At
this writing it is a little less than 3 days before Yule or Winter Solstice,
which will be on Friday, December 21st at 6:12am. Considering what
has transpired less than a week ago, I ask you to forgive me in advance for the
omission of tragic events that are being chronicled consistently in every type
of media available. Though this does not surprise me; understanding the cyclic
tides of nature, marking us clearly in the last few days of the season of
Samhain, the last spoke of the Wheel of the Year, the season of Death. Even
with the moon in Pisces, my natal Moon, it is hard to escape the somberness
cast by recent tragedies. But still, were it not for my vocation as a reverend,
I would certainly succumb to the waves, but cannot. It may be in my nature to
slumber in somber, but there is too much to be done in preparation for what is
easily one of the busiest weeks of my year.
You
see, I am a Witch, to the bone & to my boots. I understand the mysteries of
death. It comes with the job I suppose. If I have learned anything, it is that
death, though apparently real in this world, is in itself unreal, an illusion to
the immortal & eternal part of me. Thankfully this part of me is becoming
more dominant in my awareness as I grow in my path of wisdom through
experience. So it is that among all of the tasks on my to-do list that I must
now gradually & gently turn my focus to Yule & the rebirth of the Sun.
For in truth, there is no death without rebirth. We see this is nature &
surely this applies to all of us; eternal beings clothed temporarily in the
disguise of humanity.
Yule
is indeed a time of good cheer, as what once seemed to die is slowly on the
rise in its rebirth. Though the land will slumber until March &
Ostara/Spring Equinox, the Sun itself will begin to rise day by day; lengthening
the light minute by minute until it reaches its height 6 months from now at Litha/Summer
Solstice. So I am challenged to not just shift my focus, but to embody this
rebirth through a somewhat cautious optimism. I must do this, for the events
ahead of me dictate it so. Not in some facsimile of joy, but to really reach
for it & become that joy. It is what my path dictates & I am its
willing pilgrim on that path.
In
a few hours I will be attending a dear friend’s birthday party. The following day
I will attend a lunch with that same friend & others that I meet with
weekly. It is a treasured break from my work & career as a Professional
Witch, where I get to laugh & be snarky for a few hours. Then Thursday we
host our annual Silver Broom & Drawing the Circle’s Yule party at our
center in Sayville. It is a well attended event each year, one where we gather
to recognize that the rebirth we all seek is indeed coming. Because of Hurricane
Sandy, we did not meet for our annual Halloween Party, so the community is most
likely chomping at the bit for a party, a reprieve from the mundane craziness
of the holidays.
Each
year Amy & I craft Yule Pouches as gifts to all who attend. In each pouch
is a combination of herbs & crystals chosen to signify intentions desired
to manifest over the next Wheel of the Year. It is our tradition that we have
become very adept at creating. I also post the spell & its ingredients each
year so those who cannot attend can attempt at making their own pouch, or at
least work the spell in their own creative ways. Here is the spell & its
ingredients. I wish you all the best of success with it:
Yule
Spell 2012:
Happy,
Healthy, Wealthy & Wise
Ingredients:
Happy - Catnip,
Lavender, Witchgrass, Blue Lace Agate
Healthy - Spikenard,
Galangal, Nutmeg,
Wealthy - Basil,
Cedar, Cinnamon Oil, Mint, Aventurine
Wise - Sage
As the Yuletide Sun does rise,
With all the power it implies,
Waxing Sun with full surprise
Now manifest before my eyes.
All the good that does comprise
Happy, Healthy, Wealthy & Wise.
For the Highest Good & Harming none,
as I will it, so let it be done.
So Mote it Be!
You
can see that we chose herbs & stones to correlate to each intention of
Happy, Healthy, Wealthy & Wise. Though some of the ingredients may be a bit
obscure like Galangal & Spikenard, I’m sure that a simple list of
correspondences will suffice to help you choose easier to find substitutions.
But what gives me so much joy is the making of these pouches & with Amy. We
have become a well oiled machine of spell crafting. We cranked out 111 of them
in under an hour. No easy feat, though the choosing of ingredients & the
actual writing of the spell took me weeks. But should you make your own, or get
one at one of the parties, I wish you all the happiness, health, wealth &
wisdom that it inspires.
One
thing that has given me great joy & distraction this passing Samhain season
is the crafting of wands & staffs. I haven’t put my hand to craft other than
magickally in decades. My own artistic endeavors have been in the spoken word
alone for a long time. So it was with great surprise that I find myself
obsessed somewhat with the making of these wooden objects, each a work of art
for me, even if for me alone. They will make up the majority of gifts that I
will give this year, at least to my magickal family. Yes, I am selling them at
The Silver Broom’s shop is Sayville as well, with the proceeds going to help
the Broom as well as myself get the bills paid.
The
wood came from the trees that fell during the storm, as well as from a Sweet Chestnut
tree that died this past year. Mother Maple, one of my biggest & most
beloved trees threw off half of her wood during the hurricane. So it was with
fierce determination that I set about the rebirthing of the form of wood into something
truly magical & precious. Wands & staffs are surely more akin to
Witches nowadays thanks to Harry Potter. This is why I will ask each I give
a wooden gift to, to go to the Broom & select their own. After all, the
Wand chooses the Witch.
But
I cannot escape the symbolism of the death of the trees being reborn as wands.
It is what has kept my head down to my work; barking, sanding, carving,
wood-burning & varnishing each piece. It has been my open eyed meditation.
It has also provided me with a new vocation if you will. I have become an Ollivander
of sorts; though the core of each are the wood itself, my own passion &
intention sculpted into a new form, from that which has fallen.
Is
this not what Yule is? Do we not look back over the past year & seek to identify
the best through appreciation? Even in our New Year’s resolutions we seek to
plant new seeds for growth based on the dead year left behind. So it is that I
will, after this posting, get in the shower, go get a strong Venti Starbucks
Latte & shift my vibration upward. I will party among the best of them this
week, keep my focus held diligently, if not gently, toward the good that must
come with the season if I look for it. Then, when the dust has settled, the
tinsel packed away & the parties subsided, I will step into the a new
year with my company, ministry & coven; wishing for myself & all I meet
the very best that constitutes a life lived Happy, Healthy, Wealthy & Wise.
