Tag: Yule

ABOUT OIMELC

ABOUT OIMELC

The Church calls it St. Brigid’s Day, but Brigid (or Bride) is simply the
ancient Celtic name for the Goddess as maiden.

Here in America we know it as Groundhog Day, a day of weather divination. And
Iomelc was always a time of weather divination.

It’s also called Valentine’s Day (but moved a couple of weeks away), because
love divination was also practiced on the Day of the Maiden (or Bride).

It’s winter’s end. The bridge between the cold of winter and the promise of
spring. Iomelc was the time for caring of the sheep in ancient Britain.

It’s the midpoint between Yule — the rebirth of the sun as the wheel of the
year turns — and Lady Day (Ostara or Easter) — the full moon of the vernal
equinox.

OIMELC – February 2

OIMELC – February 2

Down with Rosemary and so
Down with baies and mistletoe;
Down with Holly, live and all
Wherewith ys drest the Yuletide Hall;
That so the superstitious find
No one least Branch there left behind;
For look, how many leaves there be
Neglected there, maids, trust to me,
So many goblins you shall see.
–Robert Herrick

Oimelc – Imbolc in the Saxon – marks the first stirring of life in the earth.
The Yule season originally ended at Oimelc. But with increasing organization and
industrialization, increasing demands for labor and production, the holiday kept
shrinking, first to the two weeks ending at Twelfth Night, then to a single week
ending at New Year’s, then to a single day.

Oimelc begins a season of purification similar to that preceding Yule. It ends
at Ostara. No marriages, initiations or puberty rites should be celebrated
between Oimelc and Ostara.

The candles and torches at Oimelc signify the divine life-force awakening
dormant life to new growth.

THEMES

Growth of roots begin again. Bare branches begin to swell with leaf buds, and
growth appears at the tips of evergreen branches. The tools of agriculture are
being make ready for Spring.

Xian feasts of St. Brigid, and Celtic feast of Brigit, the maiden aspect of the
triple goddess and mother of Dagda. Her symbol is the white swan. A Roman feast
of Bacchus and Ceres. The Lupercalia, a feast of Pan. The Nephelim or Titans,
those offspring of human-divine unions said to have ruled Atlantis.

Grannus, a mysterious Celtic god whom the Romans identified with Apollo.

PURPOSE OF THE RITES

To awaken life in the Earth. Fire tires to strengthen the young Sun, to bring
the fertilizing, purifying, protective and vitalizing influence of fire to the
fields, orchards, domestic animals, and people. To drive away winter. To charm
candles for household use throughout the year.

FOLK CUSTOMS

The three functions of Oimelc – end of Yule, feast of candles or torches, and
beginning of a purificatory season – are divided by the Xian calendar among
Twelfth Night, Candlemas and Shrove Tuesday (Mardi Gras, Carnival). The customs
of all three feasts are derived from Oimelc, with at most a thin Xian gloss.

Parades of giant figures (Titans?) in rural towns in France and at Mardi Gras
and Carnival celebrations. A figure representing the Spirit of Winter or Death,
sometime made of straw, sometimes resembling a snowman, is drowned, burnt or in
once case, stuffed with fireworks and exploded. They symbol of Montreal’s Winter
Carnival is the giant figure of Bonhomme di Neige (snowman).

Groundhog Day, Chinese New Year and St. Valentine’s Day customs.

The French provinces are so rich in Oimelc customs they cannot be listed here.
Refer to “The Golden Bough”.

Wassailing the trees: at midnight, carolers carry a bucket of ale, cider or
lamb’s wool in a torchlight procession through the orchards. The leader dips a
piece of toast in the drink and sedges it in the fork of each tree, with the
traditional cheer (variations exist) of: “Hats full, holes full, barrels full,
and the little heap under the stairs!”.

Who finds the bean in the Twelfth Night cake becomes king of the feast; who
finds the pea becomes queen – never mind the gender of the finders. Rag-bag
finery and gilt-paper crowns identify the king and queen. The rulers give
ridiculous orders to the guests, who must obey their every command. They are
waited on obsequiously, and everything they do is remarked and announced
admiringly and importantly: “The King drinks!”, “The Queen sneezes!” and
everyone politely imitates the ruler’s example.

SYMBOLIC DECORATIONS

Snowdrops are picked for vases, but otherwise no special decorative effects are
indicated. Go carnival, balloons and confetti.

SOCIAL ACTIVITIES

Parades, with showers of confetti, gala balls, masks, street dancing, mumming,
winter sports, ice and snow sculpture.

THE RITE

Dress in dark colors with much silver jewelry. Outdoors, after dark on the Even,
have the site arranged with a fire in the cauldron and the altar draped in
white, at the Northeast. The fire may be composed all or in part of Yule greens.

Go in a torchlight procession to the Circle. Include a stamping dance, possibly
beating the ground with sticks, before the Invocation. The invocation may end
with the calling of Hertha, a Teutonic goddess of the earth and the hearth. Call
her name three times and at each call beat on the ground three times with the
palms of both hands.

A figure representing Winter should be burned in the fire. Communion may consist
of Sabbat Cakes or a Twelfth Night cake (there are many traditional recipes) and
cider or wassail. A procession may leave the Circle for a time to wassail a
nearby orchard. Couples may leap the bonfire. Supplies of candles brought by the
coveners are blessed.

Boys puberty rites may be celebrated. These usually include mock plowing by the
boys.

Close the Circle and go indoors for the feast.

THE FEAST OF LIGHT

THE FEAST OF LIGHT
(By: Titania Morgay)

If Candlemas day be fair and bright,
Winter will have another flight.
If Candlemas day clouds and rain,
Winter is gone, and will not come again.
– E. Holden

The time has come to call and welcome the forces of light!

Candlemas or Imbolc is the mid point of the dark half of the year. We
welcome the rebirth and awakening of the Earth, the earliest beginnings of
Spring.

Through Pagan lore, we learn that the Sun God, who is now a young boy, is
beginning to feel his growing powers through the renewing energies of the
Sun, represented in the lengthening in the daylight hours. The Goddess is
awakening from her slumber and rest after giving birth to the
God/Child at Yule. She is represented in the Maiden aspect of the triple
Goddess. The awakening of the Goddess/Earth, causes germination of seeds and
development of buds on the trees, as the powers of the Sun begin to warm and
renew the earth. A celebration of fertility.

Traditionally, Imbolc is a time to prepare for the goals one wishes to
accomplish in the coming months, and to clarify and redefine our personal
projects which were begun at Yule. the fires of Imbolc represent our
personal illumination and inspiration, a celebration of ideas yet to be
born. Imbolc has also become a time for new initiations into covens,
self-dedication, and renewal of our bows. It is also a time for purification
of oneself.

The colors for Imbolc are lavender, white and pink. Herbs include
Heliotrope, Carnation, Poppy, Basil and Violet. Stones used for this
celebration may include Amethyst for peace of mind or jet for
heightened intuition and inner sight.

Offerings of cakes and wine may be presented to the Lord and Lady, to seek
their assistance in helping to ignite your creative fires and energy.

May the fires of Imbolc burn brightly within all of you throughout the
coming year!

About Imbolc

About Imbolc

a guide to the Sabbat’s symbolism

by Arwynn MacFeylynnd

Date: February 1 or 2.

Alternative names: Imbolg, Candlemas, Oimelc, Brighid’s Day, Lupercus, the Feast of Lights, Groundhog’s Day

Primary meanings: The name “Imbolc” derives from the word “oimelc,” meaning sheep’s milk. It is considered a time of purification, preparation and celebration for new life stirring, anticipating spring. The holiday is also known as Candlemas; the custom of blessing candles at this time signifies awakening of life and honors the Celtic goddess Brighid, to whom fire is sacred. This Sabbat also celebrates banishing winter.

Symbols: Candle wheels, grain dollies and Sun wheels, a besom (witch’s broom), a sprig of evergreen, a bowl of snow and small Goddess statues representing her in the maiden aspect.

Colors: White, yellow, pink, light blue, light green; also, red and brown.

Gemstones: Amethyst, aquamarine, turquoise, garnet and onyx.

Herbs: Angelica, basil, bay, benzoin, clover, dill, evergreens, heather, myrrh, rosemary, willows and all yellow flowers.

Gods and goddesses: Brighid, the Celtic goddess of healing, poetry and smithcraft; all virgin and maiden goddesses; all fire and flame gods, connected with the newborn Sun.

Customs and myths: In Irish legends of the Tuatha De Danaan, Brighid is the name of three daughters of Dagda who over time were combined into one goddess. She was venerated in Scotland, Wales, on the Isle of Man and in the Hebrides. When celebrating Candlemas or Imbolc, spellwork for fertility, inspiration and protection are appropriate, defining and focusing on spiritual and physical desires for the future. Imbolc is a good time to get your life in order — physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally. Make plans, organize, clean out drawers and closets to bring in the new and clearing out the old. Make and bless candles; light one in each room in honor of the Sun’s rebirth. Carry out rites of self-purification. Burn mistletoe, holly and ivy decorations from Yule to signify the end of harsh weather and old ways.

I Wish You A Very Blissful & Relaxing Monday!

Wolf Graphics & Comments
Good Monday Afternoon! I hope most of you have the day off. If you are like me you need to recover from the Holidays. Oops! The Holidays ain’t over that hit me this morning. We still have New Year’s Weekend to go through. I am beginning to think the only time I enjoyed the holidays was when I was a kid. And to think, I couldn’t wait to grow up, ha! But I think that is all kids want, to grow up. Then they realize, “what the heck was I thinking?” At my house, we celebrate Yule and Christmas both. I am about ready to pick a day between the 21st and 25th and celebrate both on that day. We use to all gather on a day all together. Not anymore, you would think I ran a restaurant around here. There is a string of traffic coming all day. My hubby and I both agreed yesterday, it is great to have them come to visit but it is even better to see them leave. Then he asked me if he was terrible. I liked to have died laughing. My favorite is out-of-town family that don’t call and just pop in. Had that happen too and they are still here. They are here for a few days. Thank goodness, we have a couple of extra bedrooms. Yesterday, when I thought things had calmed down and I actually got to sit down, the out-of-towners showed up. I know one of these days we will sit back and laugh and remember the good old days. But by that time, they will have all drove me crazy and I won’t be able to remember the good old days, lol! 

 

I hope you had a wonderful Yule and Christmas. I hope you had lots of family and friends around you (heck, why should I have all the fun!). Yule and Christmas might be for the children. But the Season is for families, the love and bond we share with each other.  

Now on with the Magick……

 

Monday

Magickal Intentions: Psychic Sensitivity, Women’s Mysteries, Tides, Waters, Emotional Issues, Agriculture, Animals, Female Fertility, Messages, Theft, reconciliations, Voyages, Dreams and Merchandise

Incense: African Violet, Honeysuckle, Myrtle, Willow, Wormwood

 Planet: Moon

 Sign: Cancer

 Angel: Gabriel

Colors: Silver, White and Gray

 Herbs/Plants: Night Flowers, Willow Root, Orris Root, Birch, Motherwort, Vervain, White Rose and White Iris

 Stones: Carnelian, Moonstone, Aquamarine, Pearl, Clear Quartz, fluorite, Geodes

Oil: (Moon) Jasmine, Lemon, Sandalwood

Monday belongs to the Moon. Monday’s energy best aligns itself with efforts that deal with women, home and hearth, the family, the garden, travel, and medicine. It also boosts rituals involving psychic development and prophetic dreaming.

 

Spellcrafting for Monday

  

A SPELL FOR PROPHETIC DREAMS

Before You Begin: Be Careful This is a rather simple spell, but you are “playing with fire” before bedtime. Make sure you have extinguished all burning things before you cross into slumber.

Sprinkle some Jasmine on your pillow, and make sure you have a dream-journal or the like at your bedside to record your dreams in, and brew a cup of mugwort tea. (NOTE: mugwort is unhealthy in large doses, so go easy, and consult an Herbal Reference book if you’re worried. Light blue candles on your altar. If you want to gain insight into your passions or your loves, burn Damiana as well.
Watch the smoke as it coils, and allow it to carry you off into the trance-like state that you spend most of the day avoiding. Say whatever comes to mind, appealing to the goddess or god of your choice to guide your dreams. I usually say something like:
“Blessed be the Lord and Lady, For they created the world, The earth to hold,
The sun to warm, The moon to guide, The spirit to dream.”
Take sips of the mugwort tea as you repeat the words, gaze into the smoke,
and when you feel yourself just about to “cross the line” blow out the candle(s) and say:
“So mote it be.”

Go to sleep. Dream away. Just remember, you don’t always get to hear what you’d like.

  
~Magickal Graphics~

Yule – December 20th-23rd

Yule – December 20th-23rd

1. Return of the Sun God. As the solstice approaches, the return of Spring and Nature’s bounty cannot be too far off. It is difficult to belief that earlier people’s were uncertain about continued cycles, but there was not the scientific basis we have today. This was the height of Mid-Winter, and it was evident that there would be sufficient food, or that they would have to do with less until the Spring brought hunting and agriculture.

2. The longest night was also a mystical event. There is a strong tradition for staying awake all through Solstice night and holding vigil that the dawn might arrive. These can be powerful rituals. This was a time when the Goddess Hecate was considered strong, and her magickal world controlled the lives of those caught in heavy winter, and putting all their hopes and energies into surviving until the next season. Deaths were common, and the Lord of the Underworld was seen as real and near.

3. In contemporary culture, we are not at risk from the lack of Harvest and we focus on this solstice as the Day the Great Mother gives birth to the Sun. This is the culmination of the cycle of life and sexuality that began last May at the Beltaine festivities, and now the young God comes forth to begin the cycle anew.

4. Celtic Festival of Alban Arthan. Druidic festival. When the chief druid cut the sacred mistletoe from the Oak. (ABC of Witchcraft).

5. The Romans celebrated the Solstice with the Festival of Saturnalia, giving presents and social distinctions were erased. Masters served servants a feast. Riotous fun and merriment. This event celebrates an inversion of tradition.

6. Saxons celebrated the feast of Yule with blazing fires in the form of a Yule Log, one of the only remnants passed down to present day. They saved a piece of the Yule log from the current year to kindle the next Yule blaze.

Winter Solstice Celebrations Around The World – Beiwe Festival


Winter Comments & Graphics

Beiwe Festival

 (Sámi of Northern Fennoscandia)

 

The Saami, indigenous people of Finland, Sweden and Norway, worship Beiwe, the sun-goddess of fertility and sanity. She travels through the sky in a structure made of reindeer bones with her daughter, Beiwe-Neia, to herald back the greenery on which the reindeer feed. On the winter solstice, her worshipers sacrifice white female animals, and thread the meat onto sticks which they bend into rings and tie with bright ribbons. They also cover their doorposts with butter so Beiwe can eat it and begin her journey once again.

 
~Magickal Graphics~

Happy Winter Solstice & A Blessed Yule To You All!

Yule Comments & Graphics 

Wishing You and Yours a Very Happy Winter Solstice and a Very Blessed Yule!

 

Yuletide Cheer

(poem by: Isha ArrowHawk )

The chill breath of winter touches us,
As blankets of snow cover the ground.
With the glow of moonlight upon them,
Its like diamond sparkles all around.

 

Inside the room is cozy and warm,
The scent of evergreen wafts from the fire.
Surrounded with love and family,
I’ve got all that I could desire.

 

Sleigh bells jingle from the front porch,
As my coveners decorate outside.
They’ve no need of blankets,
They have the warmth of love inside.

 

In my home we all gather round,
And with Pagan carols our voices ring.
Then we settle down to enjoy the tale,
Of the Oaken Lord and the Holly King.

 

For our holiday is quite different,
Than the cowan Christmas night.
We cast our Circle, join together,
And welcome the return of Light.

 

Then we sit and share the feast,
As we pass bread and wine around.
As blessings from mingled voices…
“Never hunger,” “Never thirst” abound.

 

All too soon the rite is ended,
And we greet the newborn day.
As we clasp hands together,
This wish we send your way….

 

It’s no matter your tradition,
Be you family, friend, or guest.
We wish you joy and peace,
And may your Yule be Blessed!!

 

“On the first day of winter,
the earth awakens to the cold touch of itself.
Snow knows no other recourse except
this falling, this sudden letting go
over the small gnomed bushes, all the emptying trees.
Snow puts beauty back into the withered and malnourished,
into the death-wish of nature and the deliberate way
winter insists on nothing less than deference.
waiting all its life, snow says, “Let me cover you.”
– Laura Lush, The First Day of Winter

  ~Magickal Graphics~

Thirteen Yuletide Celebrations

Thirteen Yuletide Celebrations

by Heather Evenstar Osterman

 

How do you compete with Christianity’s biggest holiday? You don’t have to! Most traditional Christmas customs originated from pagan practices. In fact, nearly every culture in some way celebrates the Sun/Son God at this time of year. You can reclaim Yule as your family’s heritage; pass down your family’s traditional recipes. If you figure out how to avoid the rampant commercialism, let me know.

Yule (also Yuletide or Alban Arthan) is celebrated on the Winter Solstice, December 22ndthis year. It is the longest night of the year, when the Goddess gives birth to the new sun and nights begin to grow shorter again. We are reminded that even in the darkest hour, there is a ray of hope. This is a time of dreams and wonder. We honor our children and our inner child. There are so many wonderful traditions to choose from. Here are some ideas to try this Yule:

  1. String chains of popcorn and drape them around trees and bushes. Hang honey popcorn balls outside your windows and watch the wild birds feast.
  2. Create a wreath out of pine boughs, holly, and sun symbols to hang on your door.
  3. Make a special red candle to light at sunset on Yule evening and keep vigil through the night. Stay up with older children to keep the Goddess company while she labors to give birth to the new Sun. Put younger ones to bed to dream the sun into being.
  4. Gather your family on a hilltop in the area where you live and watch the sunrise on Yule morning. Sing, cheer, and have a breakfast feast in the Sun God’s honor.
  5. As a family, make new ornaments to add to the tree each year. Give extras to friends who come to visit.
  6. Make an Advent calendar, counting down the days until the Solstice. Make a chain of paper links or small packages filled with tiny treats.
  7. Bake sugar cookies shaped like suns and decorate them. Or, make a birthday cake for the sun and throw a birthday party!
  8. Instead of letting Yule cards be a chore, get the whole family in on the act! Design your own Yule cards to send to friends and family. Make it a family project to sign and address them.
  9. Decorate a Yule log — Go out and find a special log (oak is traditional) and festoon it with holly, rosemary, ribbons, or whatever suits your fancy. Attach slips of paper with your wishes on them. Use this log to start your fire. If you don’t have a fireplace in which to burn the Yule log, drill holes and put candles in it. You can save part of your Yule tree for next year’s Yule log.
  10. Donate food to a local food bank, serve dinner at a soup kitchen, or spend time at a nursing home.
  11. Reenact the battle between the Oak King (life and rebirth) and the Holly King (darkness and death). Make swords out of wrapping paper tubes and shields out of cardboard. Hint: the Oak King wins this time.
  12. Uphold the tradition of wassailing by passing around mulled cider and singing songs. You could sing traditional carols (“Joy to the World”) or new ones (the Beatle’s “Here Comes the Sun”).
  13. Kiss under the mistletoe!

Heather Osterman is the Family Services Coordinator for the Aquarian Tabernacle Church. For more information on pagan oriented activities and events for children and families please contact her at ATCchild@AOL.com or ATC at (360) 793-1945 between 9a.m. and 9p.m.

Correspondences for Yule

Yule Correspondences & Tidbits

 

 

Other Names:
Jul (“wheel”, Old Norse), Saturnalia(Rome ~December 17 & 18), Yuletide(Teutonic), Midwinter, Fionn’s Day, Alban Arthuan, Christmas (Christian~December 25), Xmas, Festival of Sol, Solar/Secular/Pagan New Year

Animals/Mythical beings:
yule goat (nordic), reindeer stag, squirrels, yule cat, Sacred White Buffalo, Kallikantzaroi-ugly chaos monsters(greek), trolls, phoenix, yule elf, jule gnome, squirrels, wren/robin

Gemstones:
cat’s eye, ruby, diamond, garnet, bloodstone

Incense/Oils:
bayberry, cedar, ginger, cinnamon, pine, rosemary, frankincense, myrrh, nutmeg, wintergreen, saffron

Colors:
gold, silver, red, green, white

Tools,Symbols, & Decorations:
bayberry candles, evergreens, holly, mistletoe, poinsettia,mistletoe, lights, gifts, Yule log, Yule tree. spinning wheels, wreaths, bells, mother & child images

Goddesses:
Great Mother, Befana (strega), Holda (teutonic), Isis(egyptian), Triple Goddess, Mary(christian), Tonazin(mexican), Lucina(roman), St. Lucy (swedish),Bona Dea (roman), Mother Earth, Eve(Hebrew), Ops(roman Holy Mother), the Snow Queen, Hertha (German), Frey (Norse)

Gods:
Sun Child, Saturn(rome), Cronos (Greek), Horus/Ra(egyptian), Jesus(christian-gnostic), Mithras(persian), Balder(Norse), Santa Claus/Odin(teutonic), Holly King, Sol Invicta, Janus(God of Beginnings), Marduk (Babylonian)Old Man Winter

Essence:
honor, rebirth, transformation, light out of darkness, creative inspiration, the mysteries, new life, regeneration, inner renewal, reflection/introspection

Dynamics/Meaning:
death of the Holly (winter) King; reign of the Oak (summer) King), begin the ordeal of the Green Man, death & rebirth of the Sun God; night of greatest lunar imbalance; sun�s rebirth; shortest day of year

Purpose:
honor the Triple Goddess, welcome the Sun Child

Rituals/Magicks:
personal renewal, world peace, honoring family & friends, Festival of light, meditation

Customs:
lights, gift-exchanging, singing, feasting, resolutions, new fires kindled, strengthening family & friend bonds, generosity, yule log, hanging mistletoe, apple wassailing, burning candles, Yule tree decorating; kissing under mistletoe; needfire at dawn vigil; bell ringing/sleigh-bells; father yule

Foods:
nuts, apple, pear, caraway cakes soaked with cider, pork, orange, hibiscus or ginger tea, roasted turkey, nuts, fruitcake, dried fruit, cookies, eggnog, mulled wine

Herbs:
blessed thistle, evergreen, moss, oak, sage, bay, bayberry, cedar, pine, frankincense, ginger, holly, ivy, juniper, mistletoe, myrrh, pinecones, rosemary, chamomile, cinnamon, valarion, yarrow

Element:
earth

Threshold:dawn

Wishing You & Yours A Very Blessed Yule!

I wish each and everyone of you a Very Happy & Blessed Yule!

 
The Wheel turns quickly,
The Sun now returns,
Let us rejoice in His return!

 

Dear Father, your warmth is returning as
you wake from your sleep! I rejoice as the
days get longer and the nights shorter,
and I love you dearly.
 
 
 
Dear Mother, thank you for watching
over me as my father slept; continue to
guide me in wisdom and love all winter
long.

So Mote It Be.

A Yule Story for Children ~ The Tiniest Fairy ~

A Yule Story for Children ~ The Tiniest Fairy ~

Author: Lady Abigail

In a time before time had been named, when life danced as a dazzling rainbow upon the mystical Earth, magick lived inside each earthen creature. Some, the big ones, were having a harder time seeing the magick now, than in the past. They were starting to forget that magick is all around you, if only you believed.

Alicia was a small and tiny earthen spirit with sparkling blue eyes and a pinched up nose; even in the fairy world, where all things are small, she was the smallest of them all.

Her home was deep inside the strong and twisting roots of a big Oak. It was safe and none of the winter cold snows could find their way in.

She loved playing around her cozy and warm home with her mom and dad. They would play hide and seek and she could easily hide in the corners or under the furniture. They would read books by the firelight and sing songs that only the fairies knew.

Alicia was frightened of the other earthen creatures, as well as of what might be outside her cozy home under the big Oak. She had never been out before and saw no reason to go into the “outside.”

When company came over Alicia would not come out of her tiny seedpod bed. When the Bunny family who lived next door came to visit, she was frightened that being so small, one of the many bunny babies might accidentally hop on her. She would only peek over the beds edge with her tiny pinched nose when the Gloends, a family of glowworms came to visit, because she wanted to see where the warm yellow glow was coming from.

At dinner one evening, Alicia’s mom and dad told her that soon winter’s hold would be ending. That frightened Alicia since she only knew the winter and could not imagine what might happen if it was to end.

They explained to her that in the entire magickal world, it was her magick that would call in the changing of seasons and the turning of the great wheel. On the eve of the next night Alicia, her mom and her dad would go on a journey into the forest. Here, there would be a great gathering and all the mystical creatures of Earth would see her gift of magick.

But Alicia shivered with fear — what was this wheel and how can she stop this magick and changing? She liked things just as they were and didn’t want anything to change at all. She didn’t want to go to a gathering where so many would be. She didn’t know what this gift was that she was to give. What if she got lost and no one could find her? Or maybe the others would see her. Maybe they would not like her or make fun of her or laugh at her being so small.

Her greatest fear was that maybe she had no magick. She had not seen it. She couldn’t fly like her mom and dad; she kept falling on her elbows. She couldn’t make things like flowers or snowflakes like her mom and dad; all she ended up with some ice that melted. She couldn’t even make light with her wand. How would her parents feel when they found out, what would she do?

Even as frightened as Alicia was of going into the “outside, ” she was more frightened of what others might think of her. She didn’t want to disappoint her mom and dad, so she decided it would be best if she hid. She would go into the “outside;” no one would look for her there. She would not go very far. Just far enough away where she could hide until the gathering was over, and then the change would not happen.

Alicia’s mom was roasting acorns for the great gathering’s feast and her dad was busy polishing up his ice wand. Alicia knew no one would see her leave, or think she would go into the “outside” alone, since she never had before.

With her wand in a small bag tied to her waist, Alicia carefully opened the door of her house and stepped into the “outside.” She closed the door quickly and quietly so her mom and dad would not hear it creak. Then, she turned to see what was here in this “outdoors.” It was white everywhere. She walked along for a little while when all of a sudden “crunch” she sunk into the snow up to her wing tips. It took a bit of work but she wriggled her way up and out of the snow. Now she was really cold and she could see it was getting darker. The bright bluish color of the sky was now turning a purple hue with streaks of red and yellow.

She wasn’t sure, but if night was coming she had to hide quickly. If she could fly just to the edge of the forest she would find a place to stay until the gathering was over and then she could go home again. Then it would be safe because nothing would change. That is what she wanted.

Alicia was frighten and getting colder, but she had made up her mind. She had to do this, or everything she knew was going to change forever. She shook herself off and looked toward the forest edge. With all her will and might she jumped up and began flying forward. Then back a little, then up, then down, then around in some circles and then slower and then faster and then it happened. Bang! She flew right into a tree branch hanging low weighted heavy by the snow.

Alicia did not know what exactly had happened as she rubbed her head, but when she rose up again out of the snow it had gotten very dark. She could see tiny lights twinkling above her now. She looked around trying to figure out what direction to go. By now the gathering must be over and she could go home. Everything would stay the same. But which way was home?

Alicia couldn’t see where to go, so she didn’t want to try to fly. What if she hit another tree, it was dark now and she couldn’t make anything out, plus her head still hurt from before. She had to be very careful deciding what way to go now.

All of a sudden, she heard someone calling her. “Alicia, Alicia.” She felt her body begin to shake so hard that the tiny ice cycles that had formed on the tips of her wings, tinkled like little bells. As she turned around to look behind her, she saw a woman lying on a big pile of fur blankets. She was not a fairy, but she was beautiful, dressed in a green, red and white gown. Hundreds of earthen creatures stood all around her, many Alicia had never seen before, but none were scared or frightened at all. Although Alicia didn’t understand it, she wasn’t frightened either.

There seemed to peace about this woman, it was something calming. “Alicia, I have been waiting for you. I need your help.” the Lady said.
“Waiting for me?” Alicia asked.
“Yes, Alicia, ” she said. “Its dark now and we need your light to light the way, so that we can see what lies before us.”
“My light?” Alicia asked, remembering she had not been able to make her wand light before.
“It’s your magick Alicia, your magick that will call the light from within me.” the Lady said.
Alicia slowly began to walk toward the woman. That’s when she saw that this quiet lady was going to have a baby, and she was going to have it any moment.

All the fears and worries Alicia carried with her were beginning to melt away, just like the ice on her wing tips. As she looked into the meadow green eyes of this lady she wanted more than anything else in her small life to make a light for her.

Alicia, still trembling, took her wand from its little bag, and raised it up. With every magickal hope she had ever had, she put her energy into lighting her wand.

The lady smiled gently at her and in that instance there was a great flash of light, which came from the tip of that tiny wand. It was a brilliant luminous light, which filled every corner of the night.

As Alicia held her wand high she looked over to see that now the lady was holding in her arms a baby; a wonderful little baby boy. Suddenly, she understood it all, everything her mom and dad had been telling her.

This was the magick; this was her special gift. Alicia, the tiniest of all fairies, she was the one who carried the spark, the spark which released the light of the world and the turning of the wheel of life.

In her tiny being she had carried that magick, the magick to unlock the power of love and understanding for the world to share. Standing in that brilliant light, Alicia understood who the Lady was and the importance of this baby. She was a part of the rebirth of the Light. This baby was the Light again reborn of the Goddess. The beautiful Lady was the Goddess of life, and Alicia was that spark of magick which survives all time and through which we find boundless possibilities.

Soon the edge of the forest was filled with earthen creatures and spirits from all over the mystical world. Alicia’s mom and dad watched their fairy child as she beamed with joy. The Lady holding her baby boy blessed all those who shared in this time of magick as the feast was served and great happiness was shared by all.

Alicia didn’t even notice that she was floating on the air. She was no longer weighted down by all her silly worries or fears. She knew that even though she was tiny she had the power to light the world. Now she understood, magick is all around you if you only believe, and trust in yourself.

So each year as you light a candle to call the light, remember the tiniest fairy, for it only takes one tiny spark to give light unto the whole world.

Blessed be our Lady the Mother of Light.

Lady Abigail
High Priestess Ravensgrove Coven
Copyright: Copyright © 11012005

Yule: Fertility and Ghosts

Yule: Fertility and Ghosts

At the winter solstice, Scandinavians worshipped Frey, god of fertility; further south, the Angli celebrated

December 24 as New Year’s Eve, called Modranecht (mother night), a vigil also connected with fertility rites.

In general, the traditional Yule (from the Norse Iul, meaning wheel) was a feast devoted to fertility and the

ancestors, which passed on to Christmas fecund and ghostly traditions. The Christmas roast pig is kissing cousin
to julgalti, the pig offered to Frey for fertility in the coming year, according to Funk and Wagnall’s. Hence the apple

in its mouth. Similarly, Yule was a time to charm grain and fruit to grow thick. Traditional Scots kept the

Corn Maiden from harvest till Yule and then distributed her to the cattle, according to the Farrars. The Germans

scattered the ashes of the Yule log on the fields for fertility, or kept its last charred pieces to bind in the last

sheaf of the coming harvest. The French retained apiece of Yule log through the year to protect the house

against fire and lightning, to ensure bountiful crops and the easy birth of calves. The solstice was also a weather

predictor, according to Funk and Wagnall’s. In more recent tradition, a white Christmas is said to mean a prosperous
New Year, while a green, cloudy or hot Christmas fills the churchyard.

 

Yule is a time for spirits. European tradition, transferred to the Christian holiday, held that each house should

be clean and prepared for Christmas before the household went to church, so the spirits could inspect it.

Spirits likewise stayed for Christmas dinner. In Sweden, householders set a special table for them. European

folk beliefs say that someone who sits under a pine tree on Christmas Eve can hear the sound of angels —

but death will soon follow. Death also awaits one who hears farm animals converse in the barn that night.

A person born on Christmas can see spirits. Dreams on the Northern Modranecht were believed to foretell
the coming year, according to Nigel Pennick in The Pagan Book of Days.

 

 

 Excerpted From Reclaiming the Winter Solstice by Melanie Fire Salamander

Daily Feng Shui Tip for December 20

Tuesday, December 20, 2011
 

According to most traditional or customary holiday calendars, this is the day that we are advised to start burning the Yule log. This log represents the ancient energies of rebirth while also symbolizing the return of another solstice and, of course, the Sun. According to ages old customs, we are encouraged to start that fire at dusk in order to welcome shining light into our own lives that will last the whole of the coming year. If burning a log isn’t feasible for you, then at least light the way for a fortune-filled year with a red, orange or yellow candle. Use a sharp object to carve an image of the Sun into the side of the candle and get clear on your wishes for the coming year. Create an intention about what areas of your life you’d like to see more enlightened, or where you would like to experience a rebirth, and then, burn, baby, burn!

By Ellen Whitehurst for Astrology.com

Twas the Night Before Yule

Yule Comments & Graphics

Twas the Night Before Yule

 

Posted byPatrick McCleary

 

This is a delightful poem by Richard De Angelis, that I found again after hearing it years ago in ritual. Hope you all like it as much as I did.

‘Twas the night before Yule, when all ‘cross the heath,
not a being was stirring; Pagan, faerie, or beast.
Wassail was left out & the alter adorned,
to rejoice that the Sun King would soon be reborn.

The children lay sleeping by the warmth of the hearth,
their dreams filled with visions of belov’d Mother Earth.
M’lady & I beneath blankets piled deep,
had just settled down to our own Solstice sleep.

Then a noise in the night that would leave us no peace,
Awakened us both to the honking of geese.
Eager to see such a boisterous flock,
When we raced to the window, our mouths dropped in shock!

On the west wind flew a gaggle of geese white & gray,
With Frau Holda behind them in her giftladen dray.
The figure on her broomstick in the north sky made it clear,
La Befana was approaching to bestow Yuletide cheer.

From the south came a comet more bright than the moon,
And we knew that Lucia would be with us soon.
As these spirits sailed earthward o’er hilltops & trees,
Frau Holda serenaded her feathery steeds:

“Fly Isolde! Fly Tristan! Fly Odin & Freya!
Fly Morgaine! Fly Merlin! Fly Uranus & Gaea!
“May the God & the Goddess inside you soar,
From the clouds in the heavens to yon cottage door.”

As soft & silent as snowflakes they fell:
Their arrival announced by a faint chiming bell.
They landed like angels, their bodies aglow.
Their feet left no marks in the new fallen snow.

Before we could ponder what next lay in store,
There came a slow creaking from our threshold door.
We crept from our bedroom & were spellbound to see
…There in our parlor stood the Yule Trinity!

Lucia, the Maiden, with her head wreathed in flame,
Shown with the radiance for which she was named.
The Lightbringer’ s eyes held the joy of a child,
And she spoke with a voice that was gentle, yet wild:

“May the warmth of this household ne’er fade away.”
Then she lit our Yule log which still burns to this day.
Frau Holda in her down cloak stood regal & tall;
The Matron of Solstice, the Mother of all.

Under her gaze we felt safe & secure.
Her voice was commanding, yet almost demure:
“May the love of this family enrich young & old.”
And from the folds of her cloak showered coins of pure gold.

Le Befana wore a kerchief on her silvery hair;
The veil of the Crone who has secrets to share.
In her eyes gleamed a wisdom only gained by spent youth.
Her voice was a whisper but her words rung with truth:

“May health, glad tidings, and peace fill these rooms.”
And she banished misfortune with a sweep of her broom.
They then left a gift by each sleeping child’s head,
Took a drink of our wassail, and away they sped.

While we watched them fly off through the night sky we laughed,
At the wondrous magick we had found in the Craft
As they departed, the spirits decreed
Merry Yule To You All & May All Blessed Be! 

 Pagan Dad  

~Magickal Graphics~ 

The Pagan Roots Of Christmas

The Pagan Roots Of Christmas

The early Christians quite consciously chose the pagan sun holiday for the celebration of their Son-god’s birth.
Christmas falls during the Roman Saturnalia and at the birth of the Mithraic sun god. According to
“A Witches Bible Compleat”, by Janet and Stewart Farrar, the Archbishop of Constantinople wrote that
church fathers fixed the Nativity during the pagan holidays because “while the heathen were busied with
their profane rites, the Christian might perform their holy ones without disturbance.”
Other Christians accused those who kept Christmas at the solstice of performing sun worship. Armenians,
who celebrate Christmas on January 6, elsewhere Epiphany, called Roman Christians idolaters, according to Funk
and Wagnall’s Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology and Legend. Similarly, under the Puritans in 1644,
the English Parliament expressly forbade observing Christmas. Augustine admitted that putting Christmas at
the winter solstice was a conscious identification of the Son with the sun but defended the symbolism.

The Christmas most Americans know as children mixes a celebration of the birth of Christ with traditions

from the Roman Saturnalia, the Northern European Yule, and the Celtic Solstice.
 
GrannyMoon’s Morning Feast

Christmas Time Is Pagan!

Miscellaneous Christmas Comments 

Christmas Time Is Pagan!

Author Unknown 

Tune: “Gloria in Excelsis Deo (Angels We Have Heard On High)” 

 

 Christmas time is here again,
Decorations everywhere.
Christmas carols ringing out,
Gentle pagans, we don’t care.

Chorus:

Glorious!
Christmas time is pagan!
Glorious!
Christmas time is pagan!

Modern folks all celebrate
What they learned in Sunday School.
In December, they don’t know
They are celebrating Yule!

Chorus

Let them have their Christmas trees,
Decked in red and green and blue.
We rejoice at every one!
Christmas trees are pagan, too.

Chorus

Bowls of bubbly Christmas cheer,
Fill your cup and quench your thirst.
They think the tradition’s theirs.
Wassail bowls were pagan, first.

Chorus

Every door and window bears
Wreaths of holly, wreaths of pine.
Circles represent the Sun.
Every wreath is yours and mine.

Chorus

Christmas lights on Christmas trees,
Candle flames burn higher and higher,
Let us cheer along, my friends,
As they light their Yuletide fire.

Chorus

There’s a possibility
That this song is yours and mine
‘Cause the tune was known to all
Back in A.D. one-two-nine.

Chorus

     

Magickal Graphics

Rolled Oat Yule Cookies

Rolled Oat Yule Cookies

I make these cookies all year long, although during the Yule season I add either red and green M&M’s or dried cranberries to the batter.

Ingredients:

1 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup water
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups quick-cooking oats
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 cup M&M’s or dried cranberries
In a large mixing bowl, mix butter and brown sugar. Mix in water and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine the oats, flour, salt, baking soda, and M&M’s or cranberries.
Mix the dry ingredients into the butter/sugar mixture.
Shape the cookie dough into two long logs, cookie size in diameter.
Wrap the logs in wax paper, parchment, or plastic wrap. Chill for 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 375 F.
Unwrap cookie logs and slice into ½ inch thick cookies.
Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet and bake for about 12 minutes.

Gift at Yule Ritual Work

Gift at Yule

by Lady MoonWolfe
revised 2004

Close your eyes and relax
Breathe deeply.
Let your breathing become slow, deep, easy. Relax and continue breathing deeply and gently, breathe in and exhale and as we exhale we enter the time of the greatest darkness.
It is the time of the longest night, the dark of the cold universe between the stars and planets, the dark of the sea, and the dark of the womb.

Wrap this darkness gently about you like a comfortable blanket. Float gently now in its depths.
As you open your eyes you see a path in front of you, laid in cobble stones, topped with silver glitter.
It is dark, and though it is dark, you realize that which surrounds you is not the empty, but like the womb, full of life. Fill the energy of the dark.
As you look at the outline of the forest of trees, you notice that the path is lined with oaks, firs and pines. Each one decorated with mistletoe, wreaths, and candy canes.

It is dark in front of you, and as you begin your journey down the path, taking your first step upon the cobble stones you can feel the chill wind blowing. You can feel the ground hard and cold beneath your feet. Continuing walking one step in front of the other, one by one until you have reached the end of the path and are standing within a mighty forest
You look up and see the stars, but there is no Moon. Patiently you wait. You hear a sound behind you, and turn to look over your shoulder

You now realize that you are standing upon the edge of a clearing; as its center burns a fire, and an old man is seated before it. He is wearing tattered animal skins, and has long ragged hair which blows about in the wind. On the far side of the clearing you see the mouth of a cave, and standing before it is the mighty figure of the Horned God.

You turn back around and look through the trees, looking towards the eastern horizon, for tonight is the longest night. The dark time before the Sun is reborn at the Winter Solstice, and you wait patiently for the first rays of the newborn Sun. You noticed that the fire has changed into a single Oak tree, standing tall, and decorated with all the trimmings. As you step forward you feel the increase in the love and warmth around you and within you, and notice that the energy within gives birth to the smallest spark imaginable, the spark of life.
See that spark now as it glows, watch that spark now, and watch it grows. Glowing brighter and brighter, it grows into a flame. As you look at the flame, its light fills you with warmth and love

As you feel increased love and warmth within you, the intensity of the flame slowly diminishes and as it does, in its place, slowly is the outline of a present. This gift becomes more solid, until you can see its form clearly and see that it is wrapped in a glistening filament of light. This gift has your name on it, inscribed in the glistening material. Look at your present, what color is your name written in? What shape is it? How big is it? What color is it’s wrappings?
Experience it fully. Accept it. Accept your gift with joy. Feel the heart warm with the love with which this gift is given to you.

And now, from your heart, send out gratitude for this gift; send out thanks for this gift to the Goddess, to our Great Mother, to the Universe. To the Goddess who is the Universe, both the dark and the light. Send out your thanks for this gift. Now if you wish, find a place to keep this gift, a place to put this gift, so you can keep it with you during our ritual now and if you wish take it with you when you leave the circle.

As you stand you can fill the soft, wet touch of the first fallen snow across your cheeks. Winter grips the land as a cold wind blows through the forest. You walk away from the clearing, and as you leave the forest, you turn and see that it is no more than a shadow behind you. Before you, is a world which you know well, it is the world in which we live, and now it is time to return.
The Other world is real, and you may return at any time. Life will not fail, the Sun will return again, remembering your gift given to you. You continue to walk, bringing your special gift with you, be fully present in our circle, Move your body , open your eyes, and come back to this place and time..

MoonWolfe is 52 years young. I am a registered Healer of the Art of Reiki. I am currently working on saving the dolphins in captivity. I drum to heal Mother Earth.

Rekindling the Fires: How We Gather and Celebrate for Yule

Rekindling the Fires: How We Gather and Celebrate for Yule

 

by Catherine Harper

I am a person much concerned with the rituals of hearth and home, and in general I am more likely to mark the turnings of the year in my kitchen or garden, or alone in the woods, than I am in larger gatherings. But even this preference aside, Yule seems to me a holiday that focuses around these intimate spaces. In the face of the darkest time of the year, who we share our table with is especially important. If sunlight brightens the whole community, away from the sun one can pick those who are each of our chosen families by candlelight. Winter, to me, breeds a love of small spaces.

Reaching for this sense of family and continuity is a challenge for the many of us who are first-generation pagans. I know that I want to be able to reach back to my own memories of being a child and find something there that I can bring forward to give to the children in my life. But this can be almost an archaeological challenge, finding amid so much past the right pieces, bringing them to the surface, cleaning them and restoring them to some kind of meaning.

I have a vague fondness still for stockings, but no context from which to hang them, and the woman who knitted the stockings I once loved is dead and gone. That memory I can love and yet watch recede into the distance.

I remember the candles on a tree in the yard of one of my dearest childhood friends that, starting with the youngest child, we would each light in turn on the eve of the winter solstice, singing carols into the night.

I love and remember the smell of a fresh fir tree brought inside, but equally I remember being seven and in tears faced with that same tree two weeks later that had died and dried and lost its needles. And mixed in with my childhood memories of yearning for lights and magic are my adult wishes for fewer malls, a different sort of family and a clear line of demarcation drawn between what I do and what is so nationally celebrated as Christmas.

Out of these conflicting needs has come our own synthesis. I don’t pretend that the answers that our dialog with the past has produced extend to anything beyond our own threshold. We don’t bring in a tree, though that ritual is as pagan as it comes. We do exchange presents and stay up all night and party and play and keep a light going through all the long hours of darkness. At midnight, everyone gathers in front of the fire and feeds it with tokens of things they are glad to have seen the last of, accompanied by explanations and applause. (A ritual that started more or less by accident but has grown and continued until it has developed such momentum I suspect I will never see the end of it.) We make candles. We eat soup, bread and little sandwiches, and trays of cakes, cookies and fruit tarts.

In the last several years, these gatherings have begun to set fruit. When they started, we were college students and young adults, mostly. Now, we are overrun by children, competing among each other to dip candles thicker than their own wrists, gorging on sweets, playing tournament mancala, helping grind flour, swimming laps in the hot tub and staying up far past their accustomed bedtimes.

My senses of past and present are becoming satisfied. Bit by bit, out of the flotsam from our childhoods, from the chance occurrences that recurred and became tradition, from literature, from history, from the stories we have imagined for ourselves, we are building something solid, something that returns and carries us along with it, something that we will pass on.

(To people who will doubtless prune it into a shape they find pleasing. There is no point in being too attached to any particular notions for the future….)

Meanwhile, for me Yule will smell like fir and beeswax and taste like cinnamon. In this land of evergreens, it is natural to bring in a little greenery when so much else has died away. In a time of darkness, of course we make a fuss over light and warmth. And when there is so little in season for the table but we need the extra nourishment to stave away the cold, our celebratory food is rich with saved eggs and butter, and spiced to overcome the monotony of the winter stores. And in 15 years, or 20, if the gods be kind, a nephew, or niece, or godson (or child?) will call me from another city where they have gone to work or to school and say “That cake, you remember? You used to make it on longest night? Do you still have the recipe?”

Gingerbread

This is simply the best gingerbread in the world. The recipe is not original with me, but it has changed more than a bit in my keeping and may in yours as well.

  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup molasses
  • 1 teaspoon ginger
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon cloves
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 3/4 very hot water
  • 1 1/4 cup flour
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter and flour your baking pan. (I use a 9-inch round pan, but a pair of loaf pans also works well.)

Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the molasses. (It is very efficient if you pour the hot water in the same measuring cup you just poured the molasses out of — it will dissolve the molasses residue and save you time.) Add spices. Alternately, add a bit of the hot water and a bit of the flour until both are thoroughly blended. Beat in the egg, and then quickly whisk in the baking powder and soda. Now quickly, before you lose any rise from your leavening, pour the batter into your pan and pop it in the oven. Cook for about half an hour, or until the middle is firm.

Moldable Shortbread

When I was young, I found a variant on this recipe and used it to make cookies in the shapes of fruit, stippling little balls of orange-colored dough to give them the texture of citrus peel, piercing them with a clove to make a blossom end, painting a blush on the surface of peaches and so forth, rather in the manner of marzipan. But the dough can be made into almost any form, as long as it is mostly flat. You can think of it as an edible, cookable play-dough. Don’t be timid with the food color — bright colors make it much more fun.

  • 1 part sugar
  • 2 parts butter
  • Flavoring to taste
  • 5 parts flour
  • Food coloring

Cream together the butter and sugar, add flavoring if desired and then blend in flour. (If your one part is equal to half a cup, you can use &fraq12; to 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, or a bit less almond extract, a bit more Grand Marnier, a teaspoon of citrus zest, a couple of tablespoons of minced candied ginger or whatever suits your fancy.)

Divide the dough into sections and add a different color of food coloring to each one, mixing it in first with a fork and then with your fingers. Form each color into a ball, wrap with plastic and refrigerate for at least an hour.

When it is chilled, form it into whatever shapes you — or your children — like. Bake at 325 for 20 to 30 minutes. If the dough becomes hot and sticky while it is being worked, just stick the cookies into the refrigerator to chill before you bake them. As long as they are cold when they hit the oven, the texture will be fine.