Kay:

Hey there Questers and welcome. It’s Christmas week. That means all things Yule, all things Christmas, and all things wonder here on these starry nights.

Shi:

Yep. Today is Monday, December 21st, which means it is also the winter solstice today, the shortest day of the year, the least amount of sunlight, and this is episode 251 of The Mentorship Quest. We have an OG, old school, Christmas lyric for you. That is the quote today, and it is special for a reason, but first, we will give it to you. It is from the song “We Three Kings” and the quote for today is, “Oh, star of wonder, star of night, Star with royal beauty bright.”

Kay:

Now, in case you are living under a rock and have not been on any form of online platform anytime recently, you may have missed the news that tonight in the evening sky for the first time in 800 years, we will see very rare conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter where they will come within one degree of one another. They will align in the skies and create a classic Christmas star in the Southwest sky.

Shi:

So fun, this conjunction will be rather big. I heard an astrologer say over the weekend in the video that it will be about one-fifth the size of the moon in the sky. So, it will be very big to see with the naked eye. If you’ve got even a low-level telescope, you will be able to see some of those rings on Saturn, and moons of Jupiter. So, really a cool astrological night in and for astronomers who will definitely have their eyes on the sky. But we’re pretty excited about this night because it’s one of our favorite days of the year anyway. Solstice is important and special, but this Christmas star is special in its own way.

Kay:

Well, one of the things that we love about a solstice, in general, is that solstice is to mark the times in the year where you are at your peaks. We’re at either our peak of darkness or our peak of light. Just saying those two sentences, that phrase right there, I mean there’s so much, there’s so much brevity in what you can really get into when it comes to those two polar opposites and that they happen within our year, in these earlier natural religions that kind of happened prior to Christianity really bursting onto the scene a few thousand years ago. December 21st was the marking of the season of Yule which was really about the death of the old year and the rebirth of the new one. That sleeping and rest period that comes before the bursting forth of a new idea or of a new year into the natural realm. So, this particular time of year has been celebrated by our species, humans, for literally thousands and thousands and thousands of years.

Shi:

The traditions have ranged from pagan traditions with trees to many Yule ancient traditions including giving the servants and the slaves some time off during this time of celebration and reflection. So, definitely kind of a reverent time of year and one that we would encourage you to treat with some reverence as well. That’s really what the lyric here from “We Three Kings” is reminding us to do, that the stars above us are royal, that they lead us in a direction, and that – if we can follow them – (even if it’s a metaphorical star), that we can find that light of savior for ourselves.

Kay:

I’m so glad that you brought up that metaphorical star Shi because obviously the sun comes from a Christian song and if you are of the Christian faith, the reason for this season looks very different for those who really celebrate the birth of Jesus. And, you know, the three Kings follow the evening star, and it takes them Southwest. They literally say in the song, “southward leading, still proceeding.” So, we’re actually seeing this particular evening star come into the southwest sky this year, that leads them to the “perfect light of Jesus.”

Now, the story of Jesus is really inspiring and whether you celebrate the solstice from an astrological standpoint, or you’re coming at this from a religious standpoint, because it’s the reason for your season, remember that perfect light in this world, like Jesus, exists within each and every one of us. You are that star that is so full and so bright and full of Royal beauty because you’re a sovereign on this planet that’s meant to co-create alongside the creator. So, as they say in “We Three Kings” “Oh, star of wonder, star of night, Star with royal beauty bright.”

Shi:

All right. It’s quest time and it’s probably a pretty obvious quest. It’s a #Starlight Quest for you tonight. You got a real simple one for the solstice. We want you to go look at the Christmas star and maybe reflect a little bit on your royal beauty, bright inside and outside. Are you ready?

Kay & Shi:

Let’s quest!