Yule and Ritual

Source.

Yule* (also known as the Longest Night, the Winter Solstice, Midwinter, and a myriad of other names) falls on the shortest day and longest night of the year.  For the Norther Hemisphere it's usually sometime between the 20th and 23rd of December.  Yule, or Winsol (see my note at the end of this post), is, for me, a time to celebrate both the darkness and the rebirth of the sun.  It's the birth of the a new year, and I treat it as such.  This is my time to make plans, to rid myself of unnecessary and often negative influences, and begin the process of shedding my old skin.  Often, I write myself a letter to be read on the next Winsol, and read the letter that was written on the last.  And of course there's feasting and the exchange of gifts.  Winsol is a time for rest, regeneration, making plans for the next year, and spending time with loved ones.

Below is a short, solitary ritual that I wrote this year, and some associations I have for the holiday.  They are not Wiccan, as I am not Wiccan, but instead are some crazy amalgam of Neopagan, folkloric, and druidical traditions, coupled with my family's decidedly non-Christian Christmas tradition.

2014's Winsol falls on the 21st of December.  Sunset is at 5:03pm CST.

Source.

Associations

Colors: red, green, white, blue, gold, silver, black

Plants: mugwort, cranberry, bayberry, poinsettia, evergreens: spruce, fir, juniper, mistletoe, holly, etc.

Food/Flavors: goose, roast beef, lamb, nuts, dried fruit, cranberries, apples, oranges, gingerbread, spices, beans and legumes, mint

Drink: buttered rum, wassail, eggnog, spiced rum, ginger tea, hot chocolate

Scents: frankincense, myrrh, evergreen scents: balsam, fir, juniper, etc., spicy scents: ginger, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon, etc.

Stones: bloodstone, ruby, garnet, emerald

Astronomical: Aurora Borealis

Source.

Ritual

A few minutes before sunset (which is at 5:03 pm CST, see above) bundle up and go outside.  As you watch the sun disappear below the horizon, hold your breath.  While you're holding that breath, think on the year past: blessings and sorrows.  Think of everything you wanted to do and didn't.  Think of what you did instead, and see how those things changed you.  Gather up your negative thoughts, your regrets, your pains and pressures, everything you want to rid yourself of from the previous year.**  Release your held breath, and with that release expel all of the negativity you gathered.  Meditate briefly on your goals for the coming year, then head back inside.

Once inside and relieved of your bundling clothes, head to your alter and light candles in the colors of the season.  (This year I will be burning 1 red and 2 green candles that one of my brothers gave me for Christmas a few years back.  Scents: cinnamon, balsam & cedar, and mistletoe.) Offer up a small prayer for the rebirth of the sun.  Meditate on the flames, feel the warmth radiating out.  Breath in.  Breath out.  Slow your breath, your mind, your body.  When you can see into the heart of the flame you can call the elements, cast your circle:

Facing eastwards visualize the power of air before you and the power of water behind you, feel the presence of the winds of the east and waters of the west.  When this imagery is strong in your mind, say: "Light and darkness; east and west; air and water; come, let my circle, my spirit, be the meeting place between you."

Visualize the power of fire to your right and the power of earth to your left, feel the presence of the fires of the south and earth of the north.  When this imagery is strong in your mind, say: " Heat and coldness; south and north; fire and earth; come, let my circle, my spirit, be the meeting place between you."

Focus on the elements and their powers, the cardinal directions and their powers, when you have these clear in your mind, say: "Powers that create, preserve, destroy, and redeem, come, and let my circle, my spirit, be the meeting place between you." 

Continue: "Come, powers of east and air, light and dawn; come, and receive your blessing.  Come, powers of west and water, dark and dusk; come, and receive your blessing.  Come, powers of south and fire, heat and life; come, and receive your blessing.  Come, powers of north and earth, cold and death; come, and receive your blessing.  Blessed are the cardinal points and elements.  Blessed are those that join our*** circle."

Now, if you wish, you can invoke your ancestors, your gods and goddesses, or other spirits, inviting them into your circle in much the same way.

Say: "We gather to celebrate Winsol (the Winter Solstice, Yule, whatever), the rebirth of the sun, and the passing of the year.  On this, the longest of nights, we pray for the return of the sun and the promise of rebirth and spring!  As the sun grows stronger, the days lengthen, growing brighter, may we too grow stronger, brighter.  As the sun is reborn, so too are our hopes and our dreams.  Blessed is the sun, blessed is this solstice!"

Meditate on once again on the flames of your candles.  Find the heart of the flame, allow it to fill you with warmth and light, driving away the cold and darkness, driving away your troubles and negativity.  Breathe in and out slowly.  As before, gather up everything you want to discard that lives inside of you, picture it being shoved in a bag and draw the strings of the bag tightly closed.  Breathe and relax.  Find yourself in the heart and the heat of the flame.  Keep hold of the bag.

Faretheewell the elements, the spirits, the ancestors, the gods and goddesses that joined you in your circle: "Farewell, powers of east and air, light and dawn; farewell, and thank you for your presence and your blessings.  Hail and farewell!   Farewell, powers of west and water, night and dusk; farewell, and thank you for your presence and your blessings. Hail and farewell!  Farewell, powers of south and fire, heat and life; farewell, and thank you for your presences and your blessings.  Hail and farewell!  Farewell, powers of north and earth, cold and death; farewell, and thank you for your presence and blessings.  Hail and farewell! 

Continue: "Powers that create, preserve, destroy, and redeem, farewell!  Thank you for your presence and blessings.  May may there be peace and honor between us now and always.  Hail and farewell!"

Extinguish the candles, or leave them in a safe place where there is no possibility of them setting fire to anything.  Bundle up again, walk outside, face east, say:  "May the coming dawn bestow upon us all the blessings the coming spring, and bring the promise of endless possibilities.  May it drive the shadows from my soul."  Breathe in deeply and release, releasing, as well, the bag you've been holding in your mind.  Gently push the bag out with your breath and let it go.  Imagine it drifting away, dispersing where it can no longer do harm.   

Breathe, slowly, deeply, meditating on new possibilities.  Breathe out, and take a deep breath in pulling in the blessings of the solstice, feel those blessing fill you, pushing against your skin.  Say: "This Winsol ritual is complete.  Thank you.  Hail and farewell!"

Go inside.  Decompress.  Eat something.  Drink some water.  Stretch.  Dispose of any ritual offerings you added in an appropriate manner.  Write about your ritual experience, record as much as you can - you can interpret it later.  Write about what you look forward to in the coming year.  What are your goals?  Your dreams?  Think about what you need to do to accomplish those goals.

So, that's it.  That's my Winsol ritual for 2014.   

I totally just found this on google images.

*A few years ago I started calling Yule "Winsol" which is short for Winter Solstice, and, as far as I know, was coined by one of my favorite fantasy writers, Anne Bishop, for her Black Jewels series of books.  I like the term.  It suits the season.

**Can you tell 2014 was a bad year for me?

***I speak in plural once I've been joined by spirits.  To do otherwise, to me, seems rude.

Astral Projection Meditation

Astral projection, or astral travel, is when the conscious mind leaves the physical body and has experiences in the astral body or subtle body. This experience is different from dreaming because you are in control of your actions and fully conscious during the experience. The subtle body and the physical body remain attached to one another during astral projection, and many people have described a silver cord tethering the two bodies together, much like an umbilical chord. The subtle body is having experiences in what many people believe to be the spirit realm during astral travel. Some people experience astral travel while falling asleep at night and are able to experience the astral plane with little effort. Others must put in some effort to achieve the same results.

It is necessary to be fully relaxed before attempting to leave the physical body. Lying in bed under a comfortable blanket is ideal and if you must wear clothing, make sure it is comfortable and loose. Drinking a tea of mugwort 30 minutes prior to projection can really help to ease you into the experience. Placing an amethyst crystal near your body will also help facilitate your astral journey.

To begin, focus your mind on your breathing. Become aware of the rise and fall of your breath. Your aim should be to reach the hypnotic (hypnogogic) state just prior to sleeping. As you are nearing the sleep state focus one of your big toes until you can picture it perfectly. Then begin to flex it in your mind, but not physically. Continue doing this until it seems as though your toe is actually flexing. Next mentally flex your foot, then your leg, slowly working your way up your body until you can move all parts with your mind alone. Your physical body, of course, is lying still and not moving. Next you can begin to move your body around the room you are lying in. From this point you can begin to lift off or hover off the ground. This is the point in which many people can look at their physical body across the room. It may take a lot of practice to get to this point. Many people begin to fear they will not be able to return to their body and the fear jolts them back into the physical self. Remember that the soul body or subtle body is connected to the physical body by a silver cord. Eliminating fear is key to astral projection.


Once you master leaving your body and moving around the room you are in, you may want to exit through a window and begin to travel outside. Some people travel to other countries and as far as other worlds while out of body. There are no limits to your adventuring once outside the physical body.


The below video is a tool to help bring you to the proper state for your astral travel. After using the tips above to prepare for your journey use headphones to listen to this video and begin your experience.

Ancient Lotion

Wild Roses. Source.

This article at Higher Perspective came across my Facebook feed.  This lotion recipe looks interesting, it's something I want to try eventually.   

I love lotions.  It seems sometimes that I am on a never ending search to find the best lotion for me.  Recently, I've decided to start making my own.  I just made my first batch, though a different recipe.  I'll be trying this recipe soon.

Higher Perspective claims this recipe is over 2000 years old.  If it is . . . well, that's pretty neat.  The recipe follows.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon of honey
• 8 tablespoons of grated beeswax
• 200 ml of almond oil
• About a half cup of rosewater
• 2 small, cleaned, and sanitized jars

Instructions:

1. On low heat, melt the beeswax and honey into the oil in a small sauce pan.  Once melted, remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
2. Pour the rosewater into a small jug and add on drop at a time, whisking well as you add.
3. When the cream is fully saturated with the rosewater, it will begin to bead and not stir in.  At that point stop and allow the cream to cool.
4. Finally, pour the mixture in your jars and leave to cool completely before adding the lids.  The cream will lighten as it cools.

River Wishes

Finley River. Ozark, MO.

Take a piece of paper (8.5x11 is fine), preferably paper that is easily biodegradable, with no harmful chemicals added.

Write down your wishes, your dreams, your hopes, things about yourself or your life that you want to change or work on.  Write down your prayers to the gods.

Meditate on what you wrote, the feelings behind it, what you are going to do to pursue these dreams or goals.

When you are clear and calm, and feel that you can go no deeper in your meditation, fold the paper into a little origami boat.

Origami boat tutorial:

Next take your boat to a river or stream.  Place the boat in the river and recite the following*:

This small boat carries my dreams to the sea.
River spirits - kind, beautiful, and strange -
Guide this craft that carries pieces of me
And guide my transmogrifying sea-change.
I'm letting go, the past has no more hold,
My dreams, my wishes, I will now pursue:
Where once I feared change, I will now be bold;
Where once I did lie, I will now be true.
Little boat, as the river makes your way,
I work to shape reality from dream.
Water spirits, sprites, nymphs, and gods, please sway
The magics of rain, river, sea and stream
To facilitate the change in my life
I need to make to live without much strife.

Release your boat in the water, watch as it travels downstream.  Imagine it joining with the next river, and the next, and ultimately with the sea.  See yourself, as you watch your boat, working towards your dreams, working to change yourself to be the person you want to be.  Imagine doing it.  Watch as your boat drifts farther and farther away, and see yourself changing in your mind.  

Say a last farewell to your boat, thank the river spirits, gods, nymphs, sprites, and such.  Get up, and get to work.  The change must come from within you, and all the magic in the world won't help if you don't start pursuing your goals.  Magic doesn't take the place of doing the work, it just makes it easier.  

*Actually, you can recite any small chant you think will help to focus your energies and magic, cementing your path to change within your mind.  I just wanted to write a sonnet.

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