The Christmas Star

 It is a well-known story: on a cold night, many years ago, Joseph and Mary, weary travelers who had journeyed from Nazareth to Bethlehem, searched for a place to sleep, but found there was no room at the inn. They went instead to an animal stable, where their child was born in the wee hours of the night, surrounded by barn animals.

Above the stable, so the story goes, a star shone brightly, the same star the wise men followed to find the baby Jesus. King Herod had commanded them to find the child, but they were later warned in a dream of Herod's evil intention to kill the baby.

The Christmas star, or "Star of Bethlehem", is something of a mystery. Was it a planetary conjunction, a comet, or an angelic being?

One of the theories is that it was a "Great Conjunction" of Jupiter and Saturn, which is very rare (occurring every 800 years), and appears as an intensely bright star in the night sky. The last "great conjunction" of Jupiter and Saturn happened on the Winter Solstice, December 2020. According to astrologers, this occurrence signifies the beginning of a planetary and societal shift; a period of great change.

The unique challenges and difficulties of 2020, according to the theory of great cosmic change, have been the process of our collective emotional "pain bodies" (to quote Eckhardt Tolle), being brought into the Light for healing and release. Exactly how long this process will take, no one knows for sure-perhaps years or decades, but I believe we are entering a turning point.

The last four years do seem to have been a painful period, with societal divisions leading to intense disagreements, anger and violence. Families have broken up, hate crimes have been committed and our democracy is threatened.

But we can't give up hope. It is more important than ever before to keep following the Christmas star, as the wise men did so many years ago and to refuse to allow the King Herods of our time to threaten our faith in the power of love to heal the pain of the world.

It is up to each one of us to turn towards and embrace the light of change and healing, even if there is pain involved.  Release the darkness and move forward in faith, trusting that you will be guided to your highest good. Welcome the Christmas star and don't stop believing in miracles.

If we each become a small light, we can change the world...

This little light of mine,
I’m gonna let it shine.
This little light of mine,
I’m gonna let it shine.
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
Hide it under a bushel? NO!
I’m gonna let it shine.
Hide it under a bushel? NO!
I’m gonna let it shine.
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
Don’t let anyone blow it out,
I’m gonna let it shine.
Don’t let anyone blow it out,
I’m gonna let it shine.
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine

-famous children's song of unknown origin