Saturday, December 21st, from 12:30 pm to 3:00 pm
Facilitated by Katja Esser.
Entering the Era of the Heart
Gathering time for the ritual is 12:15 pm. Please leave ample time to get yourself to the ritual site. We will be at The Landing. Staff in the visitor center can give directions for the easy walk.
There is some preparation involved that we request you do at home prior to the ceremony. Please see below on what to create, gather, and bring and take some time with it. The preparations are part of the feeding of the spirit world and deepen the work we do so we can reap the most benefits from it as well. It also shows a commitment to walking a different path as it takes some effort, which is noticed in the other world.
Midwinter has arrived on December fifth and will last until January the sixth, of which the solstice at its center is the turning point. The days get shorter and bring us to the darkest time of the year. For many of us it feels also the darkest time in human history. This is the season of the rebirth of the light and our eyes are on solstice. It becomes more significant than ever to focus on the light. We are light beings and many of us are still cloaked in a lack of self-worth that dims our light. Remember darkness is the absence of light. Darkness has no vision; it only reacts and implodes. When we shine our light on it, it has nowhere to go than to reveal itself. We shine our light within, we shine our light without. No part within or without wants to die and will resist and gets stronger when we fight it. We meet it with our light, love, wisdom, and compassion, not allowing fear to cripple us which would feed the darkness. Not to let judgment pull us down. Knowing that in the deepest darkness there is a seed of light that needs to be nourished.
The forces of the Universe are on our side, the light is increasing exponentially, consciousness is shifting, Pluto has now moved fully into Aquarius and will stay there for 20 years, supporting us to return to our true freedom within and without. It will not come by itself; we must work for it. We will see the old paradigm collapsing and it will be dramatic and rough and we will persevere in our conviction that we are of the light and keep shining it. We have trained for this moment through the many lifetimes, we have what we need. We are here to own our gifts, greatness, wisdom, and knowing and bring it into manifestation to assist humanity's awakening.
Since the 11/11 portal the Earth and all her life are in an energetic purging process lasting for 40 days that ends on the winter solstice. All the ways in which we consciously participate by lifting this planet and all her life out of the darkness make a difference. Together we build a momentum into an unimaginable amazing future on this beloved Earth. We are in for a period of rapid changes, innovations, and revolutionary energy. This is a time of renewal as we enter the era of the heart.
We know that change is needed and we also dread change. Many of us are on the fence of willing to fully embrace it as we fear the unknown. It is for us to come into alignment with the beings of light on the other side of the veil to start creating the future following the divine plan and God's will through Divine thoughts and feelings of love, compassion, bliss, laughter, and joy to name a few. Where we stop recreating the past through our beliefs projected onto the future. We have endlessly looked at all our patterns and beliefs and the whys, many times taking us deeper into the rabbit hole. We have judged and criticized every part in us only to see it become more solidified and crystalized. It became our false identity, the only thing we knew. This is a time of revelation; the light is getting so strong that it is piercing through the illusions we have been upholding. Our hearts are being cracked open. Our heart connects us to the cosmos, to God/Source. Feelings are the electrical currents that is the currency exchange of the Universe. We create our physical manifestation through our feelings, thoughts, and what we broadcast through our vibration. The Universe is a neural network and everything is registered and responded to. The more we open up our intuition and become conscious of what we broadcast the more we can co-create the outcome we like to see happen. We are not meant to do this by ourselves, as what serves our highest good has to serve the highest good of all. The beings of light on the other side of the veil are here to guide us, it is for us to open the door and built a relationship with them.
According to the Dagara people of West Africa, we are coming to the end of this mineral year where we have been dealing with the shadow side of communication and information but also, we have seen the strength of speaking truth, bringing things into the light, remembering who we are, and tapping into our knowing. We are now moving into an earth year which is our center, home, nourishment, feeling welcome, and caring. Here is where we tend to making our soil fertile, rebuild localized systems from the bottom up. Here is where we come together and begin to take care of the Earth and each other. We stand up for what brings us life, health, vitality, and knowing the universal law "what affects the one, affects the whole."
The intention and questions to reflect on:
What does true freedom within and without mean to you? When we feel clear about what it truly means
for us, we can work towards it.
What are you still aligning with or doing that covers up the image of God that you are?
What beliefs are you ready to drop that stand in your way to fully embrace your
freedom and the image of God that you are?
What gifts, talents, and abilities do you appreciate in yourself and how have these made a
difference in other people's lives?
Do you recall acts of courage that you demonstrated in your life?
How do you feel blessed and what makes your heart sing?
Do you celebrate and embrace what you have or do you question, judge, or feel guilt instead?
The more conscious we are the more we are in charge of our lives.
With acknowledgment and compassion towards ourselves we can make the changes gently.
Preparation: what to create, gather, and bring:
Katja Esser guides you through this very participatory ritual. In the spirit of co-creating in our own evolution, the ritual grows to new heights when you bring your items and participation to it. The rituals go deeper each year as they are built on each previous one. The unfolding of the ritual creates the sacred space, in which we give more meaning to the details of the ritual. What you bring creates the magnificence of this ritual as each contribution makes up the whole. Please make sure to do your best to bring your items, but do not be deterred from coming if you do not complete them. Some people may bring some extra materials. Come early if you still need time to work on your items. We love to have some helpers to assist with the setting up of the ceremonial space. Katja will be there around 11 am.
Cost:
In addition to the general admission at America's Stonehenge, there is a suggested $8.00 donation
at the ritual to support the continuation of this sacred work.
Filming and photography:
We ask you not to film or photograph during the ceremony.
You can take pictures before or after the ceremony. Some things belong to the spirit
world. Thank you for understanding.
Who to call:
Kindly respond if you plan to attend. Please contact Katja Esser on Facebook or through e-mail at
katjacreates@ritualexpressions.com. She
needs to have a sense of the number of people coming so as to adjust the ceremony for the number
of people that are present, and it also allows her to notify guests if there are last minute
unexpected changes. You can find more info on Katja by visiting her
website.
In the event of snowy or extremely cold conditions, the ceremony will be held on Zoom in the evening.
Katja Esser creates a container of a particular energy frequency that allows people to awaken and express their ancient
sacred connection to the infinite universe. As a multi-disciplinary artist, ceremonialist, teacher, performer, film maker, and healer
who inspires through self-expression, she assists people that are ready to come into a participatory relationship with
themselves, the living Earth, and the unseen world around them to live a sacred eco-centered, magical, and connected life.
Katja has been running annual seasonal rituals since 1992, of which Summer Solstice at America’s Stonehenge is most well-known.
Her singing and her extraordinary elaborate masks and costumes bring forth beings from another world. Katja has
facilitated drumming circles, workshops in sound, continuum-based movement, ritual, and maskmaking. She studied with
Emily Conrad, Malidoma Somé, Alisa Starkweather, Eric Bornstein, Martin Prechtel, Saruah Benson, Tim Kelley, and
various healing modalities to facilitate a shift in consciousness. She performs with the Theater Behind The Mask in
schools through Young Audiences and has appeared at First Night Boston for a number of years. Katja facilitates grief
rituals, sacred sound circles, ancestral rituals, and performances. Katja focused for 10 years on water
through video, combining her music, poetry, and images of water in praise of the living world around us,
to bring awareness to water's teachings and our participation to keep the earth alive. She also focuses
on wildcrafting, sacred geometry, and no-till gardening, contributing to eating local and having a
relationship with the living beings that feed us. Katja has an extensive
website at which her work can be viewed.