Scroll from the Editor
Welcome to the December 2022 edition of The Midnight Sun!
As you can see, we've had some updates recently; From Gather 2023 returning to in-person and ticket sales going live, to the format of this newsletter and changes to the website, we are bringing new things to the community and excited about the future.
With that excitement, we want to share some of the things you can look forward to in the coming months from The Midnight Sun specifically.
“...a high-level sample of some of the wonderful content you can expect to see going forward!”
First and foremost; We’re going monthly! Yay! Instead of being bi-yearly now, we are looking to provide fun, and engaging content on a monthly basis to better keep you up to speed on what we in House Kheperu are up to and interested in!
New format! As you can see we have given The Midnight Sun a makeover, and a new home! Now available on our website, be sure to subscribe for news, updates, tips, tricks, and insights as well as all kinds of fun things we have planned for you in the coming months, some of which are listed below!
Of course, we will have updates and information about Gather and our growing library of Online community content!
We are going to have Member written articles, as long-time readers know is a staple, but with a twist! We are leaning into the interests and passions of our members for some focused and informative columns that will rotate in and out over the months. From Journal Prompts, Contemplations, and Reviews of Occult interests, to Advice, Comics, and some fun humor, we are currently building some really good content we are looking forward to sharing.
Member Spotlights will also help you get to know members of the House! We plan to Spotlight a member with a few questions each month, so that you, the reader, get an exclusive peek into all the many hard-working and dedicated souls that put their hearts into this community!
And that’s a high-level sample of some of the wonderful content you can expect to see going forward!
As ever we also have the wonderful Discord community that you can join if you are inclined to online forums, and if you are a fan of TikTok, we also have in the last year dipped our toes into the short form content arena - Check out our Contact page for where to find us on Discord, Tiktok and other social media platforms for more juicy morsels and updates.
I know I’ve said it a few times now, but I personally am very excited to help curate and bring such wonderful changes and new things to you all! If you’re reading this; welcome to the new readers, to our long time readers we are glad you’re still with us, and stay tuned - We’ve got some really good stuff in store for you all!
May your Holidays be safe and smooth, and may it be with excitement and hope that you stride confidently into the New Year!
Miranda (Frick)
Curator and Editor of TMS
HK Jams - Snow Tracks
Music can often play a significant role in our lives. Sometimes it is just great to have on in the background while you clean, work, study, or drive. Here’s some of the songs that the Kheprians are currently jamming out to this month.
Let us know which song is your favorite on our social media. Use tag #HKSnowTracks and see what others are saying.
House Kheperu Gather 2023
After several years of astral (virtual) events, House Kheperu has decided that 2023 will be the year we return to our beloved in-person Gather. The decision was one we wanted to make in 2022 but felt more confident giving it some time. That time has arrived.
Four Points by Sheraton Cleveland Airport Hotel
This hotel sits just off I-71 near the Cleveland Airport and across the street from the bus terminal. This location is a huge step towards our goal of making Gather 2023 more accessible to our attendees. We hope you love it as much as we do.
Give the gift of Gather!
House Kheperu Gift Card is a great gift to share with friends and loved ones who wish would like the gift of an experience. Buy a gift card today!
Tea with Kheprians
Gather is a hectic event for House members. Often there is little or limited time to have deep interaction with the souls that come to experience and learn from the many wonderful classes and events Gather has to offer. In light of this awareness, an idea was pitched. What if we set aside the evening before the event started to just mingle and hang out? We could have an evening where can just sit around and chat; enjoying the fact that we are able to come back together again before the work of Gather begins.
Divination Sessions
HK introduces something completely new for attendees in 2023. Divination Sessions. These sessions with be conducted by members of House Kheperu experienced in different forms of divination, and below you will find information on who is available and what talents they are offering this year. These exclusive sessions are limited, and selections for who is available are on a first come first served basis with the purchase of your Gather ticket. You may choose to purchase one of these Divination Sessions with your ticket here.
Covid Safety Agreement
We’re so excited to be back in person! For three years we have put Gather on as a virtual event due to the Covid-19 pandemic. We care deeply about our community and wish to maintain as safe an environment as possible. Feel free to review our Covid Safety Agreement before purchasing your Gather 2023 tickets.
Defining Success for Yourself!
How do you define success? Having enough money to do the things you want to do? The security and assurance of providing for your loved ones? To have the ability to act as you please? There are many definitions for success, and I feel there is a metric that society places upon it; usually, society determines your level of success by how wealthy you are. What is wealth? To me, wealth is not a measure of how much money is in the bank, (the more you possess, the more stress after all!), but rather how content you are in your current life circumstances. It is a balance, where one must gauge their own requirements of comfort, connectivity, and community. Living within one’s means is important, as is the determination to strive for a better means for oneself, if one finds that life isn’t quite what they require to be truly themselves.
“It is a balance, where one must gauge their own requirements of comfort, connectivity, and community.”
It takes work when you decide to stop being small for the sake of easy living and comfort, but it also takes wisdom to reflect on one’s circumstances, and craft a plan to claim a lifestyle where one can truly be content. I don’t want a mansion in the mountains, too many stairs! A single-story house with a furnished basement, and a nice little pickup truck would suit me, but what appeals to me might not appeal to everyone else!
While musing over what life circumstances and living conditions would better suit me, I realized that it is important for one to gauge their own measure of success, by their own definitions. Success isn’t necessarily gauged by morality; good and evil have nothing to do with success.
Success is determined by the individual. A mafioso may determine their success within their family by how many clean hits they’ve performed, with nobody truly knowing that number apart from him. That is a successful hitman! Everyone has their own morals, and I could not claim success while betraying my own morals, which automatically places me at a disadvantage against those who do not consider morals as such an important measure. This had led to people gaining things that I could not, because it would have demanded that I betray my morals. However, when I lay my head down at night and sleep soundly with no guilt or shame, knowing that I didn’t betray my beliefs for the sake of better circumstances, I dream with a smile.
House Kheperu Member Spotlight
Stefanie
“It’s fine…”
What interests you most about energy work?
"I love that energy work can be done and found anywhere. Energy work is planting a garden, laughing with friends, crying with friends, sex, cleaning your house or car, or anything else. It's interesting because sometimes the best results happen when you don't start by saying ‘let's do energy work.’”
What is one of your favorite movies?
“Pretty Woman. It's a classic love story (sarcasm) and I've been in love with Julia Roberts since I was a child.”
Art by Cat ‘Abri’ Rogers
Akhemu Sekhu
Night of Immortal Stars
Excerpt from the tome of the DarkSide Ritualist
Every year we celebrate House Kheperu’s festival of lights in the ritual of Akhemu Sekhu. Traditionally it is held on the longest night of the year, often around December 21st. But what does this ritual celebrate exactly?
The Night of Immortal Stars recognizes and celebrates the mystical connections that define House Kheperu members as Family. We gather with candles representing each member present. Additional candles are lit representing the categories of people who also share ties.
We reflect upon the subtle connections that weave between us from life to life and, in a moment of darkness, we collectively reach out to feel the webwork and reinforce our awareness of this deeper level of the House Kheperu's identity.
As Darkside Ritualist, this ritual is one of acknowledging all those both living, dead, lost, and forgotten. It brings our focus to our own, inner light and then outward until we see the glimmering network of other immortal stars. This ritual is also a reminder that even in our darkest moments, even when we feel so bitterly alone, even when the world feels detached and removed- we are still connected. We are still part of the expansive webwork of light that goes well beyond the bounds of flesh.
It reminds us that we are not alone.
House Kheperu Darkside Ritualist
Some of you may recognize this ritual or find it familiar. During the Covid-19 Pandemic, M. Belanger and House Kheperu hosted weekly Connection Rituals. This expansive group meditation expanded globally, gave individuals community, and reminded everyone trapped in their homes and apartments that despite the lonely days, they were not alone.
“We are still part of the expansive webwork of light that goes well beyond the bounds of flesh.”
Through those hard times, we have come to understand as House members a deeper appreciation of this particular ritual. It had always be poignant. Standing in the ritual circle together; candles all aglow, we felt the power within and without ourselves. Through the pandemic, however, we each were faced with a very new sensation of loneliness. We could not stand together as we had for years. Spread out across the country, we came together in virtual spaces as disembodied voices, and still we celebrated. We discovered new and powerful parts of ourselves.
During this holiday season as the nights stretch out long and the daylight seems too brief, know that in the deepest of darkness? Even the tiniest light shines bright.
— Cat ‘Abri’ Rogers
Darkside Ritualist, House Kheperu
Saying goodbye to 2022.
Personal releasing rituals for the end of the year.
We've made it! We have survived one more turn of the wheel, and we can see the New Year on the horizon. Instead of setting impossible goals for the new year, let’s clean out our proverbial closets and start 2023 with a fresh breath and a calm heart.
From Labyrinth.fandom.com
What I am suggesting is the use of a personal releasing ritual. Let’s set our intentions for the coming year by releasing the things we've been carrying for so long. I don't know about anyone else but by the time December rolls around, I feel like the old horder woman in Labyrinth. I am carrying around so many things I've picked up through the year, and if I am honest through my life it is no wonder I am so tired!
We carry things we pick up through sentimentality, we carry things others hand us because they are too heavy for them to carry and soon our backs are bowed with the weight of the world. It is time to let things go. Put some things down that don't belong to you, or do not serve you any more. Let some people go who have come into your life and gone out again. Yes, we still carry them around too sometimes. People we've loved, people we've lost. Some people we never even liked!
We all know how often we hear "Journal Journal Journal!" And I have so many blank books I've written two or three pages in, I am overrun. (Might be time to let some of those go too! Donation is always a good solution for that.) I am not the best at keeping up with journaling but I love the idea of letting things go in a small personal way so that I can move forward into the new year less encumbered and with more freedom to make space for new experiences and adventures!
This can be done in several ways and I am happy to share with you a few of my favorites.
The first step is to create space. Light candles, burn incense, whatever symbolizes the marking and holding of space for you.
Sit with yourself and make a list of the things you no longer wish to carry into the new year. Gather pictures of those who have passed or passed out of your life. Cut out pictures to symbolize things you no longer want or need. Draw pictures if you are artistically inclined.
Release with fire.
This for me is the most cathartic of all ways to let things go. If you are blessed with a fireplace or a fire pit, gather things to symbolize the pieces you want to release and let go of in the coming year. Be thankful for the time you had them in your life (yes even that awful ex, there is always something we get out of relationships good or bad. Even if it’s just the raising of the bar for the next person), and let them go. Once you've made your list and gathered your things, burn them and release them, and see the weight of them leave in the smoke and ash.
Now, as wonderful as fire is, it can also be dangerous so please, do not burn things in a bowl sitting in the middle of your apartment on that flammable rug from Ikea. Best practice and always with caution and safety first.
Releasing in nature.
Write the things you want to release on a rock with chalk and drop it into a body of water. Again best practice, please no toxic paint pens, nothing that might cause harm. Just some chalk to wash away and take things away with it in the currents.
"But Suz, I don't have a back yard or fireplace, and I don't live near a body of water and eeww nature!"
I've got you!
Release and flush.
Write things down on toilet paper! You can make a long list but when it comes to letting go... please, take it in sections! Tear off a section and flush it down the toilet! It may sound silly but it is the symbolism that matters. Honestly, I have found this one to be very effective for things like negative people I was ready to release. Made me smile to push the handle down and watch them spiral out of my life!
The point is...let it go. (I couldn't resist)
However, if you choose to release all the things you are done with and do it with a light heart and a smile. A few tears might help cleanse the emotion but once they are gone, take a deep breath and look to the future with a lighter step.
Let’s start 2023 with a lighter heart and room for new things and new experiences. And just in case I don't see you before the 31st,
Happy New Year!
~Suz
Parting Thoughts
Photo by Meghan Rutledge
Sometimes things are built to last. It’s mind-boggling to think about; how ancient humans erected these massive stone monoliths despite the challenges they faced; And yet, multiple sites still stand today. Stonehenge, Gobleki Tepe, the Pyramids of Giza, Newgrange, and the Temples of Malta loom as beacons of a distant time in our minds but rarely do we stop to consider that they were built by people with the same minds hearts, and bodies as us. We wonder about their lives sometimes -Did they go home and rock their children to sleep with lullabies?
Did their partners lovingly wipe the dust from their bodies after dragging these enormous stones across the land? Did they feel pride in their work? Some things were built to last; and perhaps people -with all of our wild emotions, compulsions, and patterns, are one of those things. Do you remember them?