Trees of Life, Trees of Light

We cast stars on the bushes and trees, then we bring the green inside.

The smell of pine fills the room, the incense of winter from a fresh fir tree.  

The ornaments have been placed with great care, there are:

Apples  and pears; Bobcats  and bears; red birds and berries; snow flakes and fairies; squirrels and acorn strings; songbirds of winter and spring; cats and dogs; sunfish and frogs; turtles on logs,  

EVEN a snake!

And there's a Barn Owl perched high up in the tree, he's reading aloud from the Book of Life, turned to the chapter  "Everything Belongs."
Just above the owl, at the very top, it has to be a star. After all, we truly are the stuff of stars And I would beseech, don't become jaded with this well worn phrase. It points to a mystery that can only be endlessly understood...

So the tree is amassed with lights. Time to  turn out the other lights in the room. Ahhh, yes, it's a glorious sight. I'm reminded of a line from a favorite book,

" Christmas isn't about light. It's about light in the darkness."
(John Shea,  "Starlight")

And brother John(John 1:5)

"The light shone in the darkness and
the darkness could not overcome it." 

Oh Christmas Tree

Oh the beauty of Pagan themes, bringing the life giving green inside
and
the genius of the church for this grand assimilation,

Let Heaven and Nature sing

Behold Christmas!

So deck the halls with fresh fir, spruce, laurel and holly
for the Evergreens defy the death throes of winter
It is Christmas,
so plug in your lights,
light a candle with a prayer...

Rituals of light, outer expressions, to let the in-dwelling out...
____

Photo - Christmas tree:  wikimedia