Some Correspondences for Yule

Activities of Yule:

• Burning the Yule log
• Caroling
• Decorating the Yule tree
• Exchanging of presents...

I am so sorry to do this to you, but this post has been moved to my new website, The Pagan Calendar (hosted at shirleytwofeathers.com) it has been combined with more information, and can be found here: Yule

Raven Power for the Winter Solstice

The Raven's keynote is that of magic, shapeshifting, and creation. While its cycle of power is that of winter solstice. The raven is one of those birds that has a tremendous amount of lore and mythology surrounding it, and it is often contradictory. It is a bird of birth and death, and it is a bird of mysticism and magic....

... I am so sorry, but this post has been moved to my new website, The Powers That Be, and can be found in its entirety here: Raven Power

Saturnalia

The Saturnalia was an ancient Roman festival in honor of Saturn, celebrated on the 17th of December. Saturn being an ancient national god of Latium, the institution of the Saturnalia is lost in the most remote antiquity. Falling towards the end of December, at the season when the agricultural labors of the year were completed, it was celebrated by the country-people as a sort of joyous harvest home, and in every age was viewed by all classes of the community as a period of absolute relaxation and unrestrained merriment. The festival was extended in later times to three and still later to seven days....

... I am so sorry to do this to you, but this post has been combined with another, and moved to my new website, The Pagan Calendar, and can be found here: Saturnalia

Divination Pudding

Here's something really fun. It's a Divination Pudding, traditionally served at Yule or New Year's celebrations.

This is not a creamy milk-based dessert pudding; instead, this is a traditional English dinner pudding. You’ll need about a loaf of stale bread, three eggs, a half cup of heavy cream, a quarter cup of brown sugar, and spices such as cinnamon, ground cloves, ground nutmeg, allspice, mace, and ginger. Pick two spices, and use no more than a quarter teaspoon of each....

... I am so sorry, but this post has been moved to my new website, Divination, and can be found in its entirety here: Divination Pudding

Balancing A Situation

Calling a situation into balance can be a bit tricky. For example, suppose you are upside down in your finances - more going out than you can bring in. You can use fire and ice to call for a balance. Here is a spell that can be used to bring balance to any situation.

You will need the following:

• An empty paper milk carton (quart size)
• Water, to fill the milk carton
• A gray or brown taper candle as tall as the milk carton...

... I am so sorry to do this to you, but this post has been moved to my new website, Book of Shadows, and can be found in its entirety here: Balancing A Situation

Spell For Balancing the Self

When using fire and ice together, you are calling for a natural balance to take place. It can be a balance of the self, a balance of a situation, or even a balance of the checkbook. This is a great spell to do during the Christmas Lunar Eclipse....

... I am so sorry to do this to you, but this post has been moved to my new website, Book of Shadows, and can be found in its entirety here: Spell For Balancing The Self

Celebrating The Winter Solstice

Winter Solstice has been celebrated in cultures the world over for thousands of years. This start of the solar year is a celebration of Light and the rebirth of the Sun. In old Europe, it was known as Yule, from the Norse, Jul, meaning wheel.

Today, many people in Western-based cultures refer to this holiday as "Christmas." Yet a look into its origins of Christmas reveals its Pagan roots.

Emperor Aurelian established December 25 as the birthday of the "Invincible Sun" in the third century as part of the Roman Winter Solstice celebrations. Shortly thereafter, in 273, the Christian church selected this day to represent the birthday of Jesus, and by 336, this Roman solar feast day was Christianized. January 6, celebrated as Epiphany in Christendom and linked with the visit of the Magi, was originally an Egyptian date for the Winter Solstice....

... I am so sorry, but this post has been moved to my new website, The Pagan Calendar, and can be found in its entirety here: Celebrating The Winter Solstice

Character of the Days of the Moon

Notes: I am assuming that this counting of the days begins and ends with the new moon. Notice that there are 29 days listed even though it only takes the moon 27.3 days to orbit the earth. I also found the juxtaposition of the Major Arcana of the Tarot with Old Testament happenings, and the Goddess Hecate (see day 27), an interesting mix.

1. The Juggler, or Magus— The first day of the moon is that of the creation of the moon itself. This day is consecrated to mental enterprises, and should be favorable for opportune innovations.

2. Pope Joan, or Occult Science — This day is propitious to revelations, initiations, and great discoveries of science.

3. The Celestial Mother, or Empress— The third day was that of man's creation. So is the moon called the MOTHER in Kabbalah, when it is represented in association with the number three....

... I am so sorry to do this to you, but this post has been moved to my new website, The Pagan Calendar, and can be found in its entirety here: Character of the Days of the Moon

Yule Oil

• 1/4 cup almond or other carrier oil
• 8 drops pine oil
• 8 drops cedar
• 5 drops juniper
• ground myrrh - approx 5 or 6 small lumps
• ground frankincense - approx 5 or 6 small lumps...

.... I am so sorry, but this post has been moved to my new website, Magickal Apothecary, and can be found in its entirety here: Yule Oil

Yuletide Potpourri

• 3 cups fresh Juniper Sprigs -with berries
• 2 cups red Rosebuds
• 1 cups Bay Leaves
• 1/4 cup Cinnamon chips
• 2 tablespoons Cloves
• 10 drops Rose Oil...

I am so sorry to do this to you, but this post has been moved to my new website, The Magickal Apothecary (hosted at shirleytwofeathers.com) and can be found in its entirety here: Yuletide Potpourri