Nay_ho_tze's Medicine Musings


 Feast of the Epiphany:
the true mysticism of Christmas

Few realize that 
the Christmas season is only begun on Dec 25th
that it actually continues until and ends on Jan 6 -
this is the official 12th day of Christmas, 
also known as 12th Night – Little Christmas - Theophany - 
in Roman liturgy it is referred to as
“The Feast of the Epiphany” -
Wikipedia gives a decent explanation 
of this regularly ignored Christian holiday, 
ignored because there's no $$ to be made --
in fact, the whole point of this feast
is to celebrate the giving away of money.

It marks the three kings' arrival finally to the party 
but they find they are the only guests …
so be it – 
medicine folk work best in the shadows anyway …

sadly the events of the Epiphany 
are but a verily forgotten footnote
to the much-polluted and pimped out Christmas story, 
when conversely the Epiphany actually manifests
the reality of the christmas miracle …

don't confuse the miracle with the baby –
it was no miracle that Jesus was born – 
Mary was pregnant, his birth was imminent …

the miracle is that he was not murdered by Herod –
plain and simple 
imagine, just having given birth to a newborn, 
getting wind his very death was wanted by a mad man,
the urgency of escape with absolutely no resources -
imagine the mother's hormone driven panic in such a case
...and then from nowhere, three strange men of means  

the flight into egypt

  The Flight into Egypt,
showing St. Simeon at the left (Luke 2:25)

the adoration of the magi

 

your immediate reaction?  they’ve come to kill my son …
followed quickly by your second reaction at being handed 
the means of escape in riches beyond 
what you’d ever imagined…

surely in that moment of manifestation,
to Mary and Joseph,
Grandfather’s being shouted into their first person: “I AM”

this manifestation is nowhere in our celebrations on the 25th 
because it should be honoured on jan 6, 
in keeping with when it took place ... 
so that ultimately when the gift wrap settles, 
and even the cookie crumbs are gone,
we can still become centered in knowing that "I AM"?
 
Grandfather's magick is so rarely recognized,
we don't even bother to honour, or even acknowledge,
preferring coincidence over manifestation

and to those earnestly looking yet still blind to magick*,
consider it this way:
perhaps you are the magician, 
the bringer of the magick* ...

to honour the meaning of these feasts,
just act upon your responses to this simple question:
with what you have to offer.
who do you know that needs a magician 
?

we all have abilities and skills to share
 RIGHT NOW, RIGHT HERE..
go knock on your neighbour's door -
become the bringer of magick 
which you were born to be:
it all starts NOW, with you ...
so how many more NOWs will die at the starting gate? 

 
...a closer look 

The significance in the Feast of the Epiphany becomes clear when we look at the origins of the word epiphany, which are traced back to Middle English epiphanie, Late Latin epiphania, and Greek epiphaneia, all of which express the idea of 'manifestation'  defined as, 'to show plainly' - quoting the Free Online Dictionary

The Feast of the Epiphany celebrates 3 manifestations... or majick*, if you will ... 

In addition to the Three Kings' timely rescue, the feast also remembers the presentation of the child at the Temple and subsequent prophecy of Simeon, as well as the baptism of Jesus later in life.   On all 3 occassions the manifestation is undeniable identification of Jesus ...

first from the kings who got the news from stars -
then Simeon at the Presentation who, as reported in Luke 2:28-30...took the child in his arms and praised God, saying, “Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace,as you have promised. I have seen your salvation" and in Luke 2:35 tells Mary, "...sword shall pierce your soul.'
 
And finally Luke (in 3:21-22) tells us  One day when the crowds were being baptized, Jesus himself was baptized. As he was praying, the heavens opened, and the Holy Spirit, in bodily form, descended on him like a dove. And a voice from heaven said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy."

epiphany: manifestation of the divine - miracles - magick 
________________________________

*magick "in the context of Aleister Crowley's Thelema, is a term used to show and differentiate the occult from performance magic and is defined as "the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will", including both "mundane" acts of will as well as ritual magic" quoting -wiki


 -NHT
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related reading: Thanksgiving
                                   un-Christmas