Winter Solstice 2011 (Yule)

 

This year the winter solstice is at 11:30pm (CST). This marks the longest night of the year. After the apex of the solstice the days will progressively get longer and the nights will grow shorter. I am looking forward to the upcoming year, which will begin after tonight’s solstice.

Though this sounds good, having grown up in Wisconsin and now living in Arizona, I have noticed that the winter months of January and February feel like the longest and coldest part of winter. These months after the celebration of Yule, seem to be the time to hunker down and plow through the cold. 

As a child I remember the energy of magick and wonder of the Yule time season as it progressed through the last part of autumn nearing winter. I have had a difficult time experiencing that feeling of magic as an adult. This is the first year I have felt that magick stirring in the air. I think it has to do with being able to see the mountains covered in snow this year. 

Snow covered Huachuca Mtns.

This summer there was a huge fire that cleared the mountains of most of the larger trees. We have had more snow this year in the mountains than we have had in several years; at least it looks that way because there aren’t the tall trees covering the snow fall.

What brings the magick of the season into your life this year?

Have a Wicked Good Day!

Molly

Yule Log

The Yule Log is a tradition that dates back in time, to the Hearth fires of early European pagans. The winter solstice (sabbat) signaled the beginning of the new year’s cycle. The new hearth fires would be kindled with the remnants of the previous year’s log.



The new log would be chosen and brought to the home or village to be burned through the entire length of the year’s longest night. There would be celebrations and storytelling, of the feats of heroes and warriors of the past as well as lessons for the children.

Yule logs were burned with the intentions of thanking the local deities for all that the previous year had to offer and each person began their new year with wishes and intentions for the upcoming year. 

There are different stories about why the Yule log is an important tradition in the pagan faiths. Some tell a story of the battle between the Oak and Holly kings for dominance over the other.

 Others tell stories of a celebration of the return of the Sun. The winter solstice is the direct opposite of the summer solstice. This is the shortest day of the year and marks the beginning of winter. It also marks the end of the progression of days growing shorter and nights growing longer.

The tradition of the Yule log has been carried on in the form of Yule cakes and decorative logs used as center pieces. Often the stories behind them are no longer remembered or have been retold in ways that support a newer set of winter traditions. A modern way to celebrate the solstice with a Yule log is to create one with candles that can be replace each year. It is also nice to use greenery that can be refreshed each year too.



Locally gathered and recycled items.  

The log my daughter and I created this year is a decorative version. The materials we used are found in nature in the area we live. We live in the Arizona desert, so some of the traditional materials are not easily gathered within walking distance of our home. It is not necessary that you gather the materials within walking distance, but I chose this as part of the criteria for what we gathered. I felt this would be a simple way of honoring the fact that the ancestors didn’t have automobiles or craft shops and mass retailers available to them for gathering their supplies.



In the desert behind our home there is a large very old Black walnut tree. To honor this grandmother’s presence in our lives we went and gathered up three of the branches she had lost this year. My husband cut the lengths of these three branches to about 18 inches.

 My daughter and I bundled them together with white, gold and red ribbons. These ribbons were originally her hair ties and she decided since we were gathering supplies locally she could recycle her hair ribbons. Going along with Jolene’s theme of recycling I found some Christmas candles, from years ago, and brought them out to be included in our Yule log.

Adding pine boughs.

The colors of the ribbons and candles are traditionalholiday colors. There are many ideas about what these colors represent, but to us the gold represents the returning of the sun’s energy, white is the blanket of snow that covers much of the northern world this time of year as well as the goddess. Green is the color of the evergreens that seem to live through even the harshest of conditions. Red is the color of the berries left from the last harvest that will sustain the wildlife until spring arrives.

The final touches are cinnamon sticks, cedar boughs and pinecones we gathered from the trees growing along the fence line where she catches the school bus, another short walk from our home. The cinnamon sticks are always in my cupboard and always smell so good this time of year as we bake our goodies to share with our neighbors.

This year we will celebrate the return of the Sun by writing our wishes and intentions for the new year on one side of a slip of paper, and a list of all we are grateful for this year on the other side. As we each contemplate these things we then light the slips of paper on fire with the candles in the log and let them burn out in a fire safe dish. Once they have extinguished themselves we will scatter the ashes to the wind, and let go of the previous year while welcoming the new one.

Finished Yule Log on Winter altar.

Have a Wicked Good Day!
Molly

P.S. Be sure to follow all the links in the article... there are recipies,Yule history and shopping links.

Altar Re-sets



Living Room Altar

WOW… so much has gone on since I last wrote. I have gone on a cleaning binge in my home. It started with tearing down my bedroom altar and throwing a royal hissy fit... at life in general. I still have not re-set that altar, but I did re-set one of my living room altars. This altar is a multi level altar, set in an entertainment center.

1st Level

Each of the levels represents a specific level of who I am Spiritually/Magically. The very top level has the skull of a horse that I used to own, deer antlers found in the dessert near my home, roses in a vase given to me by my sons and fiancé, scrimshaw art work my Dad made, as well as turtle shell and gourd rattles. This is the level of everything that is most primal in my Spirituality. This is the level I honor my inner Shaman.

2nd Level

The second level down, and main focus is the altar of myself. Here I have two distinct paintings created by two very different artists' depicting how they view me as a magickal practitioner. One of the paintings is a whimsical patchwork witch and her carefree black kitty. This is the one I express to the outside world the most often.

Witchy Poo
by
Chanda Mendoza



The other painting is a much deeper understanding of who I am as a magician/witch. This was given to me by a brilliant magickal practitioner who shared his magickal lineage with me. For several years I’ve kept this painting hidden, because I didn’t think I wanted to work with that energy anymore. But… as I was setting this part of the altar, I kept hearing a repetitive phrase running through the deepest part of my mind. “You can’t fight the lineage” …



She Dances as Raven
by
 Micheal Laridon

So, I’ve decided to honor this part of who I am and bring this energy back into my life. This energy can be unsettling and powerful, even chaotic. To most people it would seem this energy is something that takes control and spins you out into the vast reaches of the universe, never to be found quite the same again. I think that is probably just what most of us really need, a spin on the wheel of magick, just to let the loose stuff fly away, and disorient you enough to decide who and what you need in your life. I’m not saying this is an easy energy to work with, initially, but after several years of letting the dust settle… I’m much clearer about who I am and what I am here on this particular plane to do.



3rd Level

The third and final level is a place where I keep the tools I use for divination. I have two scrying bowls, one my son made for me and the second one I made. I also keep the magick box my oldest daughter made for me as well as other ceramic pieces my other children made for me. Often I incorporate things my children have made for me or given me as part of my magick tools. This keeps me focused on the purpose of my work…. my family… No matter the energy I’m working with at any given time, I think of what effect this might have on my children and their children.

Have a Wicked Good day!
Molly