My Winter Solstice Ritual & experience with Archangel Michael
On my path of spiritual awakening and growth, I was always fascinated with intentional rituals and the power of certain days. I loved that spirituality honoured the elements and the cycles of nature.
It was 2012. All the buzz about the end of the world. There were many theories and stories floating around. I was at the cusp of my spiritual awakening and I was still processing the experiences that I was having. Yet this date 21.12.12 felt very significant to me.
I decided to perform a winter solstice ritual. A ritual is an intentional practice, it has an aim and it works with the energies of the day to amplify the results. My intent was to honour this day and to mark this significant day in my way. Just as the 2012 solstice marked the shift from the age of Pisces to the age of Aquarius - it was also indicative of an ending for me as the way of life I knew so far was shifting into a new way of being.
The shift was happening at 11:11 am GMT on 21.12.12 which was 4:41 pm in Mumbai. I created a ceremony with prayers, inner work and gratitude at its core. I still have the two powerful prayers I printed out for the ceremony. I do not remember the Source of these prayers, I know that I did not write these.
I invited a friend to join me. On the winter solstice day, we started the ceremony with grounding with Mother Earth to anchor us and connecting to the Source. I chose the Transformation Prayer as a centrepiece of this ceremony, it still remains one of my favourite prayers
Fear into Courage
Not Enoughness into Plenty
Old patterns of behaviour into fresh responses and vulnerability
Anger into Cleansing Breath
Sorrow into Hope
Grief into Rebirth
Loneliness into Circle and Support
Disempowerment into Confident Action
Creative Dormancy into Full Expression
Superficiality into True Being
Masks into Love of What Really Is
Shortsightedness into Eagle's Vision
Limitations into Possibility
Projections into Conscious Ownership
Stuckness into Movement
Depression into Light
Bondage into Freedom
Control into a Loose, Flexible Grasp
Obsession into Letting It Be
Anxiety into Flow
Fragmentations into Wholeness
Duality into Oneness
Shame into Acceptance of the Processes of Life
Mistrust into Trust
Judgment into Allowing
To this day, this remains one of my go to prayers. It is a centrepiece at the Graduation Ceremony for Transform Your Life Teacher Trainings. And I have used it at Winter Solstice rituals over the years.The ceremony ended with a prayer of Gratitude, which is another prayer that remains close to my heart.
Thank you, Lord, for the blessings you have bestowed on my life. You have provided me with more than I could ever have imagined. You have surrounded me with people who always look out for me. You have given me family and friends who bless me every day with kind words and actions. They lift me up in ways that keep my eyes focused on you and make my spirit soar.
Also, thank you, Lord, for keeping me safe. You protect me from those things that seem to haunt others. You help me make better choices, and you have provided me with advisors that help me with the difficult decisions. You speak to me in so many ways so that I always know you are here.
And Lord, I am so grateful for keeping those around me safe and loved. I hope that you provide me with the ability and sense to show them every day how much they matter. I hope that you give me the ability to give to them the same kindness they have provided to me. I am just so grateful for all of your blessings in my life, Lord. I pray that you remind me of just how lucky I am, and that you never allow me to forget to show my gratitude in prayer and returned kind acts. Thank you.
The in-between of the ceremony was about Releasing and Balance. We also lit small tea light candles to express our gratitude. Once the ceremony was over, we waited for the candles to burn out. I had planned to go to my friend’s place. As it happened, my candle was still burning, a slow dim flame but still very much alive. So we decided to stay over. As we were sitting and chatting, I was telling my friend all about my experiences in Glastonbury. It was a place where I could see energy, orbs and I photographed many orbs in my pictures. It was a time in my life where I could see and photograph orbs as if I was being shown a world beyond my limited abilities to see and perceive. It was perhaps the proof or validation I was seeking.
At this particular moment I was very excitedly talking about Archangel Michael and the Tor in Glastonbury. It was here that I saw orbs in many vibrant colours for the first time with my eyes. And I also captured a magnificent purple blue orb with angel wings that I knew was indicative of Archangel Michael’s presence and energy. It was all so exciting - and suddenly I felt a very strong presence right infront of me, like someone was standing there but I couldn't see this energy. At that very same moment my friend grabbed my hand and said I am suddenly feeling a bit overwhelmed. I quietly asked the presence to draw back it's energy as it was too strong for us. It immediately withdrew. And my friend felt the shift too. We went back to talking and a bit later, I was alone in the room where we had the ceremony and I was lighting a candle. And once again I felt this energy right behind me. It was so strong and I knew it was not human, and then it called out my name - Surabhi - it was said in the most magical, lyrical way. The voice had a quality to it, a different vibration and I knew it wasn’t human. I was transfixed as I had never experienced anything like this before in my life! After a few moments the presence receded.
I believe that I answered my calling that day and put something in motion. My life began to unfold differently and a journey of unlearning and learning began. The right teachers, resources were put on my path. It is said that lifetimes of gifts and talents lay dormant within us. We never lose the ability or unlearn a skill. I was able to very effortlessly do things like reading oracle cards. I just knew how to do that, some dormant wisdom came alive in me. I opened the door to a magical way of life where I lived from the inside -out. Connecting with my inner intuition and intelligence to make decisions and taking steps that honoured me.
The Angels became my constant companions, my friend, philosopher and guide. And Archangel Michael, the Tor and Glastonbury remain at the heart of all my experiences with the Angelic realm.
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