Wonder in a Christmas Star

It sparkled. It literally danced while emitting colors in the darkened sky. The Christmas Star, appearing on the night of the Winter Solstice, December 21st. Known as the Great Conjunction, when Jupiter and Saturn align spectacularly close in the sky.

I watched with delight. A mysterious, mystical, magical sight.

Like a child in wonder. Not quite believing the colors I was seeing sparking from this bright star.

But I wasn’t imagining it. My friends, who’d joined me on a walk out under the expansive New Mexican sky, mentioned this colorful phenomenon aloud before I did. We all stood still, looking up in amazement.

Not unlike poor shepherds so many dark nights ago.

With my friends by my side, I knew that, yes, indeed, the colors flashing from this bright light were not my imagination.

Nor were the synchronicities that occurred leading up to and announcing this special night. Both spiritually and astrologically.

The O Antiphon on December 21^st was O Radiant Dawn. And that night, we entered the age of Aquarius, which signifies dawn. The dawning of a new era. That alone spoke to me.

Astrologically, Jupiter and Saturn coming together are believed to have influence on a grander scale. Their convergence at this point in time marks the beginning of a 20-year cycle of change and innovation.

I’ve read that Jupiter is associated with the principles of growth, expansion, healing, prosperity, good fortune, and miracles.  Saturn is associated with focus, precision, nobility, ethics, civility, lofty goals, great achievements, dedication, but also with restriction and long-term planning. When they combine, we can expect a major ideological reset. All in its own good time.

(Photo: Steve Allen/Getty Images)

It’s true that the planets regularly appear to pass each other in the solar system. But it’s been nearly 400 years since the planets passed this close to each other in the sky, and nearly 800 years since the alignment of Saturn and Jupiter occurred at night.

And this time, it’s happening as we enter the age of Aquarius. An air sign, which represents freedom, looks to the future, and brings radical change.

For these, and so many other reasons, this Christmas Star has excited me. Lifted my spirit.

And my sense of wonder.

It’s given me a sign of hope for this moment in which we find ourselves. A much-needed hope. For what is possible. More love, more harmony, more equality, more dynamic equilibrium. Innovative growth and healing.

Because we are not alone on this planet, in this universe. Spiritual help is available. And I believe there truly is more than a mysterious synchronicity playing out.

What if we can be part of what is unfolding in this age? Part of a renewed sense of hope and healing?

What if we could be willing to be vulnerable, receive what is being offered, and follow, like the wise men who followed the Christmas Star? Since they were astrologers, it makes sense that they would follow a dazzling phenomenon in the sky. An astrological event. Even though they truly did not know where it would lead them. But they were open, awake, and willing to be vulnerable in the unknown. Trusting to let it take them where it would.

And that’s what it will take. Being willing to be open and vulnerable. Captured by our wonder and delight in what is possible. Trusting that this is more than just a random universe. And following it into the fullness of our dazzling light.

The Razor’s Edge

Last week, just before the holiday season began, workers with the U.S. Border Patrol finished placing their gift to El Paso across several miles of its border wall. Razor wire.

The pesky, prickly, lethal metal contraption now glints in the desert sun atop what has become a 30-foot barrier between downtown El Paso and Juarez, Mexico. Their reason, according to a U.S. Customs and border Protection spokesperson is “to dissuade individuals from scaling the border wall and to reduce the risk of injuries sustained from falling off the barrier.”

Border Patrol admits that 18- and even 30-foot fencing is NOT an insurmountable obstacle. That’s why they’ve added the razor wire. It buys them time to get to the wall before the scalers make it over. And, they say, it will help deter “illegal entries.”

Yes, that’s their reasoning, as absurd as it may sound. They’re hoping it will “dissuade” them, but they know it will not stop the migrants from coming.

It’s important to note that since COVID began, we’ve closed our ports of entry to asylum seekers, thereby removing any legal way of entering. That means more people have resorted to riskier routes, including scaling this monstrous freakin’ metal wall. We’ve been seeing this happen more frequently over the past several months. Some get over unscathed. Others suffer broken bones or a broken back. For some, the practice has ended in death when they slip or are pushed over.

Now they’re going to maneuver through razor wire.

Because I’m sure the smugglers to whom migrants pay outrageous fees to help them across will bring wire cutters along. These smugglers are already placing camouflage ladders on the Mexico side, and at the right moment, directing their human cargo to scale the 18- to 30-ft wall.

In my book, any reasonable, intelligent, mildly compassionate human being would observe this situation and wonder why we’re continuing to waste billions of dollars – not millions but billions – on outdated barriers that don’t work. Are we not in the 21^st century – a technological, digital, Drone-crazy age? An age of unprecedented advances in which we could make other, more logical, cost-effective and efficient options? An age in which enough intelligence and resources exist to devise more humane options?

What is particularly disturbing to me is how hellbent we are on keeping “these people” out. So much so that we’re willing to construct a steel structure that obstructs the natural flow of migration along the southern border, adversely affects wildlife and the environment, allows government to forcibly acquire private land through eminent domain, destroys natural habitats, and forces desperate people to make harrowing decisions. All this to build an ineffective, ugly, cruel symbol of so-called security that will never accomplish its intention.

Yes, it’s true – I have a strong opinion about this. I’ve seen its harmful effects. Its costly futility.

And I know that desperate folks do desperate things.

I ask you to consider, when you’re standing on the edge of a precipice, with a drop into the unknown before you, or a life of despair and fear over your shoulder, what choice will you make?

I’ll admit that I have taken more than a few risks in my lifetime. I’ve stood on the edges of despair and sadness. Been forced off a cliff into the unknown and the unexpected. Even dared to jump off into the abyss.

But I’ve never known the kind of desperation that these people I’ve encountered have faced. I’ve never stood on the edge of having to choose between a life of hopeless, abject poverty or the high stakes required to get me out of that hell.

Nor have I lived through the effects of back-to-back hurricanes like the category 5 storms of Eta and Iota that recently stormed through El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, eradicating entire villages, leaving millions homeless and starving, with no assistance from government. The double whammy hurricanes flooded homes and shelters, wiped out crops and other livelihoods, and followed on the heels of a pandemic that had already challenged their ability to survive.

I suspect we will see more Central Americans forced to leave home to find other means of survival. Seeing the aftermath, aid workers in these countries are already predicting the migration. According to an article in The Daily Beast, “The hurricanes come on top of a COVID-19-related economic depression, which added to some of the world’s highest levels of criminal violence, in one of the world’s regions most susceptible to the impact of climate change.”

As I look upon the ugliness and cruelty of our border wall, I know that this is not the total picture. Nor is it the end of the story. Hundreds of thousands of folks across the country – seen and unseen – have walked in solidarity with us to accompany these migrants and refugees over the past several years.

What I have witnessed in this ever-expanding community gives me hope.

And reminds me, in this time of Advent — this season of hopeful waiting — that justice and mercy, hope and faith, kindness and righteousness will meet, and brotherly/sisterly love will prevail.

I know that something better IS POSSIBLE. And I am willing to take the risk, to walk on the edges of society, to bring it to fruition.