I celebrated my 34^th birthday sleeping in a tent at my Buddhist teacher’s place in Ladakh, India. A few friends that I met on the trip there, slept inside, and some slept in tents further away. I was on my own.

Ladakh is a district in northern India, at over 11,000 miles above sea level, where most residents are Tibetan Buddhists. It took a two-day journey through curved mountain passes, on the edges of sharp cliffs to get there from Manali. It took a few more days to adjust to the thin air and breathe properly. The scenery was out of this world; a combination of shiny snowy peaks, wide rivers, green patches, and desert. The natural landscape was decorated with white stupas, colorful Buddhist flags, and breathtaking Buddhist temples. The crispy air made everything shine so brightly, that it felt surreal like being inside a crystal ball.

The journey from Leh, the central city of Ladakh where we stayed, to Stok, where our teacher lived, was not what we expected. We had to walk for long hours, with no road signs or people in sight, not knowing if we were on the right track. But we eventually got there, and our teacher welcomed us warmly to his home. After a dharma talk, meditation, and a shared dinner, we went into silence.  

In my tent, I thought it was weird that I chose to celebrate my birthday in silence and solitude. I am a Gemini and usually prefer to celebrate with friends. Rain dropped throughout the night. I cuddled up in a sleeping bag with warm clothes I had bought in Manali. It felt blissful and uncomfortable at the same time, and it took me a while to fall asleep.

When I woke up, the rain had stopped. I unzipped my tent and stepped outside. What was revealed to me made it clear why I came all this way and why I made all these weird choices. I saw the world like I had never seen it before. The colors of the sunrise were a mix of purple hue and yellowish star dust. I was on the top of the world, a vast landscape stretched below me with all its splendor.

For a few moments, all the pain I felt for the early loss of my mother, two failed marriages, aching heartbreaks, loneliness, fear, frustration, and depression, was lifted, and taken away from me. For the first time in my adult life, I was competently free of this burden. It was not the scenery of Ladakh that I saw on that special morning. I got to see life as a magical entity, breathing with me and through me.

You might be wondering why I am sharing this story with you now. There are two answers to that. One is that this story presents the essence of Sagittarius. Traveling alone in India but not feeling lonely. Studying Buddhism. Encountering magic, mysticism, and spirituality. Seeing the beauty of the world. Engaging with people from various cultures. Taking risks while knowing that angels were guarding me. These are all parts of the Sagittarius path.

The second reason is that whenever I need to run away from a harsh reality, whenever I need to restore my faith in the world, I go back to this special place in my heart. This moment of sunrise outside my tent on my 34^th birthday, is my sacred inner space, my temple, where I find hope and refuge.

Sometimes I think about happy moments with my family to find joy, but these days, such precious moments also cultivate fear. What will happen to us? What kind of world will my son have to face when he grows up? My morning of solitude in the mountains of Ladakh takes me beyond these fears.

If you have been reading me for a while, you know that I always advocate facing hardships and not running away from the pain. With that, sometimes taking a journey to our magical, happy place is the best thing we can do. This is the Sagittarius way. If a Sagittarius is not happy where she is, she moves on, she travels someplace where things are better.

Like many of my fellow Israelis and Jews, the last weeks have been the darkest I’ve ever experienced in my life. I am in so much pain. I feel unsafe in this world. I feel hatred aiming towards me. I feel misunderstood. From this place, I cannot bring light to the world. I cannot be of service. In this dark place there is only fear and pain; there is no place for hope.

While I connect with the pain, I also have to connect with the way life revealed itself to me on that special morning. I know this place is still there. The magic is still there, waiting for us to tune in with it, feel it, embody it. When I tap into this place, it fills me with the warmth, optimism, and hope of Sagittarius.

There is a reason why the sun visits the brightest sign of the zodiac during the darkest time of the year. Now we need the light of Sagittarius more than ever.

This week Jewish people will start the celebrations of Hanukkah. This holiday commemorates a miracle of light. Oil that was supposed to light the holy menorah for one day, lasted for eight whole days. It is the miracle of light over darkness. Sagittarius season is here to restore our faith in miracles and magic. In fairy tales and in the goodness of people. Sagittarius takes us to our own neverland where we are allowed to be innocent, childlike and playful. A place where we can erase our knowledge of how much cruelty and injustice are out there, even if it is just for a few moments.

What is the magical place in your heart? What is your sacred temple which holds your inner light? This week find some quiet time and go visit it. Ignite the light inside of you and spread it into the world. This is what the world needs from us right now.