The sacred cycles of life: Death and Resurrection

April 2021 is the month where the ceremonies and rituals of death and rebirth take place in different major religions. The original intention of these, was to help us ease the process of disintegration (death) of what we have outgrown so we can expand our consciousness and be reborn. Being reborn signified that there was a profound transformation in the way we perceived ourselves and life, and in the death of our old views and misunderstandings, we are able to see much more clearly the beauty in us and in all.

Puritan religions departed from this original intent and focused on the condition of sin, and the punishment of suffering and dying. These concepts were widely spread in the process of subjecting women (who held great power in their tribes recognized by their wisdom), and also to justify colonization (slavery).

As more people are departing from these puritan views, many have thrown the baby with the bathwater. Yet, how can we continue evolving if we don’t allow the disintegration of what we have outgrown?

At these propitious times of Aquarius, we are shifting back to the Feminine Power embodied in Nature, and us as we are Nature itself. Nature shows us that everything that is alive has its cycles, nothing remains the same. Cycles are about growth and transformation; in life we go through stages of evolution always following our innate call to grow. We go through many cycles mostly, unconscious to them happening. Every day is a cycle of death and resurrection as we go to sleep and wake up. Every week, month and year we go through cycles to help us return to our authentic essence and be all what we were called to be.

In this journey back to our power we can ask for help to powerful Sacred Guides, especially power animals as they hold the secrets of nature and her cycles. A powerful Guide Animal to help us enter consciously into the cycle of death and resurrection is The Snake as she teaches us how to shed the skin that we have outgrown.

Snakes shed their skin for three reasons: Because it does not fit anymore, or because it is too old and worn out, or to remove parasites that could harm her. When the snake is preparing to shed its skin, it begins to look sick, her color becomes bluish and her eyes are opaque and clouded because the new skin is covering her eyes. They can’t see well during this time, and to protect themselves they often find a place to hide until the process is complete. Snakes are very active in the shedding process and they rub against a rock or tree to help release and shed the old skin in order to make way for their new skin to be unveiled.

The process of shedding is uncomfortable to the snake yet, she surrenders and is an active participant in the process as she knows she is evolving and becoming greater. Life asks us that we surrender to our own cycles of transformation that involve dying to patterns of thought, feelings and actions that are in the way of the life we are called to live.

As a practice this month, take time as often as possible to meditate calling Snake to guide you in the surrender to releasing and shedding your old skin. In your meditation you can ask Snake the following questions:

• What is clouded in my vision regarding this situation?

• What is blinding me from seeing my abilities to change?

• What discomforts am I avoiding that are blocking my growth?

• What steps can I take to shed my old skin for the new one to emerge?

• What needs to be released to let go of my old skin that is constricting me?

• How can I activate the fire of desire to overcome my fears and resistance to change?

Write down whatever comes to your awareness and implement small new rituals (these are new patterns) to support the changes needed to complete your process of death and resurrection. I will be delighted to hear your experiences with these meditation practices and to be of support to you in this process. Please feel free to contact me.

With love,

Elizabeth Alanis

Vernal Equinox: New Life/ Rebirth

The Vernal Equinox will take place on March 20th for the Northern Hemisphere. This is the day in which the sun is situated exactly over the equator and day and night are of equal length. The Vernal Equinox is also called Spring Equinox as it also marks the beginning of Spring.

The long period of darkness marked by the winter solstice in which we faced our shadow, released, healed, and planted the seeds of new dreams is over. Light takes over the darkness and the Vernal Equinox represents rebirth, the all potential of our new life and light, new beginnings, and path.

In preparation for allowing the energy of the Vernal Equinox to support our new endeavors, it is important to consciously choose what we want to create. Rather than going to our minds for answers, what we need is to listen to the yearnings of our hearts. If you sit still, go inwards and ask yourself: What is the dream/desire that I have been ignoring, postponing, or avoiding? You will rekindle the fire of your heart and know the answer.

The most prevalent reasons for which we allow our dreams/desires to be extinguished are the logical reasons our masterful mind gives us – telling us we could never experience what we desire. The mind is not to blame, it has heard the world declaring dreams are impossible most likely since you were a child. The mind has come to believe this and tries to protect us from what seems risky, foolish or unfeasible.

A practice that has helped me -and my clients- to tame the fears of the mind is a ceremony of light as I learned it from the shamanic teacher Alberto Villoldo. This is a ceremony in which we invite our fears and allow them to be bathed in light, as light is one of the expressions of Divine. Our fears lurk in the darkness imprisoning and contracting us and they build up if we try to fight them resisting to die. Yet, our fears truly are our most faithful protectors and rather than fighting them, we can be grateful for their service, and invite them to be seen and listened to. Everything responds and softens in the presence of love and our fears do too.

Ceremony of Light

The first step is to prepare the sacred space. In the same way you prepare your home to receive the visit of your most beloved friend expressing your loving care, a special space and time needs to be arranged for Great Spirit and the spirits that love and care for you. The following suggestions have proven useful:

• Schedule at least 45 minutes and a place where you will not be disturbed during this time.

• Set an altar. It does not require many things just beauty: A candle, a small bowl with water, a flower, or crystals will suffice.

• Have a comfortable place to sit.

• A thin wooden stick such as bamboo food pick or skewer. An incense burner or a cup filled with sand or salt to place the standing wooden stick in it.

• Have a journal and pen or other media to record your experience at the end of the ceremony.

• Turn off your cell phone, computers and other sources of distraction.

Always begin by consciously opening the sacred space calling Great Spirit and your guide spirits. Be fully present and take inventory of what feels oppressive or uneasy in you today. Identify the thoughts, feelings, or patterns of behavior that need to be released. Most often these are critical statements about self and/or others or a repetitive behavior whose consequences elicit unpleasant feelings in you. Pay attention to where you feel unease in your body.

Take one wooden stick and whisper into it all you want to release. Once you have spoken all you want to release begin burning the wooden stick in a safe way. You may hold it until it is safe for you to do so, or place it in the incense burner/cup with sand or salt. Depending on the thickness of the stick you may need to light it several times until it is fully consumed.

When the stick is fully consumed, take the candle and safely (about 15” away from your body) bring it to the chakra from where the unpleasant feeling came. With your hand bring the healing energy of fire into that chakra and then continue with all the other chakras that experienced a release. When this is completed take some time to integrate the energy of fire and Divine light in your body. Feel it infusing and igniting every cell of your body. Then experience your energy field around all your body and fill it with Divine light.

Close this ceremony by giving thanks to Great Spirit and your spirit guides for the loving healing you have received. Repeat this ceremony often to keep yourself open to think, feel and act in different ways than the ones you freed yourself from.

It will be a pleasure for me to hear about your experiences, your contribution is deeply valued as it helps elevate our collective consciousness.

With all my love

Elizabeth Alanis

K”an Cozscatl Zipactonal (Precious Jewel of Harmonic Light)

The Powers of the Dark Moon

Transcendental Significance of the Dark Moon

In preindustrial times humans were in deep attunement with life cycles both within themselves and within all other energies of life. Indigenous communities all over the world developed great wisdom and prospered not by just respecting, but also by using the gifts of the cycles of nature.

Later on, in the name of civilization and through organized religion, those living the natural ways of life and its cycles were declared barbarian and even evil. Complete indigenous communities were decimated or enslaved, and their ways of life annihilated. The once revered spirits of Earth, Stars, Animals, Plants, Elements and everything else were told to be inferior to, and under the dominion of men. Humans progressively forgot that we are nature and have been fighting against the natural cycles in self and in all.

The consequences of us humans not following the natural cycle of life and maturation can easily be seen in these examples: Many suffer from mental and physical disorders as their life is focused on one area, while all the others are neglected. Many demand of children to behave as adults while the adults behave as children.

Nature continues nevertheless, moving and evolving through cycles and offering us the gift to attune ourselves to these healing and balancing natural rhythms of life. One of these most powerful cycles is of the moon. The cycle of the moon phases repeats every 29.5 days as she orbits around the earth, and the earth around the sun. Each of the eight phases of the moon brings a different energy teaching us about our own natural cycles.

The New Moon is the beginning of the moon cycle. Within the new moon cycle, there are two nights when the moon is in conjunction with the sun and the earth, and it is not visible to the naked eye. This is known as the Dark Moon. Ancient societies all over the world revered the darkness as much as the light. The night, winter time, winter solstice, and the dark moon were honored as times of death to the old ways of life and regeneration.

Wise women - later on called witches - all over the world held Dark Moon sacred ceremonies where they were nurtured in the darkness’ womb, journeying into the depths of their unconscious, where truths about patterns and real motivations were revealed, healed and transformed. Through these consistent sacred ceremonial circles women reached high levels of consciousness and wisdom. Their healing powers raised breaking barriers of time, space and form. But as these wise women were demonized and witch hunting expanded, these sacred dark moon ceremonies were lost for centuries.

During the past decades, as women began regaining their sense of self and power, there has been a resurfacing of moon ceremonies, with most focusing on the full moon which represents the light. For many the fear of darkness persists, as it is difficult to dispel the demonic associations given to it. A practice that can help us to transcend those fears, is entering into these sacred ceremonies connecting with the archetypal energies of the powerful goddesses of the dark.

Goddesses of the Dark

The different powers of darkness took form in the goddesses these communities revered and called for guidance, protection and help, when entering the sacred process that today we call facing the shadow.

These goddesses are still the embodiment of the magical energies of darkness and their archetypes are of invaluable help for us to see clearly, even in the deepest darkness.

Humans are constantly called to different spiritual and maturational processes which are fostered by the natural cycles of darkness. These are represented in the distinct archetypes of the divine feminine that we can invoke to gift us with their wisdom and make of this a successful journey. The main goddesses that oversee these initiation journeys are:

Nyx: The Greek goddess of the dark. She was one of the primordial gods and it was believed that even Zeus feared her power. Nyx is the goddess that helps you walk through the veils of mystery about your future. There are times when the seeds that contain your future are dormant, and there is no other recourse than to stay in the darkness until the veils begin to lift, and a new direction and first steps are revealed. You can call on Nyx to gift you with her unmovable faith as she knows that after darkness there is always light and every secret is revealed.

Hecate: The Greek goddess of the crossroads, the night, magic, witchcraft, and the moon. Hecate’s powers can be invoked when you are stuck between the world that you have overgrown and the new one your heart desires. Hecate will show you the thoughts, feelings, beliefs and actions that you are choosing, and how they relate to both, the life you are letting go and the one your deepest, unconscious desires have now called into manifestation. Hecate will also help you release your attachments to these patterns bringing peace and alignment between your mind and heart.

Kali: The Hindu goddess of liberation and revolution. The fierce and courageous Kali can be called to help you break your attachment to your old story, especially if you have seen yourself as a victim of others or circumstances. She can give you the strength to break your ties with the familiar ways to deal with others that have enslave you by succumbing to the fear of setting appropriate limits. As you embrace her unrelenting power you will be able to claim your power to liberate yourself from caring about what others think of you. Kali is here to help you see and destroy the untruths of the story you have made up so your authentic self can shine and illuminate the world.

Lilith: Her name means Night Monster and she is not recognized as a goddess but as a demon in Jewish Mesopotamian folklore. The demonization of Lilith is a cautionary tale for women to be subservient to their husbands. She is nevertheless a powerful goddess with the power of independence. According to the myth she was the first wife of Adam and asserted herself against the irrational demands from her husband. Tired of the quarrels she left her husband, and god sent three angels to force her back, but she will not subject herself to the angels…or to the demands of god. Lilith refused to be dominated and she is here to teach you that no one can really prevent you from choosing freedom, growing, learning, exploring and being who you really are. Ask for her power of courage to liberate yourself from the fear of being demonized for being fully who you are and living the life you desire.

A Revival of Dark Moon Ceremonies to Reconnect with and Reclaim our Power

As woman we are naturally inclined to the process of planting seeds, nurturing them and fostering new life. But without intention and direction our seeds cannot take root. The Dark Moon is about unearthing all that will prevent the seeds to become trees. This is the time of endings, releasing and healing to prepare the sacred ground for the new to flourish.

Yet, as many of us are reconnecting, embracing and reclaiming our native roots, ceremonies to honor darkness are resurfacing. The collective power of our energies and the dark moon when we take time for sacred ceremony, are helping to heal our fear of darkness which is our own feminine power of disintegration of the old and regeneration.

Every month the Dark Moon invites you to listen to the call of your inner self, to find and embrace any part of yourself who has been disowned for you to survive. It’s a call to release patterns of thought, feelings and actions that keep you in bondage. It’s a call to be fully who you are and sit in your power. Would you listen to this call?