Category Archives: Goddess

December 27, 2010 · 7:23 pm

Saying good-bye to 2010……

Merry Meet my friends.  I hope that you all had a fabulous holiday and that Santa was good to you all!  I had a very nice holiday myself and my family was very generous and thoughtful this year…there were many “witchy” presents under our tree, for my daughters and myself.  My hubby got me the camera I had been wanting as well..can’t wait to play with the powerful zoom lens! 🙂  

If you’re like me, pretty quick after the last present is open and the feast is over and everything put away…it’s time to think about taking down the decorations! LOL!  For me this starts immediately.  All of the sudden I feel the need to clear out all the clutter that I find so beautiful and charming when the holiday season starts.  I want to put it all away, de-clutter, organize, clean.  As a witch, I also start thinking about clearing the house of the stale air and any negative energy.  I start thinking of projects I can work on during the long winter ahead.

I have blogged about how to do a house cleansing here before so I wont’ go into it again.  But I will be doing a thorough cleaning this week.  New Year’s eve I will do a thorough cleansing.  I will also at midnight throw open the doors and invite in positive, healthy energy and send out the old, negative energy! Grab your broom and sweep out all the things, both physical and mental, that no longer serve you well.  Do  a good smudging and a quick chant…that should do the trick!  I will also spend some time at my altar which will be set up just simply…holding only my elemental reps,  My god and goddess candles, some crystals, and my working tools.  As I think about what I want to come my way in the new year, I will place sympathy items there to represent those hopes…such as coins for prosperity,  a red heart stone for love,  a band aid for good health, food and drink for abundance, a 4 leaf clover charm for good luck, etc. Think about what you would like to have come your way and place items on your altar as well.  Ask god and goddess to bless you in the new year to come..you know they are listening! 🙂

We are heading for the New Moon as well soon.  Want to start a new project for winter?  The New Moon is the perfect time for that as all witches know!  I am going to tackle my attic to get rid of junk, turn a never used sewing room into a room for my grandkids, make a quilt for my granddaughter’s big girl room, and work on my Book of Shadows…seriously work on that!  I will catch up on reading as I will have more time to do that and will start working on making some herbal remedies I’m in need of as well.

I know alot of people don’t love Winter, but I say it’s an opportunity to both relax and reflect, and  a time to get your home organized and cleaned out for the coming spring.  Winter gives you time to work on those projects that you always want to do but don’t seem to have the time to do.  What will you do this winter?  What would you like to accomplish?  Find something to look forward to, don’t let the blues or the “I’m so bored” take over!  Think about spring coming..maybe you’d like to peruse gardening books and plan your garden.  Paint a room a pretty spring color like yellow or green or lilac.  Work on your BOS or make up some lotions and potions.  All of these things will make winter go faster and be more enjoyable and you’ll feel so good and so accomplished!

New Year’s resolutions?  Do you do them?  I have done them in the past and of course, like everybody else, start out with good intentions and work hard to do them, but they soon fall to the wayside.  I quit doing them many years ago.  This year however, I have a few things that I would like to resolve to do..to improve my life.  These I hope are very doable for me 🙂

*Be kind and speak softly

*Open myself up to receive love from others and to give love in return

*Practice witchcraft somehow, everyday

*Continue to learn and grow in my path..becoming stagnant is to lose my magick

*To be the best I can be

*To live in the moment

*To honor the Goddess and the Earth everyday in all I do

*Practice random acts of kindness

I hope these are things I can “do” everyday…hopefully without even giving it a thought..that it just comes naturally.  Have you thought about resolutions?  Things you’d like to bring into your life, that you want to change about your life?  Now is the time! 

Love and Blessings, Autumn

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Filed under Altars, Book of Shadows, Discussion, Goddess, New Moons, Winter

December 14, 2010 · 10:51 pm

A Yule Poem and Solstice celebration…..

Merry Meet my lovely friends.  How is your Yule/Christmas preparations going?  If you’re like me, you’re as busy as can be..running everywhere…shopping, wrapping, baking, visiting and feeling a bit run down, tired and stressed. This time of year can be very hectic but because we are witches we know how to fix that don’t we?  Be sure to take quiet time every day.  Meditation, altar work, ritual baths, moon gazing, fire gazing, candle spells, scented oils and incense and grounding and centering are all ways for us to relax, regroup, and to re-energize our minds and bodies so that we feel better and don’t get so stressed out and tired that we don’t enjoy this time of year.

For us christmas day is about spending time with family, feasting, opening gifts and having a fun filled day.  Yule or Winter Solstice is something quite different.  It’s more about quiet peace, the glow of candles, a yule log burning, a simple meal and reflecting on the past year and what you hope to manifest in the next.  There are many things you can do as a family to celebrate the solstice that will be rewarding and memorable and make the day lovely and relaxing at the same time. 

*Instead of buying gifts, make some together on Yule Day. My daughters, sister and I love to knit and crochet. There are so many things you can make with that skill for loved ones.  Or make something and donate it to a charity such as chemo caps, preemie caps, and blankets for hospice patients. Or you can make homemade decorations for your Yule tree, wreath,  or Yule log.  Cinnamon or Salt dough ornaments shaped like stars, moons, pentacles, apples etc would be a fun family project!

*Go on a nature walk in a nearby woods or nature preserve or on a beach.  Look for a Yule Log for the fireplace or a smaller one simply to decorate the home. Look for natural decorations such as ivy, mistletoe, and pinecones, taking care to only pick what has already fallen. If its snowing, take bird seed, dried corn or shelled peanuts to put out for the birds and furry creatures.  Make snow angels.  Catch snowflakes on your tongue. Sing carols outloud. 

*Collect evergreens to make a Yule Wreath or to put on your Yule log…the scent when you burn the log will be delicious! 

*While sitting around the burning Yule Log, share the stories of Winter Solstice. Each member of the family throws some dried holly sprigs into the fire, saying a farewell to the old year. Talk about your past year together and what you’d like to have happen in your next year.  Perhaps everyone has a favorite memory that could be recorded in a journal or blog.

*Have a Solstice Meal.  Make it as big or as simple as you wish.  Make a cake for the return of the Sun King…maybe put a sunburst on the cake with icing.  Each person can light a candle on the cake and make a wish for the coming year.

*Have the family do a ritual together to wish the Holly King a pleasant journey til he comes back again. 

*Stay up all night and watch the sunrise and toast the Sun King’s return with fresh orange juice or mimosa..then have a nice breakfast and take a long winter’s nap!

Can you think of a tradition you would like to start with your family?  I know you can…you may have some in place already!  One thing I do too..is for myself, I take time at my altar..or outside with the Moon Goddess…to give thanks for the blessings in my life.  I value my time to reflect and be with the Goddess anytime I can.

I found this poem this evening and just loved it…thought I would share it here with you. 

“So the shortest day came, and the year died,
And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white world
Came people singing, dancing,
To drive the dark away.
They lighted candles in the winter trees;
…They hung their homes with evergreen;
They burned beseeching fires all night long
To keep the year alive,
And when the new year’s sunshine blazed awake
They shouted, reveling.
Through all the frosty ages you can hear them
Echoing behind us – Listen!!
All the long echoes sing the same delight,
This shortest day,
As promise wakens in the sleeping land:
They carol, fest, give thanks,
And dearly love their friends,
And hope for peace.
And so do we, here, now,
This year and every year.
Welcome Yule!!”
– Susan Cooper, The Shortest Dayj
I don’t know who Susan Cooper is but I salute her writing!  She captured Yule perfectly in her beautiful words.  So my dear friends, look for ways to find calm in the raging busyness of the season.  Embrace some time for solitude to regroup and reconnect with the Goddess and your soul.  Have a glass of wine or eggnog in the evening by a fire or a lit candle.  Put your jammies on early and watch a holiday movie.  Kiss under the mistletoe with your honey.  Call old friends you haven’t talked to for awhile…just reconnect with loved ones.  It’s going to be a long winter but each day the sun shines a bit longer and spring will come soon and Mother Earth will wake up and it WILL be green again! 🙂
Yuletide Blessings to you and yours, Autumn

9 Comments

Filed under Family, Goddess, Mother Earth, Nature, Poem, Yule/Winter Solstice/Chrismas

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October 23, 2010 · 9:28 pm

Blood Moon……..

Merry Meet my friends and a Blessed Blood Moon to you.  Yes, this is a day late..but I believe the energy of the Full Moon lasts for 3 days before and 3 days after.  The Moon still looks full and bright tonight in my neck of the woods!  Last night I only sat and communed with the Moon Goddess.  I prayed, absorbed Her energy and reflected on the blessings She has given me.

The October Full Moon is called the Blood Moon, the Hunters Moon, the Harvest Moon, the Cold Moon, the Shedding Moon or the Falling Leaf Moon. Coming right before Samhain,  it comes in the Autumn, when nights are colder and darkness arrives earlier each night.  The harvest is over and the Earth is turning brown, animals are gathering food and making their winter homes ready, birds are gathering to fly south, and families are starting to think about the holidays and the winter months. 

Moon lore talks about the Blood Moon or Hunters Moon being named so because  hunters  tracked and killed their prey by autumn moonlight, stockpiling food for the winter ahead. You can picture them: silent figures padding through the forest, the moon overhead, pale as a corpse, its cold light betraying the creatures of the wood.  It was the final harvest…the sacrifice of livestock. 

At this time of year, the God is dying and returning to the Underworld, awaiting to be reborn at Yule.  The Goddess is a Crone, wise in her years, mourning the loss of her love,  leaving the world in darkness during her time of despair.  On this Full Moon, reflect on your sacrifices, your losses.  How have they affected your life in the last year..was it positive or negative?   What would you change if you could?  How does the coming dark time of the year affect your mood, your life?  

I know many people who have SAD..Seasonal Affective Disorder.  It’s a form of depression that happens in the dark months of late Fall and Winter.  They feel sad, moody, lazy, grumpy and un-motivated.  I am the total opposite.  I love Fall and Winter.  I think of it more as a time to rest, nest, catch up on projects and organizing INSIDE…catching up on reading, hanging by the fireplace, cooking up great comforting meals, taking walks on a snowy night..wearing sweaters and scarves and hats and big warm coats.  Knitting blankets, working on my Book of Shadows, making herbal concoctions from the herbs I grew, harvested and dried.  Yule happens in the Winter..whats not to love about this time of year.  If you have SAD, try to be more active, use light therapy, peruse garden books dreaming of spring, start a new hobby….these can help you to get thru the months that you don’t feel well.

So go out tonight and enjoy the bright Blood Moon and think about the coming cold dark winter.  How are you going to live your life during this time?  Ask for guidance, clarity, energy….listen quietly for an answer.  Listen to your inner voice.  You can lament the loss of warmth and light or you can find joy in darkness.  Your choice my friend!

Blessed Be, Autumn

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Filed under Autumn, Full Moons, Goddess

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