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January2016

The Roman God Janus

The two faces of Janus look to the past and the future. His name is the root word for the month of January. He was honored also on the first day of each new month. Janus is a pre-Roman deity from the northern Italic culture, so venerated that he was evoked in opening prayers before even Jupiter.

Interestingly, there is no Greek counterpart to this archetypic divinity. Janus is the gatekeeper and custodian. He is often depicted holding keys.  Our word “janitor” is rooted in and reflects Janus’ role in opening up and closing events. Roman armies marched through a gate for Janus’ blessing before going into battle.

The Threshold of Time

January represents new beginnings now, but historically, the month was not even a part of the original ten months in the Roman calendar. March was the beginning of their year. So, really does it matter when we decide to begin a new period of time? The Chinese lunar New Year is in February. The Celtic New Year is November. September is the Jewish New Year. June is the Maori New Year. New Year is a man-made temporal construct, often based on the natural or historical element. What is important isn’t so much the date, but the intent.

What Janus tells us is to stop for a moment and respect the in between times, that space between the beginnings and endings. That in between time is the present which is paradoxically infinite whilst we remain focused on it. In the in between time we breathe, which resets our nervous system. Our noisy mind chatter shushes and we switch from frantic beta waves into calming alpha brain waves. Miracles happen, answers appear, inspiration infuses us and we come back to centre- even if only briefly- before we launch into our next action. In this in between time, pay more attention to how you feel and less attention to the thoughts that lurk by trying to entice you into replaying reruns of the past or forecasting less than glorious beliefs for your future. The point of power is always in the present. It is the threshold of time. It is the Janus gate. Every door has a threshold to cross. Brides were carried over the threshold to ensure they did not bring negative energy from the past into their new lives. Some traditions even buried ancestors under the door stone to ensure protection at this significant spatial juncture.

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Note:  vibrational healing therapies, including the use of crystals, are not intended as substitutions for proper medical treatment, but rather as complementary holistic supports for conscious living.