Christmas Traditions

I was going to write a whole post about Christians and Christmas and Jesus. But we all know that story. It isn't new. It's American.

And besides, Santa came!

Merry Christmas To All And To All A Good Night!

Festival Of Lights

Happy Hanukkah!

Tonight begins the first night in the 8 night celebration of the Jewish holiday, Hanukkah. And just what is Hanukkah?

Well, it is a Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. There was a revolt and when they took back the temple and purified it, there was only enough sacred oil to burn for one day. But a miracle occurred and the oil lasted 8 whole days.

And so Jewish families celebrate by lighting a menorah, which holds eight candles, one lit each night from right to left. And they eat food fried in oil.

And while we are not a Jewish family, obviously, we celebrate right along with them. So we will light our nightly candle and make potato pancakes and spin our dreidels.

(It sounds almost pagan… candles, food, prayers…. Just saying. Focus on the sames.)

Anyway, to me it isn’t Hanukkah until I hear this…



Okay, so not very religious but it always makes me laugh.

(On another side note… Santa comes tonight. Reminds me of a certain Holly King. This one looks like my tree topper.)

Blessed be!

On The Wild Hunt

Blessing Of The Holly King!

A happy yule to all of you. Today is the shortest day of the year and therefore the longest night. Tonight we celebrate the winter solstice, the first day of winter. This is also the last seasonal celebration of the year. Or the first if that is how you roll. Yule is right at the North point in the seasonal wheel.

Just a fun fact, did you know Stonehenge was built by ancient Pagan worshipers to align with the winter and summer Solstices?

Anyway, the Yule is a time for letting go, sacrifice and forgiveness. It is a time of peace, rest and reflection.

Now is the time we celebrate the Holly King, Odin, and the return of the Sun. In Asatru traditions it kicks off a 12 day celebration.

For me, tonight I celebrated the return of longer days and shorter nights. The promise of warm weather again. I made a feast with a delicious ham. Lots of rolls for my husband. We made an alter for the Holly King, complete with a holly and ever green wreath and candles, frankincense and myrrh incense, and an offering of delicious treats made by my aunt. We started a yule fire at dusk and burned it until midnight. We had a nice peaceful evening of reflection.

You know I sat here for a long time thinking about what to write on this Yule. What I could write about the meanings and how I could go on and on about all the “Christmas Traditions” are really Pagan traditions, but you know what…

Why not share the spirit? If Christians want to burn the Yule log to honor Jesus, go for it.

There is going to be times ahead where differences are going be used against us to divide us.

To that I say no.

To that I say a Merry Yuletide To All.

AND I MEAN ALL!

Blessed be.

On A Cold Night

Sometimes your best laid plans don’t always pan out. Sometimes what the Gods deliver is better than your plan.

Tonight we honor the full moon. This one is called the Cold Moon or the Long Night’s Moon. Both of those names are apt as for the fact that they happen around the winter solstice and the coldest and darkest time of the year.

Today I went to Disneyland and honored the God and Goddess by spending the time with my family. We walked around and had a great time as always. (FYI… I read somewhere that Walt Disney was Pagan. His family came from Ireland, so perhaps Celtic.) In the park they had booths set up to try holiday foods of other cultures. We tried a curry dish from India, a lamb dish from the Middle East and kugel from the Jewish booth. (The curry was my favorite.)

Since I knew we had planned to go to Disneyland today, I had planned to have an esbat last night by myself.

Planned to.

But then…

Some very nice person made a coconut cake for a friend. And that friend was having a bad day and the cake sure lifted her. Then she called me and asked if I wanted to share in this cake. And I told her since she is sharing her cake with me; I will share my dinner with her. (It was tacos and pozole.)

So instead of an esbat service for one, I held an impromptu, informal service for several. We ate a fabulous meal. I taught a younger witch (13) about runes. She and I did a candle spell together for good luck. She told me about her first deck of tarot cards. She admired things on my alter and I gave her stuff to set up her own at home. (Much like mine and her mother.) I gave her a candle and some incense and an incense holder. I even lent her a book to study and gave her a new blank book to write in.

Before I go on… let me tell you about that blank book.

Earlier this month I received a box of items from a subscription service I subscribe to. Inside the box was this blank book. It has a design on it from the new movie “Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them”. (Yes, I am a huge Harry Potter nut.) When I pulled it out of the box, my husband asked me what I was going to do with yet another blank book. I immediately told him I was going to give it to the before mentioned 13 year old. I told him she would need it. For what purpose and when, I did not know, but she would need it.

And she did. Last night. The God and Goddess know what they are doing.

Anyway, she and I read runes and talked. Then we enjoyed an informal communion. We used the coconut cake as it was already a blessing.

After they left, her mother sent me this picture of the alter she went home and set up.

I love it.

See…

I wrote this post for these reasons…

1. Being Pagan is a perfectly normal part of life.
2. The God and Goddess know what is best for us.
3. Magick is everywhere, you just have to look for it.
Blessed be.

The Witches Witch

On November 30 we celebrate the festival of Hecate Trivia.

Not trivia like the game, but trivia like the place where three roads meet.

Hecate is a Thracian, pre-Olympian Greek goddess. She began her goddess reign as a goddess similar to Brigid or Diana. A goddess of fertility, childbirth, menstruation and puberty. She was born during the darkest of the moon.

In the story of Persephone, Hecate is the keeper of the key to the Underworld. She kept Persephone company during her time there.

However over the years she moved on. She changed from a goddess of women to the goddess of change, witchcraft, magic, life, death, crossroads, and psychic abilities. She is a dark witch. She is connected to the spirit world, ghosts and the dark of the moon.

She is the triple goddess.

Birth Life Death
Full New Dark Moons
Past Present Future
Earth Heaven Underworld
Earth Air Fire
She is the goddess of the witches. The goddess of magic. Celebrate. You have come to the crossroads. Give a nod to Hecate. She will always be there to help you on the right path.

Blessed be.

The Sun Will Come Out

Another new moon is upon us. And in the spirit of Thanksgiving, we celebrated Thanksgiving again. It was a great night I cooked a turkey and family and some friends came over. We celebrated. My daughter made a pumpkin pie from scratch. From an actual pumpkin.

I made gifts for all of our guests.

Orange pomanders!

A pomander is just a ball of fragrance.

I got the idea from the book “The Magical Year” by Danu Forest. You should check it out.

Anyway, orange is the color of summertime, of fun. Just what we need at this time of year. It is an active color with warm energy. It is an excellent color for a kitchen or dining room since it stimulates appetite and conversation. Just when we needed for a dinner party. Orange invokes balance, memory, sharing, and kindness. Again, just what we needed. And to make it all awesome, orange is awesome on Tuesday and is great for the number 2.

I studded the orange with cloves.

Cloves are awesome. They are a dried flower bud from a tropical evergreen. It stimulates circulation. And is an anesthetic and antibacterial. It is masculine and associated with the fire element. Cloves bring good luck and prosperity, to keep good friends close and to stop malicious gossip.

So to combine the two was awesome and it smelled amazing. I tied them with a fabulous ribbon and wrapped them in sparkly boxes.

And FYI… They keep moths out of the closet.

Blessed Be!

Happy Thanksgiving

Every year at this time we pause to reflect on the things for which we are most thankful. Given the demands of our daily lives, it is easy to get caught up in the tasks of work and home and not take time to appreciate our good fortunes. I want to take a moment to express my gratitude to each and every one of my family, the men, women, and children that make up our everyday lives. Every day of the year, including holidays, both religious and secular, collectively we work to ensure there is food on the tables and love in our hearts.

I am thankful for the privilege to write this for you. It’s an honor to make a positive difference in the lives of others, which is what I hope to do with this and everything I do each day. I thank you for everything you do as well: your commitment, hard work and pursuit of excellence in your own lives each day. I wish you all a happy, healthy, and safe Thanksgiving.

Blessed be.