The longest night has come to pass or depending where you are, it is still occurring. I sit here at 6am EST typing this in the darkness of night still.
I find what people did for the winter solstice in the past very beautiful. People stayed up all night, kept the fires (or Yule log) burning through night, celebrated, gathered in doors for the darkness was a place of mystery and maybe even a little mayhem as you may know if you have been following my winter tales not so merry and bright over on Facebook. This was a time to look forward to what was to come and to ensure that the sun received a warm and friendly welcome back.
I shared yesterday that all our celebrations and best laid plans don’t always happen. Maybe you are busy with work or a non negotiable to-do list, perhaps you just aren’t feeling the way you need to make the magic happen. Does that mean that you missed Yule or whatever occasion you feel compelled to mark? Absolutely not!
I think the real mistake is when we force things that aren’t meant to be. Magic is formed in intention, in energy, and often a harmonic balance. If you are simply marking another thing off your to-do list for the day, feeling anything other than present, and one thing after another is either going wrong or you feel like you HAVE to do the thing, then this is not magic you will conjure. The energy that is present often has a strange way of manifesting despite our best efforts and I know from experience, you don’t want that sort of unexpected chaos.
So yesterday, after several weeks, really months of stress and pressures coming to a boil, I accepted what at the time felt like defeat. I felt and probably looked a bit like a crazed animal when that “last straw” fell and I broke. After fighting against what was so blatantly clear all day, I declared to my family at 5:30 pm that we were rescheduling Yule. I wanted us all to actually want to be in the same room with one another. The food to be crafted with love, gratitude, and infused with intention…not the tears, anger, and overwhelm I had been feeling all day.
Up to this point I had spent many weekends saying yes to too many things, trying to cram in all the things for everyone. I was terribly behind in my work, my self care, my home, preparations for the upcoming festivities, and I was drowning. It came to a bit of a boil this past weekend because time was running out and being in a state of non stop daily commitments had left me completely burned out.
I broke every single rule of self care and what I know to be true in leading an intentional, intuitive, magic filled life.
I know better than to be the person doing everything for everyone except myself, yet here I was. There was nothing left to do but surrender and things got a lot better when I stopped fighting the natural rhythm.
Here is the beautiful thing about our natural turn of the wheel and literally any occasion at all. It is the intention behind it all that matters, not the specific day. Would it be a little odd if I rescheduled Yule to April, just a bit, that is not exactly naturally aligned! However, the season of Yule is so much more than just the winter solstice. By the way, despite my declarations of rescheduling Yule, the darkest night still came, and I still awoke to reflect and give the sun my own personal warm welcome (when it finally arrives)! Also, it totally works out so much better because we will have our family Yule magic making on Friday, a day when we are all home, responsibility free, hiding out from a cold winter storm, and it just so happens to be our new moon in Capricorn…how amazing did that turn out?!
So if life got in the way for you, never fear, you can celebrate this season when it feels right for you within reason. Anytime now really into the first week or two of January is still in really strong alignment with the season, we know that the closer to February we creep the season of Imbolc starts popping up and before we know it the whispers of growth and maple sugaring season are upon us!
Here are a few ways to celebrate Yule if you are a little new to the tradition and want to give it a go or like me, simply had to reschedule!
- Bring some of the outside in, I love to use fresh pine and pine cones as decor throughout my home or any other elements reflective of Yule.
- Dry some orange slices and make your own ornaments or a garland as symbol of the sun
- Get your magical cleaning on, this is a perfect time of year to let go of physical items to make room for what you want more of in the year to come. We are also in our homes more than ever over the next couple months, so having a tidy, energetically clear, and cozy space is best.
- Use orange peels, cinnamon sticks, to infuse vinegar and make your own holistic all purpose cleaner (I think doing some solar charging during the yule time would be great, but also charging your potion under the new moon would have some great energy too ) after a couple weeks, you can dilute it with water, add to a glass spray bottle and you have a holistic and magical cleaner!
- I like to leave treats for the birds that have hung around this time of year especially, putting nut better on a pinecone and covering it in bird seed is a great way to give back.
- You can bake all sorts of things this time of year, my personal favorites include gingerbread because it’s full of all the magic I want to invite in this time of year and making a Yule honey bread in a braided circle, you put a candle in the middle of it and some people like to leave a loaf outside as an offering to the Faery folk.
- This is a great time to release more than just physical items in our homes, it’s the time to release self limiting beliefs, and anything that is no longer surviving us and it is best to write those things down on either bay leaves or flash paper, then watch them burn away.
- It is a great time to plan and get clear on what it is you do want more of in your life as well, gaining clarity and focus on your vision while we are slowing down.
- This is a great time to gather with family or friends if possible and celebrate the wins.
- Reading and or sharing stories is another great Yule activity, story is full of magic and often lessons.
- Don’t forget to slow down, rest and reflect. Just like I said last week, we can’t move forward without looking back first.
