Goodbye 2020, Hello Returning Light… and a Celestial Promise Remembered
What ancient family drama is playing out tonight when Jupiter (also Zeus in Greek myth) and Saturn (his father, Kronos) conjoin in a celestial display? What forgotten archetypal energy has been released during our forced hearth-tending quarantine? Get your popcorn, kids…
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the editorial from Kindred’s December newsletter. You can read the newsletter here.
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Today, at the end of nine months of quarantine and forced hearth-tending, we arrive at the darkest, longest night of the year. On this Winter Solstice, a planetary conjunction not seen in 800 years is being hailed as the “Christmas Star” and, from the looks of weary journalists desperate for a good news story, the symbolism of the celestial event is building expectations of hope for change worldwide (just Google “Christmas Star 2020”).
Have we gestated our own consciousnesses enough during these nine months of confinement to birth a post-COVID world? Or are our closets just cleaner?
In preparation for watching the planetary conjunction tonight with my family by a bonfire, I wondered how many of us are aware of the ancient family drama we will be witnessing? In between prayers for our suffering world and gathering sticks for firewood, I feel the edges for a story to guide us. For this is what stories do. Especially archetypal myths…
How about the story of a Greek goddess who was firstborn of 12 Olympians, devoured by her Titan father, Kronos (named Saturn by the Romans) only to be born again when the monstrous patriarch was forced by her brother Zeus (named Jupiter by the Romans) to regurgitate her? Get your popcorn, kids…
In ancient Western mythology, Hestia, the Greek Goddess of the Hearth, was first to be honored when new cities or homes were built. She was the goddess of the fires that kept humanity safe, able to find our way home, and connected to the sacred in all life through altar candles and ceremonial bonfires. Her half-brother is Chiron – the wisest and justest of all the centaurs in Greek mythology and the teacher of heroes, including Achilles, Ajax, Theseus, Perseus, Hercules, Jason, Aeneas, and Odysseus.
In modern Western mythology, Hestia’s wallflower reputation relegated her to a dusty collective consciousness closet. (Her brother is played by Pierce Brosnan in the Percy Jackson movies.) Hestia’s archetypal energy – the quiet, grounded, hearth-tending goddess whose inner life connected her to nature and spirit – is not valued in our brash, manic, externally-focused world. Until now.
During our forced hearth-tending quarantine, we’ve lit candles, cooked home meals, reckoned with our housekeeping skills, and awakened to the sanctuary of home as millions of Americans face losing theirs just days after our holiday celebrations.
On some days, like Hestia, many of us feel as if this madman, power-hungry patriarchy and its Dominator Culture has swallowed us whole. But on other days, many of us are cleaning out a forgotten closet and finding ancient, archetypal energies within ourselves, energies that remember how to create sacred space, sit in stillness, and light our own way home.
It may feel like humanity’s story is dark and violent in the moments of being devoured by a monstrous Dominator Culture, but 99% of humanity’s existence over billions of years has been peaceful and collaborative. In this newsletter issue, Kindred’s contributors explore our new story, which is also an ancient, mostly forgotten story: from Darcia Narvaez’s award-winning science on the Evolved Nest, to Michael Mendizza’s path to sustainable human identity, to Kelly Wendorf’s reminder of Mary Magdalene’s gospelon anthropos, and Pam Leo’s suggestions of getting our post-pandemic stories together for our children as a holiday gift!
There are also tools below for self-healing from shock, learning to play, 28 Days of Self-Calming, and a worldview chart to help us quickly identify those traits of groundedness we possess as indigenous Earthlings.
For a quarter century, Kindred has shared our human family’s new story, championed counter-culture thought leaders, created compassionate resources, and found inspiration to help us author our new story.
Please support our nonprofit work, or volunteer with our initiatives. The light is returning, and we have work to do!
Warm, fire-lit holiday greetings,
Lisa Reagan
Editor, Kindred
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the editorial from Kindred’s December newsletter. You can read the newsletter here.