Yule Celebrations

Around Christmas a common heard blessing is "Yule time greetings". Yule is one of the eight pagan sabbats occurring in the Northern hemisphere around 21st December. Yule was initially celebrated by the Germanic people as a pagan religious festival, though it was later absorbed into, and equated with, the Christian festival of Christmas. Amongst the craziness of the holiday season it is also an opportunity to observe and revere what is happening in the natural world around us.

Yule occurs on the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year with least light. Starting the next morning at sunrise, the sun climbs just a little higher and stays a little longer in the sky each day. This is the initial onset of the spring.

The ceremonial Yule log was the highlight of the Solstice festival. In accordance to tradition, the log must either have been harvested from the householder's land, or given as a gift... it must never have been bought. Once dragged into the house and placed in the fireplace it was decorated in seasonal greenery, doused with cider or ale, and dusted with flour before set ablaze by a piece of last years log, (held onto for just this purpose). The log would burn throughout the night, then smolder for 12 days after before being ceremonially put out. The Yule log must traditionally be the root of a hardwood tree. In the Northern Hemisphere Ash is the traditional wood of the Yule log. In Australia mallee roots are ideal for this purpose, as are Tasmanian oaks and all types of Eucalyptus. If burning a whole log is not possible finding a small piece of one of the above mentioned logs and drilling three holes to hold candles can be a great substitute.

As we start to leaver winter behind it is time to change our focus from planting the seeds of our desires and goals for the next year to bringing them into fruition. Make phone calls, apply for courses, join the clubs now to start to manifest your dreams. Your meditations and visualisations should start to shift from what you have chosen to manifest to seeing the manifestations occurring.

Apart from celebrating Yule at a coven festival gathering or performing your own magical circle there are other actions you can take to focus, acknowledge and celebrate Yule such as:
- Wearing colours such as red, green, gold, white and silver.
- Meditate on the energies of the animals associated with Yule such as the stags, squirrels, wrens, robins, polar bears and other Arctic animals.
- Eat foods such as nuts, turkey, eggnog, beetroot, broccoli, carrots, citrus fruits, ginger tea, spiced cider.
- Burn incense or oils with the fragrances of cedar, cinnamon, frankincense, ginger, myrrh, pine and sandalwood.
- Meditate or carry bloodstone, diamond, emerald, garnet, ruby and snowflake obsidian.
- Spoil yourself and buy yourself a gift

If you live in the Southern Hemisphere, then the festival at this time is Midsummer, or Litha. This is the longest day of the year and a time to celebrate and give thanks for all that you have manifested. Small ways to celebrate Midsummer include:
- Dress in bright colours especially red, orange, yellow and gold.
- Meditate on powerful animals such as the horse, dragon, kangaroo, lion and cows.
- Eat a lot of fresh,seasonal fruits and vegetables.
- Burn incense or oils with the fragrances of jasmine, lavender, lemon, mints, orange and rose.
- Meditate or carry carnelian, citrine, diamond, lapis lazuli, sunstone and tiger's eye.
- Put garlands of St. John’s Wort placed over doors/ windows & a sprig in the car for protection.
- Spend time outside.
- Meditate on sun gods such as Ra. This is the suns peak day of the year so utilise this energy for any required spell work.

The True Meaning of Halloween (Samhain)

Halloween is an anticipated event on each year’s calendar. Kids in neighbourhoods around the world, giddy on sugar, dash from house to house, yelping trick-or-treat while the bigger kid in all of us dons a crazy costume and prepares for a night of fun-filled havoc. However just like many complain that the true meaning of Christmas is forgotten, do people know the true origins behind Halloween?

Halloween, also known as Hallows Eve or Samhain is viewed as a New Year by many pagans. It is also believed that this is the time of the year when the veil between the physical world and that of the spiritual realm is at it’s thinnest. Thus this is the best time of the year to contact people that have passed away. The tradition of dressing up originated from the idea that as the veil was thin, ghosts and unwanted spirits could come back to our world. Dressing in scary costumes was believed to make spirits feel comfortable and unlikely to haunt or terrorise you, believing you are one of them.

Samhain, meaning “summer’s end” is the name of the traditional Celtic or pagan festival. The name Halloween comes from when on May 13, 609 A.D., Pope Boniface IV dedicated the Pantheon in Rome in honour of all Christian martyrs, and the Catholic feast of All Martyrs Day was established in the Western church. Pope Gregory III (731–741) later expanded the festival to include all saints as well as all martyrs, and moved the observance from May 13 to November 1. This holiday is now known as, All Saints’ Day. As Samhain was still a widely celebrated festival at the time, All Saint’s Day incorporated some of the traditions of Samhain. The evening before was known as All Hallows’ Eve and later Halloween. Over time, Halloween evolved into a secular, community-based event characterized by child-friendly activities such as trick-or-treating many know today.

As witches this is an ideal time to contact great spirits. The focus is not on using an Ouija board to contact a passed relative or friend but rather to tune into the spirits of the Long Dead. This includes old masters and leaders, archetypal entities and great people who have served the land. You can also connect with your guides at this time. This can be done easily done by a simple meditation or prayer or you can create your own more elaborate ritual. Perhaps ask them to visit you in a dream. Drinking nutmeg with almond milk before bed may assist your dreams to be more vivid. Other foods related to clear or lucid dreaming include beetroot, orange and other fruit juice, cheese, mustard, fish ice cream, popcorn and taking a supplement containing 100 to 250 mg of vitamin B-6 just before bedtime. Eating or drinking anything disruptive to your sleep cycle, such as caffeinated drinks and difficult-to-digest foods, is likely to have an adverse effect on dream content.

Samhain can also be a time of healing and to let go of anyone who you may still be holding on to emotionally. Complete the following either inside your magic circle or just as a simple meditation.

Take a small candle. It may be white, black or another colour you find appropriately represents the person. Relax, take a few deep breaths and then light the candle. Reflect on the great memories you have of that person, see their beauty shining in the flame of the candle. Smile, cry, do whatever comes naturally. Once you feel that you have connected to the person’s energy it is time to let them go. Maybe visualise them floating or walking away towards light or into a field or forest. Feel the emotions attached to them leaving your body. Feel free from any angst or pain you have been experiencing. When you are ready to complete the release, blow out the candle.

If needed you can do this activity several times until the candle has totally burned out. Doing it during a waning moon is better after the Samhain. Note that the focus is not to forget about the person, but rather to release the negative emotions that are holding you back from moving on with your life. You will always have the beautiful memories. Another version of this ritual can be done with a crystal, feeling it’s energy, then sending your love and emotions into the crystal, then burying it in a special place, returning it to the earth.

Other ways you can observe Samhain include:
- Wearing colours such as black, brown, gold, orange, red, silver and/or yellow.
- Meditate on the energies of the animals associated with Samhain such as bat, cat, crow, jackal, owl, robin, scorpion and stag.
- This is one of the best times for scrying and divination. If you use a divination technique utilise it at this time. Otherwise go and get a clairvoyant reading. It’s a great time to get guidance as you start a new year.
- Eat foods such as apple, nuts, pomegranate, pumpkins, squash and tubers.
- Spoil yourself with a nice cider or wined (mulled).
- Burn incense or oils with the fragrances of almond, benzoin, cinnamon, myrrh, passionflower, patchouli, pine and/or sandalwood.
- Meditate or carry bloodstone, carnelian, garnet, hematite, jasper, jet, obsidian, onyx, pyrite and/or smoky quartz
- Plant an apple, hazel, oak or pine tree while setting your goals for the upcoming year.
- Follow some of your New Year’s Eve traditions such as set goals, change habits and cleanse clean the house. If you have a house fire burning, let it go out totally and then light a new one, symbolising a new start.

Bugger it's Mabon!

Friday, 23rd September, 2011 is the day of the Autumn Equinox and the pagan festival of Mabon (Spring Equinox/Ostara for the Southern Hemisphere). An equinox occurs twice a year, when the tilt of the Earth's axis is inclined neither away from nor towards the Sun, the centre of the Sun being in the same plane as the Earth's equator. Mabon is a festival marking the second harvest, the changing of the seasons and the time to begin preparations for the winter ahead.

There are plenty of rituals for this festival and I am always a fan of adapting one to personalise yourself or your group. However for many Wiccans a full ritual on Friday may not be possible. Whether you have work or family commitments, can't find a quiet space for an hour or two or it slipped your mind (may the Gods forbid) there are still some small things you can do to honour the festival;

Mabon
- As this is a time when the trees are losing their leaves it is a time contemplate and meditate on what you can shed from your life, both mentally and physically.
- Cook corn on the cob for dinner as this is a food associated with Mabon. Other foods include corn bread, beans, pomegranates and baked squash.
- Treat yourself to a nice red wine.
- Take a walk in nature and collect a few dried leaves and seed pods to decorate your space with. - Buy yourself or a loved one a bunch of chrysanthemums
- Dress using the colours of red, orange, deep gold, brown, russet, maroon and/or violet.
- Light candles in the colours of red, orange, yellow, gold and brown to illuminate your space.
- Carry or meditate with crystals such as amethyst, yellow topaz, carnelian, lapis lazuli, sapphire, yellow agate and red jasper.

Ostara (for those in the Southern Hemisphere)
- This is a time to plant the seeds for the year ahead. Write down your goals and design and action plan, commit to email five people to progress your goals or actually do some gardening and plant some seeds.
- Take a walk through nature. Don't focus on getting exercise but rather take the walk with a focus on being triumphant of all the great things they lay ahead for you in the coming year.
- Paint and decorate eggs with children (or the children at heart).
- Buy some daffodils or pick some native wildflowers (if local laws permit).
- Include lots of seeds, nuts and leafy green vegetables in your meals.
Dress using bright colours especially green, yellow and pink.
- Light candles in the colours of yellow, green and pink to illuminate your space.
- Carry or meditate with crystals such as jasper, jade, rose quartz, turquoise, aventurine and citrine.