning the nutrients, solar energy and water back to the source from which they came (and nourishing many other forms of life along the way). The animal and human bodies, too, are composed in the same way of countless atoms which were once stars, stones, plants, other beings, etc.

In order for new life to appear and fulfill its whole potential, space must be made and death must be "paid". 

Now, bring that same process that is so very clear and observable on the outside and apply it to the context of your internal universe of feelings, thoughts, memories, values, beliefs and relationships. There is a very observable occurrence in most people during these months of Ayamarka, and that is that they are naturally pulled more inward, more concerned with their own personal processes, more likely to be challenged as well by topics that have to do with their relationship to Life, to themselves, and all the relationships that run the threads connecting the inside to the outside.

It can be extremely challenging to confront buried and rejected parts of ourselves…for old wounds to be revealed, difficult memories to resurface, deep longings and disappointments to emerge. Oftentimes, these forgotten or denied aspects may be in direct conflict with our personal will and the demands of everyday life. It is uncomfortable to put ourselves in the disposition to fully feel these things and give them their place and order within our internal makeup–we may even go kicking and screaming at times...but it is necessary if we are to advance.

Many times in the moment that the arising thing or phenomenon is bringing challenge, discomfort, or pain, we are not yet capable of understanding the whole picture and gift behind it–very rarely, in fact. I know for myself, that I have many-a-time put up a grand fight to realize only afterwards, the true gift, necessity, and teaching that a difficult process was delivering to me...as well as the disposition, capability, and responsibility that is born thereof. I am still learning all the time how to be more in harmony, acceptance, and open-heartedness with these internal reflections and difficult emotions…but at least I can say, I am wasting a lot less energy now on resisting, fighting, and rejecting than I used to be. 

Trust is key for me; to trust the process, to trust in the Creator and His/Her Love and care for me, which would see me grow and flourish beyond what I can personally imagine or how I oftentimes expect things to work out. And once we choose to trust that, to trust Life, to trust our own soul, it becomes easier over time. We shed the illusions, expectations, and conditions upon our giving and receiving Love, how healing and purpose is supposed to unfold in our lives...in return for Peace. Our vision clarifies, allowing us to see more quickly the beauty and possibility of challenges, hard learnings, or even crises. The more situations that unfold under the lense of that higher vision of our heart and our Faith, the more gifts of wonder and healing are revealed that were once shrouded in difficulty and change, and the easier it becomes to trust during all phases of that divine delivery system...to get out of our own way; to let go and "let God" if you will.

Thus, even the darkness, mystery, and uncertainty of the longest night can become a refuge of stillness, deep rest and renewal...the power of the Heart and perspective of our seeing makes it so. It is the incubation, renovation, and rebirth in accordance with the ebb and flow of Life and Nature. When my last moments in this form come, may my final breath be given freely with that same unconditional trust, gratitude, and non-attachment.

Somewhere along the threads of history and the weaving of time, "we" accepted the judgement that night, darkness, the negative is bad. Down is not the direction we want to go, we feel fear when the water is deep. With our imaginations riding the force of fear, all sorts of stories were created to paint the night, the winter, whatever difficulty that is come as something that is life-destroying–to be banished, avoided, defeated. And thus, many key parts of our own memory that could serve to resolve repeating cycles of self-destruction, distraction, and disorder have now become haunting ghosts rather than benevolent ancestors and divine messengers. Our meager efforts to banish them to the farthest corners of our unconscious has not rid us of the problems and confrontations they bring--only distorted the clarity and ease in which they may be expressed, how their message and medicine for our soul may be delivered.

Instead of doing the inner work to take responsibility and care for our behaviors, thoughts, feelings, and the deep roots from which they come, we end up unconsciously projecting them onto others, both enemies and friends, strangers, partners, family members. Instead of doing the inner work to sweep and refine dysfunctional beliefs and perceptions, to harvest the fruits of our mental and emotional labors and select the finest seeds from our spiritual and visionary endeavors…we continue trying to keep up with the non-human and non-natural pace of modern life, false constructions of self, the illusionary appeal of consumerism and superficial social demands. 

We are not designed to sustain constant outward action, competition, and social exertion all year-round. We often try or feel we have to, and then wonder why we are getting sick, why we are so exhausted, why our mood is low, why the same problems in our relationships or businesses are repeating themselves over and over, etc. Others crash completely, in psychical and physical burn-out. We "have" to be productive all the time, doing doing doing, making more money to buy the next shiny thing and keep pace with our ever-changing desires and latest trends…lest we lose our value and worth to others and ourselves. But this is an illusory and implanted sense of value and worth--one which elevates the outer material world at the expense of authentic and fulfilling relationship from within, from the source of our beingness. 

We are walking trees, not robots. Our nervous system is a vast network of roots and branches, regulated and nourished by light, breath, soil and intimacy/connection with all of Life. In order to fulfill our function in the ecosystem that surrounds us, this great web of relationship and interdependence, we must undergo the seasons and changes that correspond to the Place and time we are living now. We must bare ourselves naked again and again in the face of the darkness and depth of Fall and Winter, the cold winds and torrential storms. We must trust the strength of our roots to hold us upright and sustain nourishment from deep below. And when the first impulse begins to stir, that first thought of Spring or spark of light, we know without knowing that it is time to prepare for the new birth, flowering, awakening.

So, if you're not producing fruit right now, do not judge yourself for it. Do not spend this sacred time of profound renovation and rich possibility of transformation by falling into comparison, guilt, nostalgia, or escapist behaviors. Feel and release what needs to be felt and released so that you may attune yourself static-free to the frequencies of liberation and renewal. Do the work and take the time to harvest the inner fruits of contemplation, reflection, and self-healing. Let all of the experiences, lessons, and impressions from the past year bubble and cook within you like a pot of medicine. Pray that you yourself be inside that pot cooking, so that you may become more potent and effective medicine for your people, for this world. Add sufficient sweetness and let it ferment over the next months. Come Spring, you will have a fine wine or chicha to share and enjoy. 

Show up for yourself, take the time to be alone, ask yourself hard questions and listen to the answers. Lean into the transformation, not by trying to change your experience to fit your personal will and expectations but rather surrendering to the impermanence and natural laws of all creation. Recognize yourself as an extension of Nature; honor one, honor the other. Nourish yourself deeply with living food, with all the flavors and colors of Life in abundance, with good conversation, healing stories and songs. Take rest–lots of it. Slow down, breath consciously and be present with your heart. Do the inner work, for the sake of yourself and your quality of life–for the sake of all of your relations. 

And by the way, thanks for helping me to remind myself. <3

~ ness