December 30th, 2011

Good morning world! I realize I haven't posted since Yule, but, as I said in my previous post, that was entirely due to my family and I going out-of-state to visit our relatives. I got to see both sets of Grandparents, as well as my amazing Aunt C and her girlfriend, and one of my Uncles. We all opened gifts, and I got some really cool stuff from Japan. My grandpa also took us on two hikes on local trails. We didn't see a whole ton the first time around, but there was a huge flock of geese on the lake, and it was fun to watch them traverse the ice. Wednesday's hike, we were in the woods instead of out in the open, and explored a frozen stream. Nick decided to get closer to the water, and so made to jump out onto a rock a few feet out. He landed on it all right - for a moment. A second later he fell in the water, nearly soaking his feet. Luckily his boots are waterproof. Note to self: When jumping on rocks, it is a poor idea to land on one that is completely covered in ice. After his incident, we saw a small herd of deer. There were five that we saw (although there's supposed to be 20 more), just standing off in the woods. We were able to get pretty close to them, relatively speaking, as no hunting is permitted in that area, so they don't have a fear of people. They were so peaceful, and I immediately felt the Lord and Lady present in them. It was fantastic. Today, it is rainy and cold. I will likely stay in, and catch up on all the things I missed while we were gone.

Yule

A very merry Yule, everybody! Yesterday was technically Yule, but I'm celebrating today because I'm way less busy. I also had early X-mas with my family today, because we're going out of town to visit relatives tomorrow. Therefore, this will likely be my last post before the New Year. Among other things, I got a new Amaryllis flower from Ben, and some Harry Potter merchandise, books, and other art supply-type stuff. I'll be doing my Yule ritual after lunch, and making chocolate covered pretzels, plus all the packing I have to do for our trip. Whew, better get started!

Blessed Yule, and happy New Year!

Countdown to Yule: 2 Days

Today's Yule Carol is Winter Solstice Song, by Lisa Thiel.

December 20th, 2011

So much excitement! :D Today I got to see my best Pagan buddies Hazelnut and Raincloud, and we had a little Yule get-together. First, we exchanged gifts. Here's all the presents...


Hazelnut and Raincloud...


Raincloud and her gift from me (a CD of tons of Pagan music):


Hazelnut and the winter gloves and hat from me (I also gave her a CD):


Hazelnut gave Raincloud a fairy door necklace, as her parents aren't cool with the whole Pagan thing, so she can wear it and be subtle.


And since my parents don't care all that much, she gave me two pentacle necklaces.


After presents, we had some cookies, crackers, dip, and hot cocoa for a snack.


HOT COCOA!


Then we listened to the aforementioned music and danced, sang some Yule carols, and generally chilled the rest of the afternoon. Now they're gone, and I miss them already.

Countdown to Yule: 3 Days

So, given that we were at church and the zoo all of yesterday, I couldn't post my "Day 4" song, but here it is anyway: Wiccan Wonderland.



And this is today's song: Moon of Silver

December 19th, 2011

So, after going to my mom's church yesterday as per the usual, we stuck around for the church's gingerbread house decorating, and watched The Polar Express. Then mom and dad took the boys and I to Brookfield Zoo as a surprise, to see all their holiday lights. They were really quite impressive, and we got to see some of the animals too. I'll be posting pictures of course, but mom has to upload them first. Anyway, today then I went to school to help build set for our spring musical, and went Christmas/Yule shopping with mom. I got some gifts for the boys - animal figurines for Nick and a toy car for Ben - and another little thing for Hazelnut. ^_^ Tomorrow she and Raincloud are coming over and I'm really excited!

Sabbat Haikus

A collection of Sabbat haikus I wrote in 8th grade.

~~~~~~~~~~

Sun at its highest
This day is the longest yet
The feast of the Fey

Glorious harvest
Now winter food shall be reaped
The crops are ready

Night and day are one
Second harvest is prepared
Earth begins to sleep

Now the veil is thin
We honor those who have passed
It's the spirit-night

Our Lady does sleep
The Winter King awakens
Yule Log burns in hearth

Festival of Lights
From slumber the Maiden stirs
Life begins anew

The Sun God lays down
Inviting in the Goddess
Maiden turns Mother

Fires of Bel burn bright
God and Goddess share their love
The whole world blossoms

Countdown to Yule: 5 Days

In the last not-quite-week before Yule, I'd like to share some more Yule carols to set the moon for the season. This is a new one I found recently - The 13 Days of Solstice.

December 17th, 2011

Today, I want to summarize all the little things I've been meaning to post all week, but haven't gotten around to. I finished my painting of the moon, inspired by a beautiful sunset the night before Esbat:


I made some of my teachers Yule/Christmas/Hanukkah/whatever clipboards:





I finished my Yule gifts for Hazelnut and Raincloud:


And finally, I woke up this morning to see this outside: SNOW!


In other news this week, my English class adopted a family from the Giving Tree: a single mom with six kids. We were able to raise over $1000 in cash alone, and got them everything on their wishlist: clothes, bikes, food, toys, electronics; it was really amazing what people donated. Later this afternoon, my mom and I are going with our Community Choir to carol for the people in a nearby nursing home, and might bake some cookies or fudge when we get back! :)

Goddess Statue

This was the front and back of an EPIC statue that Hazelnut found on Ebay. It was only $11, and I really wanted to get it, but unfortunately, I thought it would be a bit awkward if random boxes from Ebay showed up on my doorstep, so I had to pass it up. Still, one day I'd love to find such a statue, and purchase it.

December 16th, 2011

Today was the last day of school before the beginning of winter break - HUZZAH! I got to school this morning, only to be surprised with gifts from several friends, and to give a few of my own. :) Tonight, I am going to finish getting my Yule gifts wrapped for Hazelnut and Raincloud, and I think I'll just finish the evening with some music. For now, I'll leave you with a Yule poem...

Yuletide Cheer

The chill breath of winter touches us,
As blankets of snow cover the ground.
With the glow of moonlight upon them,
Its like diamond sparkles all around.

Inside the room is cozy and warm,
The scent of evergreen wafts from the fire.
Surrounded with love and family,
I've got all that I could desire.

Sleigh bells jingle from the front porch,
As my coveners decorate outside.
They've no need of blankets,
They have the warmth of love inside.

In my home we all gather round,
And with Pagan carols our voices ring.
Then we settle down to enjoy the tale,
Of the Oaken Lord and the Holly King.

For our holiday is quite different,
Than the cowan Christmas night.
We cast our Circle, join together,
And welcome the return of Light.

Then we sit and share the feast,
As we pass bread and wine around.
As blessings from mingled voices...
"Never hunger," "Never thirst" abound.

All too soon the rite is ended,
And we greet the newborn day.
As we clasp hands together,
This wish we send your way....

It's no matter your tradition,
Be you family, friend, or guest.
We wish you joy and peace,
And may your Yule be Blessed!!!

For this and more Yule poetry, visit: http://www.angelfire.com/moon/yule/

Coexist

Happy holidays, one and all!

December 13th, 2011

It occurred to me this morning that after 3 months of having this blog, I have never once mentioned how I first found the Craft. So, without further ado... I take you back about 3 years ago, to 2008:

I was in the back seat of the car, next to my brothers, reading a book on the supernatural. Fairies, dragons, ghosts, witches. The book said real witches followed Wicca. I asked my mom what that was, and she said to ask my Aunt C, as that is what she practiced herself. I was too shy to ask her anything though, so instead I did a Google search. What came up were websites talking about the Lord and Lady, karma, reincarnation, and more. Words of love and peace filled the screen, and I smiled to myself. It seemed like such a peaceful thing. But I let it go at the time. Then, it was just words. I was Christian, and though Wicca was interesting, I wasn't about to change my religion. Not yet. But somewhere it stuck with me in the back of my mind, just waiting. Waiting for something to change.

A jump to 2009:

Religion had become more difficult for me in this one short year. Questions started building, about God, and why the Bible said terrible things would happen to those who didn't follow it exactly. It made no sense to me for a supposedly loving God to send wonderful people to hell just because they believed in a different deity. In the final days of summer, my mom took my siblings and I to the library. The library had been consolidated to a warehouse, as the main building was being rebuilt and renovated. The warehouse was small, and the bookshelves were tall, with narrow paths between them. The windows along one wall, however, were huge, and beams of light made the shelves glow. Dust floated in the air, and the whole place seemed to hold its breath as quiet libraries often do. A feeling of mystery hung around, and though I could not have put my finger on it at the time, the Goddess was there, guiding me. I walked to a new part of the library, next to the fantasy section. I lived in the fantasy realms of books, and yet something pulled me out of my usual haunt. A book on the shelf caught my eye: Teen Witch, by Silver Ravenwolf. I assumed that it was simply more fantasy, so I stuck it in my bag and continued. When I got home and took it out, I realized it wasn't a fictional novel at all, but a book about Wicca, that mystical thing that I had found the year before. I read the book, cover to cover, and knew I had found something stupendous, something that would change my life forever. I set up a tiny altar in the corner of my room, and sitting there, felt as though I had come home at last.

December 11th, 2011

To the left is a picture of the Goddess at Yule, compliments of the omnipresent Google. I felt like I had a little too much black and white on my blog, so here's some color to liven things up. Anyway, today I have been working on a painting which I may end up giving as a Yule gift; it's going to depend on how it turns out. Pictures will, of course, be posted at its completion. Other than that, today has kind of been a lazy day. My brothers and I have been watching the squirrels, which are very efficiently hiding all the food in the yard, and I hung up those ornaments I made. I think I'm also going to play some Yule carols - at this year, there's nothing like music! :)

Yule Altar

I also have a video made of my Yule altar, after I added some things, plus my Yule tree:

Yule Ornaments

As promised, here is the instructional video I made for my healing Yule ornaments:

"Pagan"

So, Hazelnut sent me this picture earlier, and I thought it was just about the coolest thing ever. I may copy it and put it in my BOS.

December 10th, 2011

Today is Esbat, and I popped out-of-doors a while ago to get a picture of the moon. It's hard of course to take good pictures at night, but eventually I got one that seemed decent:


It's just so pretty... I also made those Yule ornaments I mentioned a while back, and made a video on their construction. The link to said video will be added once it becomes available. I'm going to empower the little guys during my ritual tonight, and then hang them up. :)

December 7th, 2011

It is definitely December. We've had some snow, but so far it has all melted. Nevertheless, there is a sharp crispness to the frigid air that only comes at this time of year. Right now, I'm sitting at my desk enjoying a slice of German chocolate cake and am snuggled under a fluffy blanket. I'm also working on Yule gifts for friends, but they read my blog, so I can't share their nature until after we exchange gifts. I had a rather magickal moment before school today. A Pagan friend of mine, Raincloud, and I had had something of an emotionally charged conversation about past difficulties with those people who act as though their only purpose is to make life difficult, when I hummed a few bars of "We All Come From the Goddess", and we broke out simultaneously into song in the middle of the school cafeteria at 6:45 in the morning. Time literally felt like it froze for a moment; it was odd. Beautiful, but odd. Everything going on around us just seemed to fade. And then someone interrupted us, and the moment fell apart. I think we both felt better though; I know I did. In that moment, I could really feel the Goddess standing by me. There is no other word to describe it. It was...magick.

The Holly King

The Holly King is a classic Yule icon, adopted into modern culture in a figure everyone - Pagan or not - knows: Santa Clause. Yes, the Holly King was the original Santa, before St. Nicholas and all those other folk he has morphed into over the centuries. The 8 reindeer are representations of the 8 major Sabbats, and his classic depiction of a jolly man with a long beard has outlasted the centuries. In Pagan lore, the Oak and Holly Kings are two archetypes of the God: light and dark. At both solstices, the two do battle. The Oak King (light) wins over the Holly King at Yule, and the light begins once again to grow. At Litha, it is the Holly King who triumphs, and the world once again grows dark.

December 6th, 2011

Well, I meant to post about this on Saturday, but we ended up being really busy, so instead I'm posting today. Huzzah! Last Saturday, we got the house all decked out for Yule/Christmas (Yule in my room, X-mas everywhere else) with trees, snowmen, Santas, and all the other crazy things stuffed into the 13 big tote boxes we dredged from the garage. We also bought our live tree for the living room and decorated it, as per tradition. It is likely I will have pics of that later, but for today, I have some shots of an artificial Yule tree in my room. It doesn't look openly Yule-ish, but it has a Goddess figure on top in place of a star, and mixed in with all my super-shiny, crazy-colored ornaments are 7 little fairy ornaments from Hallmark that I've been collecting.

This, obviously, is the tree.

And this is a close-up of the wee Poinsettia fairy. I have a special ornament idea to share as well, but you'll just have to wait for Esbat for that! ;)