Dear Parents Letter #14 September 2021
By now you may all have heard snippets of our songs and stories of saints and dragons, swords and girdles, heroes and kings as we step into the time of Michaelmas …. Michaelmas is an ancient festival celebrated on the 29th September and is named after the archangel Michael. There are many legends of St. Michael, across many lands and many cultures. The archetypal image of St. Michael, depicted in many paintings and images, with his sword held high and the dragon underfoot is a representation of the struggle between good and evil. St. Michael does not slay the dragon, but through his inner forces is able to hold it within his control, at the tip of his spear. Stories of good versus evil are often told to illuminate the balance we all must strive towards mastering. The story of St. George taming the dragon is an earthly representation of Michael and woven into a much more imaginative picture for the children to understand. In the northern hemisphere Michaelmas is celebrated midway between the summer and winter solstices, but for us it’s the other way around - midway between winter and summer. It is our spring solstice. As the cold of winter recedes and the first signs of spring appear, we celebrate new beginnings as the blossoms and new buds promise the coming fruit and flowers. The season of spring requires us to take up a new task, different from that of the barren winter. The St. John/Winter festival sent out a message of burning one’s inner light in the heart of winter, so that it may bring warmth and guidance in the dark days. New life brings new possibilities and we must ‘take up a new task’. Michaelmas time challenges us to put that inner light to use, to engage our will against the darkness so that we may become conquerors and leap into our purpose during the season of new life and growth. St. Michael took up his task of facing the dragon with strength, bravery and courage, so too we are called on to raise ourselves above our fears and struggles. In the Michaelmas story the dragon symbolises our daily challenges, which drag us down into the earth away from our purpose, but Michael offers four gifts to those who are willing to undertake self-transformation and look towards that which is divine in every human being. He offers strength, courage, the will to do good deeds, and love. Both the transformation and the battle with the dragon are uniquely individual; they reside within our powers of thought, and we are the only ones to have access to them. Michael’s message to humanity is not to try to slay the dragon within ourselves, for we would not live in freedom if we did, but rather to overcome it with consciousness and to awaken our “will” for rightful deeds. Michaelmas is a celebration of our strength and courage. Wishing you all a good weekend. Warmly. Teacher Beulah 10th September 2021 |
AuthorTeacher Beulah's 'Letter to the Parents' Archives
February 2023
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