Día de la Candelaria

It was January 6th, and I was in Teotihuacan, Mexico on a spiritual retreat with twenty-six other journeyers in a deepening process to prepare each of us to write a chapter in Shaman’s Heart: Turning Pain into Passion and Purpose, published by Laura DeFranco and her Brave Healers Production Company.

We had just finished a wonderful dinner, which on this day included delicious, sweet bread. I noticed a small group of friends gathered around a few of the cooks (the beautiful family here at the Dreaming House) who had brought out a platter with the decorative bejeweled sweetbread. They told us this bread was in celebration of the holiday in Mexico that honors when the Three Kings met the baby Jesus for the first time, offering their gifts. It represents the end of the holiday season.

Tradition calls for serving sweetbread, called Rosca de Reyes, with a baby Jesus figure (or three to be exact) cooked into the delicious, sweet dough. Whoever finds the baby Jesus is expected to host a party and serve tamales. I knew nothing of this tradition. However, when I came over to see what was going on, Mark, who had the knife and was ready to cut it into the bread, asked me, “Where do you think the baby Jesus figurine is?” I immediately pointed to a portion of the bread and said, “Here!”

He cut in the exact place I pointed to and, to my amazement, there was a baby Jesus!.

There were lots of cheers and, then came the expectation that on February 2nd, I was to prepare tamales! The tradition has deep roots, as many villagers used to bring their corn to the church to get their crops blessed before planting their seeds for the new agricultural cycle. Corn is also symbolic in the shamanic work we do when we ask if this new way of being will grow corn. Will it be of service to Humanity?

As I explored the significance of this celebration, it correlated with many traditions from around the world, each expressing the history and norms of the culture in certain times.

February 1st is known as Día de la Candelaria and marks the halfway point between the Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox. In this tradition, families dress up a baby Jesus doll and take it to church. It symbolizes the first showing of Jesus to the world. The origin dates back to pre-Christian times and the Aztec calendar. In pagan times, it was called Imbolc or St. Brigid’s Day and marks the beginning of Spring in Ireland. This was a day where offerings of a corn husk doll, white flowers, bowl of milk and white candles were made. They might cast a circle and say a prayer asking for a blessing from Brigid for their crops or what is being birthed in their life. In South Africa, it is called Lamas, where cultures honored the sacred cycles of nature, gave thanks for the abundance of food coming. In the Southern Hemisphere, they are entering the period of time following their Summer Solstice and readying for harvest.

A saying in old English communicates its association with the elements, “If Candlemas be fair and bright, Winter has another flight. If Candlemas brings clouds and rain, Winter will not come again." It traditionally was a time to prepare the earth for Spring planting. This tradition continues in many countries in some form.

Here in the US, we celebrate February 2nd as Groundhog Day, trusting the natural intuitive knowledge of the groundhog based on the appearance or not of her shadow to determine how many more days of winter before spring will come and new life erupts from the soil.

Metaphorically speaking, this is about us fostering the new birth growing inside each of us. It is akin to a new mother beginning to “nest,” clearing her space to make room for the birth of her baby. We make offerings in anticipation of what we know is coming, preparing for a monumental change in our lives. Each of us is in a process of change right now, the energies are powerful. Ask yourself, "What are you incubating? What are you getting ready to birth in your life? What can you do to prepare for this new life coming your way?"

Finding the baby Jesus in the sweet bread reminded me that all the authors were incubating a birth. This metaphorical birth will result in a new collective book, Shaman's Heart: Turning Pain into Passion and Purpose. The lead author is Stephanie Urbina-Jones. My chapter is called Heartbreak to Heart Warrior: Embracing the Strength and Wisdom Within.

However, this is not the only book through Brave Healers Production whose birth is imminent and whose due date is coming this Spring. My husband, John Malan, and I co-authored a chapter in Shamanic Breathwork: The Nature of Change with Linda Star Wolf as the lead author. Our chapter is Symbiotic Evolution: Co-creating Your Sacred Work in the World with Your Beloved. This book features 29 authors who share their stories and medicine for healing and transformation through Shamanic Breathwork. These authors are sharing from a place of deep vulnerability to support the foundations of a new Humanity unfolding on the planet.

I look forward to sharing more about the birth of these two potent books.