Universal Quest Newsletter
Issue #10 - Thursday 21 December 2000
SOLSTICE SPECIAL
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CONTENTS |
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See the best collection of videos on consciousness and alternative thinking at Mystic Fire Video
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Welcome to the Universal Quest Newsletter #10
"Will
Jesus come again? Metaphysically, he is already omnipresent. He smiles
at you through every flower. He feels his cosmic body in every speck of
space. Every movement of the wind breathes the breath of Jesus. Through
his oneness with the divine Christ Consciousness he is incarnate in all
that lives. If you have eyes to behold, you can see him enthroned throughout
creation."
-
Paramahansa Yogananda, "Man's Eternal Quest"
Dear fellow Questors,
Happy Solstice. Merry Christmas. Happy Hanukah. Happy Kwanzaa.
It is the Winter Solstice and probably the most auspicious time of the year for many of us. This newsletter is a celebratory edition aimed at helping your enjoyment and appreciation of this festive season.
This coming week we celebrate Christmas, Hanukah and Kwanzaa all over the World. However if we look back into antiquity, this coming week was also celebrated as the birth time of Osiris, Surya, Sol Invictus, Apollo, Mithras and many other Solar deities around the world. Essentially it is the time when the Sun is reborn, when it starts once again on its original path through the heavens. This was always a time of new birth, a spiritual rebirth and cleansing in preparation for the purges of winter and the blossoms of spring. The cycles of nature eternally celebrated through our mythologies.
6000 years ago the Winter Solstice was actually observed and celebrated on 25th December. This has now changed to the 21st due to the precession of the equinoxes shifting the Earth's ecliptic axis (our planet wobbles like a top) by one degree every 72 years. Our angle of inclination has changed, thereby changing when the Sun appears to turn around and start its journey all over again. This is why December 25th is still sacred to us. We continue to celebrate the observations and awe experienced by our ancestors.
So, as you enjoy the coming festivities, take a little time out to reflect on the universal nature of what you are celebrating and how it has affected all of mankind throughout history starting in distant antiquity. Imagine yourself joining a celebration thousands of years ago in ancient Sumeria, India, China or Egypt and then turn to all those around you and celebrate the symbols in the here and now.
Have a wonderful, happy and peaceful festive season, and join us for more quests in 2001.
Raja Choudhury
Founder
Raja@universalquest.com
The Universal Festival Calendar
A Time of Great Festivities
We have an extended Universal Festival Calendar this
issue as there is so much to tell you about.
Thursday 21 December 2000
Winter Solstice, the last of the year's four great Cardinal Festivals.
The Sun enters Capricorn and winter begins as the Sun reaches the 270 point on the zodiac wheel, and begins its homeward swing toward the 0 point, at the Spring Equinox.
As entries for the next few days will show, this Solstice is traditionally the most important festival of the year as it marks the birth of the Solar Child at the time of receding Winter light, and is thus the moment of affirming faith in the reemergence of earthly life in the Spring, and also, symbolically, of the soul's survival beyond death. In the Tarot, this relationship is signified by the contrast between the Hermit, a Saturnine figure who wears a black robe and carries the lantern of esoteric wisdom; and the exuberant child of the Sun card.
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In the Egyptian calendar, feast of Isis, Queen of Heaven and Earth, wife and sister of Osiris (Mechir, day 6). Isis was perhaps the most widely revered deity of the ancient Western world, worshipped in various forms for some 4,000 years until her power was rivaled by Christianity (and its Isis counterpart, the Virgin Mary) and ultimately suppressed by Islam. One of the many male solar figures who are celebrated at the onset of the winter solstice is King Arthur, whose birthday is December 21st. In ancient northern Europe, this day begins the annual Evergreen Festival, celebrated in the planting of new evergreens and the making of evergreen wreaths. Picture: Osiris, the Egyptian God of creativity and Vegetation, father of Horus. |
Friday 22 December 2000
In some Native American calendars, the Month of the Snow Goose begins on this day. Soyal, first day of winter, in the Hopi calendar.
Among the Hopi, Zuni and other native peoples of the American Southwest, this day is the feast of Soyala, the annual festival of purification and renewal.
Saturday 23 December 2000
In the Egyptian calendar, feast day of Hathor, sky goddess, patroness of Astrology (Mechir, day 8). In the Celtic tree calendar, this was the intercalary day called the Secret of the Unhewn Stone, the only day in the year not ruled by a tree and an ogham symbol. Like Mother Night (12/20), the Unhewn Stone was thus a symbol of the unshaped, emerging potential of all things.
Monday 25 December 2000
The Solar Child: Birth of a Savior
In the Northern Hemisphere, the most important festival day of the year, marking the birth of the Solar Child, the Savior.
This day was celebrated throughout the Northern ancient world as the birth or feast day of many solar deities, resurrected kings and saviors because more than 6,000 years ago, when the great mythic cycles of Sumeria, Egypt, India and China were formed and on their way to being vivid and complex, December 25th was the actual date of the Winter Solstice.
Through the precession of the equinoxes, the calendar date of the winter solstice has crept back to Dec. 24, then the 23rd, then the 22nd, and is now moving toward the 21st. It is in transition between the last two dates, and this is why we now mark the solstices on the 21st or 22nd of June and December, depending on where we are on the body of planet Earth. Some of the solar deities and other noted figures celebrated on this day.
In the Egyptian calendar, birthday of Osiris, Neter of male creativity and vegetation; and also of Horus, son of Osiris and Isis, the falcon-headed solar hero who is destined to battle Set, Neter of chaos and destruction, for the survival of life on Earth. Each living Pharaoh was considered the embodiment of Horus (Month of Mechir, day 10).
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In the ancient Greek calendar, this was celebrated as the birthday or a major festival day of Apollo and Helios, who merged into the single figure of Apollo, god of the Sun, patron of intellect, rationality, the ideal beauty of classical form, and the mystery of prophecy. On the same day, curiously, some of Apollo's opposite numbers were born and honored too: Dionysius and the Phrygian Attis, both associated with ecstatic revelry and passion, blood and wine. Adonis, the incomparably beautiful and doomed lover of Aphrodite, was reborn on this day each year and died a few months later on what Western calendars usually call Easter. |
Also the birthday of the ancient Babylonian god Baal.
In the Norse tradition, this was the birthday of Baldur, yet another beautiful young god who dies in the bloom of youth and returns to life on the first day of winter. His feast is associated with wreaths of greenery and holly. At his death each year his blood is said to fall on the white young holly berries, staining them bright red. These colors also symbolize Baldur as the joining of spiritual love (white) with erotic love (red).
This was also the day on which Freya, the Norse Goddess of Love and female fertility and creativity, was honored with evergreens and fires, feasting and singing at the start of her twelve-day festival, which lasts until 1/5.
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This was also the birthday of the ancient Persian solar deity Mithras, whose birthday entered the Roman Calendar as the day sacred to Sol Invictus, the Unconquered Sun. |
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In Christian calendars, this is Christmas, birthday of Jesus of Nazareth, the fully realized embodiment of divinity, the Christ. |
25 December 2000 7:22am HT, 5:22pm UT
New Moon conjunct Sun in Capricorn. This is normally the most reflective and contemplative New Moon of the year, as both Sun and Moon are under restraint by the ruler of Capricorn: Saturn, teacher of the spiritual and karmic lessons that are deepest, and can be most painful when resisted. As the New Moon always favors beginnings, the New Moon in Capricorn is naturally a time for trying new approaches to old problems and weaknesses. Long before the Julian calendar made early January the beginning of the Year, the New Moon in Capricorn was the moment for "New Year's Resolutions".
This is also the day of a partial solar eclipse, which is visible in eastern North America, especially eastern Canada.
Tuesday 26 December 2000
The African festival time of Kwanzaa begins.
In the Zoroastrian calendar, this day marks the death of the saint and teacher Zoroaster in 551 BC, commemorated in rites that celebrate the universal myth pattern of the Double Holy Seven - in this case the seven male and seven female emanations of the deity, whose efficacy in purifying the earth from evil is celebrated in sacred fire rites.
Other examples of the Double Holy Seven: the fourteen body parts of Osiris, the fourteen Stations of the Cross in Roman Catholic ritual, and, in symbols common to Egyptian mystery schools and the biblical Book of Revelations, the cycle of the Dove descending into the crown of the head and down through the seven Chakras, then reascending the choker column as the Eagle.
Thursday 28 December
This day commemorates the Holy Innocents, the infant martyrs killed on the orders of King Herod, who was determined to find and destroy the Messiah who had reportedly been born three days earlier.
In Celtic and other ancient European traditions, this was considered the unluckiest day of the year, when no work should be done, no new enterprises should be started, no new approaches made.
Sunday 31 December 2000
In the Baha'i calendar, this day honors the Deity as Sharaf, Honor.
In the festival of Yemoya, the Yoruba celebrate the primordial Goddess, mother of the Sun and Moon, in feasting and ceremonies of drumming and dance.
©Copyright 2000
Dan Furst.
Direct replies or comments please send to Dan Furst <hermes3@lava.net>
O Come All Ye Faithful
"O come, all ye faithful, joyful
and triumphant,
O Come ye, O come ye, to Bethlehem;
Come and behold Him, born the King of angels;
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.
God of God, Light of Light;
Lo, he abhors not the Virgin's womb;
Very God, begotten, not created;
O come, let us adore Him....
Sing, choirs of angels; sing in
exultation,
Sing, all ye citizens of heaven above;
Glory to God,In the highest;
O come, let us adore Him.....
Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, born this
happy morning:
Jesus, to Thee be glory giv'n;
Word of the Father, Late in flesh appearing;
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord."
When I was growing up, an Indian Hindu boy in a West African Church Missionary Society school in Freetown, Sierra Leone; We would sing hymns every morning at a chapel service before classes. At Christmas we would pull out all the stops and sing Christmas carols every day for at least an hour. This hymn was always my favorite and I remember not understanding its deeper meaning until much later in life. Light of Light, God as light, abhoring the Virgin's womb, begotten but not created...the word coming to us as flesh. These were wonderful ideas, but not traditional to Christianity as practiced across Northern Europe at the time of its composition. The song was written originally by an eighteenth century Jacobean, John Francis Wade(c.1711-86), a layman who copied and sold plainchant and other music. The Jacobeans were a radical bunch. Founded by Thomas Paine, they advocated revolution, a return to mystical Catholicism in England, and helped formulate the ideals for American Independence. The Jacobeans set the foundation for European radicalism in the nineteenth century. Many Jacobeans were also Masons and understood the Gnostic ideals of early Christianity. Encoded in this wonderful hymn are ideas which would have been unheard of in Protestant circles, yet ensured that this became the most popular Christmas hymn ever.
RC
WHAT IS KWANZAA
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Kwanzaa is an African American and Pan-African holiday that celebrates family, community and culture. Celebrated from 26 December through 1 January, its origins are in the first harvest celebrations of Africa from which it takes its name. The name Kwanzaa is derived from the phrase "matunda ya kwanza" which means "first fruits" in Swahili, the most widely spoken African language today. The first-fruits celebrations are recorded in African history as far back as ancient Egypt and Nubia and appear in ancient and modern times in other classical African civilizations such as Ashantiland and Yorubaland. These celebrations are also found in ancient and modern times among societies as large as empires (the Zulu or kingdoms (Swaziland) or smaller societies and groups like the Matabele, Thonga and Lovedu, all of southeastern Africa. Kwanzaa builds on the five fundamental activities of Continental African "first fruit" celebrations: ingathering; reverence; commemoration; recommitment; and celebration. Find out more at http://www.officialkwanzaawebsite.org/ |
HANUKAH: Feast of Dedication / Festival of Lights
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Hanukah, the Hebrew word meaning dedication, is celebrated for eight days in the Hebrew month of Kislev, which usually occurs in mid to late December. Hanukah recalls the struggle for religious freedom and commemorates the victory of the Jews over the Hellenistic Syrians in the year 165 B.C.E. The story begins in 338 B.C.E. when Philip of Macedon invaded Greece. Athens and the Greek states, along with their pagan customs, became part of the Macedonian empire. Two years later, Philip died, and his son, Alexander, assumed the throne. It was Alexander and his forces that first brought Hellenism to Jerusalem and the Jewish people. However, the Jews did not rush to adopt the Greek religion and culture. When Alexander died, his empire was divided between his generals: Antigonus, Seleucus, and Ptolemy who ruled Egypt and Israel. Like Alexander, Ptolemy was a great champion of Hellenism. The empire he established dominated Israel for almost 100 years. |
In the year 167 B.C.E. the Greek king, Antiochus Epiphanes began a campaign to force the Jews under his rule to formally adopt Greek practices. One Jewish family, five sons and their old father, took a stand. One day Greek forces arrived at Modiin, the home of Mattityahu, an elder and religious leader of the prestigious Hasmonean family. There, the army established a Greek religious altar and ordered Mattityahu to offer a sacrifice to a pagan god. Mattityahu refused, but while he stood firm, another Jew offered to make the sacrifice. Enraged, Mattityahu killed him and attacked the Greek soldiers. His action sparked a Jewish rebellion, which he and his sons led. They became known as the Maccabees, which in Hebrew, means Men Who are as Strong as Hammers. Led by Judah Maccabee, the most famous of MattityahuÕs five sons, the Maccabees, a force much smaller than the powerful Greek armies, finally triumphed in 165 B.C.E.
On the 25th of Kislev, the Maccabees reclaimed the Jewish Temple, which was, at that point, almost unrecognizable as a place of Jewish worship. The Talmud says that when the Jewish army wanted to rededicate the Temple, they were unable to find enough specially prepared oil to light the Menorah, a holy lamp, or candelabra, used in the Temple service. Finally, in one Temple chamber, the Maccabees found a single bottle of oil, which normally would have lasted only one night. However, by a miracle, the one bottle of oil lasted eight nights, until new oil, fit for Temple use, could be produced. This is the miracle Jews commemorate to this day. By lighting the eight Hanukah lights of the menorah, Jews everywhere recount the triumph of our ancestors against immorality, the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem and the miracle that a one day supply of oil lasted eight days.
Visit http://www.everythingjewish.com to find out more.
RAMADAN: Celebrating the birth of Islam
Eid ul Fitr(i) 27 December 2000
"O who believe, fasting is decreed for you
as it was decreed for those before you;
perchance you will guard yourselves.
The month of Ramadan is the month
in which the Koran was sent down,
a guidance for the people,
and clear verses of guidance and
criterion. " [Quran: Chapter 2, 183]
Ramadan is the most important period of the year for Muslims all over the world. It is believed to be the month in which the first verses of the Holy Quran (the divine scripture) were revealed by Allah (God) to the Prophet Mohammed (570-632 AD) Mohammed lived in Makkah (Mecca, Saudi Arabia) and like Abraham before him, never accepted his people's worship of many gods. He felt a need to withdraw to a quiet place to reflect on the One God and while contemplating in a cave near Makkah, he heard a voice call out (the Angel Gabriel), telling him to "Read!" Mohammed, though illiterate, found himself reciting the first verses of the Quran:
"Read, in the name
of thy Lord, Who created
Created man, out of a clot (embryo)
Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful,
He Who taught the use of the pen -
Taught man that which he knew not.
Nay, but man doth transgress all bounds,
In that he looketh upon himself as self-sufficient.
Verily, to thy Lord is the return (of all)." (ch.96: 1-8)
During the month of Ramadan (29 - 30 days), Muslims fast from dawn to sunset every day. This means not consuming food or drink, including water, during the daylight hours. In the Arabic language, fasting is known as Sawm. They wake up early in the morning to have a pre-dawn breakfast meal known as Suhoor. At the end of the day, the fast is completed by taking the Iftar meal. Later in the evening, they attend special nightly Tarawih prayers at their local Masjid (Mosque) where the entire Quran is read over the month. It is believed that fasting increases compassion, builds self-control and purifies both the body and the soul.
Mohammed is believed to have received the Quran from Gabriel in the last few days of the month of Ramadan. At the end of this month of fasting, Muslims hold a great celebration called Eid ul Fitr (the Festival of Breaking the Fast). This year Eid is being celebrated on 27th December, just following the full moon of the Winter Solstice. On this day Muslims all over the world greet each other by hugging and saying "Eid Mubarak," which means "Holiday Blessings."
Eid Mubarak to everyone on the 27th.
Find out more at:
http://islam.org/ramadan
http://www.beliefnet.com/index/index_10004.html
The Christmas Eclipse
The cosmic cycles provide a holiday treat this Christmas. DonÕt expect a shining star in the East, though, only a partial eclipse of the Sun. Occurring at 12:22 p.m. EST over North and Central America, the effects will be very subtle.
A partial eclipse of the Sun is nowhere near as dramatic as a total eclipse. There is little noticeable change in daylight. Still, an eclipse of any sort is noteworthy and mythic, rather like an exclamation point of the year. And it makes this Christmas a little more special.
Read more of Kelley Hunter's obswervations at http://www.universalquest.com/eclipse.htm
Internationally-known astrologer Kelley Hunter is a resident of St. John, US Virgin Islands, where she leads star gazing nights and is studying for her Ph.D. in world cosmologies. To be on her e-mail list for occasional articles or for an astrology consultation, write her at kellhunter@earthlink.net.
Wishing You a Ceremonial Season
The Galactic Times for December 18,
2000
by Philip Sedgwick
This will be the last Galactic Times of this Millennium. And for real, the New Millennium commences at the stroke of midnight with this year's end. Despite recent craziness, especially here in the United States, we have reason for optimism as the new era dawns.
During this next year Chiron in Sagittarius makes contact with the powerful and insightful Galactic Center (26 Sagittarius 52) in February. Jupiter opposes this central point in late June. These intervals inspire unlimited access to the greatest knowledge the Universe has to offer. Paying attention during these eras just might inspire you to receive one of the greatest insights of the New Year. It's worth making an extra effort to tune into these waves of wondrous information.
Also the potent healing fixed star, Sirius (14 Cancer 06), receives a push from the North Lunar Node in late February. In October, the grand and gracious Jupiter grants an audience to this star. Both these intervals imply powerful healing of an emotional and spiritual nature. Between these two trends (and all the other celestial craziness) we might just make some significant progress. But first, we must prepare.
Last weekend yet another solar energy blast lit up people's energy (and Chakras) like a Christmas tree. While this burst accounts for the unusual tornadic display in the southeastern United States, the energy covers all the Earth. Everyone feels the increase in the ambient vibrational tone. Is this more excitement for the real, new Millennium; or is it concern based upon recent events?
This Thursday is the Winter Solstice. At this point, in the Northern Hemisphere (and apologies to those below the Equator) the light begins to increase again. In many southwestern ancient traditions is a time to favor the seeds of autumn to ensure a nurturing spring. Celebrating the Solstice aligns your spirit with the immutable cycles of nature and Heaven. Conduct just a little ritual, a token if you like. Acknowledge cycles, the Greater Plan and your part in it. By the way, after savoring such a celebration it is good to give yourself a present to acknowledge your energy, spirit and life.
And there is an eclipse on Christmas Day. Whatever your faith, seek to reactivate what are supposed to be the feelings of the season. In so doing, joy, peace and spiritual enthusiasm fill your being. Therefore while making the list of the logistical strategy for gift returns in the next few days you experience less stress (I'm kidding). But you become a beacon of light continuing to shine as a contagious spark of rich spirit as the new century begins.
I'd like to offer blessings and strong thoughts to support each of you on your chosen paths. May these roads fill your life with ecstatic awareness, peace and the great warmth of love. May you all have a most joyous holiday season.
Cheers!
Philip Sedgwick
480.451.3070
galastro@aol.com
Remember to visit:
www.stariq.com
www.scifi.com/spacescopes/
Raja
Choudhury : Founder
A T Mann : Cofounder/Contributing
Editor
Dan Furst hermes3@lava.net
- Contributor
Philip Sedgwick galastro@aol.com
- Contributor
Kelley Hunter - Contributing
Astrologer
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Raja Choudhury
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