The 12 nights after Christmas are a supernatural time that invites us to reflect and manifest. During these nights we are particularly receptive to messages from the spiritual world.
It is a threshold time shrouded in mystery, at the end of which there can be a new beginning. They say these magical nights are outside of time and space.
During this time there was as little work as possible, but celebrated, noticed & enjoyed with the family.
HOW LONG DO THE HOLY NIGHTS GO? AND WHY IS IT CALLED "RAUHNÄCHTE" OR 12 NIGHTS AFTER CHRISTMAS?
For 12 nights and 13 days.
They are called rough “nights” because, according to the annual cycle, we are in the dark half of the year and thus the night of the year.
There are also versions in which one speaks of 13 Rauhnächten, since one can assume that the old tribes were based on the 13 lunar months.
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ROUGH NIGHTS
To go inside, let go & set intentions for the new year are the missions of the Hours.
When the weather outside is rough & cold, the twelve nights after Christmas invite you to reflect and manifest yourself in all their silence and break from everyday life. During this time we are particularly receptive to messages from the spiritual world.
It is a threshold time shrouded in mystery, at the end of which there can be a new beginning.
It is considered the time of fairy tales & myths, spheres, ghosts, dreams, witches & damons. They say these magical nights are outside of space and time.
Because the 12 nights close the gap between the lunar and solar calendars. There is a mystical time between the years.
1 lunar cycle (from new moon to new moon) = 29.5 days while in the solar calendar we measure 30-31 days per month.
Time for Oracle
THE SPIRITUAL MEANING OF THE 12 NIGHTS ARISES IN THE HEART, NOT IN THE HEAD.
Each "Rauhnach"t is associated with a month of the following year and is understood as an omen - the first night with January, the second with February, etc.
What one experiences now, dreams, oracles, gives indications of what will happen in the next year.
During this time, you hold the coming year in your hands, so to speak. That is why people used to commit the 12 Nights very carefully and vigilantly. Finally, set the course for the coming year.
Our ancestors observed everything inside: the weather, whether there was an argument or whether it was peaceful, whether everything went smoothly during the day or not. Everything, no matter how unimportant, was meaningful.
The magic of the smoky nights only reveals itself with the heart and not with the head. Because anyone who can interpret the signs during this time can draw important insights from them for the coming year.
The first Rauhnacht begins at midnight on Christmas Eve and ends at midnight on December 25th - a Rauhnacht always includes a whole night and day.
RITUALS FOR THE ROUGH NIGHTS
Draw oracle or tarot cards: for each rough night draw a card symbolically for the month associated with it and interpret it intuitively. The art consists in connecting with the cognitive powers of our soul.
Question: What can I expect in the month?
Tarot Decks:
-The modern witch tarot
- the Neo Tarot Deck
- The mystic Monday Tarot
interpret dreams with a dream diary: The messages of the dreams are of great importance & can be prophetic for the following year. Writing down what has been dreamed often improves the dream memory enormously & it is easier to recognize which topic it is about.
-Dream and manifestation Diary:
Smudging ceremonies: energetic cleaning of the rooms, spaces, smudging the whole apartment with incense, cedar wood and sage. Smoking is an integral part of the Rauhnächte to purify the magical atmosphere and protect yourself from harmful energies and influences.
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Yoga and Meditation
-eye pillow hejhej
Write down your wishes: on small pieces of paper. It is said to write down 13 but I would like to keep it more flexible here. If you feel like more coming up to your mind or you break the wishes down into smaller bites than feel free to have more than 13. On the other hand if you have less, that's absolute fine as well. The idea is to burn them during the 12 nights: the universe fulfills the wishes for you, you have to fulfill the last wish yourself. So no matter how many wishes you have, make sure that you have one wish remaining left at the last night.
PREPARING FOR THE MAGIC OF THE ROUGH NIGHTS
Pay off debts, bring back what has been borrowed
Cleansing ritual: keeping the house tidy (saying: "Luck moves in, bad luck moves out")
DURING THE ROUGH NIGHTS
Think less - feel, sense and sense more.
Use time to go inside. To deal with inner longings & hidden possibilities that we lose sight of in everyday life.
Understand everything as a sign. What could be behind the experiences I'm having right now? Increase everyday awareness in order not to pigeonhole things so quickly. Every visitor - whether human or animal - understand known or unknown moods, images, memories, thoughts as symbolic and not judge them too quickly. Better just write it down & come back to it later.
ORACLE HERBS
Valerian: promotes intuition, dream experience and understanding, strengthens the inner eye, illuminates our human soul depths
Mugwort: opens our s
piritual powers & brings clear vision, promotes intuition & dreams
"Prairie Sage" (artemisia ludoviciana) is used by Native Americans for smoking during ceremonies -> opens the mind for prayers and invocations
Lavender: vibrates clear, bright & high, affects the forehead and crown chakra, opens the third eye & helps to achieve clear visions
Mistletoe: transforms slow, negative vibrations into lighter, higher ones, helps with dream interpretation, opens up inner treasures by bringing light into the unconscious
Yarrow: strengthens the nerves & opens our subtle perception, to clairvoyance, true dreaming & oracles, promotes intuition & vision
BLESSING INCENSE for CLOSING THE 12 NIGHTS
At the end of the Rauhnächte on Epiphany (January 6th), bless your rooms with frankincense, myrrh, rose and St. Mary's grass.
HAPPY "RAUHNÄCHTE" AND A MEANINGFUL TIME
XX
Julia or Georgi