Hogmanay Trollolay!

The roots of Hogmanay perhaps reach back to the celebration of the winter solstice among the Norse, as well as incorporating customs from the Gaelic New Year's celebration of Samhain. In Rome, winter solstice evolved into the ancient celebration of Saturnalia, a great winter festival, where people celebrated completely free of restraint and inhibition. The Vikings celebrated Yule, which later contributed to the Twelve Days of Christmas, or the "Daft Days" as they were sometimes called in Scotland. The winter festival went underground with the Protestant Reformation and ensuing years, but re-emerged near the end of the 17th century....

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 and can be found in its entirety here: Hogmanay Trollolay!

Diet Ice

Use this method to empower water to remove excess weight from your body.

• 1 ice tray
• Water, to fill the ice tray
• Yellow food coloring
• Lemon wedges...

... 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: Diet Ice

A Christmas Spell for Clairvoyance

If one goes on Christmas night in the morning twilight into a wood or forest without uttering a word or letting a sound be heard, without looking around, without eating or drinking, without seeing any fire, and follow a path leading to a church, when the sun is rising, he will see...

... 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: A Christmas Spell for Clairvoyance

Christmas Spell

This is an old old spell - and posted here for educational and informational purposes only. Mistletoe berries are poisonous. This is the reason there will be dreams - some of them bad - some of them possibly fatal - so do not make or ingest this mixture!




Steep mistletoe berries, to the number of nine, in a mixture of ale, wine, vinegar and honey; take them on going to bed, and you will dream of your future lot. A storm in this dream is very bad; it is most likely you will then marry a sailor...

... I am so sorry to do this to you, but this post has been moved to my new website, The Magickal Apothecary, and can be found in its entirety here: Mstletoe Dreaming

Swedish Yule Bread

Magical Attributes: Generosity, goodwill, empathy, service, and depending on which goodies you put into the dough other blessings will abound.

• 1/2 teaspoon saffron
• 3 tablespoons hot water
• 2 envelopes active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup warm water (105-115 degrees F)
• 1/4 sup sugar, plus 1/4 teaspoon
• 1 cup milk
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1 teaspoon salt ...

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) and can be found in its entirety here: Magickal Swedish Yule Bread

Yuletide Incense

• 3 parts frankincense
• 3 drops orange oil
• 3 ...

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

"Yule - A Celebration of Light and Warmth"

Yule, also known as Midwinter and Winster Solstice, occurs on the Winter Solstice. This is the time of year when the sun is at its lowest point in the sky (Northern Hemisphere) and the Sun enters the sign of Capricorn. This usually happens between December 20th and December 23rd. The sun will only rise higher and higher in the sky from this point onward. Since it appears that the sun's light is growing as each day passes after this one, this holiday is celebrated as the birth of the sun.

The word Yule comes from the Old Norse "iul," meaning wheel ,and refers to the 'wheel of the year', (or the idea of the year, seen as a wheel turning as the seasons change)....

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) and can be found in it's entirety along with even more information here: Yule

The Yule Story

Also known as Mithras (for the Persian Sun God), Saturnalia (for the Roman God of sowing and husbandry) and The Great Day of the Cauldron (from Druid Legend). It is the celebration of the return, or rebirth, of the Sun God, the Lord of Life. The celebrations were traditionally performed with the utmost solemnity, yet also with the highest rejoicing, for they resolve the paradox of Death and Rebirth. It represents the redemption of the world from Death and Darkness, as such it is a celebration of hope and joy amidst the gloom of winter.

The word Yule can be traced to the Celtic word `Hioul" which means wheel. This festival is an important point in the turning of the wheel of the year. Wreaths were made to symbolize this wheel, combining solar significance with tree-god significance. In ancient times Celts venerated trees as earthly representatives of the Gods, and it was felt that nothing short of the sacrifice of a mighty tree-god would cause the receding sun to take pity on them and return....

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) and can be found in its entirety here: More Yule Myths and Lore

The Herbs and Plants of Yule

Herbs of Yule
Bayberry, blessed thistle, laurel, pine, sage, yellow cedar.

Evergreens

• symbolizing: Continuity of Life, Protection, Prosperity
• types: Pine, Fir, Cedar, Juniper, other evergreens
• forms: boughs, wreaths, garlands, trees ...

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 can be found, along with even more information on Yule, here: Yule

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