Four Paths, One Journey of Transformation
Alexander John Shaia, PhD
Deepen your mystical connection with Christmas and the Winter Solstice, reconnect with the Earth, and make your holiday traditions sacred again through Celtic and Christian symbolism, mystics, myths, and merriment.
Learn Celtic rituals for choosing, erecting, decorating, and laying to rest your Christmas tree.
Christmas wasn’t always a whirlwind of commercialized rituals and frenzied shopping like it is for so many today.
Much of what we now call Christmas was originally part of the Winter Solstice, recognized by the Celts as a time of change, a threshold so to speak from one season to the next that heralded the rebirth of the sun and the enduring promise of life.
This was a time when dualities merged in harmony — spirit and earth, light and dark, male and female — to usher in the return of generosity and generativity, referred to by the Celts as the Golden Child... and by Christians as Jesus the Christos.
During this insightful hour with Alexander John Shaia, PhD, ritualist and teacher of mystical spirituality, you’ll explore where Celtic and Christian rituals have converged throughout time to create our most beloved Christmas traditions — and learn long-lost practices for reconnecting with the Earth and the sanctity of the holiday season.
Studying under famed mythologist Joseph Campbell, Alexander John integrates his lifelong practice of prayer with many cross-disciplines — anthropology, psychology, spirituality, and ritual work — he is a unique thought leader and vivid storyteller of Celtic and Christian traditions.
During your time with Alexander John, you’ll learn how to reconnect with the inner and outer rhythms of life by integrating the symbolism, myths, and merriment of the original Celtic holiday season...
... beginning with how the Celts honored the Solstice across 13 days of festival practices that celebrated the Great Mother.
And... how early Christians adapted these Celtic rituals, weaving in the story and symbolism of Jesus, born anew from the deepest dark like the sun at the Winter Solstice.
You’ll discover how the Great Mother dissolves dualism, unifying the light and dark in holy radiance to help us appreciate and navigate the mental and emotional challenges of the dark season when it comes.
You’ll explore where the Sacred Feminine and Sacred Masculine intersect with Celtic mythologies and Christianity, birthing the Golden Child and the Christos across time and cultures...
... and be led into the fascinating symbolism of the Great Tree through a visceral meditation via the senses.
You’ll learn how you connect with the seasons, how the Celts enticed the regenerative Green Man to return to Earth and create new cycles of life...
... and Celtic rituals for choosing, erecting, decorating, and laying to rest your Christmas tree that revivify the sacredness of the solstice and the season.
Ultimately, you’ll be immersed in the true origins of Christmas that will help you illuminate the dark, reconnect with the Earth, and sanctify your holiday traditions.
In this insightful online event, you’ll:
- Rediscover the rich symbolism of the Sacred Feminine, the Sacred Masculine, and the Golden Child — sanctifying your holiday season with new meaning, depth, and tradition
- Learn how to embrace a sacred darkness so as to birth yourself anew — and why lighting candles in and not against the dark is an antidote to the pain of insularity — and a way to meet the dark time with generosity and generativity
- Explore why the Celts used the wood of the sacred tree to entice the Green Man to return to Earth — and how this tradition can enrich your holiday season
- Learn Celtic rituals for choosing, erecting, decorating, and laying to rest your Christmas tree that revivify the sacredness of the solstice and the season
- Be guided through a deep meditation with the Great Tree — a visceral experience of the senses to reignite wonder and awe amidst the dark season
In joining Alexander John’s free online event on the original symbolism, myths, and merriment of Celtic and Christian Christmas traditions, you’ll also be among the first to learn of his enthralling 7-week course that will take you even deeper into the vibrant mythology of Christmas and the Winter Solstice.
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Join this FREE video event with Alexander John Shaia, PhD, to illuminate the dark night, reconnect with the Earth, and resacralize your holiday traditions through the original symbolism, myths, and merriment of Celtic and Christian Christmas traditions.
Free Video Event
What People Are Saying About Alexander John Shaia, PhD...
“Let him teach you and you won’t see your life the same way again.”
Alexander John is one of our village elders. Let him teach you and you won’t see your life the same way again.
— Rob Bell, New York Times bestselling author
“He skillfully weaves together many strands from interrelated disciplines, including history, tradition, liturgy, scriptural exegesis, and analytical psychology.”
Alexander John Shaia has uncovered an archetypal pattern embedded in the four gospels which embraces all we know to date about human development and the psychological processes involved in spiritual transformation — what C.G. Jung called individuation. He skillfully weaves together many strands from interrelated disciplines, including history, tradition, liturgy, scriptural exegesis, and analytical psychology. His resulting synthesis, Quadratos, and the way it embraces the psycho-spiritual interface, will resonate with seekers young and old, longing to embrace the message of Jesus the Christ in a way which addresses the realities of living in the 21st century.
— Joy Ryan-Bloore, Jungian analyst, Christchurch, New Zealand
“I am grateful every day for Alexander John Shaia.”
I am grateful every day for Alexander John Shaia. Without this roadmap I would be unable to navigate these chaotic days with such equanimity.
— Julie Garvey, spiritual director, St. Helena, California
“Suddenly everything came together: the change, the pain, the love, the service.”
Taking part in a Heart and Mind Community was the highlight and climax over four decades of ministry. Suddenly everything came together: the change, the pain, the love, the service. Four Paths, One Journey.
— Churches of Christ pastor, Perth, Australia
About Alexander John Shaia, PhD
Born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, Alexander John Shaia was part of a large extended family that had emigrated from Lebanon a generation previously. He grew up immersed in the ancient traditions of Middle Eastern Christianity (Maronite Catholicism) and was expected to become a priest, a family tradition since the year 1300. He was led otherwise.
Alexander John received a degree in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Notre Dame and was also privileged to learn from Joseph Campbell. Next came a brief time in seminary followed by a master’s in Counseling Education, a master’s in Religious Education, a graduate certificate in Pastoral Psychotherapy, and a PhD in Clinical Psychology.
His extensive psychological training across many modalities finally led him to Switzerland where he studied with Dora Maria Kalff, a Jungian analyst and founder of Sandplay Psychotherapy. Alexander John became the first U.S. man admitted to the International Society for Sandplay Therapy — and continues to serve as a senior Certified Teaching Member of the organization.
Returning to the United States, he undertook years of private practice, teaching, leading retreats across world spiritual traditions, and further study. Integrating his lifelong practice of prayer with many cross-disciplines — anthropology, psychology, spirituality, and ritual work, as well as being openly gay — has shaped him into a unique thought leader, prolific author, and widely sought-after consultant, trainer, and inspiring speaker. He is also the founder of Quadratos — a 4-path journey for radical transformation.
