The Wheel

By Doug and Sandy Kopf

As Above, So Below. The Macrocosm is in the Microcosm. So, the cycle of the year can be seen in the cycles of man.

Yule, or midnight, corresponds both to death and birth, for one cannot exist without the other. The cycle begins with the death of the Dark Lord at Yule, and the birth of the Lord of Life. As we see this within our own lives, we would correspond this time to both death and conception, for that is where life begins and ends.

Between midnight and dawn, the time of rest and growth. The spark of light or life has been born, but is not yet fully manifest. We are growing in the mothers womb, becoming strong and healthy. Candlemas, which can be corresponded to first light, that twilight time just before dawn, is the time that the baby is full grown within the womb, but not yet born.

At dawn, or Vernal Equinox, birth into this world occurs, and we become independent individuals, blossoming with seeds of promise: already, we are all the things that we will be ..... the seeds are there, they must be nurtured and cared for, that the infant will grow into a healthy adult.

Between dawn and noon comes adolescence, the time of puberty and first love and entrance into adulthood. Beltane is the adolescence of the year, the time of joy and love and fruitfulness. Here, we meet our love, marry and begin our adult lives. This is Springtime. And soon it will be noon.

Summer Solstice can be corresponded to high noon, and, in the cycle of life, can be seen in the coming of age, the time of full maturity. Now, we begin to take on responsibility. We are no longer children, we have children of our own, and we must sacrifice our own wants and needs for their sakes. We have jobs, and we must put aside our pleasures to earn a living and live up to our other commitments. We begin the aging process, we are no longer growing. Although still young and healthy, we have started into our waning cycle.

By age thirty, or so, we can begin to see the fruits of our labors. We can see signs of the type of people our children will become. Maybe we have become successful in our careers, or begun to make payments on a home. We are settled and can see our own productivity in our environments. This time corresponds to Lammas, the time of the First Fruits. We can see the results of the Sacrifices we have made.

Autumn Equinox can be seen in that time that is the sunset of life. The harvest is at it's peak and our children are grown. We can retire and enjoy what we have produced. Physically, the child that was in Spring can only be seen in the faint resemblance that still exists.... we are "shadows" of what we were, but shadows that have been fruitful and are loved.

Hallows corresponds to old age, the time when our own veil begins to thin, and we can almost see over to the other side. It is a time of looking at our lives in retrospect and for looking toward death as a friend, a comfort and consolation, in the knowledge that we will soon be reunited with our loved ones. We become aware of lives to come, with new vistas of growth and accomplishment. We can see the promise of Spring!

And so the Wheel turns on and on, whether in the changing of the Seasons, or the lifetimes of a soul, or in the Lunar month, as the Moon moves through each phase, always there are the Cycles. They are unending and unchanging.

Even within one day of our life, we can see a correspondence to the Wheel, as the old day ends and the new one begins at midnight, as we are "reborn" at dawn, as we reach the peak of our energies at noon and the day begins to wane, as we begin to see the fruits of our labors as we move toward sunset. Then, at sunset, we can see the harvest of our day, and rest and relax during the evening as we approach midnight and another new beginning.

The important thing to realize here, is that our cycles, the Cycles of the Universe and of the Gods, are identical, that the Macrocosm is indeed within the Microcosm. With this realization comes the confidence of oneness with Deity and an awareness that there are no true endings, only new beginnings: that we are truly immortal.

The result of this realization is a change in worldview and the first step toward the evolution of the Spirit, the Great Work of Initiation.

As Above ......... So Below!