This time of year is a beautiful time of year to come together with friends, family, and loved ones. It’s a beautiful season full of love, memories to be created, and celebrating loved ones who have walked before us. I know I’ve mentioned before that I find this time of the year is a huge time to celebrate loved ones who may be on the other side. I am a firm believer that “those who are remembered live.” I make it a point to pass on holiday traditions this time of year that I hope will be carried forward with my children. Things like special recipes, crafts, ornaments, and stories are a huge part of this holiday season for me and I find that it honestly tends to ebb and flow through the month of December.
Today we celebrate our Winter Solstice. It is the longest night of the year and a wonderful night to go out and look at all those holiday lights. Tomorrow the nights begin to grow shorter with the return of our Sun God and we will find our days growing longer again. Can you believe there was a Robin in my yard this afternoon? She was all by herself. Earl saw her! We usually only see them at the beginning of Spring so I found her to be a wonderful sign in my yard today. We are actually supposed to reach into the 60’s here on Friday which is definitely not the norm for New England. Of course the next day we are going to plunge back into freezing weather but I’m just looking forward for that warm day to get back outside. We still have a bit of snow left. It always makes the holidays feel a bit more magickal when there is snow.
The Winter Solstice also means the official beginning of winter. Three months of chillier weather and likely some snow where I am living. While it can be really cold it also can be quite beautiful. There’s something about the Full Moon on the night that the yard is covered in snow that is just enchanting to look at. It illuminates absolutely everything. It’s the season of toasty drinks, extra time with the fur babies and good books. Speaking of! I have a wonderful drink that I have been having over the past week or so that I wanted to share with you. It would make a great drink to celebrate Yule. Many of you know how much I love my tea. It started with adding a splash of eggnog to my morning tea. It’s so yummy. The drink has now evolved into a tea that contains hot water, a cinnamon stick, honey, a bit of vanilla, a splash of eggnog and a tiny bit of nutmeg. I adore it. It’s the perfect toasty treat for the season.
Today is also Yule! Yule is one of the oldest winter celebrations in the world and as such you will find that there are so many wonderful traditions being passed down each year. I love looking for them and trying to explore new traditions. How many of you have seen apples and oranges drying, perhaps with some cinnamon sticks? The oranges represent the sun and help bring that energy towards us while apples represent spirit and wisdom and cinnamon can bring abundance. Holly and Ivy were used as decorations to help attract Nature Sprites or spirits to come and join in the celebrations. You may find that a sprig of Holly was kept near the door to welcome holiday guests and bring them a bit of good fortune. Bay leaves were burned to bring prosperity in the coming months. I have a Bay Candle that I finally managed to get this year from a local candle company, Yankee candle. It smells amazing! I have been using it for significant nights throughout the season like the night we put up our tree and decorated it. It makes the house smell amazing. Many of you have seen or heard of Yule Logs. This is also the night that the Yule Log was typically burned as well. In many traditions, the Yule log was supposed to be a log from your own property or a gift from someone. It was meant to burn on the Solstice night and then smolder for 12 days. A more modern tradition involves adding three candles to the Yule log in celebration. As a witch I like to choose a log that has the wood that has the magickal properties that I wish to draw in the coming year. You can also hang branches with ribbons on them that have the magickal properties you wish to draw towards you.
No matter how you choose to celebrate I wish all of you the most wonderful holiday season, filled with health, love, joy and happiness. Be open to the ways that others celebrate as well. There are so many things that we can learn from each other.
I hope that you all have a Blessed Yule, Winter Solstice and wonderful Holiday Season!
Much Love and Many Blessings,
Jasmeine Moonsong
P.S. If you haven’t ordered a Yule or Winter Solstice reading yet they are still on the shop and on sale for you today! I have several of them for you to choose from. Order your Winter Solstice Reading At the time of publishing this I still have a few of the Holiday Magick Tarot Messages left to be delivered today as well!