By Amber Self Image Magazine
The Question of Autopilot
Have you ever stopped in the middle of a holiday rush—surrounded by the lights, the mounting debt, and that frantic, heavy energy—and asked yourself: “Why am I actually doing this?” We’ve been conditioned to believe that these traditions are just “what we do” for family or faith. But to survive manipulation, we have to look past the comfort and ask where these patterns actually come from. What if that feeling of exhaustion you have every January isn’t just “holiday stress”? What if it’s the result of being caught in a carefully managed loop designed to harvest your time, your money, and your spirit?
The Missing Manual: Why the Context was Ripped Away
The reason we follow these traditions blindly is because our historical “operating manual” was edited. Most of us are taught that our heritage is contained in a specific set of 66 books. But if you look closer at the archives of the ancient world, you find a “Memory Hole.” There were at least 22 other major historical texts—including the books of Enoch, Jasher, and Jubilees—that were intentionally stripped from our common history.
These books weren’t just religious; they were historical records of the “Watchers”—beings who intervened in human affairs and set up specific systems to govern human behavior. By removing these books, the bureaucracy took away your ability to see the 360-degree truth. They left you with the “What” (the holiday) but hid the “Why” (the ancient ritual).
The Merger: A Mask Over the Truth
It is a historical fact that the “Winter Season” we celebrate today was once Saturnalia—a festival dedicated to the deity Saturn. The power structures of the past realized they couldn’t stop people from practicing these pagan rituals, so they did something much more manipulative: They adopted them.
They took the ancient engine of Saturnalia and put a Christian label on it. They told us we could keep the pagan traditions—the trees, the wreaths, the dates—as long as we said they were for Jesus. But the Creator gave us a very specific warning about this exact kind of “borrowing” in Deuteronomy 12:30-31 (NIV):
“Step carefully, so that you are not ensnared by inquiring about their gods, saying, ‘How do these nations serve their gods? We will do the same.’ You must not worship the Lord your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things…”
The Tree and the Harvest
Despite the warnings of the Architect, we have brought the “ways of the nations” right into our living rooms. In Jeremiah 10:2-4 (NIV), the description is undeniable:
“Do not learn the ways of the nations… For the practices of the peoples are worthless; they cut a tree out of the forest, and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel. They adorn it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so it will not totter.”
The Pagan Root: A Mask for Ancient Deities
To understand why this warning is so serious, we have to look at what the tree actually represents. In the ancient world, the evergreen wasn’t a “holiday decoration.” It was a Phallic symbol representing the reproductive power of the “Gods”—specifically tied to the legend of Nimrod and the rebirth of the Sun God. When ancient pagans brought these trees into their temples and decked them with gold and silver, they were performing a fertility ritual to honor the “Watchers” who they believed controlled the life-force of the Earth.
The manipulation lies in making this seem “innocent.” We’ve been told it’s just a “tradition,” but energy follows the Root, not the Label. When we perform the exact same ritual as the pagans, we are connecting to that ancient energy harvest. These “other gods”—the created beings who rebelled—thrive on these cycles. They harvest the collective stress and the frantic energy of the loop.
The Red Flag: The Intrusion into the Sanctuary
Perhaps the most alarming part of this “Loop” is that we haven’t just kept these traditions in our homes—we have brought them into our churches. We have taken a symbol that the Creator specifically warned us against and placed it right next to the pulpit.
By putting a star on top and calling it “Christian,” the system has manipulated us into honoring a pagan “God” inside the Creator’s own house. We have re-established the “High Places” in the very space that is supposed to be set apart for the Architect. If the Bible calls these customs “worthless” and “vain,” we have to ask: Why are they standing in our sanctuaries?
The Pattern Repeats: From Winter to Spring
The manipulation doesn’t end when the winter lights come down. The Loop is designed to keep you spinning all year long. Just as Saturnalia was rebranded, we see the same pattern in the spring.
We are taught to celebrate “Easter,” but look at the symbols: rabbits, eggs, and the very name itself. These aren’t found in the story of the Resurrection. They are the ancient markers of Ishtar (Ashtoreth), the goddess of fertility. Once again, the bureaucracy took a pagan ritual of the “Watchers” and told us it was for Jesus. They keep us focused on the “tradition” so we don’t notice we are following the same calendar as the ancient world. It is the same engine, just a different coat of paint.
A Call to Discernment: To the Christian Heart
If you call yourself a follower of Christ, this is where the ‘What If’ becomes a moment of serious reflection. We are often told that as long as our ‘heart is in the right place,’ the origin of our traditions doesn’t matter. But the Bible actually calls us to a very different standard. In Romans 12:2 (NIV), we are commanded:
‘Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.’
The ‘pattern’ is the loop. When we adopt the holidays of the nations—the same ones the pagans used to worship created ‘gods’—we are not being separate.
The Word is even more direct in 2 Corinthians 6:17 (NIV):
‘Therefore, come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.’
Jesus didn’t ask for a once-a-year ritual involving a pagan tree; He asked for us to carry His life, His death, and His resurrection in our hearts every single day. True worship isn’t a scheduled event on a calendar managed by the world—it is a lifestyle of daily obedience.
To survive the manipulation of this ‘Loop,’ we must be willing to be different. We must be willing to step away from the crowd and say, ‘I will not give my energy to a harvest that doesn’t belong to my King.’ It’s time to stop blending in and start standing out.
Come out, be separate, and honor the Architect with your life, not just a tradition.
January Journal Prompt
What is one “Loop” you are ready to break this month to reclaim your spirit? Is there a tradition you have been following “just because,” that you now see in a different light? Write down your commitment to walking in the 360-degree truth today.
Self Image 