Ancient Light's Daily Stuff

Daily Stuff 12-6-19 Old Nick and St. Nick

Posted on December 6, 2019 by Anja Snihova'

Hi, folks!

Lighted House Count – 188+7=195 Featured photo by Ken Gagne.

It’s overcast and rather grey and dim today. Rain coming. We already have had 0.01 inches. 58F, wind at 1mph and gusting, AQI68, UV1. Mostly showers today, mostly rain tomorrow and then again on Tuesday.

Yesterday was busy, although not with the hoped-for customers. <sigh> Winter… I spent some time sorting things. We have some new stock again. I got small bottles for amulets that have tiny screw eyes for the corks.

I worked on headers. I’m writing up some new ones and that’s a small window to fit words in…. I really want to get some more herbs written up for the newsletter, too…

Tempus was working in back. I was kinda torqued that we were going to have to do some of the dishes over and he’s been hitting them with vinegar and baking soda. It’s mostly things like the one of the boxes that gets used for butters reeks of garlic… which isn’t what you need in honey-butter or maple-butter.

Tempus got the papers early enough that he was doing bulk paper drops by 10:15, which also included returns from the last several weeks, when the stores were locked up by the time he got there and he couldn’t pick up.

I spent a long while on paperwork, mostly financial stuff. <argh> It’s one of the “perks” of having your own business. …and then I played a game waiting for Tempus to finish Seal Rock.

I went with him for Bayshore and Bayview and added 7 more lighted houses. It was dark, overcast and very quiet. You couldn’t hear the ocean even in Bayshore and the Moon had set long since. I got home at 4:20 and went to bed just a few minutes later and promptly had a massive asthma attack so I was up for another hour and some change.

…and we overslept! We didn’t open until past noon and we had 6 customers walk in the door in that 1st half hour, one of whom followed Tempus in the door after the flags went out!

Class is in just a couple of minutes!

By Arthur Bartlett on 12/4/17 Harbor Island, Seattle, WA.

Today’s Plant is Rhubarb, Rheum rhabarbarum. Best known as “pie plant” or in strawberry and rhubarb jam this is a wonderful and nutritious stalk vegetable, that has been legally counted as a fruit, because of its uses. The roots have been used as a laxative for thousands of years, and the stalks, while strong-tasting when uncooked and with no sugar are delicious in sauces, pies, jellies, juice and so on, but the leaves are poisonous. It is very easy to grow since the roots will over-winter, even if the stalks die back and it’s one of the earliest vegetables to be harvestable. – Feminine, Venus Earth. – Wear a dried piece to help with stomach or gut pain and general protection. The pie served to a mate helps to maintain fidelity and is an aphrodisiac, especially when combined with strawberries.

If you ever wondered why Old Nick and St. Nick…. The bishop of Myra destroyed the temple of Artemis whose feast day was Dec. 6. He supposedly punched Arius in the face during the Council of Nicea**. Not the nicest guy… and quite a number of the Continental folklore of The Black Gentleman resembles the stories of this bishop. The Krampus, Cert or SwartPiet has taken on some of the punishment aspects of this guy. The orange in the toe of the stocking is the old Sun-symbol from the strenae, the green, gift-bearing branches of old Rome. Candy canes are the bishop’s crozier or shepherd’s crook.
**The “Arian Heresy” that Nicolas objected to is the contention that Jesus was created by God, not the same as God. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arian_heresy

The shop opens at 11am today. Winter hours are 11am-5pm Thursday through Monday. Need something off hours? Give us a call at 541-563-7154 or Facebook or email at ancientlight@peak.org If we’re supposed to be closed, but it looks like we’re there, try the door. If it’s open, the shop’s open! In case of bad weather, check here at the blog for updates, on our Facebook as Ancient Light, or call the shop.

Love & Light,
Anja

******

Today’s Astro & Calendar

Waxing Moon Magick – The waxing moon is for constructive magick, such as love, wealth, success, courage, friendship, luck or healthy, protection, divination. Any working that needs extra power, such as help finding a new job or healings for serious conditions, can be done now. Also, love, knowledge, legal undertakings, money and dreams. Phase ends at the Tide Change on 12/11 at 9:12pm Waxing Gibbous Moon – From seven to fourteen days after the new moon. For spells that need concentrated work over a ¼ moon cycle this is the best time for constructive workings. Aim to do the last working on the day of the Full moon, before the turn. Keywords for the Gibbous phase are: analyze, prepare, trust. It is the time in a cycle to process the results of the actions taken during the First Quarter. During this phase you are gathering information. Give up making judgments; it will only lead to worry. Your knowledge is incomplete. Laugh. Analyze and filter. LOOK WITHIN. God/dess aspect: Maiden/Youth, but in the uncommitted phase, the Warriors – Associated God/desses: Dion, Dionysius, Venus, Thor. Phase ends at the Full on 12/10 at 9:12am.

By week’s end, Jupiter is going bye-bye and Venus, having ditched Jupiter, is closing in on Saturn. (The blue 10° scale is about the width of your fist at arm’s length.)

The Moon shines lower left of the Great Square of Pegasus. Look high in the south after darkness falls this week and you should see autumn’s most conspicuous star group. The Great Square of Pegasus stands out in the evening sky at this time of year and, because it lies due south, it looks like a nearly perfect square. These four almost equally bright stars form the body of Pegasus the Winged Horse. The fainter stars that represent the rest of this constellation’s shape trail off to the square’s west.
Uranus (magnitude 5.7, in southern Aries) and Neptune (magnitude 7.9, in eastern Aquarius) stand about equally high in the south and southeast, respectively, in early evening. Use our finder charts for Uranus and Neptune.

Old Farmer’s Almanac Sky map for December – https://www.almanac.com/sky-map-december-2019
Goddess Month of Astrea runs from 11/28 – 12/25
Celtic Tree Month of Ruis/Elder Nov 25 – Dec 22
Runic half-month of Isa/ Is November 28-12 Literally, ‘ice’: a static period. The time of waiting before birth. Nigel Pennick, The Pagan Book of Days, Destiny Books, Rochester, Vermont, USA, 1992, 1992 Runic half-month of Jera/ Jara 12/13-12/27 – Jara signifies the completion of natural cycles, such as fruition, and has a more transcendent meaning of mystic marriage of Earth and Cosmos.*Ø* Wilson’s Almanac free daily ezine | Book of Days | December 13

Sun in Sagittarius
Moon in Aries
Chiron (12/12), Vesta (12/29), Uranus (1/10/20) Retrograde
Color: Pink

©2019 M. Bartlett, Some parts separately copyright

******

Ruis/Elder Nov 25 – Dec 22 – Ruis – (RWEESH), elder – Celtic tree month of Ruis (Elder) commences (Nov 25 – Dec 22) – Like other Iron Age Europeans, the Celts were a polytheistic people prior to their conversion to (Celtic) Christianity. The Celts divided the year into 13 lunar cycles (months or moons). These were linked to specific sacred trees which gave each moon its name. Today commences the Celtic tree month of Elder.
Elder or Elderberry (Sambucus) is a genus of fast-growing shrubs or small trees in the family Caprifoliaceae. They bear bunches of small white or cream coloured flowers in the Spring, that are followed by bunches of small red, bluish or black berries. The berries are a very valuable food resource for many birds. Common North American species include American Elder, Sambucus canadensis, in the east, and Blueberry Elder, Sambucus glauca, in the west; both have blue-black berries. The common European species is the Common or Black Elder, Sambucus nigra, with black berries.
The common elder (Sambucus nigra L.) is a shrub growing to 10 m (33 feet) in damp clearings, along the edge of woods, and especially near habitations. Elders are grown for their blackish berries, which are used for preserves and wine. The leaf scars have the shape of a crescent moon. Elder branches have a broad spongy pith in their centers, much like the marrow of long bones, and an elder branch stripped of its bark is very bone-like. The red elder (S. racemosa L.) is a similar plant at higher elevations; it grows to 5 m (15 feet). Red elder extends its native range to northern North America, and it is cultivated along with other native species, but common elders are seldom seen in cultivation. Elders are in the Honeysuckle family (Caprifoliaceae).

Ruis – Elder Ogam letter correspondences
Month: Makeup days of the thirteenth Moon
Color: Red
Class: Shrub
Letter: R
Meaning: End of a cycle or problem.

to study this month Straif – Blackthorn Ogam letter correspondences
Month: None
Color: Purple
Class: Chieftain
Letter: SS, Z, ST
Meaning: Resentment; Confusion; Refusing to see the truth

******

Tides for Alsea Bay
*

Day        High      Tide Height   Sunrise    Moon Time      % Moon
~ /Low      Time    Feet Sunset Visible
F    6      Low   1:40 AM     2.0   7:38 AM     Set 1:42 AM      64
~ 6     High   8:17 AM     7.2   4:37 PM    Rise 2:10 PM
~ 6      Low   2:58 PM     2.3
~ 6     High   8:35 PM     5.6

******

Affirmation/Thought for the Day – In seeking happiness for others, you find it for yourself.

******

Journal Prompt – What do you think? – In “Horton Hatches the Egg,” by Dr. Seuss, Horton the elephant says, “ I meant what I said and I said what I meant… An elephant’s faithful one hundred percent!” What do you think Horton meant when he said this?

******

Quotes

~   Colors, like features, follow the changes of the emotions. – Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) Spanish artist
~   Democracy… while it lasts is more bloody than either aristocracy or monarchy. Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There is never a democracy that did not commit suicide. – John Adams (1735-1826) US President
~   Broadly speaking, the short words are the best, and the old words best of all. – W. Churchill
~   I submit to you that if a man hasn’t discovered something he will die for, he isn’t fit to live. – Martin Luther King, Jr., Speech in Detroit, ’63

Life is mostly froth and bubble,
Two things stand like stone.
Kindness in another’s trouble,
Courage in your own. –Adam Lindsay Gordon (1833–70)

******

Yule Magick – Crafts

Yule Incense Recipe by Scott Cunningham

2 parts Frankincense
2 parts Pine needles or resin
1 part Cedar
1 part Juniper berries

Mix and smolder at Wiccan rites on Yule (on or around December 21st), or during the winter months to cleanse the home and to attune with the forces of nature amid the cold days and nights.

(The above recipe for “Yule Incense” is directly quoted from Scott Cunningham’s book: “The Complete Book of Incense, Oils & Brews”, page 100, Llewellyn Publications, 1992.)

Winter Solstice Ritual Potpourri Recipe by Gerina Dunwich

20 drops musk oil
25 drops pine oil
1 cup oak moss
2 cups dried mistletoe
1 cup dried poinsettia flowers
1 cup dried bayberries
1/2 cup dried rosemary
1/2 cup dried holly leaves and berries
3 crushed pinecones

Mix the musk and pine oils with the oak moss, and then add the remaining ingredients. Stir the potpourri well and store in a tightly covered ceramic or glass container.

(The above recipe for “Winter Solstice Ritual Potpourri” is quoted directly from Gerina Dunwich’s book “The Wicca Spellbook: A Witch’s Collection of Wiccan Spells, Potions and Recipes”, page 164, A Citadel Press Book, Carol Publishing Group, 1994/1995)

Yule Oil – Put in soap or anoint candles

4 drops pine
3 drops cedarwood
3 drops cinnamon
2 drops frankincense
2 drops juniper

Add a pinch of dried pine needles from your tree with garnet, green tourmaline, and clear quartz crystals. A great Yule tree smell with the hint of log fires and spicy pomanders!

******

Silliness – Bumper Snickers – Daddy, why doesn’t this magnet pick up this floppy disk?

Posted in Daily Stuff, Newsletter, Pagan, Wiccan | Tagged Affirmation, Astrology, Astronomy, Bumper Snickers, Celtic Tree Month, Goddess Month, Journal Prompt, Life is mostly froth and bubble, Magick, Moon, moon phase, Oregon Coast, Pagan, Rheum rhabarbarum, rhubarb, Runic Half Month, Silliness, Solstice, Tides, Today’s Feast, Today’s Plant, Weather, Wicca, Yule Winter Solstice

Daily Stuff 12-5-19 Mikulas Eve

Posted on December 5, 2019 by Anja Snihova'

Hi, folks!

Lighted House Count – 126+25+37=188 Featured photo by Ken Gagne.

I’ve been coughing and sneezing since I woke and no wonder, looking at the air quality numbers! The sunlight has been coming and going, but there’s more sun than shadow by now. 58F, wind at 0mph, AQI154, UV0. It’s still looking like rain tomorrow and Saturday and then starting up again as showers on Tuesday. We might even get some wind next week.

Yesterday we got a nice surprise. We’re going to see most of the kids at Christmas-time! Amor is going to be here for the week before Christmas. Arthur, Raven and Sioned are planning to spend a day down here that week, and DD and Ricky are going to meet up with Tempus, me, Amor and maybe Sash on Christmas day before Amor flies back to Alaska. …and I spent a lot of time talking back and forth with various of them, trying to work out details.

We didn’t really get moving until past 4pm and I ended up taking a nap again in the evening. Tempus and I were desultorily doing chores and then we went out to the spring for water, after a drive around town, looking for lighted displays. I’m disappointed that the ones along 101 are more blown lights than lighted. We counted 25 more in town and out route 34 another 37.

The Moon was fuzzily beautiful in a mostly-cloudy sky and the reflections of Her on the calm river and Eckman lake were amazing. There was far too little light to take a picture, not with my camera, anyway. The far shore around Alsea Bay where the river widens was reflecting perfectly, making a black lace edge for the sky above and there was just enough diffuse light from the Moon in the cloudy sky to make it show up.

After we got back I did a little more on the computer and then curled up with a book and some embroidery, but Tempus was writing and it took him awhile to get back to the chores so that I could finish mine! Granted, a lot of mine was sorting out clean dishes (we did several loads of things that needed to be sterilized, at Sasha’s). Some of them turned out to not be very clean after all. They should have been soaked with some vinegar water before. <sigh> Well, it happens. It’s nice, though, to be getting some of the bottles ready for some of the rose wine that’s in a carboy tucked away. One more project to finish, that’s been waiting for awhile. …and my small bottles for the liqueurs that have been perking along are clean, too!

So today is headers and extra stock. Linda (Canterbury Candles) called earlier, but I was in the bathroom . 🙂 So, she’s going go call back in a bit. I need to work by the compounding station since I want to move the purple drawers back into that area. There are headers to be done and a class handout to work on. There’s a tvarog that’s been culturing all night and will need to be cooked and drained and some other small things of that sort and I need to finish the shopping list for things thatt Tempus is going to pick up on Friday. Nutmegs… gotta remember…. Busy day. Paper route tonight!

I had tried and tried to get a pic of this pond that we saw twice a day on our way to and from the shop, but never managed it. Ken did! He even caught the Magic Circles of the rain! Photo by Ken Gagne from 11/23/16

Today’s Plant is Miner’s Lettuce, Claytonia perfoliata (aka winter purslane, or Indian lettuce). It’s a plant native to our area, growing and blooming in our soggy spring and drying out and dying back in the summer. I’ve seen it re-bloom in the fall. It’s a leaf vegetable that can be eaten raw or cooked like spinach. It’s really choice in salads and very high in vitamin C. It got the name because the Gold Rush miners ate it to prevent scurvy, since they really weren’t eating right. Like any lettuce or most of the salad greens it’s Feminine and Water, but as any high Vitamin C food, its planet correspondence is the Sun. – Sprinkling it inside the home brings happiness, so it’s good in floor washes or new home blessings. Carry it with you for luck and to protect from violence. Put it into sleep pillows or add to a dream catcher to keep away nightmares. I’ve actually slipped it between the mattress and sheets for this purpose. More here:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miner%27s_lettuceMore on the genus here:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claytonia

Mikulas Eve (MEE-coo-lahsh) is held the night before the Feast of St. Nicholas. In the Czech Republic, this is the equivalent of Halloween in the US. The Christmas Markets are up in every square, huge trees in front of hotels and municipal buildings and the shopping areas light up at night as bright as day. There are cookies and candies and candles in every shop window and greenery everywhere that it can be placed. On the night of December 5th, though, you will see small groups of children, about the same age as our trick-or-treat-ers, dressed up and going from door to door. Often “professionally” costumed groups show up in the hotels and markets for the tourists, but everywhere else, it’s whichever children decide to. One child is in a bishop’s robe, with a crook and miter and long white beard, usually of cotton wool. Another child is dressed all in white (called Andelicka, “Little Angel), sometimes with wings, but usually with a red sash and a wreath on her head, sometimes with lighted candles, who has a basket of dukati. A third child is dressed all in black or brown (the Sasak (SAH- shahk, the imp), is liberally smudged with soot and carries a sack, chains and either a whip or a bundle of switches. There are some other characters that occasionally show up, such as Death, the Turk, the Lost Knight, the Old Soldier, a violinist, the Miser, the Dancer, the Smart Little Maid (all characters from Czech folklore) but usually just the first three. They give goodies to small children, if “they’ve been good” and if the parents report that they have not been good, the Sasak will growl at them and threaten to pop them in his sack loaded with chains to drag them off to the “cold places”. One thing that struck me was that they collect money and goodies, not for themselves, (although they are often invited in for hot chocolate or cider and kolachki (pastries) but to pass on to other children, UNICEF, or to the food bank instead of the personal greed that our celebration gets into. More on other celebrations of this day here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Nicholas#Belgium.2C_the_Netherlands_and_the_Lower_Rhineland_.28Germany.29 plus the articles that follow on “German speaking countries” and “Central Europe”.

Love & Light,
Anja

******

Today’s Astro & Calendar

Now the Moon is straight below the east (left) side of the Great Square of Pegasus in early evening.

Mercury’s best morning show of the year – The innermost planet shines brightly low in the southeastern sky before dawn during November’s final week. – Astronomy: Roen Kelly

Mercury remains a fine sight in morning twilight this week. The innermost planet shines at magnitude –0.6 and appears about 10° above the southeastern horizon 30 minutes before the Sun rises. That’s bright enough to see with the naked eye, although binoculars will help you to pick it out of the twilight glow. When viewed through a telescope, the planet’s 6″-diameter disk appears nearly 80 percent lit.

This should be a good year for the Geminids. There’s not too much light from the Moon during the evening, and then the Moon sets around 10 or 11 p.m., leaving the sky dark for the peak hours until dawn.

The Geminid meteor shower gets underway this week. Although the shower doesn’t peak until December 14, you may get a better view now because a nearly Full Moon will share the sky on the peak night. For the best views, observe after the waxing gibbous Moon sets — around 12:30 a.m. local time this morning and about an hour later each successive day — and before twilight begins around 5:30 a.m. To tell a Geminid meteor from a random dust particle burning up in Earth’s atmosphere, trace the streak of light’s path backward. A shower meteor will appear to originate from the constellation Gemini the Twins.
Saturn (magnitude +0.6, also in Sagittarius) is the steady yellow “star” upper left of bright Venus. Every evening Venus gets about 1° closer to Saturn; the gap between them narrows from 13° to 5° this week. They’ll be in conjunction, just under 2° apart, on December 10th and 11th.

Sun in Sagittarius
Moon in Pisces enters Aries at 11:44am
Chiron (12/12), Vesta (12/29), Uranus (1/10/20) Retrograde
Color: White

Planting 12/3-5

©2019 M. Bartlett, Some parts separately copyright

******

Ruis – Elder Ogam letter correspondences
Month: Makeup days of the thirteenth Moon
Color: Red
Class: Shrub
Letter: R
Meaning: End of a cycle or problem.

to study this month Straif – Blackthorn Ogam letter correspondences
Month: None
Color: Purple
Class: Chieftain
Letter: SS, Z, ST
Meaning: Resentment; Confusion; Refusing to see the truth

******

Tides for Alsea Bay
*

Day        High      Tide Height   Sunrise    Moon Time      % Moon
~ /Low      Time    Feet Sunset Visible
Th   5      Low 12:47 AM     1.6   7:37 AM     Set 12:42 AM      54
~ 5     High   7:35 AM     6.9   4:37 PM    Rise 1:49 PM
~ 5      Low   2:03 PM     2.9
~ 5     High   7:25 PM     5.6

******

Affirmation/Thought for the Day – Do it for Love.

******

Journal Prompt – Friends – Which friend has had the greatest impact on your life and why?

******

Quotes

~   That’s inches away from being millimetre perfect. – Ted Lowe
~   The more sand has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through. – Machiavelli
~   Hope is the feeling that we have that the feeling that we have is not permanent. – Mignon McLaughlin
~   I am for an art that is political-erotical-mystical, that does something other than sit on its ass in a museum. – Claes Oldenburg

Heart-warm against the stormy white,
The Rose of Joy burns warmer yet. – Thomas Gold Appleton (1812–84)

******

Yule Magick – Lore

A link for the kids, particularly. The whole site has a lot of fun stuff. – https://www.brownielocks.com/wintersolstice.html

The Winter Solstice

The Winter Solstice is the longest night of the year. The Sun has reached its weakest point, but on this night it will be reborn and begin its growth to the long days of summer. All the holidays of December are connected to this event. The Celts call this day Alban Arthuan. The name Yule is Germanic. At this time of the year many people become depressed. Often this is blamed on the fact that the celebrations fail to meet their expectations. But people have always become depressed at this time of the year because of the lack of sunlight and the seeming death of all of nature. To ancient peoples this fear was personified as an attack of elves and ghostly spirits, similar to the beliefs surrounding Halloween. This is obvious when one studies the customs of the Shetland and Orkney Islands in the far north of Scotland. This was one of the last places in Europe to become Christian, therefore their customs are closer to the ancient past. Here, this holiday was called Yule into the twentieth century. On the actual solstice, these islands see only six hours of daylight. Their Yule lasts from December 20 to January 13.

During this period, defense from the spirits of the dead becomes paramount. The house and barn are decorated with amulets in the form of straw crosses. Sheaves of corn are placed on the roof; round cakes are baked with the solar cross inscribed on them, and plenty of ale is brewed. Drinking ale is so important that there is a fine for anyone who abstains. During this period all work except the most necessary stops, and the nights are spent singing and dancing. In this way, the danger and the depression are staved off by joy. We often hear that we decorate our homes with evergreens because they are a symbol of life everlasting in this season of frost. This is true, but holly is also an amulet that captures evil on its barbs before it can enter the house. In the West, one must realize that it is natural to become depressed at this time of year. Just accept it, and make use of the ancient amulets and rituals designed to help bring back the Sun. ~ Robert Place

Winter Solstice from Wikipedia
Yule American Heritage Dictionary Yule (yÅ«l) n. – Christmas, or the season or feast celebrating Christmas. [Middle English yole, from Old English geÅl.]

The noun Yule has one meaning: Meaning #1: period extending from Dec. 24 to Jan. 6
Synonyms: Christmas, Christmastide, Christmastime, Yuletide, Noel

Wikipedia – Yule is the winter solstice BlÃ³t (celebration) in ÃsatrÃº, the pagan practices of the Germanic peoples prior to the arrival of Christianity. Today, it is also one of the eight solar holidays, or sabbats, of Neopaganism. In modern neopaganism, Yule is celebrated on the winter solstice: in the northern hemisphere, circa December 21, and in the southern hemisphere, circa June 21.

“Yule” and “Yuletide” are also archaic terms for Christmas, sometimes invoked in songs to provide atmosphere. Indeed, this is the only meaning of “Yule” accepted by either the full Oxford English Dictionary or the Concise Oxford Dictionary, and people unfamiliar with ancient Germanic pagan traditions will not distinguish between Yule and Christmas. This usage survives in the term “Yule log”; it may also persist in some Scottish dialects.

Connection to modern Christmas

Many of the symbols associated with the modern holiday of Christmas such as the burning of the Yule log, the bringing in of a Christmas trees, the eating of ham, the hanging of boughs, holly, mistletoe, etc. are apparently derived from traditional northern European Yule celebrations. When the first missionaries began converting the Germanic peoples to Christianity, they found it easier to simply provide a Christian reinterpretation for popular feasts such as Yule and allow the celebrations themselves to go on largely unchanged, rather than trying to suppress them. The Scandinavian tradition of slaughtering a pig at Christmas (see Christmas ham), and not in the autumn, is probably the most salient evidence for this. The tradition derives from the sacrifice to the god Freyr at the Yule celebrations. Halloween and Easter are theorized to have been likewise assimilated from northern European pagan festivals.

English historian Bede‘s Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum (“Ecclesiastic History of the English People”) contains a letter from Pope Gregory I to Saint Mellitus, who was then on his way to England to conduct missionary work among the heathen Anglo-Saxons. The Pope suggests that converting heathens is easier if they are allowed to retain the outward forms of their traditional pagan practices and traditions, while recasting those traditions spiritually towards the one true God instead of to their pagan gods (whom the Pope refers to as “devils”), “to the end that, whilst some gratifications are outwardly permitted them, they may the more easily consent to the inward consolations of the grace of God”. [1] (http://www.englishheathenism.homestead.com/popesletter.html) The Pope sanctions such conversion tactics as Biblically acceptable, pointing out that God did much the same thing with the ancient Israelites and their pagan sacrifices.

Etymology

Of the contested origin of JÃ³l, one likely connection is to Old Norse hjÃ³l, ‘wheel,’ to identify the moment when the wheel of the year is at its lowpoint, ready to rise again. Other linguists suggest that the connection is fortuitous, and that JÃ³l has been inherited by Germanic and Scandinavian languages from a pre-Indo-European substrate language.

In the Scandinavian languages, the term Jul covers both Yule and Christmas, and is also occasionally used to denote other holidays in December, e.g., “jÃ¸disk jul” or “judisk jul” for Hanukkah.

Traditional Yule

What is certain is that Yule celebrations at the winter solstice predate Christianity, and though there are numerous references to Yule in the Icelandic sagas, there are few accounts of how Yule was actually celebrated, beyond the fact that it was a time for feasting. ‘Yule-Joy’, with dancing, continued through the Middle Ages in Iceland, but was frowned upon when the Reformation arrived. It is, however, known to have included the sacrifice of a pig for the god Frey, a tradition which survives in the Scandinavian Christmas ham.

The confraternities of artisans of the 9th century, which developed into the medieval guilds, were denounced by Catholic clergy for their “conjurations” when they swore to support one another in coming adversity and in business adventures. The occasions were annual banquets on December 26,

“feast day of the pagan god Jul, when it was possible to couple with the spirits of the dead and with demons that returned to the surface of the earth… Many clerics denounced these conjurations as being not only a threat to public order but also, more serious in their eyes, satanic and immoral. Hincmar, in 858, sought in vain to Christianize them” (Rouche 1987, p. 432).

Neopagan Yule

Today the holiday is, with Beltane and Samhain, one of the most popular among Neopagans. In some traditions, it commemorates the death of the Holly King (symbolizing the old year and the shortened sun) at the hands of his son and successor, the Oak King (the new year and the new sun that begins to grow). In other traditions, it is seen as the birthday of the new sun god.

A traditional ritual is a vigil from dusk to dawn, the longest night of the year, to make sure that the sun will rise again.

Among the sabbats, Yule is preceded by Samhain and followed by Imbolc.

See also: Wheel of the Year.

External Links

Reference

Rouche, Michel, “Private life conquers state and society,” in A History of Private Life vol I, Paul Veyne, editor, Harvard University Press 1987 ISBN 0-674-39974-9

Copyrights:

		Dictionary definition of Yule The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2004, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. More from Dictionary
		WordNet information about Yule WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. More from WordNet
		Wikipedia information about Yule This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article “Yule”. More from Wikipedia
		Translations for Yule Copyright © 2005, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved. More from Translations

******

Silliness – This is who I am

Posted in Daily Stuff, Newsletter, Pagan, Wiccan | Tagged Affirmation, Astrology, Astronomy, Celtic Tree Month, Claytonia perfoliata, Goddess Month, Heart-warm, Indian lettuce, Journal Prompt, Magick, Miner's Lettuce, Moon Moon phase, Oregon Coast, Pagan, Runic Half Month, Silliness, This is who I am, Tides, Today’s Feast, Today’s Plant, Weather, Wicca, winter purslane, Yule

Daily Stuff 12-4-19 Cookie Day

Posted on December 4, 2019 by Anja Snihova'

Hi, folks!

Lighted House Count – 126. Featured photo by Ken Gagne.

Partly cloudy, but it’s all thin, high, stripy stuff, with foggy clumps at the lower levels. The computer says that it’s still, but that’s by the water. Up on the heights things were flapping pretty well! 41F, wind at 0mph, AQI94, UV0. It looks like rain starting Friday well into Saturday and then the chance goes up again on Tuesday.

Yesterday was actually a cookie day for me. 🙂 After we got things together we drove into Newport to get the key from Sash (he was at work). We started laundry and dishes and then discovered that neither the cookie sheets nor the mixer had come with us!

I had a sugar cookie dough ready, so I tended things and got those baked up. Yum! Tempus ran home and got the things we forgot and then picked up a couple of pizzas on the way back for supper. I did a batch of marzipan shortbread cookies, but only 1/2 the batch got baked. The other 1/2 is in Sash’s freezer for next week, when I’ll hopefully manage the pfeffernusse that I didn’t get to this week. I need to get a bunch of ingredients! I’m also planning on making unicorn bark for the holiday boxes, but I have to do cookies, especially because the “keepers” are going to be for the February feast.

Tempus spent awhile fixing Sasha’s futon sofa/bed. A couple of visiting kids had knocked some of the slats out. We got to have supper with Sash after Tempus picked him up from work, having baked the pizza, then we packed up and headed home.

The Moon was lovely, really bright when She wasn’t shy and hiding behind clouds. Moonlight on the ocean is just lovely! It was foggy in spots, though, not a good omen for the paper run. We’re starting to count lighted houses, now. We counted 30 before we left Toledo and 21 more on the way home.

Tempus offloaded. I put things away. He headed back to Newport for the paper route and was underway before midnight. I was researching skates.

I got picked up at 5:30. It was quiet and there were stars, but also quite a lot of high cloud. There were 17 lighted houses in Bayshore, 7 along Bayview, and 51 in Waldport, proper. As the day dawned, the sky was all striped, first in colors of plum and slate, then in pink and gold. The wind was picking up and it got pretty chilly, when it was 48 when I left the shop and 41, not long before sunrise.

Today… well, we’re going to sleep until very late. We’re planning to be at the shop in the evening, so we can finish up some chores there.

Yaquina Bay Fishing boats and bridge, Newport, OR – taken on 11/28/18 by Ken Gagne

A few years ago, as a Yule Gift to all of you, I wrote up a description of how I make ornaments out of small books. These are a fun craft. If you start with a small book that suits the person you’re making it for (try bookstores, but the pharmacy across the street from us has ’em in the gift section!) or one with special nostalgic significance, you can have an inexpensive gift (or 6!) in an afternoon. Go to this page: http://wp.me/P2xgQ8-H8 Look for this picture and click on the link below the picture (clicking the title will do nothing, clicking the pic will take you only to the pic!) …and there are a lot more tutorials on the page! Or go straight to the PDF https://ancientlightshop.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/yule-gift-2012-book-ornaments2.pdf

The local larkspurs, delphinium trollifolium, and delphinium pavonaceum (which the Wiki article says is confined to the Valley, but I’ve collected out here….) are pretty flowers in shade of white, blue and purple. They’re called delphiniums after the shape of the nectary. More here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delphinium_trolliifolium and here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delphinium_pavonaceum Other names are Larksheal and Staggerweed – Feminine, Venus, Water – The flowers frighten away venomous creatures and ghosts. Sprinkle between your eyes and a Litha fire to keep your sight clear. Use in rituals to call upon Dolphin energy.

Today is the feast of St. Barbara. This Virgin, & Martyr was Born in the mid third century somewhere in the Roman Empire and died in early fourth century to late third century, executed by her father for becoming a Christian. Her feast, on December 4 is no longer on Roman Catholic calendar, because they can’t prove she existed. Her symbols are a three-windowed tower, a palm branch, a chalice, or lightning. She is the Patron Saint of prisoners, architects, artillerymen and mathematicians. At various points in history her stories have probably been confused with pagan deities. In many of the Central European countries today, each family member will cut a twig from a tree that blooms and/or fruits. (My grandparents did this every year.) These are put in water in a warm place and the number of blossoms foretell the winter’s weather. The person whose twig blooms the most is said to be the favorite of the Goddess (usually listed as Mary….) More here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Barbara

Love & Light,
Anja

******

Today’s Astro & Calendar

Right after dark, look high above the Moon for the Great Square of Pegasus oriented level.

Orion rises above the Persian Gulf coast – The celestial Hunter climbs above the eastern horizon around 9 p.m. local time this week, a stark reminder about winter’s approach. –
Amir Shahcheraghian

Orion fully clears the eastern horizon by about 8 p.m. now, depending on how far east or west you live in your time zone. High above Orion shines orange Aldebaran. Above Aldebaran is the little Pleiades cluster, the size of your fingertip at arm’s length. Far left of Aldebaran and the Pleiades shines bright Capella. Down below Orion, brilliant Sirius rises around 9.

By week’s end, Jupiter is going bye-bye and Venus, having ditched Jupiter, is closing in on Saturn. (The blue 10° scale is about the width of your fist at arm’s length.)

It’s time to grab your final views of Jupiter before it succumbs to the Sun’s glare. You can find the giant world just 6° high in the southwest a half-hour after sunset. It shows up if you have an unobstructed horizon largely because it remains bright, glowing at magnitude –1.8. Only the Moon and Venus appear brighter. Jupiter sinks lower with each passing day and will disappear next week on its way to solar conjunction December 27.

Moon Apogee/Perigee – * For a good explanation of what this is – https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/moon/lunar-perigee-apogee.html

The Moon reaches apogee, the farthest point in its orbit around Earth, at 11:08 p.m. EST. It then lies 251,311 miles (404,446 kilometers) from Earth’s center.
Jupiter (magnitude –1.8) moves farther to the lower right of Venus in twilight and becomes trickier to spot before it sets. The gap between them increases from 6° to 12° this week.

Old Farmer’s Almanac Sky map for November –https://www.almanac.com/content/sky-map-november-2019
Goddess Month of Astrea runs from 11/28 – 12/25
Celtic Tree Month of Ruis/Elder Nov 25 – Dec 22
Runic half-month of Isa/ Is November 28-12 Literally, ‘ice’: a static period. The time of waiting before birth. Nigel Pennick, The Pagan Book of Days, Destiny Books, Rochester, Vermont, USA, 1992, 1992

Sun in Sagittarius
Moon in Pisces.
Chiron (12/12), Vesta (12/29), Uranus (1/10/20) Retrograde
Color: Yellow

Planting 12/3-5

©2019 M. Bartlett, Some parts separately copyright

******

Ruis – Elder Ogam letter correspondences
Month: Makeup days of the thirteenth Moon
Color: Red
Class: Shrub
Letter: R
Meaning: End of a cycle or problem.

to study this month Straif – Blackthorn Ogam letter correspondences
Month: None
Color: Purple
Class: Chieftain
Letter: SS, Z, ST
Meaning: Resentment; Confusion; Refusing to see the truth

******

Tides for Alsea Bay
*

Day        High      Tide Height   Sunrise    Moon Time      % Moon
~ /Low      Time    Feet Sunset Visible
W    4     High   6:48 AM     6.7   7:36 AM    Rise 1:26 PM      45
~ 4      Low 12:57 PM     3.4   4:37 PM
~ 4     High   6:09 PM     5.8

******

Affirmation/Thought for the Day – Things that happen in life affect your energy. You can’t stop things from happening, but you can somewhat influence and determine your response to what happens. Your actions throughout life continuously affect your chi (life energy). These impressions become perpetual conditioning factors on your personal flow of chi.

******

Journal Prompt – Friends – What would you do if a friend borrows things from you but never returns them?

******

Quotes

~   All mankind’s inner feelings eventually manifest themselves as an outer reality. – Stuart Wilde
~   As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. – M. Williamson
~   The chief danger in life is that you may take too many precautions. – Alfred Adler
~   Saying no can be the ultimate self-care. – Claudia Black

Fairbanks Under the Solstice

Slowly, without sun, the day sinks
toward the close of December.
It is minus sixty degrees.

Over the sleeping houses a dense
fog rises—smoke from banked fires,
and the snowy breath of an abyss
through which the cold town
is perceptibly falling.

As if Death were a voice made visible,
with the power of illumination…

Now, in the white shadow
of those streets, ghostly newsboys
make their rounds, delivering
to the homes of those
who have died of the frost
word of the resurrection of Silence. – John Haines, 1924 – 2011 – Excerpted from The Owl in the Mask of the Dreamer: Collected Poems, copyright © 1993 by John Haines

******

Yule Magick – Recipes

Festive Ham Balls

3 cups bisquick
2 teaspoons parsley flakes
10 1/2 cups smoked ham
2 teaspoons spicy brown mustard
4 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated
2/3 teaspoon milk
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Lightly grease a 15 1/2″ x 10 1/2″ baking pan.
Mix all above ingredients in a non-metal bowl.
Shape mixture into 1″ balls.
Place the balls about 2″ apart in the pan.
Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees, or until brown.
Remove from pan and serve immediately.

Makes 16 servings.

Brighter Day Cheese Ball

3 tablespoons finely chopped pecans
1/4 teaspoon red hot pepper sauce
1 pkg. (8-oz) Neufchatel cream cheese
1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
3 green onions w/tops, finely chopped
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup minced parsley

Preheat the oven to 350.
Spread out chopped pecans on a cookie sheet.
Bake for 8 minutes or until toasted, tossing once.
In a small non-metal bowl, mix the cream cheese, onions, mustard, red pepper sauce, and garlic with mixer at a medium speed for 3 minutes.
Stir in the cheddar cheese.
Wrap in plastic wrap and shape into approx. 4″ ball, refrigerate for 15 minutes.
After, on a sheet of waxed paper, toss the pecans and parsley.
Unwrap the cheese ball and carefully roll it around in the mixture, covering it completely.
Rewrap the cheese ball and place in refrigerator until time to serve.

Serve with crackers or fresh vegetables. Makes 24 servings.

Frosty the Cheese Ball – About 3 cups
2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
1 container (3 ounces) real bacon bits
1-1/4 cups finely chopped walnuts
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 scallions, finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon prepared white horseradish
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients; mix well.
Divide the mixture into three balls: one small, one medium, and one large.
Arrange the balls on a serving platter in a line to form a snowman lying down.
If desired, decorate “Frosty” (see Serving Tip).
Serve, or cover and chill until ready to serve.

SERVING TIP: It’s fun to garnish this with sliced black olives for the eyes
and mouth, a baby carrot for the nose, red bell pepper triangles for buttons
and pretzel sticks for arms, but feel free to decorate with any of your
favorite edible delights.
Kerry

Creamy Mushroom Puff
A third of a cup/60g/2oz of vegan margarine
4 tablespoons of plain white flour
1 onion
4 cloves of garlic, crushed or very finely chopped (this can be reduced or left out if desired)
3 cups of mushrooms, sliced
half a litre/500ml of soya milk
1 glass of white wine (or stock)
handful of chopped parsley
salt and pepper to taste
approx. 500g/18oz of frozen puff pastry (this even comes ready-rolled now for extra laziness!!!)

Melt the margarine and cook the onion and garlic in it for a few minutes and then add the sliced mushrooms and cook for a couple of minutes more.
Add the flour and stir well.
Gradually add the soya milk stirring all the time and then the wine and keep stirring on a low heat until the sauce thickens.
Once thick remove from the heat and add your seasoning and the parsley.
Allow to cool slightly while you prepare the pastry.
Roll out into 2 wide rectangular shapes reserving some pastry for decoration.
Place one sheet of pastry on a greased baking tray.
Heap the slightly cooled sauce onto it leaving a space round the edges.
Place the top sheet on and seal up the edges with some soya milk or water (fold over if needed).
Make some small slits on the top of the puff and let your artistic side shine with the reserved pastry!
I usually make holly leaves to place on the top but do whatever you like. Glaze with soya milk and then bake in a medium hot oven for about half an hour or until the pastry seems cooked (no soggy bits and nicely puffed up!)

Nice served with gravy, roast potatoes, stuffing, vegan sausages, cranberry sauce and vegetables of your choice – a feast!

******

Silliness – Hello Krampus

Posted in Daily Stuff, Newsletter, Pagan, Wiccan | Tagged Affirmation, Astrology, Astronomy, Celtic Tree Month, delphinium pavonaceum, delphinium trollifolium, Fairbanks Under the Solstice, Goddess Month, Hello Krampus, Journal Prompt, larkspurs, Magick, Moon Moon phase, Oregon Coast, Pagan, Runic Half Month, Silliness, Tides, Today’s Feast, Today’s Plant, Weather, Wicca, Yule, Yule Recipes | Leave a comment

Daily Stuff 12-3-19 Day of Remembrance for Bogatir Svatogor

Posted on December 3, 2019 by Anja Snihova'

Hi, folks!

Featured photo by Ken Gagne.

The sun is shining as brightly as it can, but it’s a little strained and a bit more gold than it should be. There’s a slash burn not far from town that colored last night’s sunset and it’s still going. …and there are clouds up there, too. They’re thin, high cirrus it looks like, but enough to dim the already winter sun. 48F, wind at 0mph, AQI66, UV1. Yeah, the air quality index shows that burn…. This is an ideal day for burning slash, since the woods are pretty damp, there’s almost no wind…but it really degrades the air quality. It looks like the rain on Friday ought to be showers and the main chance for some real rain is going to be on Saturday. They’re talking about 2/5 of an inch.

Yesterday was very quiet. We had one customer all day, a lady who came in at 8pm, talked to Tempus for an hour and bought a dollar’s worth of herbs. 🙂 Tempus worked in back, fixing one of the wet spots in the ceiling, which took a lot of cussing.

I worked up front, writing mostly, although I was still setting up headers to print. We had paper in the printer in case of charge cards, so I didn’t want to switch it out for card stock and make *that* mistake for the umpteenth time. I ended up printing the whole lot long after I should have been done for the night.

Today we’re heading over to Sash’s. We’re going do some of our weekly stuff, but mostly it’s for cookie baking. I think I’m going to try for at least one batch of pfeffernusse. I was going to do springerle (they’re not going to be edible yet, for Christmas, oh well) but pfeffernusse are a good start.

Paper run tonight. It ought to be decent weather, anyway.

Yachats sunset on 11/30/15 by Ken Gagne

Today’s Plant is Cascade penstemon, or coast penstemon, Penstemon serrulatus. A member of the plantain family, this was used by the 1^stnations peoples as a medicinal remedy for toothache. It’s common name, “Beardtongue” is because the flower appears to be sticking out it’s hairy tongue! It has a lovely flower, and is a semi-deciduous shrub, which usually is very short, unlike many shrubs. The tender shoots that the flowers grow on often get frost-nipped so only survive for a year or so, with the rest of the plant surviving below the level of surrounding plants, acting as a perennial ground-cover. – Feminine, Venus, Earth – Use for headaches, particularly headaches coming from tooth pain or infection by binding the herb with red wool and/or putting it into a red cloth pouch and bind to the head, or even put into your pillowcase at bedtime. You can put a leaf in your shoes to help with the effects of standing on them too long. Roots protect from snakebite and a bunch of the flowers will chase negativity away, particularly that coming from outside. Iow, it won’t do much for a bad mood…. More on Penstemon here:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penstemon

Today’s feast is to Bona Dea, the Good Goddess! This was an exclusively women’s religious festival. Men could be punished with blindness for profaning the rites. Bona Dea’s true name and face, due to her modesty, were unknown to men. She was the goddess of virtuous womanhood, venerated by everyone from emperors to slaves, but mostly by women, children and plebs. More here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bona_Dea

Day of Remembrance for Bogatir Svatogor – Studen (December) 3 – The date refers back to the time of the Great Barrow Gulbishe and the first fight with Pechenegs. Awesome were the honors at the funeral for this great noble warrior. His implements and armor were gigantic, twice as large as the ordinary in size. Today, say a toast to this great warrior. (Bogatir: “Greatest Hero” in Old Russian )

Love & Light,
Anja

******

Today’s Astro & Calendar

Waxing Moon Magick – The waxing moon is for constructive magick, such as love, wealth, success, courage, friendship, luck or healthy, protection, divination. Any working that needs extra power, such as help finding a new job or healings for serious conditions, can be done now. Also, love, knowledge, legal undertakings, money and dreams. Phase ends at the Tide Change on 12/11 at 9:12pm Waxing Crescent phase – Keywords for the Crescent phase are: expansion, growth, struggle, opportunity. It is the time in a cycle that you gather the wisdom learned in the new phase and communicate your intention to move forward. Light a candle. Write or read an affirmation. LISTEN & ABSORB. Commit to your goal. God/dess aspect: Maiden/Youth, energy and enthusiasm – Associated God/dess: Artemis & Apollo, Mayet/Djehuti, Freya/Frey. Phase ends at the Quarter on 12/3 at 10:58pm. Waxing Gibbous Moon – From seven to fourteen days after the new moon. For spells that need concentrated work over a ¼ moon cycle this is the best time for constructive workings. Aim to do the last working on the day of the Full moon, before the turn. Keywords for the Gibbous phase are: analyze, prepare, trust. It is the time in a cycle to process the results of the actions taken during the First Quarter. During this phase you are gathering information. Give up making judgments; it will only lead to worry. Your knowledge is incomplete. Laugh. Analyze and filter. LOOK WITHIN. God/dess aspect: Maiden/Youth, but in the uncommitted phase, the Warriors – Associated God/desses: Dion, Dionysius, Venus, Thor. Phase ends at the Full on 12/10 at 9:12am.

A delightful planetary alignment – Saturn, Venus, and Jupiter put on a stunning show in early December. Be sure to catch them soon, because the two gas giants will disappear within a few weeks. – Astronomy: Roen Kelly

Now Fomalhaut is almost straight under the Moon at nightfall. The Moon is first-quarter this evening and tomorrow evening.

The First Quarter Moon – A half-lit Moon dominates the evening sky at midweek. Normally, Luna looks like a study in black and white, but this image reveals slight color enhancements that reveal differences in lunar surface mineralogy. – Ross Sackett

You can find the First Quarter Moon high in the south as darkness falls, then watch as it sinks toward the western horizon throughout the evening hours. Our satellite officially reaches First Quarter phase at 1:58 a.m. EST tomorrow morning (10:58 p.m. PST tonight). The Moon lies among the faint background stars of Aquarius the Water-bearer all night.
Venus (magnitude –3.9, in Sagittarius) shines low in the southwest in evening twilight, a little higher each week. It’s on its way up to a grand, high “Evening Star” apparition all this coming winter and into spring.

Sun in Sagittarius
Moon in Pisces.
Chiron (12/12), Vesta (12/29), Uranus (1/10/20) Retrograde
Color: Grey

Planting 12/3-5

©2019 M. Bartlett, Some parts separately copyright

******

Ruis – Elder Ogam letter correspondences
Month: Makeup days of the thirteenth Moon
Color: Red
Class: Shrub
Letter: R
Meaning: End of a cycle or problem.

to study this month Straif – Blackthorn Ogam letter correspondences
Month: None
Color: Purple
Class: Chieftain
Letter: SS, Z, ST
Meaning: Resentment; Confusion; Refusing to see the truth

******

Tides for Alsea Bay
*

Day        High      Tide Height   Sunrise    Moon Time      % Moon
~ /Low      Time    Feet Sunset Visible
Tu   3     High   5:57 AM     6.6   7:35 AM    Rise 1:01 PM      36
~ 3      Low 11:43 AM     3.6   4:38 PM     Set 11:41 PM
~ 3     High   4:57 PM     6.2
~ 3      Low 11:53 PM     1.2

******

Affirmation/Thought for the Day – I am ready to live in empowered transformation.

******

Journal Prompt – Wiki – As a whole, do you live for tomorrow or today? Explain.

******

Quotes

~   At this time in history, we are to take nothing personally, Least of all ourselves. For the moment that we do, our spiritual growth and journey comes to a halt. – unnamed Hopi Elder
~   He knows all who knows when to stop. – Guðmundur Jónsson
~   Only in quiet waters things mirror themselves undistorted. Only in a quiet mind is adequate perception of the world. – Hans Margolius
~   A man is happy so long as he chooses to be happy and nothing can stop him. – Aleksander Solzhenitsyn

But Winter has yet brighter scenes-he boasts
Splendors beyond what gorgeous Summer knows;
Or Autumn with his many fruits, and woods
All flushed with many hues. – William Cullen Bryant (1794–1878)

******

Yule Magick – Studies

Happy Holiday Card Spell – December 3rd, 2007
Color of the day: Gray Incense of the day: Parsley

Every year during the holiday rush, we promise ourselves to start early and avoid the rush, to be more organized about writing and mailing our holiday cards. Now is the time. Gather together your address book, pens, stamps, and holiday cards and sit near some mistletoe, which is very good for achievement and attainment. Light frankincense for a favorable outcome to your holiday card project. Light a yellow candle for clarity and eloquence, and light a pink candle for harmony, friendship, and affection. Fix a cup of Earl Grey tea: the bergamot in the tea will bring you luck and accomplishment in your task. Place your hand over your cards and chant:

In love and more,
speed this chore.

Place your hand over your pens and say:
Write the best words I’ve ever heard.

Then write your cards, and embellish them and the envelopes. Address and stamp them. When all the cards are done, stack them together in a pile. Take a deep breath and send affection through your hands into the cards and say:

Merry meet through the mail, love and greetings to you send.

Be sure to mail them the next day. By: Gail Wood

Yule Travel Spell

To ensure that your luggage is not lost or stolen during the busy holiday travel season, make a small cloth pouch of orange fabric and write your full birth name on it. Stuff it with empowered herbs such as comfrey (to protect from theft), mugwort (to protect from loss or attack), and cumin (to give you peace of mind). Tie the talisman with blue string while visualizing the luggage being bound to you. Tie some of that same blue string on your left wrist until you safely reach your destination with all your luggage intact. By: Edain McCoy

Holiday Peace Meditation – November 30th, 2007 – Color of the day: White Incense of the day: Carnation

The holidays can be horrible. There are so many stresses involved: you’re trying to create some idealized experience, trying to deal with family members who have their own ideals, and trying to stretch your finances. There are ways to help banish at least some of the stress and keep a level head to enjoy this special time with family and friends. Find a jar candle with a scent you enjoy—something that speaks of warmth, hearth, and good holiday things. Bless the candle with bringing peace, warmth, and enjoyment to your home. Allow it to burn each day throughout the holiday season. – By: Laurel Reufner

******

Silliness – Yule Riddles – Q: Why did Frosty go to live in the middle of the ocean? A: Because snow man is an island.

Posted in Daily Stuff, Newsletter, Pagan, Wiccan | Tagged Affirmation, Astrology, Astronomy, Beardtongue, Bona Dea, But Winter has yet brighter scenes, Cascade penstemon, Celtic Tree Month, coast penstemon, Day of Remembrance for Bogatir Svatogor, Goddess Month, Journal Prompt, Magick, Moon Moon phase, Oregon Coast, Pagan, Penstemon serrulatus, Runic Half Month, Silliness, Tides, Today’s Feast, Today’s Plant, Weather, Wicca, Yule

Daily Stuff 12-2-19 Feast of Broken Needles

Posted on December 2, 2019 by Anja Snihova'

Hi, folks!

Featured photo by Ken Gagne.

It’s almost bizarre seeing the warm, sunny weather today. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop and for us to start having storm after storm rolling in. 62F, wind at 3mph and gusting. It looks like sunny through Thursday, then light rain Friday and Saturday and then showers from Tuesday on.

Yesterday Tempus made me a lunch grilled tortilla that was to die for. Fresh chopped tomato and onion, white cheddar, chopped ham and hard-boiled egg. He grilled it just enough to make it crunch a little and start to soften the cheese. Wow!

I was catching up on e-mails in the early part of the day after the newsletter went out and then decided to get some pix of the herbs we worked on yesterday, and then work on headers.

Arthur posted some vids of Sioned and I’ve been going “aww” and giggling. There’s one where she’s blowing raspberries and Arthur is blowing them back that made me lol! …and her trying to crawl on all fours and not being able to get all the corners coordinated… and then takes off using just elbows… That was a hoot.

We spent awhile outside, trying to clean up the plants. We’re putting the buckets around the side again. If the folks next door are going to throw stuff across the whole thing, I’m putting buckets down our side right by the building …..

So Tempus started working in back and around 10:30 I had some room to work. I wanted to make more of that awesome cheese sauce! We had a lot of turkey bits from the carcase, so I made a big batch of the sauce, added turkey bits and had that over toasted waffles. …and I *way* overdid it on the garlic, since the top flew off the bottle! …but it made it nice and spicy and we have more for today.

I’ve been working in back since we opened. I think I have a spot where I can put the box of extra thread, finally. 🙂 I have to work on getting headers on bags today, since I got them printed. If I can find the scale I need to price the new candles, too. They go by weight of the beeswax, plus the cost of the container.

A pic by Ken Gagne from 11/29/16 of the spectacular waves that we had.

Today’s Plant is the Buttercup that flourishes in my area in two types, Ranunculus bulbosus (sometimes called. St Anthony’s Turnip) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranunculus_bulbosus and ,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranunculus_repens (called creeping buttercup or crowfoot) which is the variety in my garden. These are non-native plants and invasive, but not usually worried about too much, since they usually grow in grasslands and very poor soil, not suited for agriculture. Although the fresh plant is poisonous, the sap being used as a blistering agent for gout and rheumatism, the dried plant is safe for consumption. Tinctures of this plant have been used on shingles and infusions for “soremouth”. – Masculine, Mercury (Uranus), Fire– These are used in spells for tenacity & stubbornness, both to create and cure, and as a plant of fertility, possibly being the plant that the Flora gave Juno to use to get pregnant with Mars. Carry in sachets (dried flowers only) for fertility or the dried leaves for tenacity. This is also used for harmony and for Sight (and called Frog’s Foot). Use buttercup flower petals in magickal potpourris for spells regarding: divination, energy, innocence, prosperity, youth. Use buttercup in solar spells involving energy and prosperity.

…and, of course today is Hari-Kuyo. I’ll be honoring my needles today. Hari Kugo, the feast of Broken Needles, is celebrated in Japan. Also called Daitosai, or Good-Luck Market it is celebrated from Nov 30 – Dec 11, honouring women’s crafts and tools. At Hikawa Shrine, Omiya, Saitama Prefecture, a large market is held selling good luck charms and many products. Source: The Phoenix and Arabeth 1992 Calendar“In a funereal atmosphere, the implements are laid to rest in tofu or konnyaku (soft jelly cakes) in a spirit of tenderness and gratitude.” Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hari-Kuy%C5%8D) I like that idea! This is the date for the festival in Kyoto and Kansai (elsewhere on 2/8) Here’s a nice link: http://stitchtress.com/2010/02/08/hari-kuyo/ …and I love that picture!

Love & Light,
Anja

******

Today’s Astro & Calendar

Photo from 12/11/18 – Fomalhaut star sits low on the horizon next to Mars and the Moon. – Daniel Johnson

Look lower left of the Moon early this evening for Fomalhaut, the lonely “Autumn Star.” Whenever Fomalhaut is on the meridian due south (just after nightfall now) Aldebaran and the Pleiades are up in the east — and the first stars of Orion will soon rise below them if you’re in the world’s mid-northern latitudes. And, at this time the Pointers of the Big Dipper always stand upright low due north, straight below Polaris.

Venus gleams in the southwest after sunset. The brilliant planet has climbed considerably higher since it reappeared in the evening sky earlier this autumn. Tonight, you can find it 10° high 45 minutes after sunset, when it appears sandwiched between the dimmer worlds Jupiter (to its lower right) and Saturn (to the upper left). Although magnitude –3.9 Venus stands out to the naked eye, binoculars reveal a bonus: the 5th-magnitude globular star cluster M22. This fine cluster lies less than 1° north of the planet this evening. A telescope shows Venus’ 12″-diameter disk and 88-percent-lit phase.

In the southwestern twilight, Venus and Jupiter are drawing farther apart as the waxing crescent Moon briefly poses with Saturn. (The Moon in these views is always drawn three times its actual apparent size.)

Mars (magnitude +1.8, in Virgo) is low in the east-southeast in early dawn to the upper right of Mercury, as above. Brighter Spica shines farther upper right of Mars. This line of three expands from 24° to 33° long this week, as Mercury sinks lower and Mars and Spica get higher.

Goddess Month of Astrea runs from 11/28 – 12/25
Celtic Tree Month of Ruis/Elder Nov 25 – Dec 22
Runic half-month of Isa/ Is November 28-12 Literally, ‘ice’: a static period. The time of waiting before birth. Nigel Pennick, The Pagan Book of Days, Destiny Books, Rochester, Vermont, USA, 1992, 1992

Sun in Sagittarius
Moon in Aquarius enters Pisces at 11:11pm.
Chiron (12/12), Vesta (12/29), Uranus (1/10/20) Retrograde
Color: Lavendar

******

Ruis – Elder Ogam letter correspondences
Month: Makeup days of the thirteenth Moon
Color: Red
Class: Shrub
Letter: R
Meaning: End of a cycle or problem.

to study this month Straif – Blackthorn Ogam letter correspondences
Month: None
Color: Purple
Class: Chieftain
Letter: SS, Z, ST
Meaning: Resentment; Confusion; Refusing to see the truth

******

Tides for Alsea Bay
*

Day        High      Tide Height   Sunrise    Moon Time      % Moon
~ /Low      Time    Feet Sunset Visible
M    2     High   5:04 AM     6.7   7:33 AM    Rise 12:34 PM      26
~ 2      Low 10:33 AM     3.7   4:38 PM     Set 10:39 PM
~ 2     High   3:55 PM     6.7
~ 2      Low 11:01 PM     0.8

******

Affirmation/Thought for the Day – May the Earth keep you safe, the Sun keep you warm, and the Moon help you to see any harm, ’til we meet again.

******

Journal Prompt – Friends – If you and your best friend could have a free limo for 24 hours, where would you go and what would you do?

******

Quotes

~   Opinions are like assholes, everybody has one and they all stink. – Bob
~   How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and the strong. Because someday in life you will have been all of these. – George Washington Carver, scientist
~   If the new American father feels bewildered and even defeated, let him take comfort from the fact that whatever he does in any fathering situation has a fifty percent chance of being right. – Bill Cosby
~   The wisdom that we need to solve our problems lies encoded in the depths of our unconscious minds–but it must be evoked by elders who reveal our potential. Throughout history elders have served as beloved pathfinders, beckoning us to enter the province of old age in anticipation of growing strength and usefulness to society. – Roshi Joan Halifax

Now see stern Winter nearer draw,
Sol’s feeble rays refuse to thaw
What Winter’s frost congeal’d;
And lo! the flakey snows appear,
Proclaim the approach of Christmas near,
And deck in white the field. – William Cole (1824)

******

Yule Magick – Lore – December 2 is the 336^th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (337^th in leap years), with 29 days remaining.

Feast day of St Bibiana (Viviana; Vivian; Vibiana) – (Lemon geodorum, Geodorum citrinum, is today’s plant, dedicated to this saint.) Long after her life a legend sprang up concerning her, connected with the Acts of the martyrdom of Saints John and Paul, but it has no historicity. According to this legend, Bibiana was a 4th century woman from Rome.

Her parents, Flavian and Dafrosa, were martyred in the persecution of Julian the Apostate, and Vivian and her sister Demetria were turned over to a woman, Rufina, who tried to force her into prostitution. Because of her continued refusal, Vivian was imprisoned in a mad house, then scourged to death. Dafrosa and Demetria died a natural death and were buried by Bibiana in their own house; but Bibiana was tortured and died c. 361 as a result of her sufferings.

Her body was left to the dogs, but none would touch her. Two days later, a priest named John buried Bibiana near her mother and sister in her home, the house being later turned into a church. A church was built over her grave; in its garden grew a herb that cured headache and epilepsy. This and her time spent with the mentally ill led to her areas of patronage, which includes: epilepsy, epileptics, hangovers, headaches, insanity, mental illness, mentally ill people, single laywomen, torture victims and, appropriately, Los Angeles California.

Hari Kugo; Daitosai, or Good-Luck Market, Omiya, Japan (Nov 30 – Dec 11) – Broken Needle Festival, honouring women’s crafts and tools – At Hikawa Shrine, Omiya, Saitama Prefecture, a large market is held selling good luck charms and many products. Source: The Phoenix and Arabeth 1992 Calendar

Oshiroi Matsuri , Fukuoka, Japan – In this four-centuries-old festival, oshiroi, a white paste made from rice flour and water, is smeared on villagers’ faces as an emblem of hope for good harvests during the coming year.

Chichibu Yomatsuri, Chichibu shrine, Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture, Japan (Dec 2-3) – This is a popular evening festival in which lantern-lit floats weighing more than 10-tons each pulled through the town.

Advent (Nov 30 – Dec 25), season of the coming of Jesus Christ
Feast day of St Aurelia
Feast day of St Chromatius
Feast day of St Hippolytus
Feast day of St John Amero
Feast day of St Liduina Meneguzzi
Lovers’ Fair, Belgium

******

Silliness – I WANT TO BE FIRST IN LINE

—– Original Message —–
From: Dorothy Ewer
To: sheila posterick ; melva.childers@att.net ; shirleyKolb ; gapinski, mary jane ; FrankArthur
Sent: Wednesday, November 28, 2001 4:31 PM

Dear Santa,

I rarely ask for much. This year is no exception. I don’t need diamond earrings, handy slicer-dicers or comfy slippers. I only want one little thing, and I want it deeply.

I want to slap Martha Stewart. I get all cozy inside just thinking about it. Don’t grant this wish just for me, do it for the thousands of women across the country. Through sheer vicarious satisfaction, you’ll be giving a gift to us all.

Those of us leading average, garden variety lives aren’t concerned with gracious living. We feel pretty good about ourselves if our paper plates match when we stack them on the counter, buffet-style for dinner.

We’re tired of Martha’s showing us how to make centerpieces from holly hock dipped in 18 carat gold. We’re plumb out of liquid gold. Unless it’s of the furniture polish variety. We can’t whip up Martha’s creamy holiday sauce, spiced with turmeric. Most of us can’t even say turmeric, let alone figure out what to do with it.

Martha avoids take-out pizza (she’s only ordered it once), she refuses to eat it cold (No cold pizza? Is Martha Stewart living?) When it was pointed out that she could microwave it, she replied, “I don’t have a microwave.”

Martha has 40 sets of dishes adorning an entire wall in her home. Forty sets! Can you spell “overkill”? And neatly put away, no less. If my dishes make it to the dishwasher, that qualifies as “put away” in my house!

Martha tells us she’s already making homemade holiday gifts for friends. “Last year, I made amazing silk-lined scarves for everyone,” she boasts. Not just scarves, mind you, “Amazing scarves”. Martha’s obviously not shy about giving herself a little pat on the back. She goes on to tell us that ….”homemaking is glamour for the 90s”, and says her most glamorous friends are “interested in stain removal, how to iron a monogram, and how to fold a towel.” I have on piece of advice, “Martha, get new friends.”

There you have it, Santa. If there was ever someone who deserved a good smack, it’s Martha Stewart.

ho ho ho

Posted in Daily Stuff, Newsletter, Pagan, Wiccan | Tagged Affirmation, Astrology, Astronomy, Buttercup, Celtic Tree Month, creeping buttercup, crowfoot, Goddess Month, I want to be first in line, Journal Prompt, Magick, Moon Moon phase, Now see stern Winter nearer draw, Oregon Coast, Pagan, Ranunculus bulbosus, Ranunculus repens, Runic Half Month, Silliness, St Anthony’s Turnip, Tides, Today’s Feast, Today’s Plant, Weather, Wicca, Yule

Daily Stuff 12-1-19 extra

Posted on December 2, 2019 by Anja Snihova'

I just saw this. What an awesome idea!

Posted in Daily Stuff, Special Event

Daily Stuff 12-1-19 Feast of Poseidon

Posted on December 1, 2019 by Anja Snihova'

Hi, folks!

It poured overnight, but now it’s down to damp pavement and puddles. 50F, wind at 3mph and gusting, AQI33, UV1. It should be dry for the next couple of days, then a couple of days of showers, then some decent rain again over the tail end of the week.

Yesterday was long and slow after Herbs. I think we had 7 shoppers in all day and just one sale. Pretty sad for Small Business Saturday… Tempus and I switched places at around 4, since by the I was in need of a nap and he was just waking up.

Mostly during the day I was working on getting headers made for herbs that we packaged yesterday. He was doing computer research into straws.

The evening was all about cleanup. We’re open and ready for business on this damp morning.

For this month!

Sage, Salvia Officinalis, sometimes called true sage, or culinary sage, is a plant that has been used in cookery, magick and medicine for many thousands of years. It is one of the ingredients in Four Thieves Vinegar. The blossoms make a delicious tea. – Masculine, Jupiter, Air – In purple cloth, brings wisdom. Worn in an amulet sewn into a horn shape protects against the evil eye. Used as a wash, or sniffed, enhances youthful mindset and appearance. Eat sage in May for long life. Carry to promote wisdom. Write a wish on a sage leaf and sleep on it. If you dream of it, it will happen, else bury the leaf in the ground. More here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvia_officinalis

Today is the Feast of Poseidon, the god of the Ocean, Horses and Earthquakes. I often call the white spray that flies in sheets off the surf in the rain, “the Manes of Poseidon’s Horses”. More info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poseidon

Love & Light,
Anja

******

Today’s Astro & Calendar

This whole giant pattern was named “the Andromegasus Dipper” by the late Sky & Telescope columnist George Lovi and is shaped sort of like a giant Little Dipper with an extra-big bowl

Two faint fuzzies naked-eye: Before the evening Moon gets any brighter (it’s now a thick crescent in Capricornus), take a naked-eye try for the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) and the Perseus Double Cluster. They’re both cataloged as 4th magnitude and are only 22° apart. They’re very high toward the northeast right after dark: to the upper right of Cassiopeia and closer to Cassiopeia’s lower right, respectively. They’re plotted on the all-sky constellation map in the center of the November and December Sky & Telescopes.
The variable star Algol in Perseus appears faintest at 1:29 a.m. EST tomorrow morning, when it shines at magnitude 3.4. If you start watching it immediately after darkness falls, you can see it dim from its peak brightness (magnitude 2.1) to minimum and then rise back to maximum all in a single night. This eclipsing binary star runs through a cycle from minimum to maximum and back every 2.87 days, but the drop from peak brightness and subsequent rise lasts only about 10 hours. Algol appears in the northeastern sky after sunset and passes nearly overhead around 10 p.m. local time. Algol can guide you to one of the finest binocular star clusters in the late autumn sky. Just after darkness falls, target the variable star through binoculars and place it at the bottom of your field of view. At the top of the field, you should see a hazy patch of light roughly the size of the Full Moon. This is M34, a collection of roughly 100 suns near Perseus’ border with Andromeda. Through 10×50 binoculars, M34’s brightest stars appear to twinkle against the unresolved glow of the cluster’s fainter members.

Mercury, a fine magnitude –0.6 all week, is having its best dawn apparition of 2019! Spot it low in the east-southeast as much as an hour before sunrise. The earlier in the week, the higher it will be. Look for it very far below Arcturus (and perhaps a little to the right depending on your latitude). Mercury is closer to the lower left of fainter Mars and Spica, as shown above.

Sun in Sagittarius
Moon in Aquarius.
Chiron (12/12), Vesta (12/29), Uranus (1/10/20) Retrograde
Color: Amber

******

Ruis – Elder Ogam letter correspondences
Month: Makeup days of the thirteenth Moon
Color: Red
Class: Shrub
Letter: R
Meaning: End of a cycle or problem.

to study this month Straif – Blackthorn Ogam letter correspondences
Month: None
Color: Purple
Class: Chieftain
Letter: SS, Z, ST
Meaning: Resentment; Confusion; Refusing to see the truth

******

Tides for Alsea Bay
*

Day        High      Tide Height   Sunrise    Moon Time      % Moon
~ /Low      Time    Feet Sunset Visible
Su   1     High   4:12 AM     6.8   7:32 AM    Rise 12:01 PM      18
~ 1      Low   9:32 AM     3.6   4:38 PM     Set 9:37 PM
~ 1     High   3:03 PM     7.4
~ 1      Low 10:12 PM     0.2

******

Affirmation/Thought for the Day – Allowing your creativity to grow, fosters my link with the Divine.

******

Journal Prompt – What does this quote say to you? – What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say. — Ralph Waldo Emerson

******

Quotes

~   Most people never run far enough on their first wind, to find out if they’ve got a second. Give your dreams all you’ve got and you’ll be amazed at the energy that comes out of you. – William James
~   Love is missing someone whenever you’re apart, But somehow feeling warm inside because you’re close in heart. – Kay Knudsen
~   To know / To dare / To Will / To Keep Silence – Eliphas Levi (Rules of the Magus)
~   We want more people doing Creator’s work. Living in this vast world where everything is progress talking money we need to understand the spirit of Grandmother Earth, she is a provider. A source of life not a resource.” -Chief Arvol Looking Horse

I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December.
A magical thing
And sweet to remember.

“We are nearer to Spring
Than we were in September,”
I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December. – Oliver Herford (1863–1935)

******

Yule Magick – Lore – Celebrating Advent – From School for the Seasons.

The period of Advent, which means “to come,” is the period of waiting for the birth of Christ at Christmas, or for the birth of the sun at Winter Solstice. It is a period of anticipation, of looking forward.

The main quality of Advent is waiting. If it were a tarot card, it would be the Seven of Pentacles. At this time we are unable to do anything but wait through the growing darkness until we can celebrate the return of the Light. Most Advent customs have to do with marking time: lighting one candle on the Advent wreath each week, opening another door on the Advent calendar. These markers show us in a concrete way how much time has passed and how much time is left before the event we so joyously anticipate.

Celebrating Advent

For many years I’ve been celebrating Advent with friends, using suggestions from The Advent Sunwheel by Helen Farias. We gather around the Advent wreath about the time dark falls on Sunday. We spend a few minutes creating a circle, then light the candles. As with Hanukkah candles, only one candle is lit the first Sunday. Two are lit the second Sunday, three the third and four on the fourth Sunday. I light the central candle on Winter Solstice.

After lighting the candles, we take turns reading aloud from one of the wonderful stores Helen includes in her book, all adapted versions of Scandinavian folk tales appropriate for the winter season. I love Helen’s stories but actually any stories would do. Helen and her husband James used to read Saki stories in the wee hours of their fabled winter solstice party. You could read classic fairy tales, like “The Snow Queen.” Or tell stories. At one Advent ceremony, Helen and her husband James read two Chester-and-Faithfull stories (stories I had written the previous Christmas about the antics of my dog and cat). Winter is an important time for story-telling and this coming together to share stories around the flickering fires of the candles recreates the community of the tribe gathering around the campfire.

After the story, we sing carols together. If you don’t want to sing Christian carols, there are many old carols, like Deck the Halls, the Boar’s Head Carol and the Carol of the Bells, which contain no Christian imagery. The Revels, an organization that puts on beautiful performances of old folk music and dances has several tapes of Christmas music that provide other alternatives.

Then it’s time for feasting. One of my favorite parts of Christmas is the baking. I love traditional cookie recipes and Yule drinks like eggnog, spiced cider and ginger brandy.

Advent Calendars

I have several friends who have made Advent calendars. Because I’ve seen firsthand the amount of time this takes I’ve preferred to buy mine in stores. There is something very magical about opening all those little doors and windows, even though I am often disappointed with the insipidity of the images. Isn’t the mystery concealed almost always better than the thing revealed?

One of my friends, Carolee, made an Advent calendar that was like a collage. She found a beautiful landscape picture and then planned where she would place the openings. She then found the pictures that would appear in the openings (mostly birds, as I remember — she is an avid birder) and pasted them onto a backing sheet, which was carefully marked so she could get the right alignment of the images. Then she pasted the front picture to the back and created the doors with an X-acto knife.

Another friend created an Advent calendar out of felt. The top half has a felt Christmas tree and the bottom half, numbered pockets, each containing a different charm The charms are removed on the appropriate days and pinned to the Christmas tree.

Creating a Creche

The creation of a Nativity scene is another common way to mark the passing of time at this darkest point of winter. When I was growing up, we would set up the stable fairly early on in the Christmas season, and then add the various ceramic figures that appeared on the scene one by one, culminating in the placement of the Baby Jesus in the manger on Christmas morning. Carol Field says that some Roman creches fill half a living room; new pieces are added over years and they are set in specific landscapes, with representations of hills and trees, like elaborate train sets.

Even if you do not find the Christian imagery compatible with your spirituality, you can still create nativity scenes, honoring the birth of the sun. You might create a shrine to the sun containing mirrors (long a sun symbol), a bowl of water, spiral designs and items that sparkle and reflect. Since many of these are the same symbols that appear on my Christmas tree, I can also imagine placing the ornaments on the tree one day at a time.

Gertrud Mueller Nelson writes about the creche figures she inherited from her mother in To Dance With God. Her mother made them while recovering from a serious illness out of bits of wire and pieces of cloth, and carved their hands and faces out of wood. Each figure, which could be moved and posed in many different ways, was thus imbued with her loving attention as well as tradition. My mother’s nativity scene was a gift, given a few figures at a time, from my Aunt Jo and Uncle Bob who bought unfinished clay figurines and painted them in brilliant colors. Today we have even easier ways to create figurines with different types of modeling clay. For subject matter, we can look to myths of miraculous mothers and births like those of Aeon (the son of Kore, born on January 6th) or Isis shown suckling Horus (the sun god) or the images of the Three Mothers (pictured in carvings all over Celtic France and Britain).

The Thirteen Cookies

My friend Helen Farias once told me that it is traditional to make 13 different kinds of cookies for Christmas, and though I have never found her source for this bit of folklore, it makes intuitive sense to me. It also serves as a convenient way of dividing up the time before Christmas. I figure if I make three different batches of cookies each week during Advent, and an extra batch the last week, I’ll have thirteen different kinds of cookies to serve at my Winter Solstice party. If there are any leftovers, I can box them up and give them as Christmas presents. The first year I made about four different kinds, the next year I worked my way up to six, so I still have a long way to go to achieve my goal but I’m working on it.

I’ve created a book, called Thirteen Christmas Cookies, containing recipes and folklore for thirteen traditional Christmas desserts and a plan for making them during Advent to coincide with the appropriate holidays. You can purchase it in our Store.

Farias, Helen, The Advent Sunwheel, Juno’s Peacock Press (out of print).
Field, Carol, Celebrating Italy, William Morrow 1990
Fitzgerald, Waverly, Midwinter, Priestess of Swords Press 1995
Fitzgerald, Waverly, “Time to Celebrate,” SageWoman, http://www.sagewoman.com
Nelson, Gertrud Mueller, To Dance with God: Family Ritual and Community Celebration, Paulist Press 1986

******

Silliness – Bumper Snickers – Consciousness: that annoying time between naps.

Posted in Daily Stuff, Newsletter, Pagan, Wiccan | Tagged Affirmation, Astrology, Astronomy, Celebrating Advent, Celtic Tree Month, Feast of Poseidon, Goddess Month, I heard a bird sing, Journal Prompt, Magick, Moon Moon phase, Oregon Coast, Pagan, Runic Half Month, Sag e, Salvia Officinalis, Silliness, Tides, Today’s Feast, Today’s Plant, Weather, Wicca, Yule

Ancient Light's Daily Stuff

Daily Stuff 12-1-19 extra

Email Subscription

Anja’s Tags

Archives

Categories

******

©2019 M. Bartlett, Some parts separately copyright

******

Planting 12/3-5

©2019 M. Bartlett, Some parts separately copyright

Connection to modern Christmas

Etymology

Traditional Yule

Neopagan Yule

External Links

Reference

******

Planting 12/3-5

©2019 M. Bartlett, Some parts separately copyright

******

Planting 12/3-5

©2019 M. Bartlett, Some parts separately copyright

Happy Holiday Card Spell – December 3rd, 2007 Color of the day: Gray Incense of the day: Parsley

Holiday Peace Meditation – November 30th, 2007 – Color of the day: White Incense of the day: Carnation

******

©2019 M. Bartlett, Some parts separately copyright

******

©2019 M. Bartlett, Some parts separately copyright

Email Subscription

Anja’s Tags

Archives

Categories

Happy Holiday Card Spell – December 3rd, 2007
Color of the day: Gray Incense of the day: Parsley