INTERFAITH SPECTRUM MAGAZINE Vol. 1, Issue 1: Winter 2010 |
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A New Year
Leslie DelGigante, OUnI
Wherever you live, whether it’s winter or summer for you, we’re all about to say goodbye to the old year
and welcome the new one. You’ve done this before, maybe many times, but do you know about the special
energies present at this time of year? You might like to begin this New Year with the awareness of an
ancient power named Janus. If you know about him and what he represents, he can lend his energy to
yours as you make this new beginning.
Janus is the ancient Roman power or deity of the threshold or doorway. Go check out the nearest door.
Many doors have a threshold, which marks an actual line you cross. Have you noticed that when you open
a door and walk through it, you leave the old behind and step out into something new? Well, that’s the
energy of Janus and many years ago, people represented him as a bearded man with two heads. Why
two? One to look back, and one to look ahead, of course. Janus is so good at this that we have named a
month of the year after him. What’s the month when we leave the old and start the new? You guessed it—
January, named after Janus.
Now, what can the energy of Janus bring to your life? Think about it. You aren’t the same person you were
when 2009 rolled in last year. You’ve grown, you’ve had new experiences, you’ve played new games, you’
ve been to new places and been in old places in a new way. You have learned, not just about science and
math, but about what it means to live as a human being…the laughs, the disappointments, the losses, the
triumphs. Everything we experience leaves us more that we were before. So, allow yourself to own the
experiences, the knowledge, the hopes and dreams that you have gathered up to this point. These
memories are symbolized by the head of Janus that looks back. It remembers, and so do you.
Remember Janus’ other head? It’s looking forward with fresh eyes. Alert, sharp, and taking in the whole
picture. It sees everything for the first time, everything new. It’s not the old head so it’s not colored with
past thoughts, opinions, or feelings, like some pair of dark sunglasses. It’s like a new baby, fully interested,
open to the world and its amazing possibilities. That’s this second Janus energy. And you know what they
say about two heads being better than one….
You and your family might want to hold a ceremony on New Year’s Eve (Old Year’s Day) or New Year’s Day
to look to the past year and talk about the changes that have come into your life, the changes that make
you who you are as you walk into 2010. Remember that ceremonies are a safe place to hold anything: the
happy and the sad, the smiles and the tears. What were the difficult things that happened in 2009? What
were the fun things? The unexpected? The disappointments? These are all the first head of Janus, the
one that looks back. And they all make possible the second head which looks forward to all that is yet
unknown. There’s not one without the other.
Holding a ceremony is as easy as setting up objects on a table. If you are comfortable with the term, you
can call this your altar.
Place a cloth, or scarf, or mat - anything which has meaning to you - on the table. Then bring some items
with which create sacred space, like a candle, religious objects, a small bowl of water, flowers or a plant.
Next, assemble objects which have meaning to you as they pertain to this specific ceremony of moving
from old to new. These can include anything: a postcard or other souvenir from a favorite place, stones or
other things of importance to you, pictures of loved ones. Maybe it’s a test you failed (or something which
represents it) or an award you won. Maybe it’s a sock from an important soccer game, already played or
yet to be played. Let your intuition guide your choice, and invite everyone present to contribute an object or
two or more.
For centuries and centuries, people have “marked off” sacred space with sound, scent, fire and smoke.
So first, light the candle and state the intention that this is a ceremony to mark the turn from the old to the
new. Use your own words. If you have a drum, or shakers, or any instrument, make some sounds. Sound is
vibration, and creating sacred space helps bring in new vibrations. If you have some incense or a fragrant
herb, add its energy to the vibrations. Use all the senses.
Express gratitude that folks have come together to make this ceremony. A Native American healer said,
“Ceremonies are so a person may speak from the heart and know his thoughts are respected.” I like to
remind folks of this before I invite them to speak from their hearts about the object they have put on the
altar. What is its meaning for them? Some folks may not want to speak and that is OK. Have them pick up
the object (use the sense of touch) and pass it around if that is appropriate. Maybe folks have a special
prayer, or poem, or story, or a song that fits. Ceremonies are great because they are totally what you want
to make of them. Once you have set sacred space, the rest can just unfold as it will.
When you are ready to end the ceremony, it’s nice to state an intention for the well-being of those present,
and everyone in your family, in your country and in the world. You can think of your intention as a stone
dropped into a totally still ocean. The ripples keep on radiating outward and outward until they reach every
shore and touch every person. You can hold hands, if folks want, and blow out the candle together.
Best wishes for a happy and healthy New Year to you and your family and us all!
Return to Main Menu
A New Year
Leslie DelGigante, OUnI
Wherever you live, whether it’s winter or summer for you, we’re all about to say goodbye to the old year
and welcome the new one. You’ve done this before, maybe many times, but do you know about the special
energies present at this time of year? You might like to begin this New Year with the awareness of an
ancient power named Janus. If you know about him and what he represents, he can lend his energy to
yours as you make this new beginning.
Janus is the ancient Roman power or deity of the threshold or doorway. Go check out the nearest door.
Many doors have a threshold, which marks an actual line you cross. Have you noticed that when you open
a door and walk through it, you leave the old behind and step out into something new? Well, that’s the
energy of Janus and many years ago, people represented him as a bearded man with two heads. Why
two? One to look back, and one to look ahead, of course. Janus is so good at this that we have named a
month of the year after him. What’s the month when we leave the old and start the new? You guessed it—
January, named after Janus.
Now, what can the energy of Janus bring to your life? Think about it. You aren’t the same person you were
when 2009 rolled in last year. You’ve grown, you’ve had new experiences, you’ve played new games, you’
ve been to new places and been in old places in a new way. You have learned, not just about science and
math, but about what it means to live as a human being…the laughs, the disappointments, the losses, the
triumphs. Everything we experience leaves us more that we were before. So, allow yourself to own the
experiences, the knowledge, the hopes and dreams that you have gathered up to this point. These
memories are symbolized by the head of Janus that looks back. It remembers, and so do you.
Remember Janus’ other head? It’s looking forward with fresh eyes. Alert, sharp, and taking in the whole
picture. It sees everything for the first time, everything new. It’s not the old head so it’s not colored with
past thoughts, opinions, or feelings, like some pair of dark sunglasses. It’s like a new baby, fully interested,
open to the world and its amazing possibilities. That’s this second Janus energy. And you know what they
say about two heads being better than one….
You and your family might want to hold a ceremony on New Year’s Eve (Old Year’s Day) or New Year’s Day
to look to the past year and talk about the changes that have come into your life, the changes that make
you who you are as you walk into 2010. Remember that ceremonies are a safe place to hold anything: the
happy and the sad, the smiles and the tears. What were the difficult things that happened in 2009? What
were the fun things? The unexpected? The disappointments? These are all the first head of Janus, the
one that looks back. And they all make possible the second head which looks forward to all that is yet
unknown. There’s not one without the other.
Holding a ceremony is as easy as setting up objects on a table. If you are comfortable with the term, you
can call this your altar.
Place a cloth, or scarf, or mat - anything which has meaning to you - on the table. Then bring some items
with which create sacred space, like a candle, religious objects, a small bowl of water, flowers or a plant.
Next, assemble objects which have meaning to you as they pertain to this specific ceremony of moving
from old to new. These can include anything: a postcard or other souvenir from a favorite place, stones or
other things of importance to you, pictures of loved ones. Maybe it’s a test you failed (or something which
represents it) or an award you won. Maybe it’s a sock from an important soccer game, already played or
yet to be played. Let your intuition guide your choice, and invite everyone present to contribute an object or
two or more.
For centuries and centuries, people have “marked off” sacred space with sound, scent, fire and smoke.
So first, light the candle and state the intention that this is a ceremony to mark the turn from the old to the
new. Use your own words. If you have a drum, or shakers, or any instrument, make some sounds. Sound is
vibration, and creating sacred space helps bring in new vibrations. If you have some incense or a fragrant
herb, add its energy to the vibrations. Use all the senses.
Express gratitude that folks have come together to make this ceremony. A Native American healer said,
“Ceremonies are so a person may speak from the heart and know his thoughts are respected.” I like to
remind folks of this before I invite them to speak from their hearts about the object they have put on the
altar. What is its meaning for them? Some folks may not want to speak and that is OK. Have them pick up
the object (use the sense of touch) and pass it around if that is appropriate. Maybe folks have a special
prayer, or poem, or story, or a song that fits. Ceremonies are great because they are totally what you want
to make of them. Once you have set sacred space, the rest can just unfold as it will.
When you are ready to end the ceremony, it’s nice to state an intention for the well-being of those present,
and everyone in your family, in your country and in the world. You can think of your intention as a stone
dropped into a totally still ocean. The ripples keep on radiating outward and outward until they reach every
shore and touch every person. You can hold hands, if folks want, and blow out the candle together.
Best wishes for a happy and healthy New Year to you and your family and us all!
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