posted April 01, 2004 03:46 PM         

We have actually hashed this out before so I'll post the link.

Hope it helps!

http://www.linda-goodman.com/ubb/Forum8/HTML/000926.html

In the Light...
A

posted April 02, 2004 03:45 AM         

And thanks Aselzion for the link!

posted April 02, 2004 11:05 PM         

I'm still doing my best to read Linda's Star Notes and although I have to do it rather slowly (I have other things to do, too! I can't be online all the time!), I believe I am approaching the answer (as Linda promised that in a future Star Note the answer would be revealed) and I've done some lexigrams about Santa Claus already:

SATAN CLAUS. SLANT CLAUS. SATAN CLAN. SATAN ACTS. SATAN LUST. SANS SATAN (?). LAST SATAN. SATAN AT LAST. ACT AS SATAN. ACT AS US (?). SATAN ACTS AS US (?) and so forth...

posted April 08, 2004 07:38 AM         

A Special Christmas Message
WINTER SOLSTICE/YULE: (On or about December 22)The Winter Solstice had been associated with the birth of a "Divine King" long before the rise of Christianity. Since the Sun is considered to represent the Male Divinity in many Pagan Traditions, this time is celebrated as the "return of the Sun God" where He is reborn of the Goddess.

REASON: Yule is the time of greatest darkness and the longest night of the year. To our ancestors it appeared that the sun was dying, because the days were getting shorter and shorter. Then, somewhere around the 25th of December, the days begin to get longer again. The Sun has been reborn! It's a miracle!

WHAT ABOUT THE TREE?
The first time out ancestors likely ever saw fire was when lightning struck a tree. Many mythologies have a legend about the fire snake (lightning) bringing us fire from the sun. A gift to us, from the heavens, directly from the sun god! Without it how would we have ever survived the cold winter. When our grateful cave ancestors wanted to celebrate the sun and his gift they would go out and light a tree on fire. The "burning bush" of God. Then they began to bring the tree indoors and stick candles on it, and now we use electric lights to symbolize the flames. The Christmas tree, is really the pagan "Fire Tree."

SANTA IS A SHAMAN
The old sun god never went away when people converted to Christanity. He may have got a new name, but he still gives us gifts! If you want to have a look at the old pagan god in his original form get a copy of "A Christmas Carol" and check out "The Ghost of Christmas Past." That's him. Originally he was covered in greenery as a promise that life would go on even through the cold months. This is why we use an evergreen tree, and mistletoe, winter plants that do not die. In fact, kissing under the mistletoe has it's origins in ancient pagan rights of fertility and marriage. The other way the old God is depicted is the "antlered one," King of the Hunt. What's more masculine than a buck deer, the Alpha-Male Stag? (Why do you think they're called stag parties?) Ever seen a painting or drawing of a young antlered deer wearing a crown around his neck? That's him. Most English/Irish theme bars will have one hanging on the wall. Now you know why Santa keeps the Rein-Deer to help him pull his sun sleigh across the sky. Even in Greek mythology the sun was pulled across the sky in a flying sleigh.

BUT I THOUGHT HE WAS A SAINT...
Nope. Even the Catholic Church has come out to admit that "St. Nick" never existed. It was common practice for the church, when converting pagans, to take on their old gods and make them saints. They would march into the town square and "baptize" the statue of the local god/ess by pouring holy water over it. Ta-Da! Instant saint. That way they could keep on worshiping. For instance St. Bridgett of Ireland was originally The Goddess Bridgett of Ireland. They also came up with the nifty idea of cutting down sacred groves and building churches where they once stood. If you wanted to stand on holy ground, you'd have to be in their building to do it.

BUT AREN'T PAGAN CELEBRATIONS EVIL?
The Earth goes through this process of rejuvenation every 365 days. The wheel of the year is our calendar. It is very important to our ancestors. It marked the days on which to plant, to harvest, and to store away for the winter. Living on a farm, you would be miles away from the nearest neighbor, but during these times the people of the community gathered together to share the work, socialize and seek out a potential husband or wife. These Holy Days were not only important for community closeness, but also for survival. Put plainly: If our ancestors hadn't kept these festivals the human race would have died out like the dinosaur.