I think Winter and Summer Solstice are my favorite holidays. These two days of the year I look forward to as a child anticipates Christmas or their birthday. To me,the Solstices are so magical. One heralds bringing the light and the other darkness. Both are necessary in the circle of life and creativity.
One of my favorite things is to host Yule with my women's circle. This year in particular felt most magical of all. So I'd thought I share with you a few glimpses into our celebration a couple of weeks ago.
Winter Solstice welcomes the light, the sun, returning as it is the longest night of the year and after this the days become longer and nights shorter. For me darkness is essential for the gestation of ideas and I as welcome the light I begin to birth them into existence. All through fall I have all kinds of thoughts and insights into stories I will then begin writing come January. I love the idea of bringing in the light. Last year this came into the form of my book. It was this time of year when I decided to share my journey with postpartum depression with the world. My idea came to fruition the following spring.
This year, all kinds of ideas and inspiration has come to me wish I will share with you more at the beginning of the year. And this year's Yule celebration was pure magic. Our high priestess, Amy, was kind enough to share a few pictures. Check out her Facebook page.
First we built our altar with Yule-themed objects. Note the holly and evergreen bough.
During our circle time we each shared our intentions for the following year and wrote them on little sticky notes which I taped to a Java log, our improvised Yule log. At the end of our circle time I took the log outside and burned it in a chiminea, since I don't have a real fireplace in my condo.
We finished the evening with a gift a exchange. Then before everyone left we made Magic Mists, using recipes from Tesa Whitehurst's Magical Housekeeping. This was so much fun! I felt like an alchemist creating beautiful aromas infused with crystals and essential oils.
I hope you enjoyed a little peek into my Winter Solstice. May the light always shine upon your path. Happy Holidays to you and your family. This will be my last post for 2014. I'll see you in 2015.
XOXO,
Melania
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