Many Koreans believe that the Heaven’s Gate opens on the 7th Day of the 7th Month of the Lunar Calendar every year. We believe that our souls can be connected with Heaven on that day. And, we remember why we came to earth and find out what plan the Heaven prepares for us for the next year.
There is one famous folktale that every Korean knows. It’s a love story of a princess from the heaven and a young man from the earth. The story has always brought up a deep longing inside of my heart. It feels like nostalgia for my home.
Let me introduce the folktale and explain how to align yourself with Heaven.
In 2023, the 7th Day of the 7th Month of the Lunar Calendar will be August 22nd of the Solar Calendar.
The folktale goes like this…
(You can find many different versions of the story. This is one of them.)
The seventh daughter of God in Heaven was a weaver lady. She wanted to experience the terrestrial life so she escaped from the celestial realm and met a cow-herder as exploring the earth. Soon they fell in love with each other and married without letting Goddess know. The God found out that her daughter neglected her duty to weave celestial fabrics and was living with a mere mortal on earth. Also, the Cow-Herder became lazy in his duty as spending the most time with his wife. The God separated them and put each of them back to the original duty.
The Cow-Herder cried desperately but he was courageous to leave to find his beloved wife. With the selfless help of an ox, he could reach the celestial realm but God didn’t allow him to meet the Weaver Lady because He worried that they might neglect their duties again. So the God scratched the night sky and opened a wide river to separate the two lovers.
The Weaver Lady became Vega (the brightest star in the constellation of Lyra), the Cow-Herder became Altair (the brightest star in the constellation of Aquila, the Eagle) and the river separating them became the Milky Way across the night sky.
Once A Year…
As missing each other, the Weaver Lady and the Cow-Herder cried every day so their tears became raindrops and created flood on the earth. Magpies and ravens moved to treetops to avoid the flood but the rain didn’t stop and the flood continued to rise up. So all the magpies and ravens decided to create a bridge across the Milky Way that the lovers would stop crying and meet each other. Since then, on the 7th day of the 7th month every year, all the magpies and ravens in the world gather together and fly up into the celestial realm to form the bridge passing the Cygnus constellation.
After that, the raindrops which fall on that day are now believed as tears of joy of the Weaver Lady and the Cow-Herder who are destined to meet each other only once a year.
A Secret of the Story
I used to hear this story as I grew up. Sometimes it made me sad, sometimes it made me hopeful, sometimes it taught me patience and responsibility, sometimes it brought up nostalgia in me. The nostalgia made me feel like a part of the legend.
As I dive into Korean Spirituality deeply, I found out a much deeper meaning of this story. There are reasons why our ancestors want us to remember this story and we have talked over and over for thousands of years.
Because it’s OUR OWN STORY.
A Spiritual Meaning of the 7th Day of the 7th Month
The number Seven (7) symbolizes the Celestial Yin Energy, while the number Three (3) symbolizes the Terrestrial Yang Energy. When 7 meets 3, it makes 10 which means completion. 70% of the earth is covered with the water in which the celestial Yin energy is melt and 30% is covered with the land in which the terrestrial Yang energy is formed. These numbers are also applied to our human body which is composed of 70% water and 30% matter.
In the legend, the Weaver Lady symbolizes the celestial Yin energy in the 7th dimension. She weaves the cosmic fabrics composing the foundation of the universe with wisdom.
The Cow-herder symbolizes the terrestrial Yang energy in the 3rd dimension. He herds cows. He pioneers and leads to building the material world with strength.
On the 7th Day of the 7th Month of the lunar calendar, the celestial Yin energy grows strongest to open the separation and reaches down to the terrestrial Yang energy. So on that day, Yin energy and Yang energy meet beyond the separation of the dimensions.
Our ancestors wanted us to remember that.
Then how does the day affect our life?
The myth is using a metaphor. The two lovers don’t necessarily mean two different people. Actually, they symbolize the higher-self in the celestial realm and the lower-self in the terrestrial realm.
Originally, they were one and inseparable, but now they are separated temporarily. The higher-self and the lower-self have the same frequency, so they can recognize each other no matter how far or how long they have been separated.
On the 7th day of the 7th month as the celestial energy gets strongest, our higher-self wants to reach down the lower-self. She wants to remind us that this 3rd-dimensional life is not our final destination. And, remind that we are here to finish our studies as accomplishing our mission on earth.
We reflect on our earthly life at the end of the year and plan the next year at the beginning of the year. Likewise, we reflect on our celestial purpose and plan the next year based on the purpose on the 7th day of the 7th month. The union with our higher-self recharge our mind and spirit with the celestial energy and encourage us to unwaveringly move forward on our destiny path.
Traditional Tao practitioners believed that their spiritual achievements for the last 12 months would be evaluated by the celestial and will be given new directives, opportunities, and courses for the next 12 months’ journey. So if you are spiritually dedicated, you may get a new dispensation from the celestial on that day.
How can we meet our higher-self? Through the meditation.
When will be the best time to meditate?
For the first seven days of the seventh month, you may experience a major energetic adjustment. It may cause some changes in your sleep patterns, eating patterns, or emotional pattern. Certain memories may pop up out of blue or you may want to try something new which you’ve never been interested in. No worries. They are the process of adjusting your energy system. You don’t need to resist. Just be receptive.
The first seven days are a good time to meditate. Especially, the night before the 7th will be the best time to meditate. Before you retire to bed on 6th, you meditate.
The best time to meditate in 2023 will be the evening on August 21th, Monday in your time zone. You will find the exact half moon (waxing) at the night sky.
How to meditate
The most effective meditation is emptying ourselves and staying receptive. It’s easy to say, but hard to do. Totally relax the physical body, detach emotions, and be aware of our whole existence. Receive your multidimensional perceptions without judgment.
Then allow your higher self to guide the meditation.
It will be done by our intention or affirmation. For example, we can say, “I surround myself with the Celestial Energy and ask my Higher-Self to guide this meditation.” “What was my life lessons that I obtained for the last 12 months?” “Guide me to find my mission for the next 12 months?”
I don’t recommend to meditate more than 45 minutes unless you have enough experiences. 15 minutes will be enough.
If you are not aware of what happened during the meditation, you can ask your higher-self to allow you to recognize consciously. Then she will show you something in your dream or synchronistic signs in your daily life.
I send my best wishes to all of you
I hope you feel real home as connecting with your celestial self. Also, hope you strengthen the connection with your higher-self and find your higher path for the next 12 months’ journey.
Thank you and happy Chilseok Day!!
(Chil 七 means Seven or Seventh, Seok 夕 means the Evening Moon. Chilseok 七夕 means the Seventh Evening Moon. )
