Should old acquaintance be forgot...

and brought no more to mind?  

They say in the days leading to the New Year you should do the things you want to be doing most that year.  Some say that it's only on New Year's Eve that you should be doing what you want to be doing in the coming year.  For others the New Year passed at Samhain, so we see this as a chance to reinforce those things that we want in the coming year. 

This morning was spent doing exactly what I want to be doing in the coming year, lying safely in the arms of the man I love, in the home we're creating together.  

~~ 

As Pagans we celebrate two New Year milestones - one on Samhain and one on December 31st/January 1st.  This is a perfect chance for us to solidify the wishes we have for our new year, to talk to the Goddess/God and contemplate if we've stepped onto the correct path in our new year.  What we started at Samhain will start to take root now, and we can see the shape of what we're creating for the near future.  If this shape isn't what we're looking for, then we can make those changes that are needed now, in a time of powerful change when so many are focused on that very energy.  

The world as a whole looks to change in January - it's a smaller number that keep that change steady into the following months.  What changes did you enact at Samhain?  Have those changes held?  Did you slip?  Is the shape of your future not what you wanted?  For as close on the heels of Yule that Samhain feels, it's a rather long time.  A lot has happened.  A lot is still to come.  But there is time.  

One of the things I love about winter is that there is so much time.  And there really isn't any more than there is in the summer, but in the winter you can just sit and relax and no one wonders why you aren't out doing things.  There is time to reflect, to stare, to think and to breathe.  

So take some of this time to be still in the cold of winter.  Make the shape of the change you want to happen a solid and tangible thing, a touchstone for the year that can help you enact the change.  

Ways to spend a Solstice

You can spend it solitary, in quiet contemplation.

You can spend it with your circle, in a day full of rite and ceremony.  

Or, you can spend it taking moments out when you can to listen to the Goddess between loads of laundry, dishes, cooking, packing and cleaning so you can be ready for a 6pm flight after you get off work tomorrow.  ;)  

Guess how I spent mine!  

But really, it wasn't as rushed as all that.  In the flurry of things to be done, I heard the Goddess.  In the pot pie that I made for lunch I spelled for health and happiness in the coming days.  In the cleaning I did I banished the old and brought in peace and tranquility.  In stopping to look at our brilliantly lit tree I welcomed the light back and thanked the dark for it's role in my life.  

In simple chores you can find the voice of the Goddess, sometimes more clearly as your mind is distracted just enough.  

And to top off the day, I joined friends for a feast that night, many courses of wonderful food and amazing drink and many hours of wonderful conversation.  It was a perfect way to celebrate the Solstice for us.

As I sent my energy out last night, a quick ceremony in a busy place, the energy flowed well and my intention for healing went out strong.  

So as the light grows, in the coming days I wish you all blessings and happiness and rest.  Gods know the spring will be on us soon enough, and we need these days of winter to rest up and be ready for growing when the season is on us.  

Out of the Kitchen and into the world

I don't think I have to explain what's all over the news right now - most everyone who finds this will know.  It's everywhere... whether you want to see it or not.

We're in Winter now, and the hem of the Crone is where I find myself when the weather turns cold and the landscape glittering in ice and snow.  On Yule I often bundle up in layers of wool, throw on my cloak and go sit outside to listen at her feet.  It's gotten me plenty of odd looks over the years, but it's always worth going.  Silent, in the cold of evening, you learn a lot about yourself and about the Goddess.

As our society is being tortured right now, as injustice and hatred and fear are gripping people still (I've heard this called "new" and I just want to scream.  This isn't new, this just has a spotlight now.) I think about sitting at the hem of the Crone and wonder what I'll hear from her this year.  I wonder what the land will have to say to me.  In truth, I'm outside less this time of year and so listening to the land is more difficult... it's hard to hear what it's saying when you don't walk it.  So part of going outside to sit on Yule is reconnecting on a night with so much significance.

You can't turn on the tv, or go to your social media of choice, without seeing the pain in the world.  It's going to be hard to heal this, if it can be healed at all, but it is something we must try to do.

This year, as Pagans, we need to be that healing.  We have a unique perspective on healing, and in the Winter when the land sleeps to build it's strength for the growing in Spring, we can use that time to store up the energy we need for the healing to come.  We have all, in our time, mended the land, mended our friends and family, mended ourselves.  We have all, as needed, joined together at one time of day across many places and sent our energies out in waves to do what is needed.

I think this is that time again.

This Yule I'll be doing just that.  Once the sun is full down, and night is upon us, I'll be standing outside and sending my energy, my hopes and healing, across the land, into the Earth, and to all who need it to help ease the pain.

I urge you to join me, whether you let me know or not.