Mary's Star Path 2012

Along the golden Star Path walking, Mother Mary travels far...

You may be able to see that Mary is with Joseph in the stable, the animals are watching as she holds her baby.

 

How do you celebrate Epiphany? It is a new festival for my family.   Growing up our tree came down shortly after Christmas and by the 12th night we were back in school and Christmas was a festival of the past.  This year we did Mary's star path, as detailed in the book All Year Round.  Everyday adding a new mineral, plant, animal and then person to the path all through advent. I had gone to a talk by the authors and was completely inspired by their talk to bring some archetypal meaning to this time of year.  

A blurry but closer view of the Christmas possee

 We learned you can take this journey of advent as literal or you can see the complexities of our connections with our selves and our environment through the symbolism on the table.  Mary, being the universal mother energy, winds her way through the path, love growing inside her.  It is an inward journey and only at the end can she share that journey with others (Joseph and the shepherds).    Then that love is born. Innocent pure love. Christmas day the final element is added to the table. The baby. 

 

 

Then the table sits for a while.  In our house the song that is sung while lighting the candles on the path grew quiet.  Our daughter (3 years old) stopped looking with earnest to see what was new.  Every now and then I would hear her talking to Mary and daily she sings the star path song but the morning anticipation had shifted.

 

Slowly the 12th night grows near.  As soon as the children are in bed the decorations from around the house came down.  The tree was stripped and a few choice branches were cut for decorations for the new version of the star path.  All the animals were taken away but one, the cloth in the background with the stars, gone.  The windowsill was cleared.  As you can see the scene looks totally different.  When my kids woke up today there was much excitement surrounding the star path.  Because the cloth had been removed during the night, the window was completely exposed and the light shone through the window star onto the beautiful scene below. 

 May all that you put forth to manifest in advent be yours in light and love in this new year.