Although the birth of Christ is an event that occurred but once in history, it has always existed in eternity. Carl Jung, Answer To Job

The birth of the Light—three days after the darkest day of the year. Winter Solstice. The Sun begins to rise again. solar, cosmic, mythic.

"Christmas is celebrated three days after the shortest day; therefore it is the festival of the rebirth of the sun." - Carl Jung, ETH Lectures, Page 176

"The new son, Christ, shall on the one hand be a chthonic man like Adam, mortal and capable of suffering, but on the other hand he shall not be, like Adam, a mere copy, but God himself, begotten by himself as the Father, and rejuvenating the Father as the Son. As God he has always been God, and as the son of Mary, who is plainly a copy of Sophia, he is the Logos (synonymous with Nous), who, like Sophia, is a master workman, as stated by the Gospel according to St. John. This identity of mother and son is borne out over and over again in the myths.

• Carl Jung, Answer To Job

“Death has occurred, and now the birth of Christ is at hand.” - Way of Mastery, Way of the Heart: Lesson 10

The Christ child is the symbol of the divine spark in each of us. Born in the dark. Born in the manger of the body, or the soul. The divine entering the human. The eternal Light entering the mortal world. We are the child. We are the ones meant to be born anew.

A spiral cycle. Every year, it turns. Every year, we get the chance to deepen. To allow the Christ to be born more fully. In us. As us.

A sacred story we live.

We are all on the path of the Sun. The path of the Light. The path of the Child who comes bearing the seed of redemption for the world.

Keep returning to the mystery. Let the Light be born in the manger of the heart.

Christ - mass

• Winter Solstice = Sun at its lowest. Then, it begins to rise again. Just like Christ, just like the soul. 3 days in stillness, then rebirth.
• Christmas = December 25 = return of solar light. Archetypal resurrection.
• The nativity story = full of symbols. Manger = humility. Animals = instincts. Shepherds = watchfulness. Magi = higher knowledge, alchemical triad (gold, frankincense, myrrh).
• Mary = pure vessel. Virginity = not sexual but symbolic. Purity of mind/heart.

The story of Jesus’ birth overlays the story of the soul being born into time and space. Also the sun returning from the underworld.

The Star = inner guidance, gnosis. The Light in the mind.

The Three Magi = alchemical + astrological initiates. Gold (Spirit), Frankincense (Soul), Myrrh (Body/death). Also possibly linked to Sirius or other stellar markers.

Capricorn = ruled by Saturn. Saturn = lord of time, restriction, incarnation. So the Christ child being born in Capricorn... Light entering the world of matter and time. The soul descending into the density of incarnation.

The Stable = the cave, the underworld, the womb of the earth. Philosopher’s cave. Where the Stone is born. The inner work.

A Yearly initiation

• The death of the light at Solstice.
• 3 days in darkness (Dec 21–24)
• The rebirth (Dec 25)

A time of waiting, listening, surrendering. Preparing to allow the Christ within to be born.

The sign of Christmas is a star, a light in darkness. ²See it not outside of yourself, but shining in the Heaven within, and accept it as the sign the time of Christ has come. [CE T-15.X.10]

The sign of Christmas is a star, a light in darkness. ²See it not outside of yourself, but shining in the Heaven within, and accept it as the sign the time of Christ has come. ³He comes demanding nothing. ⁴No sacrifice of any kind, of anyone, is asked by Him. ⁵In His presence, the whole idea of sacrifice loses all meaning, for He is Host to God. ⁶And you need but invite Him in Who is there already, by recognizing that His Host is one and no thought alien to His oneness can abide with Him there. ⁷Love must be total to give Him welcome, for the Presence of holiness creates the holiness which surrounds It. ⁸No fear can touch the Host Who cradles God in the time of Christ, for the Host is as holy as the perfect Innocence that He protects, and Whose power protects Him. [CE T-15.X.10]

Let no despair darken the joy of Christmas, for the time of Christ is meaningless apart from joy. ²Let us join in celebrating peace by demanding no sacrifice of anyone, for so will you offer me the love I offer you. ³What can be more joyous than to perceive we are deprived of nothing? ⁴Such is the message of the time of Christ, which I give you that you may give it, and return it to the Father, Who gave it to me. ⁵For in the time of Christ, communication with Him is restored, and He joins us in the celebration of His Son’s creation. [CE T-15.XI.5]

Christmas is not a time; it is a state of mind. ²The Christ Mind wills from the spirit, not from the ego, and the Christ Mind is yours. ³You, too, have a Kingdom which your spirit has created. ⁴It has not ceased to create because your ego has set you on the road of perception. ⁵Your spirit’s creations are no more fatherless than you are. ⁶Your ego and your spirit will never be co-creators, but your spirit and your Creator will always be. ⁷Be confident that your creations are as safe as you are. ⁸The Kingdom is perfectly united and perfectly protected, and the ego will not prevail against it. ⁹Amen. [CE T-4.V.2:1-9]

Birth in Humility

Birth in a barn, in a stable, in a manger, amongst the common people and the animals…

The King born into the ordinary world in ordinary circumstances, yet a star shines above as omen and wise kings from the East recognize him and come to pay respects….

Reflective practices:

• Meditation on the inner Light.
• Imagine Christ being born in the heart.
• What gifts do you bring? Gold = truth. Frankincense = devotion. Myrrh = surrender, mortality.
• Be with the stillness of winter. Let it teach you about inner renewal.

Wheel of the Year Initiation Cycle

• December 25 – Birth of Light (Winter Solstice)
• Jan 6 – Epiphany: Recognition of the divine spark
• Imbolc (Feb 1–2) – Baptism/initiation, first stirring of the spiritual life
• Spring Equinox – Ministry, teachings, miracles, light growing stronger
• Good Friday – Crucifixion, sacrifice, ego death
• Easter – Resurrection, return of life, spirit over matter
• Ascension – Rising back to Source
• Pentecost – Descent of the Spirit, empowerment
• Lughnasadh – Transfiguration, first harvest of the soul
• Samhain – Descent again, promise of return, remembrance

Let us go with the shepherds to Christ’s little crib;Not in the body (to be sure), but in mind and spirit,To behold the miracle with heartfelt wonder.And as in every place their mouth praises the benefaction,So, for this gracious favor shown to us,Let praise and thanks ring out—unfeigned, without affectation.

"God did make the soul intending her to bear in her his one-begotten Son. The happening of this birth in Mary ghostly was to God better pleasing than his being born of her in flesh. And this same birth to-day in the God-loving soul delights God more than his creation of the heavens and earth."

• Meister Eckhart, Sermon XXVI

"Here in time we make holiday because the eternal birth which God the Father bore and bears unceasingly in eternity is now born in time, in human nature. St Augustine says this birth is always happening. But if it happen not in me what does it profit me ? What matters is that it shall happen in me."

• Meister Eckhart, Sermon I

“We must be newborn in Christ, that so the soul may be a member of Christ: we must all be generated out of one body, which is Christ; or else we cannot behold the seven candlesticks of God in us.”

• The Threefold Life Of Man According To The Three Principles By Jacob Boehme

Christmas Holiday

"On 25 December we put lights on our Christmas tree in order that the sun may rise; and we have an evergreen tree so that it will bring forth fruit; it is a magic ceremonial to produce or increase the sun. It has now become a sort of festival that produces Christ again, it is the birthday of Jesus. But that was originally the birthday of Mithra, the invincible sun-it is a borrowed birthday."

• Carl Jung, Visions Seminar, Page 225

The Christmas Tree

"But let us not forget that the total combination, the lighted and decorated tree, is also found outside Christ’s nativity and in non-Christian contexts. For instance in alchemy, that well-known reservoir for the symbols of antiquity. Now you know what the shining globes on the Christmas tree mean: they are nothing less than the heavenly bodies, the sun, moon, and stars. The Christmas tree is the world-tree. But, as the alchemical symbolism clearly shows, it is also a transformation symbol, a symbol of the process of self-realization. According to certain alchemical sources, the adept climbs the tree—a very ancient shamanistic motif. The shaman, in an ecstasy, climbs the magical tree in order to reach the upper world where he will find his true self. By climbing the magical tree, which is at the same time a tree of knowledge, he gains possession of his spiritual personality. To the eye of the psychologist, the shamanistic and alchemical symbolism is a projected representation of the process of individuation. That it rests on an archetypal foundation is evidenced by the fact that patients who have not the slightest knowledge of mythology and folklore spontaneously produce the most amazing parallels to the historical tree-symbolism.’" — C.G. Jung Speaking: Interview & Encounters, Bollingen Press