The Twelve Days and Thirteen Holy Nights of Christmas

December 26 to January 6

In the Christian tradition, the Twelve Days of Christmas are a profoundly spiritual time of year. They begin on December 26 after the birth of the Christ Light, and conclude on January 6 on Epiphany, when the Christ Light is made fully manifest.

According to the wisdom teachings of Anthroposophy, the Twelve Days of Christmas are celebrated as the Thirteen Holy Nights which begin on the eve of December 24. Either way you celebrate it, a portal between the spiritual and earthly realms opens up for us during this time, and magic is afoot!

The Twelve Days and Thirteen Holy Nights are an opportune time for meditation and contemplative prayer, and also for creative manifestation practices (note that epiphany means "manifestation"). Pay attention to any omens, oracles, and messages coming to you, as they will be ripe with information which can help you prepare for the coming year!

In a 2015 article in the holiday edition of Starlight: Journal of the Sophia Foundation, Anthroposophist Claudia McLaren Lainson describes the Holy Nights as an occasion of profound spiritual initiation. Christian Europe has called this period of time the Night of the Mothers, which is also the title of Lainson’s article, excerpted here:

We descend, as soul seeds, into the earthly depths to gather the spiritual forces we will need if we are to meet the trials that await us in the coming year. In these blessed nights we are reminded that all suffering is brought about by our false beliefs. Our hearts are granted new forces, engendering the courage we need to face our trials with equanimity of soul and stalwartness of spirit. By living into the wonders now unveiling within these new mysteries, we prepare ourselves to better serve peace in the world.

In summer we ascend to the heavens; in winter the heavens descend to us. The Mother takes us in. Like the shepherds and the Magi of old, we journey to the [heart of the Mother] in the manger, where we seek the Holy Child. In the manger, resting in the earthly depths, lies the holy child of each of us.

For each of us is one spark from the one flame of innocence that the Mother guards on our behalf, until the time dawns when we can take up the truth of who we really are. For we are born from the divine, we come from the stars, and we are seeking to return to the stars…in these darkest nights of winter, our souls descend into the primal womb so that we can be reborn as the coming year unfolds.” (Night of the Mothers, pp 8-16)

One way I like to work with the Twelve Days of Christmas every year is to meditate upon the twelve warriors mentioned in the Bhagavad Gita, India’s 700-verse scripture about spiritual awakening. The Bhagavad Gita is focused on the allegorical battle of life and the journey to win the kingdom of the soul. Lord Krishna represents the voice of God instructing the spiritual seeker who is symbolized by the warrior Arjuna. My preferred version of the Bhagavad Gita is the two-volume set by Paramahansa Yogananda titled God Talks with Arjuna: Royal Science of God-Realization.

In Chapter 1, Verses 4-6 (pp 57-58), Yogananda refers to the “archers of discrimination” and “metaphysical soldiers of the soul” who must win the moral and psychological battle between good and evil. These twelve warriors can be associated with the twelve signs of the zodiac which lie within our own sublime energetic system. This following diagram shows this, as taught by Yogananda, and is taken from page 391 of The Art and Science of Raja Yoga by his disciple Swami Kriyananda:

The twelve warriors of the Bhagavad Gita can be correlated with both the astrological signs and with the Twelve Days of Christmas. We can meditate each day on the corresponding archetypes and contemplate their qualities as aspects to enhance and master within ourselves:

• December 26 – Kuntibhoja, Aries: Asana (Willpower and Self-Discipline)

• December 27 – Yudhamanyu, Taurus: Pranayama (LIfe-force Control, Sustaining Energy, and Determination)

• December 28 – Chekitana, Gemini: Smriti (Spiritual Memory, Discernment, and Self-Remembrance)

• December 29 – Saubhadra, Cancer: Samyama (Holding Together through Concentration, Meditation, and Samadhi; Anchored to the Soul of Nurturing and Compassion)

• December 30 – Kashiraja, Leo: Prajna (Radiant Light, Wisdom, and Insight)

• December 31 – Purujit, Virgo: Pratyahara (Purity, Strength, and Calmness of Mind)

• January 1 – Yuyudhana, Libra: Shraddha (Divine Devotion and Harmony)

• January 2 – Virata, Scorpio: Samadhi (The Inner Bliss of Immersion within the Self)

• January 3 – Uttamaujas, Sagittarius: Virya (Moral Courage, Shakti, and Fiery Vigor)

• January 4 – Drupada, Capricorn: Tivra-Samvega (Dispassion and Detachment)

• January 5 – Dhrishtaketu, Aquarius: Yama (The Power of Mental Resistance; Self-Control that Upholds Dharma)

• January 6 – Shaibya, Pisces: Niyama (Positive Observances like Santosha/Contentment and Isvara Pranidhana/Surrender to the Higher Power)

I hope this article inspires my readers, and that it will provide a framework for spiritual focus and deepening intentions during these twelve mystical days of awakening light.