Happy All Saint's Day! Introducing St. Lucy

Since it's All Saint's Day, I thought I'd introduce you to one of my favorite saints--and the inspiration behind our Nurturer - Energy (aka Queen of Wands) card from our Snowland Deck. This is an excerpt from the Snowland Intuitive Workbook, which includes information about her legend, associated symbols (especially eyes), keywords, intuitive questions for journaling, wring prompts, affirmations and a "secret":

Description: Also known as Saint Lucy, Lucia stands at the center of several official stories and unofficial histories. Most of these say that Lucia was set to be wed in an arranged marriage, but because she didn’t want to, her eyes were gouged out— either by her own hand, or by others in torture. In all cases, her eyes were miraculously healed. Thus, Lucia is associated with healing and averting all eye disease. In fact, it’s reported that the poet Dante Alighieri credited Saint Lucy with healing his eyes that were damaged after crying when his beloved Beatrice died (Lucy appears in his masterpiece Inferno).

Other legends surround Lucia, including attempts to burn her alive because of her refusal to marry (the flames spontaneously died out) and her accompaniment to Father Christmas on gift-giving rounds. According to The Encyclopedia of Mystics, Saints & Sages by Judika Illes, “Before the Gregorian calendar reform of 1582, the Feast of Saint Lucy fell on the shortest, darkest day of the year, the winter solstice. The name Lucy derives from a Latin word meaning ‘light’. Lucy the Lightbringer rules that longest night. It is considered an optimum time for magic spells, divination and spiritual activity. In Austria, Lucy’s Light is a folk name for second sight—psychic ability.” Her feast day is December 13.

Eyes are one of the main symbols associated with Lucia. She’s often shown carrying a plate with her eyes on it, and captains of Mediterranean fishing boats sometimes paint her eyes on the prows so the ships can “see” as they navigate the water. There are even eye-shaped amulets called Los Ojitos de Santa Lucia, which are reported to ward off the Evil Eye, and are often given as gifts to babies and children. One of her sacred botanicals is the golden trumpet tree (Tecoma stans), also known as Saint Lucy’s Eyes, which is a plant containing psychoactive alkaloids.

Perhaps the most familiar representation of Lucia is during the Feast of Saint Lucy in Sweden where households designate one girl to embody the saint (usually the family’s eldest or youngest daughter). The girl gets up before sunrise and prepares breakfast and coffee for the rest of the household while wearing a white dress and a crown of lit candles.

Keywords: Purity; Virginal; Overcoming Darkness; Clairvoyance; Light Worker; Second Sight; Sixth Sense; Avoiding Envy; Way Shower; Clarity of Vision; Seeing Within; Inner Eye; Eyesight

Intuitive Questions:

 How can I enhance my psychic sight?
How does intuition speak to me?
What makes me envious?
What is my “inner eye” seeing right now?
How might I avoid envy?
Who am I jealous of right now?
In what ways can I take care of my eyes?

Writing Prompts:

An Evil Eye talisman that works
“The eyes have it”
A story/poem containing the following words: Eyes; Light; Psychic; Candles; Amulet
Breakfast on St. Lucy’s Day
A ship that “sees”

Affirmations:

I see clearly.
I honor my Sixth Sense.
I remain pure.

Secret: Valuing our Inner Sight helps others to see clearly, too.