Welcome 2022 The Threshold of the New Year
Today, this first day of another new year, we are crossing into the third year of a pandemic with all its uncertainties, fears, and concerns. And yet again, perhaps with some caution, we still celebrate and welcome this new opportunity to reinvent ourselves or improve our lives. It’s the first of the month and the first of the year, and I said “Rabbit, rabbit, ” invoking the British custom to ensure good luck.
I’ve always been interested, charmed, bemused, and obsessed with the Celtic idea of “betwixt and between,” that liminal place we can barely touch. These are places we glimpse fleetingly: where the wave meets the shore; where the darkness meets the light; where old meets the new; where the night meets the dawn; and so forth. It’s like seeing the Fair Folk, you see them out of the corner of your eye, a gossamer glimpse, and magical encounter of some magic just within or out of reach. I think that’s why when the calendar changes, when the Wheel of the Year turns, when the Moon moves her phases, we seek special customs and observances to commemorate those times. It’s a new opportunity to become new, to reinvent, and to rest from the hurly burly of everyday life.
This January 1, we welcome the Roman God of doorways and thresholds, Janus. This two faced god can see past, present, and future. He was the god of beginnings, endings, and thresholds. He was often shown holding a scepter and a key. He was in charge of the orderly movements of to and fro, going from here and there, going from one idea to another idea, and going from one pathway to a new one. The key implies that he can unlock doorways and reveal what is hidden behind. Movement and revelation. He was also considered the arbiter of peace and war.
Janus was invoked to preside over crossings, over borders, and new beginnings; and at the beginning of a year, a month, or at the dawn of a new day. He was included in celebrations of harvest, of births, and of weddings. He was honored with new wine, frankincense and with newly ground meal and with salt.
Ten years ago, I wrote a charge of the God Janus. Some ways we can celebrate the crossing of borders.
The Charge of Janus
Hear now the charge of the God, Janus
I, who am the god of beginnings and thresholds,
I, who sees the past, present and future as one,
Do charge and exhort you, my children,
To walk boldly along the edges of life, love, and magick,
To explore the boundaries of your life and beyond.
Be strong and be brave as you dance the boundaries
Of betwixt and between
For it is there you will find the mysteries hidden from you now.
Dance and whirl to the music that sings from your soul
And love every moment of the wonder.
Move across the threshold and greet newness with open arms.
Dare to be yourself and dare to be greater than you are now.
Find the stillpoint of your soul and sing from that place
Of joy, laughter, sorrow, and tears.
Know your dreams and live them.
Tell your stories to all who will listen,
And even to those who will not
For these are the stories of the gods.
As you sing the songs of your life
See your yesterdays as opportunities of wonder.
As you sing the songs of your life
See your tomorrows as times of hope
And as you sing your song of today
Know the joy of living each moment.
For you hold the key
And you are the key
To wonder, hope, joy, magic, and illumination.
Blessed be.
The Rowdy Goddess 