Free Numerology Newsletter

Get Mail from Gail - including her monthly newsletter:

Please enter your email address for special offers and periodic updates.

MONTHLY MEMO FOR DECEMBER, 2008

Meaning of the 12th Month

Although Western modern day behavior is somewhat frantic and pressured at this time of year, it is, actually, a time of waiting and pausing in our normal rhythm No wonder we somehow turn into wrecks by the end of the month. We are going against the natural rhythm of this time period. If I said to you a better behavior would be to relax, submit and spend time thinking, you would think me totally unreliable. This is, however, the true energy of this period.

The number one is the number of new beginnings and creativity but it is completed by the number two, the number of patience, compromise and tact. In order to accomplish anything lasting during this period, it requires the patience. Unfortunately, we seem to have little of what we need the most. I just heard the news that a young man (aged 34) was trampled to death at a WalMart store in New York. The shoppers were rushing to buy something. In their frantic and pressured thinking, they killed a man. Be careful this month that we don't self-inflict. By that I mean over worry, over guilt trip, over spend, over eat, over talk, over dramatize. The nicest thing you could do for your self in December is to slow down, relax and surrender to what your inner voice is telling you.

In the Tarot deck of cards, the 12th card of the deck is the Hanged Man. He is hanging upside down by one foot. His other leg is crossed at the knee and forms the figure 4. Four always represents "reason". The Hanged Man represents a person who is under perfect control, poised in consciousness and reasoning. Faith Javane in her book "Numerology and the Divine Triangle" informs us that the Hanged Man "sees the trouble in the world - people unhappy in marriage, in trouble financially and lost because they have no goals - and he knows it is because they all see things upside down...The Hanged Man's philosophy sets him apart from the crowd and, at the same time, brings him peace of mind and perfect contentment... ...The ideal is to grow out of materialism by transmuting animal passion to human compassion."

As we begin this 12th month see it as not just a month to buy and shop and exhaust ourselves but rather the rest before the beginning of the new light in January. The time to hibernate, go into the darkness and wait the New Year. Let this be a new way of approaching this month. Not in the light of Macy's window but in your own inner light.

Our original premise for choosing this day of the year for a religious celebration is in itself one of the ultimate promotional opportunities. It was originally a Pagan Feast Day. Since it was so well attended, the Christians took it upon themselves to adopt it also as the date of Jesus's birth. It was probably one of the earliest successful lobbying activities.

There was a major rival religion in Rome that celebrated the sun god, Mithras. Mithras really originated in Persia. The Romans adopted this god in the first century B.C. By the beginning of the fourth century A.D., the belief in the sun god was so powerful that the Emperor Aurelius proclaimed it the official religion. This religion seriously jeopardized Christianity. Everyone knew, of course that the Romans liked their festivals, especially if they last a week or two. Lots of parades and feasts. Another celebration was in honor of Saturn, the god of agriculture. This celebration was called Saturnalia.

What were the Christians to do? They needed something to happen in December to combat the popularity of these occasions. Sooooooooooo, in 337 A.D. the Roman church officially recognized Christ's birth and the date of December 25th was picked as the date. The difference between the mass celebrated on December 25th (which is where we get the name Christmas - "Christ's Mass" and Mithraism was that Christmas would be a sacred and holy day, quite unlike the pagan festivals celebrating Mithras and Saturn. In 354 A.D., Liberius, the Bishop of Rome, rescinded the law of celebrating only Christ's death and legalized celebrations of both his death and birth. Christmas on December 25th began at that time. Now, I ask you, how did it all come down to our current behavior of watching the performance of the Nutcracker and breaking the budget. Sounds a bit like the Feast of Mithras to me.

I go back to December and the 12th month and go out of my way to rest, restore and hibernate a bit. The first week of this month will be spent in the Palm Springs area away from the freeways of life.

View from the Freeway

I don't know about you but I am glad to see 2008 come to an end. I like December in that it gives us the opportunity to finish and complete and eat more soups and stews the warm foods that nurture us. Living in California, we love to eat all the fresh salads and produce but they tend to make you chilly and don't really sustain us during the "yin" energy period. This is the time period to take more hot oil baths, eat soups, and assess your activities during 2008. What did you learn this year? What do you need to get into in 2009 and what do you need to get out of? Before you move forward next month, assess your life.

We are all under the Pluto in Capricorn transit now. It began the day before Thanksgiving and will be with us through 2024. We are beginning the work of transforming our financial systems, our government systems, our business systems and the social contract set up by our original founding fathers. It is time. I will write more about this as we gather speed under Pluto in Capricorn. Be very "smart" in your thinking now. Know where your money is and how to access it easily. Do not let the world do your thinking for you. I just heard this morning of an 84 year old friend of mine who got a new job. He is thrilled. He will work 5 days a week for 4 or 5 hours a days. Fabulous. He sees this as such an empowering time and a time of honesty.

You will hear many conflicting ideas as to what is happening to the markets. It will continue to bounce back and forth, both scaring us and thrilling us. Plan for both short term goals and long term goals. What are your goals for the next three years and then the next 10 years? Remember, with all this deficit growing by enormous amounts, there will have to be a correction. The long term trend is inflation with higher energy costs and a weakened dollar. The short term trend is neutral energy costs, higher food costs and a sideways to slightly higher dollar. Do not confuse short term with long term. Prepare accordingly. I have said all along the 2012 is the key election. 2008 was the opening act for the main performance.

As we experience December, guard your thinking as a mother hen her chicks. Be disciplined in keeping positive thoughts in your head. Read positive books, be with supportive friends and think upon thoughts that you are willing to experience. Decide to not let things overwhelm you. Concentrate on Universal Laws not man-made laws and facts. Facts are facts, they are not necessarily the truth, they are facts.

In the end, all we ever wanted or needed was to be loved and to be heard. We can give that to others. In doing so, we will receive it back. It won't cost you much. It can be the biggest holiday gift of all. Eleanor Roosevelt once said "When you cease to make a contribution, you begin to die." Live long, live well and contribute. Give of yourself this holiday period.

The Torah in speaking of the importance of deeds, tells us "When our learning exceeds our deeds, we are like trees whose branches are many but whose roots are few: the wind comes and uproots them...But when our deeds exceed our learning, we are like trees whose branches are few but whose roots are many, so that even if all the winds of the world were to come and blow against them, they would be unable to move them."

Until next month,

Keep trusting yourself,

— Gail

Return to top

Your Name
Your Email