A Celtic Advent Gift

guiding you into a wilder winter season

Nov 16, 2023

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Longing is an underrated emotion. It's like anticipation but with softer contours and hints of sadness, nostalgia, and desire woven in.

Longing stirs the heart and rouses the soul. We long for fulfillment, and fulfillment arrives when meaningful experiences are present in our lives.

Longing is a poetic romanticism that even the most rational among us possess. Longing is good for us; it points us to things essential for our inner being and makes life worth living despite its trials and sufferings. Longing also shows us what we should be reaching and searching for. In short, it draws us into the spiritual, the beautiful, and the good.

Advent is a time of ritualized longing.

For those new to Advent, let me introduce you. Advent is a Western Christian practice observed for well over 1,900 years since at least 480 AD. Advent marks the beginning of the church year and is the preparatory period leading up to Christmas.

Advent is about longing for the coming of the Divine Child. It remembers his first coming and longs for his second and the renewal of all Creation he ushers in.

Traditionally, Advent is celebrated with an evergreen wreath symbolizing eternity and renewal, which is not hung but instead placed on a table with three purple candles and a pink candle set in the wreath. A white candle is placed in the middle. The candles have various meanings drawn from the Christmas story in the gospels. There are several different versions of the meaning of the candles. The pink candle, however, is always Mary's candle. The white candle in the center is The Light of the World, the Christ Candle. One candle is lit on each of the four Sundays preceding Christmas, with Mary's Candle always on the third Sunday and the white Christ Candle on Christmas Eve, and then re-lit on Christmas day and allowed to burn down completely.

Advent is a season dedicated to remembering what was and longing for what will be. It recognizes a possibility and longs for the completion of what was promised.

Traditional Advent stays within the conventional Christian story, but Celtic Advent, while encompassing that traditional element, offers an opportunity to expand into the margins and edges, allowing new ways to be explored and old ways to be revived.

Celtic Advent opens the door to experiencing Divinity through Nature. Part of the longing during Advent is the restoration of Nature and our relationship to it.

For the Creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.

During Celtic Advent (which begins Nov. 15, and traditional Advent begins Dec. 3, 2023), we can find our way back to something wilder. We can seek what our souls long for in wells, springs, stones, trees, and animals, all en-souled, living, and conscious. We can plumb the mysteries of how it is that Creation can sing and the particular Advent imagery of a tree that has withered springing to life again from its root, known as Radix Jesse, the root of Jesse, or the mystery of all Creation groaning as if in the pangs of childbirth. We can wonder what Mother Earth is birthing, what the New Tree that springs up will look like, and what kind of fruit it will bear.

Celtic Advent also offers the opportunity to discover new language and metaphors to describe our spiritual experiences and how we interact with Divinity. It also draws us into Nature and into practices that are earthy, embodied, and harmonious with the ways of Nature.

We know that the whole Creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait...

Celtic Advent emphasizes seeking God in Nature and receiving revelation from the wisdom of Creation. This helps us break out of limitations, structures, and conventions that have trapped us in our heads, bound by rationalism and materialism.

It may seem odd that the very earthy and bodily nature of Celtic Advent would be the cure for materialism. But in fact, the enchanted vision of Nature we find in the Celtic imagination dissolves the reductionist materialist view that matter is dead, our bodies mere biological machines. It fills the longing that Advent stirs. During Celtic Advent, we glimpse the divine spark in everything; we see through the veil of gray mist into the golden dawn of a restored Earth and a repaired human relationship with it. We also find through this period of longing ways in which our souls can be restored and repaired and fit to hold the light of Divinity within. Celtic Advent makes us light bearers in a dark and troubled world.

For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

For those interested in learning more on this topic, you can find last year's Celtic Advent post HERE.

Because I find the weeks of Celtic Advent so soul-satisfying as longing is stirred and Earthy encounters with the Divine are cultivated, I have created a printable 15-page Celtic Advent Guide for you.

It contains weekly themes, poetry, journaling pages, a Celtic Blessing, pages for doodling, drawing, and general creativity, and embodied practices to bring your body, mind, and spirit into the sweet longing of the season.

Download your Celtic Advent Guide HERE

I hope you dive into Celtic Advent and find yourself among the stones, trees, and streams, listening to the voice of the Earth, and feeling the longing aching in your heart. Let your heart lead you back to Spirit and the glowing flame of Divine Love that is constantly seeking you and drawing you forward.

The Celtic Advent Guide is my gift to you as we celebrate the first anniversary of Hedge Mystic.

If you are enchanted with the Celtic Advent Guide and would like to show your appreciation, you can Buy Me a Cuppa. Any and all pennies in the coffer are deeply appreciated and help me continue to write, create, offer guided journeys, and seasonal workbooks, and build community with kindred spirits.

Once you have your Celtic Advent Guide in hand, I’d love to hear about your experiences!

The comments section is a safe and welcoming space to share your insights and experiences.

Comments and conversation are always appreciated and enjoyed, so feel free to let your voice be heard. I read them all and try to respond to each one.

Thank you for reading Hedge Mystic and participating in this vibrant and growing community of creative, spiritual humans. You are always welcome here, appreciated, and loved.

A Celtic Advent Gift

guiding you into a wilder winter season

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