The 12 Holy Nights

As we move through the darkest months of this season and through the winter solstice an opportunity presents itself to us as a gift straight from the divine unto us. Not just the gift of a baby in a manger but the deeper meaning of the story behind the birth of Christ. How can we best understand the meaning of this season in today’s language? How can we embody and incorporate the gifts into our minds, lives and hearts?

From December 24th through to January 6th at Epiphany we are in a time known as the 12 Holy Nights. A time where the veil between heaven and earth is thin, our souls are rising within us and the soil of our lives is rich with the potential to nurture and grown new seeds that are planted within us. The timing of this sacred event is perfectly aligned with the beginning of the Gregorian calendar new year but also with the Winter Solstice where the darkness of winter pauses for us to reflect on the past year before the sun of the universe begins it ascent back into the sky to bring the light back into the world. The correlation between the birth of Christ and the sun of God are ones which cannot be ignored, nor should be, if we are to create a new way of celebrating spiritual events that align our souls, bodies and minds. As Jesus himself said, “I am with you until the end of the age”, and we are now at the end of the zodiacal age of Pisces, the sign of the fish and are on the brink of the age of enlightenment, the age of Aquarius. The return of Christ is not so much about his return in the flesh but more so about his return within each of us as we choose to raise our own levels of consciousness into Christ Consciousness. To be “Christed” literally translates into being enlightened.

But to be able to receive the gifts of the spirit, the gift of enlightenment that this season offers to us all, we must first prepare our hearts and minds to receive them. That is what the 12 Holy Nights practice is for. To prepare our vessels for the gifts, messages and enlightenment that is being given to us all, if we choose to receive them.

From December 1st until the winter solstice on the 21st, we are to follow natures lead and begin to turn inwards. Time spent alone and off our phones, away from televisions, the busyness of the world around us and the chaos of the normal Christmas season, is of the greatest importance if we are to make space to invite him in. Prepare your body by getting as much rest as possible. Sleep is when our cells regenerate and by setting these sacred intentions we are telling our bodies to make way, make new neural pathways and recalibrate our energy to align with the Christed template. Eat clean and eat simply. Naturally you should be feeling less of an urge to ingest heavy, rich or fatty foods despite all that is being offered this season. Your body will know and will naturally not crave these foods or alcohol or any other substances which offer mind bending realities through their use. This is a time for connecting authentically and purely with our deepest respect and reverence and wholeness of our body, minds and souls.

Each of the 12 nights corresponds to a month of the upcoming year. December 24th, night one is January, December 25th, night two is February and so forth and so on. To honour each month ahead in the upcoming year and to set an intention for your year ahead it can be helpful to create rituals to honour each night and our intentions. I do so by lighting a candle each night, spending time in prayer and meditation, cleansing our energy and emotions through journalling out or sharing with a trusted friend, therapist or family member the things that are coming up into your awareness at this time. Create space in your days to be able feel into what still needs to be processed and let go of. The new year ahead cannot support old energies, ways of life or baggage that we must heal and transmute into the energy that will carry us forth into the year ahead. Allow yourself to do this and have grace and love for yourself and your experiences as you do so. They have all shaped you into this version of yourself that you are blooming into now. Forgive yourself and others, always.

Once you have spent time doing the above on night one you are going to take 13 small strips of paper. Try to find meaningful paper, like the page of a notebook or beloved journal, wrapping paper from a recent birthday or celebration or anything that you can find meaning in. I used pages from a note pad that my sister had sent me many years ago when she was living in Brazil. It has served as many things over the years and I felt that this year its final pages would suit this practice well as my sister and her family prepare to move back to Brazil within the coming year. A cycle is complete and my using the last pages is honouring this completion. Whatever you choose, cut 13 even strips approximately 3” wide by 1” thick, just big enough to write an intention on each one for the coming year.

Your intentions can be prayers, plans, goals or wishes that you are calling in for the year ahead. Write them out, 13 of them in total, in your journal first or on a separate piece of paper for referring to over the months ahead. These can be things such as moving to a new home or location, starting a new business, being open to new love or cultivating more closeness in your current relationships. Whether you are asking for things in the physical realm or those that bring you more mental and emotional peace and joy, or a blend of both, write each one down on the strips of paper then gently fold each strip with the ends of the paper facing towards you as you calling them in to you. This part is important as we want the energy we are putting on the pages coming in to us, not going out from us. Fold each of the strips of paper in this way and place them all in a small dish, box or other meaningful place for them to be held during the nights ahead.

Night one, after clearing your energy, lighting a candle and spending time in prayer or meditation, take one of the folded pieces of paper and without opening it, light it in the flame of the candle. You can let it burn in a separate fire safe dish, extinguish it in a bowl of water once it burns completely or do what I do and take it out into your garden and let it burn into a sacred place in the ground or a favourite potted plant. The nutrients from the ash will feed your soil and help the plants grow just as your intentions for the year ahead will. It is important to not read each one before burning it and instead offer it up as an offering to God, in a surrendered way, saying “I trust you with my future, Your will be done”. Doing so allows our hearts to open to trusting life and how the divine wants to bless us without our feeling the need to always be the ones in control. Newsflash, you are never in control!

For each night you will burn one of the folded papers within one of the candles you have lit each night. You can use one candle and light it every night when the sun goes down, or you can choose to light 12 different ones, lighting the first on night one, the first snd second on night two and so on. If doing it this way, use candle number one to burn the first piece of paper, candle number two to burn the second and go from there. Of course at the end of the 12 nights you will be left with the last, thirteenth piece of paper. This is the intention that the universe is leaving for you to tend to. The rest you have given to god but this one is yours. Unfold this piece of paper and place it somewhere you will see it daily over the next year. On the front of your journal or day planner, on your fridge door or bathroom mirror or in your wallet. Anywhere that you will be reminded of what you are being asked to focus your energy on creating what is written on it over the next 12 months. This is your project to tend to, the rest is up to the higher power, whichever name you choose to give to it.

Creating belief systems, rituals and celebrations that honour the seasons of our world, honour the truth of our universe and the divine plan for our lives and all on this planet is the best way for us to heal our disconnect of body, mind and soul and come into the inner balance which allows us to then bring forth balance into our outer worlds as well. Sacred practices such as this wire our minds through repetition and create new neural pathways in our brains that open us up to seeing life from a more enlightened state. To heal the mind you must free the soul and if we as people are to over come the current mental health crises we are all facing today, we must bring these practices, rituals and beliefs into our daily lives as much as possible. Whenever you are reading this is the perfect time for these seeds of wisdom to be planted within your heart and mind. Now is the time to tend to these seeds and have the roots go deep within you so that you can embody the christ codes that are coming through you and bloom into the fully integrated, healed and embodied self.

For a deeper dive into this topic please see my video “An introduction to the 12 Holy Nights” on my YouTube channel linked in the footer below.

Sending you all much love for this sacred season and blessings for the year ahead… xo