Altair Publications

Altair Publications Altair means "The Flyer", it is a star name in the constellation Aquila, the Eagle. We are here to a

12/25/2025

🎄 The 25th of December: The "Hidden" Egyptian Blueprint

While today is celebrated globally as a modern religious holiday, the underlying mechanics were established thousands of years ago as a matter of astronomical and divine significance.

1️⃣ The 3-Day "Death" of the Sun

During the Winter Solstice (Dec 21/22), the sun reaches its lowest point in the sky. To the naked eye, the sun appears to "stand still" at the same degree of declination for three days. On December 25th, the sun finally begins its visible movement back toward the North. This is the "rebirth." The Egyptians ritualized this via the scarab-headed ‘Khepri’, the god of "becoming," who was seen as the force pushing the sun disk out of the underworld after its three-day stagnation.

2️⃣ The 29th of Khoiak

In the Ancient Egyptian calendar, we would be in the month of Khoiak, which was dedicated to the "Mysteries of Osiris." The climax occurred on the 29th and 30th of the month. When the Coptic (Egyptian Christian) calendar was formalized, Christmas was placed on 29 Khoiak. Historically, this date aligned exactly with December 25th.

3️⃣ The Original "Christmas Tree"

During the Khoiak rituals, the Egyptians performed the Raising of the Djed Pillar. The Djed is a column-like symbol representing the backbone of Osiris—stability and resurrection. It was often a wooden pillar decorated with cloth and greenery. Raising the Djed at the solstice symbolized life standing back up in the dead of winter. It is the direct predecessor to the mid-winter pillar/tree traditions.

4️⃣ Horus "The Child" (Harpocrates)

In the Late Period, the Egyptians celebrated the birth of Horus the Child (Harpocrates) at the winter solstice. Ancient records describe the priests bringing a statue of a "newborn sun" out from the sanctuary to show the people at dawn on this specific date. This "Child of the Sun" imagery was later absorbed directly into the iconography of the divine infant.

5️⃣ The Sokar Connection

Today is also the ☀️ Festival of Sokar ☀️ the deity of the "Memphite Underworld." His festival involved a "Henu Barque" (a sacred boat) being carried around the temple. This symbolized the sun's transition through the deepest, darkest part of the earth before it could be reborn.

✨✨✨

So many thousands of years. So many traditions and beliefs.

Who or what you believe in, and why, is up to each individual.

This page recognises diversity and celebrates those who come from a place of peace.

Interpret the stars as you will. I hope their light keeps you warm in the dark.

Safe and happy celebrations, love from Cosmic Ra.

12/24/2025

/ Meister Eckhart /
"Become aware of what is in you. Announce it, pronounce it, produce it, and give birth to it."
"Meister Eckhart (born c. 1260, Hochheim?, Thuringia [now in Germany]—died 1327/28?, Avignon, France) was a Dominican theologian and writer who was the greatest German speculative mystic. In the transcripts of his sermons in German and Latin, he charts the course of union between the individual soul and God.

Johannes Eckhart entered the Dominican order when he was 15 and studied in Cologne, perhaps under the Scholastic philosopher Albert the Great. The intellectual background there was influenced by the great Dominican theologian Thomas Aquinas, who had recently died. In his mid-30s, Eckhart was nominated vicar (the main Dominican official) of Thuringia. Before and after this assignment he taught theology at Saint-Jacques’s priory in Paris. It was also in Paris that he received a master’s degree (1302) and consequently was known as Meister Eckhart.

Eckhart wrote four works in German that are usually called “treatises.” At about the age of 40 he wrote the Talks of Instruction, on self-denial, the nobility of will and intellect, and obedience to God. In the same period, he faced the Franciscans in some famous disputations on theological issues. In 1303 he became provincial (leader) of the Dominicans in Saxony, and three years later vicar of Bohemia. His main activity, especially from 1314, was preaching to the contemplative nuns established throughout the Rhine River valley. He resided in Strasbourg as a prior..." (Britannica)
Eckhart (Meister), Matthew Fox (1980). “Breakthrough, Meister Eckhart's creation spirituality, in new translation”, Doubleday Books

12/23/2025

The one who truly loves you will set you...❣️

12/21/2025

❄️ Celebrate the Longest Night of the Year! 🌌

On this day, the Sun reaches its lowest point in the sky for the Northern Hemisphere, marking the Winter Solstice—the shortest day and longest night of the year.

Meanwhile, in the Southern Hemisphere, it’s the Summer Solstice, bringing the longest day and shortest night of the year.

🌌 Whether you’re embracing the long, quiet night or enjoying extended daylight, this moment marks a powerful turning point in Earth’s annual journey around the Sun—when the light begins its slow return.

12/20/2025

"He who experiences the unity of life sees his own Self in all beings" ~ Bhagavad Gita

What insights emerge when one recognizes their own essence mirrored in the diverse expressions of life?

This quote suggests that true creativity and innovation arise from a deep understanding of interconnectedness. By seeing one's own Self reflected in all beings, the individual transcends the boundaries of the ego and gains a broader perspective, sparking fresh insights and innovative ideas. This unity of life perspective allows the individual to tap into the collective unconscious, accessing a deeper well of creative potential, where seemingly disparate elements can be harmoniously integrated to give birth to novel solutions and artistic expressions.

Art by Jheffau

12/18/2025

Words can be a refuge…

12/17/2025

🙂

12/16/2025

Heaven is my father
and Earth is my mother,
and even such a small creature
as I finds an intimate place
in their midst.
That which fills the Universe
I regard as my body;
that which directs the Universe
I regard as my nature.
All beings are my brothers and sisters,
and all things are my companions.

— Zhang Zai
(11th century, China)

12/15/2025

The Five Sheaths: Vedantic Metaphors

In the stillness of the forest, the sage spoke: “Behold the human vessel, composed of five sheaths, or koshas. The body, the Annamaya kosha, is the chariot itself, strong yet blind, feeling neither pleasure nor pain. The Pranamaya kosha is the vital force, the breath that moves the chariot, swift yet unaware of its path. The Manomaya kosha is the mind, receiving impressions, entertaining thoughts, yet grasping at nothing. The Vijnanamaya kosha is the intellect, discerning and judging, yet entirely inert. The Anandamaya kosha, subtle and serene, carries the reflected taste of bliss, not as its own nature, but as the light of the Self mirrored through stillness. All five are insentient, instruments awaiting the light of the Self.”

He gestured to a nearby river. “Consider this river,” he said. “The channels are many, winding, shallow or deep. On their own, they are dry and silent. But when the water flows, the channels sing, the sand and stones shimmer, and the river finds its path to the ocean. So too, the koshas are channels. The Self, Atma, is the water, conscious and eternal. Without the Self, the channels remain empty, and motion is mistaken for life.”

A disciple asked, “Master, what of the mind that acts as if it is the Self?”

The sage smiled. “Ah, this is misidentification. Atma may appear to forget itself and believe it is the chariot or its parts. Then the chariot seems to stumble, the body strains, the breath labors, the mind chases, the intellect judges, and the bliss sheath is mistaken for fulfillment. Karma appears, not because the koshas act, but because Atma, mistaking itself for the vessel, experiences the result. The koshas remain entirely inert, only consciousness misperceives activity.”

He paused, letting the forest breathe with the lesson. “When Atma abides as the witness, each sheath functions in harmony. The Annamaya kosha moves effortlessly, the Pranamaya kosha animates the body in rhythm, the Manomaya kosha rests in quiet perception, the Vijnanamaya kosha discerns with clarity, the Anandamaya kosha reflects peace without claiming it. All arises naturally, yet no binding remains. The chariot moves, yet the driver is ever beyond effort, ever free, ever present.”

The sage traced a circle in the sand. “Imagine a lamp. The vessel is the frame, delicate and empty. The Self is the flame. Alone, the lamp is dark, inert, unable to illuminate. When the flame enters, the lamp shines. Light spreads, shadows retreat, yet the flame is untouched, unconstrained. So is Atma, it illumines the koshas without being limited by them. Liberation is not the effort of the lamp, but the recognition of the flame that ever abides. Brahman, the unmanifest and absolute, is beyond even this flame. Atma, the conscious Self, is the bridge within the vessel, revealing the koshas as they truly are, frames, channels, sheaths, alive only when the Self recognizes them.”

He leaned back, eyes on the rising sun. “These illustrations are one: the river, the chariot, the lamp. The koshas are insentient, yet capable of perfect harmony when illumined by the Self. Misidentification brings restlessness, understanding brings freedom. The body may labor, the mind may stir, the intellect may reason, yet when the Self abides, all flows effortlessly, and peace arises without ownership. To dwell in Atma is to know the driver, to rest in the witness, and to see the vessel as it truly is, an instrument, never master, always a channel for the eternal consciousness.”

Thus the disciples understood: the five sheaths are instruments, the Atma is the eternal musician. The music of life flows only when the Self plays, yet the melody is never bound by the frame. The koshas, once insentient, sing in harmony only when recognized, and the Self remains ever free, ever whole, ever luminous.

Love Tracy

12/14/2025

From Joseph Campbell and The Power of Myth

12/13/2025

From Myth and Meaning: Conversations on Mythology and Life

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