For the most part, one day of our life rolls into the next, punctuated by special occasions, experiences or relationships that remain with us as memories. As the years go by, our birthdays come and go and they are often relegated to 'just another day', or a day to party. Yet this is your most special day of the year – the day you were born.
Initiations and rites of passage have always been a significant part of the development of human beings, a preparation for the next phase of life. Tales of strength and endurance have always been a part of such ceremonies, and the celebration of your birthday could well be such an event.
Initations
The term 'initiation' implies a call for one to be tested - to be courageous in the face of despair, strong in the face of adversity, and it's in the everyday events of life that we do face such challenges. Birthdays are an opportunity to replace the initiation trials of our ancestors and the challenges of the everyday with a celebration of life, an opportunity to bond with friends and family. These people bear witness to our triumphs, our joys, achievements and disappointments.
Your birthday is a day to mark in time who you are and pause to reflect upon your trials and tribulations, your challenges and accomplishments, your pleasures and your pain. At this time, you can acknowledge your past and look to the future, to what you are building upon the foundation stones you have already laid.
Creating the celebration
Throughout childhood, the candles on the birthday cake are a proud representation of the number of years we have accumulated. As time passes and the number increases, however, for many they symbolise the inevitability of growing older.
We don't always see a birthday as a profoundly important day in our lives, but it's a day to celebrate what our life is and can become. Look to this day to reinvent the birthday ritual and enliven your celebration of life.
You may like to consider using birthday candles to represent strengths gained, rather than years passed. For instance, a large pillar candle could be used as a symbol of your own inner light. Sometimes it may dim, but ultimately it will burn brightly whenever you choose, ignited by your passion and courage.
Blessings, dedications and invocations can be in the simplest of forms - a happy birthday song, a close friend saying a few special words. Create a festive mood for the event with lighting and fragrance, music and stories. Remember this is the sacred space in which to celebrate being alive! Use oil vaporisers to infuse the air with essential oils especially selected to influence the memories you are creating: orange for joy, rosemary for strength and remembrance and lavender for self-expression.
Set three pillar candles on a special tray, pause for a moment, and light the candles yourself, using them as the metaphor for lighting your path for the next year. Gather your friends and let them know where you have been over the past year and where it is you will go in the year to come. As you blow them out, let the extinguished flame represent the year that has passed and is being left behind.
Birthdays are an occasion to remember your story, your affirmation and your initiation into the future, and to truly celebrate your life with the people you care about most!
Karen Downes is a life coach and international speaker. For the past 25 years she has studied metaphysics, spiritual practices and natural therapies, and conducted training all over the world. After working as an aerobics teacher and holistic aromatherapist, in 1986 Karen launched aromatherapy into Australia, with her company becoming the largest in Australasia. Her company has conducted workshops in the UK, USA, India, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand. Karen is the author of seven books selling over half a million copies worldwide. She currently lives in the UK.
