‘Rosicrucian symposium on the solstice’

     

Mark your calendar for Saturday, December 21 at 1 p.m. when the Rosicrucian Order will host a symposium in New York City. From the publicity:

Spend the Winter Solstice with us!

Learn more about the Rosicrucian Tradition as well as other manifestations of the Perennial Philosophy. Topics will include:

• Spiritual Principles for Enhancing and Healing Relationships
• The Master Within
• The Divine Power of Visualization
• Concept of Property - The Illusion of Ownership

The day will conclude with one of the most important rituals in the Rosicrucian Tradition: The Festival of Light Ceremony!

There is not a cost for the event and we would love it if you could donate a coat (or more!) for our annual coat drive. All coats will be distributed through New York Cares.


The Rosicrucian Cultural Center is located at 2303 Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard in New York City.
     

‘Winter Solstice with the Rosicrucians’

     
The Rosicrucian Order will gather in New York City to celebrate the Winter Solstice. From the publicity:

Winter Solstice

Thursday, December 21 at 5:45 p.m.

Rosicrucian Cultural Center

2303 Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., Blvd.

New York City

Come and celebrate the return of the Light with an evening of ritual, reflection, and giving.

Please bring:

• A small item to give away. This item should have meaning to you and represent a challenge that you have overcome.
• A votive candle in a small class candle holder.
• A coat or jacket for our annual coat drive (We know that several of you have already brought several coats, so this is optional.)

Schedule for the evening:

5:45 p.m. Prepare for the Council of Solace Meditation

6 p.m. Council of Solace Meditation

6:30 p.m. Winter Solstice Circle

7:30 p.m. Prepare for the Festival of Light Ritual (AMORC members)

8 p.m. Festival of Light Ritual (AMORC members)

9 p.m. Imperator’s Universal Attunement (AMORC members)
     

‘Celebrate the solstice’

     
In these parts, the Winter Solstice will arrive Wednesday at 5:44 a.m. It’s hard to find a good solstice celebration anymore, and it’s a shame there isn’t much in Freemasonry for St. John Evangelist Day either. Anthroposophy NYC is preparing its annual Holy Nights programming, but hasn’t announced what that will be. The Rosicrucian Order has plans for this week though. From the publicity:

Celebrate the Winter Solstice

Wednesday, December 21

5:45 to 9 p.m.

Rosicrucian Cultural Center

2303 Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Blvd.

Manhattan

Come and celebrate the return of the Light with an evening of ritual, reflection and giving.

Please bring:

A small item to give away. This item should have meaning to you and represent a challenge that you have overcome.

A votive candle in a small glass candle-holder.

A coat or jacket for our annual coat drive. (We know that several of you have already brought several coats, so this is optional.)

Schedule for the evening:

5:45 Prepare for the Council of Solace Meditation
6:00 Council of Solace Meditation
6:30 Winter Solstice Circle
7:30 Prepare for the Festival of Light Ritual (AMORC Members)
8:00 Winter Solstice Ritual (AMORC Members)
     

‘Solstice Ritual at Observatory’

     
I was so impressed by the Fall Equinox evening that I want to spread the word about this event also. From the publicity:

Winter Solstice Ritual Workshop

with Pam Grossman

Presented by Phantasmaphile

Friday, December 20 at 7:30 p.m.

Admission: $20

at Observatory

543 Union Street, #1E

Brooklyn

You must RSVP to phantasmaphile [at] gmail.com if you’d like to attend, as space is limited.

December is full of holy days that honor the cycle of birth, death, and resurrection. They all culminate in Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year, and the beginning of the sun’s return. This evening, we will focus on welcoming light back into our lives.


We’ll do spellcraft for peace and cleansing for the new year. There will be a special focus on tree magick, and herbs that invite warmth into our bodies on cold, dark days. And we’ll give gifts, of course!

Please bring:

• Any altar objects you like. These can be decorative (Yule or winter decorations of any kind are welcome), and/or personal objects which you’d like to have charged;
• A candle and holder;
• A wrapped gift that will be given to someone in circle (no more than $5-10 in value, or free/homemade is fine, too!); and
• A cushion, pillow, or fabric, as we will be sitting on the floor (chairs will be available for those who need).

Note-taking is welcome. This workshop is open to men and women, novices and advanced practitioners alike.

Pam Grossman is a writer, independent curator, and teacher of magical practice and history. An initiate in the wise woman tradition, she is a graduate apprentice of the green witch, Robin Rose Bennett. She is the creator of Phantasmaphile, a blog which specializes in art and culture with an esoteric or fantastical bent, and Associate Editor of Abraxas Journal. She lectures on such topics as “The Occult in Modern Art 101,” teaches classes on herbalism and ritual, and is the co-organizer of the Occult Humanities Conference at NYU.

Her writing has appeared in numerous mediums, including the Huffington Post, MSN.com, the Etsy blog, Sciences Occultes magazine, and various Fulgur press publications. As a featured guest on The Midnight Archive web series, Expanding Mind radio, and the C-Realm, Psychonautica, and Labyrinth podcasts, she has discussed the role of magic in contemporary life. Her group art shows and projects have been featured by such outlets as Artforum, Newsweek, New York magazine, Art & Antiques magazine, Boing Boing, CREATIVE TIME, Time Out New York, Reality Sandwich, Juxtapoz, Arthur, 20×200, UrbanOutfitters.com, and Neil Gaiman’s Twitter. She is a co-founder of Observatory, where her programming aims to explore mysticism via a scholarly yet accessible approach.
     

‘Winter Solstice at the Rosicrucian Cultural Center’

     
“At Christmas I no more desire a rose than wish a snow in May’s new-fangled mirth; but like of each thing that in season grows.”

Biron in Love’s Labour’s Lost

Shakespeare’s Biron is talking about the divine’s order of nature, as if echoing Ecclesiastes 3, but December brings a season rich in symbolism that demands an openness to unorthodox understandings. If you never before have observed a winter solstice, try to make time to visit the Rosicrucian Cultural Center for this ceremony and the programs to follow, and indulge a desire for a mystic rose at Christmastime.

From the publicity:

Join us in celebrating the Winter Solstice with the Festival of Light Ceremony: A sacred ritual whose origin dates back to antiquity; a special mystical musical presentation by professional pianist Henry Butler; and the Imperator’s Universal Attunement Exercise.

Saturday, December 21

Noon - Festival of Light Ceremony

1 p.m. - Spiritual Significance

of the Winter Equinox

3 p.m. - Imperator’s Universal

Attunement Exercise

Rosicrucian Cultural Center of New York City

2303 Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard

Manhattan

As Number 6 used to say, “Be seeing you.”