Last weekend, I got to see a falling star a few days after the last full moon of the decade. It was beautiful and magical and made even better because I was in an amazing mood after having spent the entire evening with good friends. This weekend, someone set off fireworks the evening of the Winter Solstice. I pulled off to the side of the road and watched them for a bit. Once again, a wonderful experience because my best friend had left me in a great mood just before I had to run out to the grocery store.
Now today is the first first day of Yule! And it was, for lack of better words, incredible, fulfilling, and enchanting! My work has given me all but one day of Yule off and I plan to spend every moment of it recovering from the craziness that is life and celebrating the wonderful time that is Yule with my furry little boys!
Earlier this week I had talked about many of the activities you can do to celebrate and each day I will post the ones I have chose to celebrate with my little family! We try to make each day magical and if we can’t make it magical, we at least try not to leave fur balls on the carpet…. So without further ado, Yule day 1!
I welcomed in the Winter Solstice with some juicy delightful pomegranate seeds and that was just perfect!
I wasn’t able to get up quite in time for the sunrise but I did do a yoga sequence to greet the sun. I have no idea where I found this one. It had been in my workouts folder for so long but it also has a matching moon as well! I have a lot of back and shoulder pain due to my job and this is a great sequence I have recently gotten into that helps my pain a lot. It also seemed very appropriate to greet the first day of Yule with. I will say yoga is rather difficult with 3 cats all rubbing against you either begging for attention or sniffing you trying to figure out what you are doing. Charlemagne even attacked my printed out yoga sequence!
I found the above image either on FB or Pinterest and I LOVED the idea! I just had to make it! Wreaths of evergreens were very popular in pagan times and a Yule wreath would look great in my kitchen! The above image was an advent calendar that counted down until Christmas with 25 candles that would be lit each day. I used the image as a prototype and created my own Yuletide spin on it and I love how it came out!
I molded it last weekend and gave it the entire week to allow it to air dry. Nikolai was very critical of my work and kept checking on it for quality. He even sneezed on it once…. Such a judgmental kitty! On the Winter Solstice, I painted it with 3 coats of paint to ensure none of the grey clay showed through. Hekate is my goddess and so I modeled my wreath spiral after Hekate’s labyrinth. Some versions are very detailed but since clay is not my normal media of choice, I went with the simplest version and I think it came out very well!
I am realistic and I know that December is a crazy month for me and that I would be lucky to light even half the candles counting down to Yule, BUT I also know that around the 20th or so, things wind down and are much more relaxed both at work and at home. So my final wreath is a 12 Days of Yule countdown. I will light a candle each day while I spend quality time with my boys.
I was invited to a tamale gathering as well. It is a tradition for my friends’ family every year for the weekend before Christmas to make tamales and bring everyone together. So as my contribution to the tamale gathering, I brought a Yule log! It was delicious and did not stand a chance. There is a small piece I brought home which will likely be devoured on day 2.
Of course I opened presents as well, while wearing my ‘ugly’ Yule sweater. I Skyped my best friend and enjoyed her attempts at breathing from laughing so hard when she unwrapped one of her presents. Aquadog the Corgi Rides a Hammerhead Shark Dog Art Print! I received cat tarot, a wiccan calendar and cookbook, 2 history books,and the most beautiful tea cup.
Finally, I did went on a 6 mile jog in a state park nearby. I timed it perfectly too, because JUST as I finished and got back to my car, the sun finally set and I got to watch all while breathing in some of the crispest pine air ever. All in all, a great day!
Finally, I finished the day with a last gentle yoga sequence. I figured if I were greeting the sun, the least I could do was greet the moon. It is also very similar to the sun salutation and so again, it helps my back to feel better after.
I hope everyone was able to have an absolutely wonderful holiday filled with food, friends, and good health! I have lots more activities planned since I have so much time off this year!
From our altar to yours, with love from the sea,
