The Christian Wheel of the Year: Introduction

Introduction

Welcome to a new feature of this blog, which I'm calling The Christian Wheel of the Year.

Over the last few decades, it's become very popular in pagan and occult circles to celebrate the turning seasons with magical practices, prayers, rituals and the like. Like much of modern paganism, these practices aren't new, and they also aren't re-creations of the actual practices of ancient paganism, most of which are lost to us. In reality they are derivative of the practices of traditional, sacramental Christianity, as it evolved over the centuries from the late classical era to our present day. If you look at the best known "pagan" seasonal cycle, the Wiccan 8-Fold Wheel of the Year, it's easy to see that every last festival on its calendar derives from the practices of Christian-- and, in particular, Catholic-- Europe. Western Christianity, meanwhile, has in many cases completely abandoned its own tradition, and Christians often believe the falsehood that their own traditions actually are pagan!

Now, it needs to be said immediately that this does not invalidate the Wiccan Wheel of the Year or its Heathen or Druidic siblings as as a spiritual practice for pagans. Not at all! Spiritual practices are rooted in the world of Myth, which is quite a different thing from the world of History; as such, it is commonly the case that a particular practice's "real" origin is different from the one that it claims. Traditions around the origin of spiritual practices should be treated as myths, not histories-- that is to say, as stories about the true nature of reality, meant to shape our minds and our habits in the physical world.

All that said, the fact is that there is a great longing in the modern world for traditional Christianity as it truly is-- neither disguising itself as paganism, nor abandoning its traditions in order to become a kind of bland chaplaincy for the Modern world. This need is being addressed by the Traditional Catholic movement, by the spread of Eastern Orthodox churches (who never abandoned their past) in the Western world, and the re-discovery of the great traditions by Protestants. But I have a strong sense-- and it's the sense that informs this blog-- that this need is also being felt by people who do not accept the traditional theologies of the Christian churches, even at their best. There is a group of people out there in the world who find more spiritual sustenance in Alan Watts, Dion Fortune or Eliphas Levi than Von Balthasar or John Henry Newman-- while at the same time also finding far more spiritual sustenance in the Rosary, the Tridentine Mass and the church cycle of fasts and feasts than in scrying the Tarot, casting Wiccan circles or worshiping pagan deities.

This is written with such people in mind. Starting today, the first day of Advent, I'm going to go through the Christian Wheel of the Year, discussing traditional fasts and feasts, saints' days, customs and seasonal cycles-- but always interpreted through the lens of the Esoteric tradition. Each post will discuss the feast or or feast in question, suggest an esoteric interpretation, and provide notes for practice, including prayer and meditation. I'll also include some ideas for Christian ritual practice, including the first outline of a system of Christian magic that probably wouldn't even get you into trouble in the most orthodox of churches. 

Sound good? If so, welcome aboard!

The Christian Wheel of the Year, Part 1: An Esoteric Advent

Introduction

Advent begins the Christmas season, and it begins the Christian Wheel of the Year. The first day of Advent is always a Sunday, and the markers of Advent are the four Sundays before Christmas. This means that Advent varies in length from year to year. This year, Christmas falls on a Saturday, and so Advent lasts nearly four full weeks! On the other hand, if Christmas falls on a Monday, Advent is only three weeks long, plus the final Sunday. 

This year, the First Day of Advent is today, November 28th. 

The Intention

The name Advent comes from the Latin adventus, and means "coming." During the season of Advent, we are preparing for the coming of Christ into the world. 

The world during Advent reflects the world prior to the coming of the Christ-- it's cold and it's dark, and the powers of Nature are at their most inimical to human life. The Sun, that living icon of the power of the Most High God in the physical world grows dimmer by the day, until it seems that Creation itself will be undone and the Chaos that was before the beginning will triumph over all.

In this dark season, we prepare our spirits for the hoped-for return of Light to the world. We do this through fasting, prayer, and almsgiving. We also prepare our homes for the Christmas season.

Fasting, and the Second Fall

Advent is traditionally a season of fasting and abstinence. In Catholicism, these are technical terms which have slightly different meanings. "Fasting" specifically means limiting the amount of food taken, while "abstinence" means limiting the type of food taken. Historically, the "fast" specifically meant that food should be limited to one 8-ounce meal per day, taken around noon. Two small snacks were also permitted,along with a bit of bread (without butter) and coffee in the morning if desired. The "abstinence" portion specifically means abstinence from meat.  In practice, these two nearly always go together, and so we can use the term "fasting" as a catch-all. 

These days, the Western churches do not impose a specific fasting requirement during Advent. This is, of course, a sign of their degradation, but it also presents an opportunity. There are many ways to do a fast, and the lack of a universal requirement allows us to experiment. But before we get to that, let's talk about the reason for fasting in the first place.

Fasting has two major purposes. The first is, quite simply, to withdraw our souls from the material world. The physical body is-- to put it plainly-- made out of meat. When the diet is limited to vegetable products, it becomes easier for the soul to focus on the non-physical world. This is why full-time veganism is practiced in those spiritual traditions that are especially interested in "getting off the planet" as quickly as possible, particularly various types of Buddhism and, in earlier times, Manichaeism.

The second purpose is to train the will. The desire for food is one of the functions of the lower part of the soul, called "Epithymia" in the traditional writings, or, simply "appetite." Epithymia isn't limited to food, though. It also includes sexual desire, and, more generally, everything in our being that urges us toward pleasure, safety, and comfort. In the Christian tradition, the Appetite isn't necessarily evil, but it has its proper place, and that place is under the firm control of the higher parts of the soul-- the will and the reason. 

As I wrote above, we don't have a specific fasting rule at this time, and that gives each of us a bit of latitude in coming up with one appropriate to our needs and situation in life. I'm going to suggest 3 possible levels of fasting, with different degrees of intensity; you're welcome to pick one of these, or come up with one of your own. First, though, we need to talk about about another level of asting.

The Second Fall

The following is myth.

In the time of Jesus and his near-contemporaries such as Plato and Gautama Buddha, the lowest level of reality on which human beings had their existence was the physical level, or the world of Nature. As such, the spiritual systems of the time focused on transcending physical reality. This is the reason for the rules of fasting and vegetarianism present in many of these traditions-- as the material world was the lowest level of our existence, its transcendence was our immediate concern.

In the last few centuries, though, matters have gotten worse. Starting with the industrial revelation, accelerating with the digital revolution and culminating in the advent of virtual reality, humanity has undergone a Second Fall. These days we spend most of our time not in nature, and not withdrawn from it to a higher level of existence, but below it. We sit in temperature controlled rooms staring at illusions on screens like the one you're looking at right now, and the urges that bombard our Epithymia are not for food or sleep or even sex but just for more screens-- another like on Facebook, another infuriating tweet, another level in a videogame. 

We have fallen from Nature to the level below Nature, the Sub-Natural. 

The existence of such a plane of being is hinted at in hte old occult writings, and what they suggest is troubling indeed. The old models of the world in which Heaven is above us and Hell below are metaphors meant to describe the environment we really inhabit in terms the human mind can grasp. The true Heaven is not above but present to us all the time, if we can find it. Similarly, Hell is not below our feet-- and the Sub-Natural, being below Nature, is not far from Hell. 

In order to rise to Heaven, then, our task now is not merely to transcend the Physical. We have to start by returning to the Physical. For this reason, nature-based spirituality is especially appropriate for people in the modern world. 

I therefore suggest that every fast should include an element of technology fasting. This can be as simple as turning the phone and the computer off for the evening, or as advanced as spending a full day without using technology of any kind. Start where you're at and start with what you can do.

Three Fasts

The traditional days for fasting are Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. The modern church limits such fasting as it prescribes to Fridays; more recent traditions have Wednesdays and Fridays. For our purposes, we can make Friday the main focus of our fasting, with Wednesday and Monday-- or, for the seriously dedicated, the whole rest of the week-- available to expand our practice as we grow in strength of will.

Level 1. On Wednesdays and Fridays for the rest of Advent, eat a pescatarian diet. Take no alcohol during these days, and do not snack between meals. After dinner, turn your cell phone off except for its calling function-- i.e., no apps or text messages-- and turn the computer off as well. 

Level 2. Follow all of the above practices. On Fridays, limit the diet to one small, vegan meal of no more than 8 ounces of food. In addition, you may have two small snacks, and start your day with a piece of bread or bagel without butter, and a hot drink of your choice. On Fridays use no digital technology of any kind, unless you need to answer the telephone (with your voice). This means no TV either! Also on Fridays, after dinner, turn off all of the lights in your house, and spend the evening using only candlelight. 

Level 3. Follow all of the above practices, but extend them to Mondays and Wednesdays as well. In addition, see if you can come up with one extra act of technological sacrifice. If you have a fireplace or woodburning stove and your health and that of your family permit, see if you can go without running the heat one night of the week. If not, at least turn it down two or three degrees, or more. Wear a sweater and a cap instead. If you can possibly get away with it, do not drive anywhere during one of these days, or on Saturdays. One or more of these days, don't use any heat at all in the shower (this feels a lot better than you can imagine, once you get used to it).

You're welcome to practice one of the three of these, a mix of practices from each of them, or some other fast all of your own!

In addition to the above, you should set aside 10-15 minutes every day for prayer and meditation, and the same length of time, every day, to spend out of doors in a natural setting. During both of these times ignore your cell phone. Turn it off, put it on silent, or leave it at home.

Extra Days

We will talk about this in due time, but you should know that Wednesday the 17th of December, Friday the 19th and Saturday the 20th are special fasts known as Ember Days. Be prepared, that week, to add Saturday to your days of fasting! 

Traditions and Customs

There are many special customs and traditions associated with Advent. Most of them will have their own posts, but today let's talk about one of them.

The Advent Wreath

The great symbol of Advent is the Advent Wreath. You can see a picture of it in the header of this post. An Advent wreath is set with four candles: three are violet, and one is rose colored. Traditionally, every color has its own symbolism, and each station of the Wheel of the Year has its particular color. For now, two colors concern us.

Violet is the color of suffering and penance. If that sounds unusual, consider that traditionally, it was viewed as a variant of black. These days black is more or less a heavier version of violet. The three violet candles on the wreath symbolize Advent as a penitential season, reminding us that in these days we wander in darkness, waiting for the birth of the savior.

Rose is the color of joy and happiness. There is one rose candle set amidst the violet candles, symbolizing hope for a renewed world and a reminder of the prophesied savior.

Notice the ratio here: We have three violet candles and one rose candle. This teaches us something about the nature of Advent. It is primarily a penitential season, but it is a joyous season as well-- the trick is to not let the joyous element of the season overwhelm the penitential aspect. There will be time enough for celebration later. 

Beyond the candles, every element of the Advent Wreath can be understood symbolically. The wreath itself is a circle, the symbol of eternity; the four candles symbolize the four elements of the world of matter, and their colors, the nature of life here below; the greenery is produced by sunlight manifesting in evergreen trees, symbolizing the eternal spirit dwelling in the world of matter; the fire slowly burning the candles away is the fire of time, drawing us inexorably upward toward the Eternal Fire which is God. 

The Advent wreath should be set at the dinner table or some other suitable location. Every Sunday, a new candle is lit. The first and second Sundays are violet, the third is rose, and the fourth is violet again. 

The wreath itself should be blessed, and particular prayers are said every time a new candle is lit. You can find a good set of prayers here. You can also come up with your own.

Prayer and Meditation

Finally, let's talk about prayer and meditation. These should be part of your life already, but if not, this is a fine time to start!

Later, I'm going to do a full post on this subject. For now, I want to suggest that, at minimum, the cycle of the Our Father, Three Hail Marys, and the Glory Be should be said in the morning. This should be followed with a period of suitable reading and meditation. (I will also do a longer post with specific instructions for meditation, but in the meantime, this is as good a guide as any). Scripture, especially the readings for the day; spiritual handbooks such as the Imitation of Christ; or specific books of daily meditations can all be used. 

A Guide to Christian Meditation

A basic prayer practice might look like the following.

1. As soon as possible after rising, find a comfortable place where you can sit quietly in privacy for a short while. It's best if you have a crucifix and other holy symbols in eyesight, but in a pinch, the edge of your bed will do. 

2. Close your eyes, breathe in slowly and exhale fully. Make the sign of the cross slowly and reverently. 

3. With the same degree of reverence, pray the Our Father, the Hail Mary 3 times, and the Glory Be. Enter into the prayer, saying each word deliberately and with intention-- not just uttering the syllables by rote. If there are any particular prayers or devotions to saints that you're personally working with, now is the time to pray them, with the same degree of deliberate intention.

4. Take a minute to read. Alternatively, if you're practicing first thing in the morning, you can do your reading the night before; the ideas will marinate in your unconscious mind while you sleep.

5. Remaining in a seated posture, take a few minutes to relax the muscles of your body, starting with your head and working your way down to your feet. Then take another minute or two to breathe deeply and rhytmically. Poised relaxation is the state you want to achieve. 

6. Bring to mind any idea that jumped out at you from your readings for the day, or another suitable theme for meditation-- the season of the year, the meaning of Advent, the life of a saint whose feast it is are all appropriate. Spend 5-10 minutes thinking about this topic. Your mind will wander; when it does, just gently bring it back to your theme.

7. Close with a few more minutes of breathing, and a suitable prayer. The Come Holy Spirit, the Prayer of Saint Patrick, or the Saint Francis Prayer are all good choices. 

8. Close with the Sign of the Cross.

This should be done every day, along with extra time spent in the out of doors, as described above.

That's all for today. As the weeks go on, we'll discuss the deeper meanings of all of these practices, and more. Happy Advent everybody!